DANVERS, Mass., May 04, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Abiomed, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABMD), a leading provider of breakthrough heart support technologies, today reported fourth quarter fiscal 2017 revenue of $124.7 million, an increase of 33% compared to revenue of $94.0 million for the same period of fiscal 2016.  For fiscal year 2017, total revenue was $445.3 million, up 35% compared to revenue of $329.5 million in fiscal year 2016.

Fourth quarter fiscal 2017 GAAP net income was $14.9 million or $0.33 per diluted share, impacted by $3.1 million or $0.07 per diluted share of one-time items, described below. For the full fiscal year, GAAP net income was $52.1 million or $1.17 per diluted share.

Financial and operating highlights during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017 include:

• Fiscal fourth quarter worldwide Impella® heart pump revenue totaled $118.9 million, an increase of 34% compared to revenue of $88.6 million during the same period of the prior fiscal year.  Full year worldwide Impella revenue totaled $423.7 million, up 37% compared to $310.1 million for fiscal 2016. 
   
• U.S. Impella heart pump revenue for the quarter grew 32% to $108.2 million from $81.8 million in the prior fiscal year with U.S. patient usage of the Impella heart pumps up 30%.  Full year U.S. Impella revenue totaled $387.5 million, up 35% compared to $287.2 million in the prior fiscal year.
               
• The installed base for Impella 2.5® heart pumps in the U.S. grew by an additional 19 hospitals, which made initial purchases of Impella heart pumps, bringing the installed customer base to 1,138 sites. The installed customer base for Impella CP® heart pumps grew by 44 new U.S. hospitals, bringing the total number of Impella CP sites to 1,016. The installed customer base for Impella 5.0® heart pumps grew by 11 new U.S. hospitals, bringing the total number of Impella 5.0 sites to 453.
   
• An additional 7 sites made initial purchases of Impella RP® heart pumps during the quarter, bringing the total number of sites to 127.
   
• Gross margin for fiscal fourth quarter 2017 was 84.6% compared to 84.4% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016.  For the full fiscal year, gross margin was 84.1% compared to 84.7% in the prior year.
               
• Operating income for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017 was $29.0 million, or 23.3% operating margin, compared to $19.8 million, or 21.1% operating margin in the prior year period. For the full fiscal year, operating income was $90.1 million, or 20.2% of revenue, compared to $65.1 million, or 19.8% of revenue in the prior year.
   
• The Company generated $18.2 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017, bringing the total to $277.1 million as of March 31, 2017. The Company currently has no debt.
               
• Fourth quarter fiscal 2017 GAAP net income was $14.9 million or $0.33 per diluted share and full fiscal year GAAP net income was $52.1 million or $1.17 per diluted share. This compares to GAAP net income for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016 of $11.0 million or $0.24 per diluted share and full fiscal year GAAP net income of $38.1 million or $0.85 per diluted share.  During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017, the Company recorded a non-recurring income tax charge of $3.1 million, or $0.07 per diluted share, related to uncertainty about the utilization of research and development tax credits.
               
• Beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2018, the Company will adopt a new accounting standard entitled "Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting". Under this new standard, excess tax benefits and deficiencies associated with employee share-based payments will no longer be recognized as additional paid-in capital on the balance sheet, but instead will be recognized directly to income tax expense or benefit in the income statement for the reporting period in which they occur. The adoption of the new accounting standard is likely to introduce positive fluctuations to net income, our tax provision and earnings per share this year, but will not impact Abiomed's operating income or cash tax paid.
   
• On February 23, 2017, Abiomed announced that it has supported more than 50,000 patients in the U.S. with its Impella® heart pumps.
               
• On March 19, 2017 at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) 66th Annual Scientific Session in Washington, D.C, Abiomed announced and presented data from the Impella® Quality (IQ) Assurance Program, which includes the IQ Database and cVAD Registry^TM. The Abiomed IQ Assurance Program is a real-world collection of clinical information derived from the treatment of patients with Impella devices since 2008. Trends in the observational IQ Database, combined with information from Abiomed's Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved cVAD Registry have helped identify best practices and protocols that are associated with improved survival and native heart recovery in hospitals using Impella devices. The data presented also included new data from the Detroit Cardiogenic Shock Initiative (DCSI), which is an unprecedented collaboration between five heart hospitals in Detroit focused on systematic best practices to increase cardiogenic shock survival rates.
               
• On March 30, 2017, Abiomed announced the Grand Opening of Newly-Expanded manufacturing and training space at Danvers, Massachusetts headquarters.
   
• Today, Abiomed announced in a separate press release, the first patient enrolled in the STEMI Door to Unloading (DTU) feasibility study.
   

"Abiomed remains one of the fastest growing GAAP profitable companies and fiscal 2017 was another successful year as we achieved our corporate goals with two FDA approvals, approval in Japan, and dedicated DRGs from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)," said Michael R. Minogue, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Abiomed. "We want to thank our shareholders for their support and all of our employees and customers for their hard work and dedication to patients and our mission of heart recovery."

FISCAL YEAR 2018 OUTLOOK
The Company is giving its fiscal year 2018 guidance for total revenues to be in the range of $555 million to $575 million, an increase of 25% - 29% over the prior year. The Company is also giving its fiscal year 2018 guidance for GAAP operating margin to be in the range of 22% to 24%.