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Prism Medical Ltd. Reports First Quarter Fiscal 2011 Results and Dividend Declaration

^{Published on 2011-04-21 14:10:46 - Market Wire}
 

TORONTO, April 21 /CNW/ - Prism Medical Ltd. ("Prism Medical" or "the Company") (TSXV: PM), a leading provider of durable medical equipment and related services to the mobility challenged, today reported financial results for the three months ended February 28, 2011.

First Quarter Fiscal 2011 Highlights

• Revenues in North America increased $1.8 million, or 32%, compared to the same period last year due to stronger institutional demand for our products in Canada and market share gains on traditional products in the U.S. acute care market.
• Gross margins continue to be strong at 40%, versus 44% in the prior year, despite unusually higher sales volumes in lower margin areas during the quarter and the impact of the Canadian dollar strengthening by 6% against the British pound and 5% against the U.S. dollar.
• Selling, general and administrative expenses were $4.8M, a decrease of 11%, or $0.6 million over the same period last year due to general cost reductions and a stronger Canadian dollar.
• As consequence of the above, the Company saw significant increases in EBITDA and earnings per share, which rose by 24% and 44%, respectively, over Q1 2010.

"Steady performance in our U.K. business, healthy organic growth in our North American business, and increased operational efficiencies enabled us to generate strong increases in EBITDA and earnings for the quarter," said Andrew McIntyre, President and CEO of Prism Medical. "Our outlook for sustained growth continues to be positive, underpinned by demographic trends and increased adoption of patient handling equipment as an important solution to the challenge of rising healthcare costs.  We are capitalizing on this market demand through several key growth strategies, including additional direct sales coverage of the U.S. institutional market, an expanded dealer network in Europe and in the U.S. homecare market, and further acquisitions."

The Company's complete unaudited interim Consolidated Financial Statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis will be available at [ www.prismmedicalltd.com ] or [ www.sedar.com ].

Dividend Declaration
Prism Medical also announced today that its Board of Directors has approved a dividend of $0.075 per common share payable on May 20, 2011 to the shareholders of record on May 12, 2011.

About Prism Medical Ltd.
Prism Medical Ltd. is one of the largest providers and manufacturers of durable medical equipment and related services to the mobility challenged in Canada, the US and the UK, with more than 200,000 installations. The Prism Medical brands include Waverley Glen and ErgoSafe, North America's leading supplier of lifting, handling and repositioning aid products and services across Canada and the US. Freeway and Prism Service & Repair are leading suppliers of moving and handling products and services in the UK. 

Forward-Looking Statements
This document contains forward-looking statements relating to our operations and to the environment in which we operate and our strategy, action plans and investments, which may involve estimates, forecasts and projections. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and/or are beyond our control. A number of important factors could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements. These factors include those set forth in this report and our other public filings. Consequently, readers should not place any undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this report. Prism Medical is under no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained herein should material facts change due to new information, future events or other factors. All forward-looking statements attributable to Prism Medical are expressly qualified by these cautionary statements.  

The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.