Sirona Dental shares soar on fiscal 3Q results

NEW YORK -- Shares of Sirona Dental Systems Inc. jumped 10 percent Friday, after the company announced better-than-expected fiscal third-quarter results and boosted its full-year revenue prediction.

For the quarter ended June 30, Sirona earned $30.3 million, or 53 cents per share, down 17 percent from $36.3 million, or 63 cents per share, in the same quarter last year.

Revenue edged down about 1 percent to $242 million from $244.7 million, as U.S. revenue rose 7.7 percent, while overseas revenue fell 4.6 percent. Excluding the effects of exchange rates, the company said revenue rose 7 percent.

Sirona, like other companies that do significant business outside the U.S., can be hurt by a rising dollar because revenue in foreign currencies shrinks when it's translated back into a stronger U.S. dollar.

The company said its earnings adjusted to exclude one-time items amounted to 80 cents a share in its third quarter.

The results beat Wall Street predictions. Analysts, on average, expected an adjusted profit of 77 cents per share on $233.6 million in revenue, according to a FactSet poll.

New York-based Sirona develops and sells dental products that include restoration systems, three-dimensional imaging systems, hand pieces and dental treatment centers.

On a constant currency basis, the company said it now expects its full-year revenue to rise between 8 percent and 10 percent from year-ago levels. The company previously said it expected constant-currency growth at the high end of the 6 percent to 8 percent growth range.

Based on $913.9 million in revenue for 2011, the new guidance projects $987 million to $1.01 billion in revenue on a constant currency basis. Analysts expect $957.8 million, without accounting for the effects of exchange rates.

Sirona shares rose $4.45 to $47.81 in afternoon trading, after peaking at $49.12 earlier in the day. Over the past 52 weeks, the company's shares have traded between $38.69 and $52.52.