Avanos Medical (NYSE:AVNS) shares were unmoved before hours on second-quarter results that were mixed compared to the consensus forecast.
The Alpharetta, Ga.-based company posted profits of $37.9 million, or 78¢ per share, on sales of $186.4 million for the three months ended June 30, 2021, taking its bottom line out of the red on sales growth of 13.9%.
Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share were 21¢, 2¢ behind Wall Street, where analysts were looking for sales of $180.6 million.
“Through the first half of the year our commercial teams continue to execute well and build sales momentum across our franchises while maintaining spending discipline,” Avanos CEO Joe Woody said in a news release. “Our gross margin has been temporarily impacted by higher transportation costs to drive growth and a delay in returning our manufacturing operations to pre-COVID efficiency levels, which will cause it to fall below our earlier expectation. However, we remain confident gross margin will accelerate in the second half of the year and we will continue to exercise discipline in our spending to mitigate this impact.”
Avanos said it now expects to log adjusted EPS of between $1.10 and $1.20, cutting the top half from its previous projection of $1.10 to $1.25. The company projects a revenue increase of between 2% and 4%.