Staar Surgical Company (NASDAQ: STAA) has announced its preliminary results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 29, 2023. The company reported a 19% increase in net sales for the fourth quarter and a 13% increase for the fiscal year, reaching approximately $76.5 million and $322.5 million, respectively. The operating margin is expected to be approximately 5% for both the fourth quarter and fiscal 2023.
Tom Frinzi, President and CEO of Staar Surgical, expressed optimism about the company's performance, stating, "Fiscal 2023 was a year of positive market share gains, sales growth and continued profitability for Staar." He highlighted the strong global sales performance of the Evo family of implantable collamer lenses (EVO ICL), with a 22% increase in the fourth quarter, driven by significant growth in the Asia-Pacific region.
Frinzi also emphasized the company's focus on innovation and market development strategies, citing global voice of customer surveys that showed high satisfaction and willingness to recommend the product. He further noted, "We anticipate clinical journals will publish two new peer-reviewed papers in the first half of 2024 that should further enhance surgeon confidence in measurement and lens size selection across the wide range of diagnostic devices and tools surgeons use to measure the eye for our lenses."
Looking ahead to fiscal 2024, Frinzi provided a sales outlook of approximately $335 million to $340 million, taking into account industry trends and the challenging economic environment. He expressed confidence in Staar's ability to capture refractive market share globally and projected above-industry rates of growth for ICL sales in China and the U.S.
Staar Surgical also reported an increase in cash, cash equivalents, and investments available for sale, reaching approximately $230 million as of December 29, 2023, indicating a positive financial position for the company.
The full 8-K submission from Staar Surgical Company is available here.
