Record revenue for Coopervision

The contact lens manufacturer registered US$489.1 million (AU$673 m) in revenue for the third quarter, its largest ever total and a 12% increase on the same period last year.Overall revenue for The Cooper Companies reached US$660 million (AU$908.34 m), an 8% increase in constant currency year-over-year, while CooperSurgical surged by 44% to record US$170.9 million (AU$235.21 m).“I’m very pleased with the progress we made this quarter. We had record revenue at CooperVision and CooperSurgical, and believe we are in a unique position to capitalise on current market dynamics to maintain our revenue momentum through operational investments, which we believe will lead to continuing strong performance,” Cooper Companies president and CEO Mr Albert White said.Toric contact lenses generated nearly one-third of CVI sales, an 11% increase compared to Q3 2017, while the bulk of the revenues by geography came from EA (Europe, Middle East, Africa), which contributed 41%.The combined gross margin for both companies was 65%, compared with 64% in the same period last year, while on a non-GAAP basis, gross margin was 67% compared with 65%. According to CVI, the margin was favourably impacted primarily by manufacturing efficiencies, product mix, and the addition of PARAGARD within CooperSurgical, offset in part by currency.However, operating margin was 2% lower at 18%, with the decrease attributed to company-wide investments in selling, marketing, and R&D. On a non-GAAP basis, operating margin was 28% compared with 26%.Interest expense also increased to US$22.8 million (AU$31.38 m) compared with US$8.3 million (AU$11.42 m) in Q3 last year, primarily due to higher debt and interest rates. Total debt decreased US$189.5 million (AU$260.8 m) from April 30, to US$2.29 billion (AU$3.15 b), primarily due to debt paydown from operational cash flow generation.