Fourth-quarter revenue jumped 12.7 percent to $44.5 million, or 16.2 percent on a constant currency basis compared to the fourth quarter of 2014. Proceeds from exclusive technology products in Q4 grew 15.9 percent to $41.6 million, or 18.3 percent on a constant currency basis. U.S. sales swelled 15.4 percent to $36.9 million in the fourth quarter compared to the comparable period in 2014, and represented 82.9 percent of total revenue.
For fiscal year 2015, total revenue surged 16.4 percent to $164.5 million, or 21.3 percent on a constant currency basis. Exclusive technology product sales grew 21.9 percent to $152.4 million, or 25.4 percent on a constant currency basis, and U.S. revenue skyrocketed 22.1 percent to $133.8 million, according to the company's latest earnings report.
“We finished 2015 with a record quarter in revenue led by strong growth in our exclusive cervical technology products, and a record quarter for Mobi-C," noted Christophe Lavigne, president/CEO of LDR. "With our lumbar products, we continued our progress on the clinical evaluation and development of our minimal implant volume (MIVo) products during the fourth quarter, which we believe will support our long-term strategy to penetrate the lumbar market.”
As of Dec. 31, 2015, LDR had $115.1 million in cash and cash equivalents, $148 million in working capital (including cash and cash equivalents) and $5.8 million in debt.
Revenue from exclusive cervical products grew 26 percent (28.6 percent constant currency) in the fourth quarter to $32.1 million. For fiscal year 2015, exclusive cervical product sales mushroomed 31.9 percent (35.9 percent constant currency) to $114.8 million.
LDR executives attributed the robust fourth-quarter and full-year growth to strong Mobi-C sales and successful cross-selling of ROI-C products.
“We are pleased that our first two peer-reviewed papers with five-year patient outcome data for our unique Mobi-C technology were recently published. The first, in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine, shows a lower rate of subsequent surgeries for Mobi-C versus fusion and the second, in Neurosurgery, demonstrates the cost effectiveness of two-level cervical disc replacement," Lavigne said. "We are encouraged by these recent developments as both publications add to the growing weight of clinical evidence supporting cervical disc replacement and Mobi-C, in particular. We believe the increasing availability of long-term publications, along with the updated NASS coverage recommendation in support of both one and two-level cervical disc replacement, will drive continued penetration of cervical disc replacement into the estimated $1.2 billion U.S. cervical fusion market.”
International sales climbed 1 percent in the fourth quarter to $7.6 million (19.4 percent constant currency) but fell 3.3 percent to $30.6 million (though it rose 18.5 percent in constant currency).
Fourth-quarter gross profit was $36.6 million and gross margin was 82.3 percent, compared to a gross profit of $32.7 million and gross margin of 82.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014. Gross profit for 2015 was $137.2 million and gross margin was 83.4 percent, compared to a gross profit of $116.8 million and a gross margin of 82.7 percent in 2014.
Net loss for Q4 was $4.8 million, or $0.16 per share, compared to a net loss of $3.1 million, or $0.12 per share, for the same period in 2014. Net loss in 2015 totaled $15.9 million, or $0.57 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $11.0 million, or $0.43 per diluted share, in the previous year.
Company executives predict 2016 full-year revenues to range between $187.5 million and $189.5 million, or 14 percent to 15.2 percent growth on a reported basis. Changes in foreign exchange rates are expected to negatively impact 2016 reported revenue by approximately 1 percent. Thus sales -- before any foreign exchange impact -- may range from $189.1 million to $191.1 million, or 15 percent to 16.2 percent growth in constant currency.
LDR Holding Corporation is a global designer and provider of spinal devices. LDR’s primary products are based on its Mobi non-fusion and VerteBRIDGE fusion technology platforms and are designed for applications in the cervical and lumbar spine. These technologies are aimed at enabling products that are less invasive, provide greater intra-operative flexibility, offer simplified surgical techniques and promote improved clinical outcomes for patients as compared to existing alternatives. In August 2013, LDR received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the Mobi-C cervical disc replacement device, the first and only cervical disc replacement device to receive FDA approval to treat both one-level and two-level cervical disc disease.