UTICA, N.Y., April 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
CONMED Corporation (Nasdaq: CNMD) today announced that it will increase the
size of its orthopedic sales force in the United States by approximately 25%.
The U.S. orthopedic sales force will grow from 180 to 230 sales
representatives. The increase is part of the Company's integration plan for
Bionx Implants, Inc., acquired on March 10, 2003.
Bionx previously sold its sports medicine products through a network of
independent sales distributors in the United States and had sales in 2002 of
approximately $18 million. Effective April 1, 2003, the Bionx products will
be integrated with CONMED's line of orthopedic products and will be sold
through the Company's orthopedic subsidiary, Linvatec. The sales force
expansion is planned to occur over the course of the next twelve months. Also
effective April 1, 2003, CONMED has converted its 90 direct employee
orthopedic sales representatives into nine independent sales agent groups.
The Company will now have 18 exclusive orthopedic sales agent groups that will
manage 230 sales representatives.
Mr. Joseph J. Corasanti, President and Chief Operating Officer of CONMED,
said, "The increase in our sales force enables us to properly support the new
Bionx business. We believe it will also permit greater sales penetration for
all of our orthopedic products. We currently have approximately 180 sales
professionals in the United States selling our orthopedic lines of arthroscopy
and powered surgical instruments. This group will now increase in size to
approximately 230 professionals, similar in size to other competitive groups."
Mr. Corasanti added, "We expect that the cost of increasing the size of
the sales force will be offset by other synergistic cost reductions arising
from the Bionx integration, particularly in the elimination of duplicate
administration. Therefore, we continue to believe that the effects of the
Bionx acquisition, including the increase in our sales force, with the
exception of certain one-time acquisition and transition charges, will be
neutral to earnings in 2003, and accretive thereafter. Without the sales
force expansion, the Bionx acquisition would have been accretive to earnings
per share by approximately $0.05 in the first twelve months following the
closing."
CONMED is a medical technology company specializing in instruments,
implants, and video equipment for arthroscopic sports medicine, and powered
surgical instruments, such as drills and saws, for orthopedic, ENT,
neuro-surgery, and other surgical specialties. The Company is also a leading
developer, manufacturer and supplier of RF electrosurgery systems used
routinely to cut and cauterize tissue in nearly all types of surgical
procedures worldwide, endoscopy products such as trocars, clip appliers,
scissors, and surgical staplers. The Company offers integrated operating room
design and intensive care unit service managers. The Company also
manufactures and sells a full line of ECG electrodes for heart monitoring and
other patient care products. Headquartered in Utica, New York, the Company's
2,500 employees distribute its products worldwide from eleven manufacturing
locations.
This press release contains forward-looking statements based on certain
assumptions and contingencies that involve risks and uncertainties. The
forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and relate to the
Company's performance on a going-forward basis. The forward-looking
statements in this press release involve risks and uncertainties which could
cause actual results, performance or trends, including the above mentioned
anticipated revenues and earnings, to differ materially from those expressed
in the forward-looking statements herein or in previous disclosures. The
Company believes that all forward-looking statements made by it have a
reasonable basis, but there can be no assurance that management's
expectations, beliefs or projections as expressed in the forward-looking
statements will actually occur or prove to be correct. In addition to general
industry and economic conditions, factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements in
this press release include, but are not limited to: (i) the failure of any one
or more of the assumptions stated above, to prove to be correct; (ii) the
risks relating to forward-looking statements discussed in the Company's Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2002;
(iii) cyclical purchasing patterns from customers, end-users and dealers;
(iv) timely release of new products, and acceptance of such new products by
the market; (v) the introduction of new products by competitors and other
competitive responses; (vi) the possibility that any new acquisition or other
transaction may require the Company to reconsider its financial assumptions
and goals/targets; and/or (vii) the Company's ability to devise and execute
strategies to respond to market conditions.
SOURCE CONMED Corporation
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Related links:
http://www.conmed.com
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/201850.html
CONTACT:
Robert Shallish, Chief Financial Officer,
CONMED Corporation, +1-315-624-3206; Investors - Lauren Levine,
or Lanie Fladell, Media - Sean Leous, all of FD Morgen-Walke,
+1-212-850-5600, for CONMED Corporation
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