Intuitive Surgical Announces Fourth Quarter Earnings

January 22, 2009 at 4:07 PM EST

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Jan. 22, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (Nasdaq:ISRG), the industry leader in surgical robotics, today reported fourth quarter 2008 revenue, consistent with its pre-release of January 7, 2009, of $231.5 million, increasing 22% from $189.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2007. Fourth quarter 2008 revenue growth was driven by continued robotic procedure adoption.

Fourth quarter 2008 instruments and accessories revenue increased 45% to $81.6 million from $56.1 million during the fourth quarter of 2007. Fourth quarter 2008 da Vinci(r) Surgical Systems revenue increased 5% to $113.7 million from $108.6 million during the fourth quarter of 2007. Fourth quarter 2008 service revenue increased 46% to $36.2 million from $24.7 million during the fourth quarter of 2007.

Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2008 totaled $874.9 million, increasing 46% from $600.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2007.



                     Three Months Ended        Twelve Months Ended
                        December 31,               December 31,
                   ----------------------    -----------------------
   Revenue
 ($ Millions)      2008    2007  Increase    2008     2007  Increase
 ------------      ----    ----  --------    ----     ----  --------
 Instruments/
  Accessories      $81.6   $56.1   $25.5    $293.0   $191.7   $101.3
 Systems           113.7   108.6     5.1     455.3    324.4    130.9
 Service            36.2    24.7    11.5     126.6     84.7     41.9
                  -----------------------   ------------------------
                  $231.5  $189.4   $42.1    $874.9   $600.8   $274.1
                  =======================   =========================

Fourth quarter 2008 operating income increased 13% to $82.7 million, compared with $73.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2007. Operating results for the fourth quarter of 2008 included $21.4 million of non-cash stock-based compensation expense in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board SFAS 123R, compared with $10.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2007.

Fourth quarter 2008 net income increased 3% to $50.8 million, compared with $49.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2007. Diluted earnings per share increased to $1.27 for the fourth quarter of 2008 from $1.24 for the fourth quarter of 2007.

Net income for the year ended December 31, 2008 was $204.3 million, or $5.12 per diluted share, compared to net income of $144.5 million, or $3.70 per diluted share for the year ended December 31, 2007.

Intuitive ended the fourth quarter of 2008 with cash, cash equivalents and investments of $902 million, up $80 million from September 30, 2008 and up $266 million from December 31, 2007.

Commenting on the announcement, Lonnie Smith, Chairman and CEO of Intuitive Surgical, said, "We are pleased with our continued worldwide procedure growth. While our fourth quarter system unit sales were lower than planned, we believe that our procedure momentum remains strong and patient demand for robotic surgery will continue to drive growth in 2009."

The Company will also announce these results at a conference call today at 1:30 pm PDT. The dial-in numbers for the call are 877-909-3508 for participants located in the U.S. and 517-645-6051 for participants located outside the U.S. The passcode is ISRG and the meeting leader is Mr. Lonnie Smith. To access financial information that will be discussed on the call, please visit Intuitive Surgical's website at www.intuitivesurgical.com.

About Intuitive's Products:

The da Vinci(r) Surgical System consists of a surgeon's viewing and control console having an integrated, high-performance InSite(r) 3-D, high definition vision system, a patient-side cart consisting of three or four robotic arms that position and precisely maneuver endoscopic instruments and an endoscope, and a variety of articulating EndoWrist(r) Instruments. By integrating computer-enhanced technology with surgeons' technical skills, Intuitive believes that its system enables surgeons to perform better surgery in a manner never before experienced. The da Vinci(r) Surgical System seamlessly and directly translates the surgeon's natural hand, wrist and finger movements on instrument controls at the surgeon's console outside the patient's body into corresponding micro-movements of the instrument tips positioned inside the patient through small puncture incisions, or ports.

Intuitive(r), da Vinci(r), da Vinci(r) S(tm), InSite(r), and EndoWrist(r) are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intuitive Surgical, Inc.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are necessarily estimates reflecting the best judgment of our management and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements should, therefore, be considered in light of various important factors, including the following: the impact of the global economic recession and tightening credit market and related impact on health care spending; timing and success of product development and market acceptance of developed products; regulatory approvals, clearances and restrictions; guidelines and recommendations in the health care and patient communities; intellectual property positions and litigation; competition in the medical device industry and in the specific markets of surgery in which Intuitive Surgical operates; unanticipated manufacturing disruptions; delays in regulatory approvals of new manufacturing facilities or the inability to meet demand for products, the results of the year end audit, and the other factors detailed from time to time under the heading "Risk Factors" in our report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, as updated from time to time by our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements concerning forecasts, revenue growth, procedure growth, future financial results, and statements using words such as "estimate", "project", "plan", "intend", "expect", "anticipate", "believe" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.



                              INTUITIVE SURGICAL, INC.
               UNAUDITED QUARTERLY CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
                        (IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT PER SHARE DATA)

                                            Three months ended
                                    ---------------------------------
                                     Dec. 31,   Sept. 30,    Dec. 31,
                                    ---------------------------------
                                       2008        2008        2007
                                    ---------------------------------
 Revenue:
  Instruments & Accessories         $  81,575   $  75,941   $  56,095
  Systems                             113,752     126,326     108,607
  Services                             36,218      33,725      24,744
                                    ---------   ---------   ---------
   Total revenue                      231,545     235,992     189,446

 Cost of revenue:
  Products                             51,669      53,517      42,587
  Services                             14,536      12,900      11,659
                                    ---------   ---------   ---------
   Total cost of revenue (1)           66,205      66,417      54,246

  Gross profit                        165,340     169,575     135,200

 Operating expenses:
  Selling, general and
   administrative                      61,739      62,692      45,694
  Research and development (2)         20,864      21,851      16,124
                                    ---------   ---------   ---------
   Total operating expenses (1)        82,603      84,543      61,818

 Income from operations                82,737      85,032      73,382

 Interest and other income, net         5,525       4,594       8,432
                                    ---------   ---------   ---------

 Income before income taxes            88,262      89,626      81,814
 Provision for income taxes            37,504      32,032      32,660
                                    ---------   ---------   ---------
 Net income                         $  50,758   $  57,594   $  49,154
                                    =========   =========   =========

 Earnings per share:
   Basic                            $    1.30   $    1.48   $    1.28
                                    =========   =========   =========

   Diluted                          $    1.27   $    1.44   $    1.24
                                    =========   =========   =========

 Shares used in computing earnings
  per share:
   Basic                               39,138      39,015      38,364
                                    =========   =========   =========

   Diluted                             39,837      40,108      39,756
                                    =========   =========   =========

 (1) Includes stock compensation expense of $3.1 million, $3.1
     million and $1.6 million in total cost of revenue and $18.3
     million, $17.9 million and $8.5 million in total operating
     expenses for the three months ended December 31, 2008, September
     30, 2008 and December 31, 2007, respectively.

 (2) Includes amortization of purchased intellectual property of $3.4
     million, $2.7 million and $0.5 million in research and
     development expenses for the three months ended December 31,
     2008, September 30, 2008 and December 31, 2007, respectively.

                         INTUITIVE SURGICAL, INC.
            UNAUDITED ANNUAL CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
                   (IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT PER SHARE DATA)

                                                    Year ended
                                                   December 31,
                                                -------------------
                                                  2008       2007
                                                -------------------
 Revenue:
  Instruments & Accessories                     $292,989   $191,651
  Systems                                        455,336    324,438
  Services                                       126,594     84,739
                                                --------   --------
   Total revenue                                 874,919    600,828

 Cost of revenue:
  Products                                       200,074    145,654
  Services                                        54,068     40,888
                                                --------   --------
   Total cost of revenue (1)                     254,142    186,542

  Gross profit                                   620,777    414,286

 Operating expenses:
  Selling, general and administrative            230,570    158,685
  Research and development (2)                    79,372     48,859
                                                --------   --------
   Total operating expenses (1)                  309,942    207,544

 Income from operations                          310,835    206,742

 Interest and other income, net                   24,368     30,492
                                                --------   --------

 Income before income taxes                      335,203    237,234
 Provision for income taxes                      130,888     92,697
                                                --------   --------

 Net Income                                     $204,315   $144,537
                                                ========   ========

 Earnings per share:
  Basic                                         $   5.26   $   3.82
                                                ========   ========

  Diluted                                       $   5.12   $   3.70
                                                ========   ========

 Shares used in computing earnings per share:
  Basic                                           38,877     37,831
                                                ========   ========

  Diluted                                         39,943     39,021
                                                ========   ========

 (1) Includes stock compensation expense of $11.4 million and $5.8
     million in total cost of revenue and $65.3 million and $30.5
     million in total operating expenses for the year ended December
     31, 2008 and 2007, respectively.

 (2) Includes amortization of purchased intellectual property of $9.8
     million and $1.3 million in research and development expenses
     for the year ended December 31, 2008 and 2007, respectively.

                          INTUITIVE SURGICAL, INC.
               UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
                                (IN THOUSANDS)

                               12/31/2008    9/30/2008   12/31/2007
                               ----------    ---------   ----------
 Cash, cash equivalents, and
  investments                  $  901,873   $  821,431   $  635,381
 Accounts receivable, net         170,107      173,708      130,370
 Inventory                         63,460       52,498       32,416
 Property and equipment, net      117,021       98,081       68,093
 Goodwill                         110,740      110,740      110,740
 Deferred tax assets               45,357       38,973       24,577
 Other assets                      66,066       69,240       38,421
                               ----------   ----------   ----------
  Total assets                 $1,474,624   $1,364,671   $1,039,998
                               ==========   ==========   ==========

 Accounts payable and other
  accrued liabilities          $  128,606   $  108,442   $   96,632
 Deferred revenue                  79,252       72,801       54,692
                               ----------   ----------   ----------
  Total liabilities               207,858      181,243      151,324
 Stockholders' equity           1,266,766    1,183,428      888,674
                               ----------   ----------   ----------
  Total liabilities and
   stockholders' equity        $1,474,624   $1,364,671   $1,039,998
                               ==========   ==========   ==========

CONTACT:
Intuitive Surgical, Inc.
Ben Gong
408-523-2175
Rae Covington
408-523-2161