Unilens Vision's royalty income for FY2010 second-quarter increases 12.7%

Feb 26 2010

Unilens Vision Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: UVICF; TSX Venture Exchange: UVI), which develops, licenses, manufactures, distributes and markets specialty contact lenses, today reported its operating results for the second quarter ended December 31, 2009 (FY2010).

Royalty income for the FY2010 second quarter increased 12.7% to a record second quarter of $751,386 compared with $666,569 in the prior-year quarter. Sales of licensed products by our licensee Bausch & Lomb continue to increase, resulting in continued royalty income growth.

Net sales excluding royalty income, were $1,414,539 in the FY2010 second quarter, 7.6% less than $1,530,242 reported in the previous year second quarter (FY2009).  Sales of our C-Vue brand of disposable lenses sold exclusively to independent eye care practitioners which accounts for a significant portion of our sales, decreased slightly under 1%, while sales of our custom and replacement lenses declined, as expected.

FY2010 second quarter income before taxes increased 7.8% to a record second quarter $654,071 compared with $606,717 in the prior-year quarter. After recording net income tax expense of $228,763, Unilens reported net income of $425,308, an increase of 18.5% compared to the previous year quarter, or $0.09 per diluted share. In the FY2009 second quarter, the Company reported net income of $358,945, or $0.08 per diluted share, which included income tax expense of $247,772.

"We are pleased with our second quarter and six months results, considering the current economic environment," stated Michael J. Pecora, Chief Executive Officer of Unilens Vision Inc. "Sales of our C-Vue brand of lenses sold exclusively to independent practitioners, combined with a 13% growth in royalty revenue derived from Bausch & Lomb's sales of multifocal lenses that use our key technologies, was responsible for our record second quarter performance."

"I am also pleased to report that the Unilens' Board of Directors declared its regular quarterly dividend of US $0.09 per common share, payable today. This decision was based on the Company's current balance sheet, and projected operating cash flows and is consistent with the Board's commitment that shareholders should share directly in the earnings achieved by management while continuing to execute our growth strategy."

Royalty income for the six months ended December 31, 2009 increased 10.1% to a record $1,519,062, compared with $1,379,966 in the prior-year six months, demonstrating continued demand for sales of licensed products by our licensee Bausch & Lomb.  

For the six months ended December 31, 2009, net sales excluding royalty income were $3,098,212, 5.9% less as compared to $3,291,768 for the prior-year six months. Net sales of the Company's C-Vue brand disposable contact lenses increased approximately 3% during the first six months of fiscal year 2010, while sales of custom lenses and replacement products lines declined, as expected.

Income before taxes for the six months ended December 31, 2009 increased 5.1% to $1,444,801, compared with $1,374,976 in the prior-year six months. After recording net income tax expense of $525,405, Unilens reported net income of $919,396, or $0.20 per diluted share, for the six months ended December 31, 2009. This compared with net income of $825,312, or $0.18 per diluted share, in the prior-year six months of fiscal year 2009, which included net income tax expense of $549,664.

"I am also pleased with the Company's repurchase of 2,188,861 shares of its common stock announced on January 20, 2010, from Uniinvest Holding AG in Liquidation for an aggregate purchase price of $6,894,912 or $3.15 per share. We believe that the stock repurchase represents a very attractive use of our capital and reflects our commitment to building long-term shareholder value. Currently there are 2,369,354 shares of Company common stock outstanding," concluded Mr. Pecora.