Abaxis Reports Financial Performance for the Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2009

UNION CITY, Calif., April 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ABAXIS, Inc. (Nasdaq:
ABAX), a medical products company manufacturing point-of-care blood analysis
systems, today reported financial results for the fiscal quarter and the
fiscal year ended March 31, 2009.

Highlights for the fourth quarter and fiscal 2009 include:
-- Revenues of $26.3 million for the fourth quarter, down 1% over last
year's comparable quarter, and $105.6 million for fiscal 2009, up
5% year-over-year.
-- Veterinary sales in North America of $16.5 million for the fourth
quarter, up 13% over last year's comparable quarter, and $60.3
million for fiscal 2009, up 5% year-over-year.
-- Total sales in the veterinary market of $19.6 million for the fourth
quarter, up 5% over last year's comparable quarter, and $74.0
million for fiscal 2009, up 4% year-over-year.
-- Total sales in North America of $22.2 million for the fourth quarter,
up
1% over last year's comparable quarter, and $87.8 million for
fiscal 2009, up 5% year-over-year.
-- Medical reagent disc sales of 412,000 units for the fourth quarter, up
11% over last year's comparable quarter, and 1.7 million units for
fiscal 2009, up 32% year-over-year.
-- Medical and veterinary reagent disc sales of 1.4 million units for the
fourth quarter, compared to 1.3 million units in the same period last
year, up 1% over last year's comparable quarter, and 5.3 million
units for fiscal 2009, up 7% year-over-year.
-- Medical and veterinary reagent disc sales of $17.0 million for the
fourth quarter, compared to $15.7 million in the same period last
year,
up 8% over last year's comparable quarter, and $64.1 million for
fiscal 2009, up 10% year-over-year.
-- Gross profit of 55.7% for the fourth quarter, up 120 basis points over
last year's comparable quarter, and 55.5% for fiscal 2009, up 80
basis points year-over-year.
-- Improvement of 3% in average unit cost of medical and veterinary
reagent
discs from fiscal 2008 to fiscal 2009.
-- Diluted EPS of $0.12 for the fourth quarter versus $0.15 in the same
period last year, and $0.54 for fiscal 2009, compared to $0.56 for
fiscal 2008.

-- Cash, cash equivalents and short- and long-term investments as of
March
31, 2009 of $74.9 million, compared to $59.7 million as of March 31,
2008.

Quarterly Results: For the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2009, Abaxis
reported revenues of $26.3 million, as compared with revenues of $26.7 million
for the comparable period last year, a decrease of 1 percent. Revenue from
instrument sales, which include chemistry analyzers, hematology instruments
and coagulation analyzers, decreased by an aggregate of $2.2 million, or 28
percent, over the same period last year. Revenue from consumables, which
include reagent discs, hematology reagent kits, coagulation reagents and
heartworm rapid tests, increased by an aggregate of $2.0 million, or 12
percent, over the same period last year. The company reported net income of
$2.6 million, compared to $3.3 million for the same period last year. The
company's effective tax rate in the quarter ended March 31, 2009 was 40
percent, compared to 37 percent for the same period last year. The company
reported diluted net income per share of $0.12 (calculated based on 22,302,000
shares) for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009, compared to $0.15 per share
(calculated based on 22,393,000 shares) for the same period last year.

Fiscal 2009 Results: For the year ended March 31, 2009, Abaxis reported
revenues of $105.6 million, as compared with revenues of $100.6 million for
the comparable period last year, an increase of 5 percent. Instrument revenue
decreased $1.8 million, or 6 percent, over the same period last year.
Consumable revenue increased by an aggregate of $7.1 million, or 12 percent,
over the same period last year. The company reported net income of $12.0
million, compared to $12.5 million for the prior year. The company's
effective tax rate in the 12-month periods of both fiscal 2009 and 2008 was 37
percent. The company reported diluted net income per share of $0.54
(calculated based on 22,324,000 shares) for fiscal 2009, compared to $0.56 per
share (calculated based on 22,261,000 shares) for fiscal 2008.

Other Reported Information: Consumable revenue for the fourth quarter of
fiscal 2009 was $18.7 million, up 12 percent over the $16.7 million reported
in the same period last year. During the quarter, the company sold a total of
1.4 million units of medical and veterinary reagent discs, an increase of 1
percent compared to a total of 1.3 million units of medical and veterinary
reagent discs sold during the same period last year. Total sales in the
medical market for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009 were $5.1 million, a
decrease of 20 percent over last year's comparable quarter. Medical sales in
North America, excluding sales to the U.S. government, during the fourth
quarter of fiscal 2009 were $3.4 million, a decrease of 24 percent over last
year's comparable quarter. Total sales in the veterinary market for the
fourth quarter of fiscal 2009 were $19.6 million, up 5 percent over last
year's comparable quarter. Veterinary reagent disc sales for the fourth
quarter of fiscal 2009 were $13.2 million, an increase of 7 percent compared
to the same period last year.

The company ended the quarter with $74.9 million in cash, cash equivalents and
investments. As of March 31, 2009, the company had a total of $20.8 million
in short-term investments and $4.9 million in long-term investments.

Clint Severson, chairman and chief executive officer of Abaxis, commented,
"While the impact of the weak economy took its toll during the quarter, we are
pleased with the overall results for the year and we look forward to fiscal
2010. Given current economic conditions we are pleased with the solid
double-digit (12 percent) annual growth in the recurring revenue component of
our business, maintaining solid gross margins and selling more than 5 million
reagent discs during the fiscal year, a milestone for the company. We are
also gratified with the initial market acceptance of our recently introduced
VetScan Canine Heartworm Rapid Tests."

"With regards to the financial condition of the company, Abaxis is in a very
strong position with cash and investments approaching $75 million and a
balance sheet with no long-term debt. Our dedication over the years to
operating this company on a conservative financial basis has served us well in
the past and particularly so during the current global macro-economic
downturn. We believe that as the economy works its way through the recession,
Abaxis is well positioned to resume a strong growth trajectory."

"An important contributor to that growth trajectory will be the process
improvements and product manufacturing quality that have been achieved in the
past 18 months across our entire manufacturing platform under the watchful eye
of Don Wood, our vice president of operations. Don has reshaped our
manufacturing processes and has focused the energy and innovative spirit of
our team to achieve significant efficiencies in the production of leading-edge
point-of-care technology. The Board of Directors have elected to promote Don
Wood to the position of Chief Operations Officer, effective April 22, 2009,
and he will be an integral part of the executive management team of Abaxis.
We appreciate all of Don's efforts to this point and we expect even greater
contributions going forward," concluded Mr. Severson.

Conference Call
Abaxis has scheduled a conference call to discuss its results at 4:15 p.m.
Eastern Time on April 29, 2009. Participants can dial (877) 356-5706 or (706)
643-0580 to access the conference call, or can listen via a live Internet web
cast, which is available in the Investor Relations section of the company's
website at http://www.abaxis.com. A replay of the call is available by
visiting http://www.abaxis.com for the next 30 days or by calling (800)
642-1687 or (706) 645-9291, access code 93292011, through May 2, 2009. This
press release is also available prior to and after the call via Abaxis'
website or the Securities and Exchange Commission's website at
http://www.sec.gov.

About Abaxis
Abaxis develops, manufactures and markets portable blood analysis systems for
use in any veterinary or human patient-care setting to provide clinicians with
rapid blood constituent measurements. The system consists of a compact, 5.1
kilogram (11.2 pounds), portable analyzer and a series of single-use plastic
discs, called reagent discs that contain all the chemicals required to perform
a panel of up to 13 tests on veterinary patients and 14 tests on human
patients. The system can be operated with minimal training and performs
multiple routine tests on whole blood, serum or plasma samples. The system
provides test results in less than 12 minutes with the precision and accuracy
equivalent to a clinical laboratory analyzer.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To supplement its financial statements presented in accordance with United
States generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), Abaxis uses operating
income per share. This non-GAAP financial presentation is not a measurement
of performance under GAAP in the United States of America. Management uses
this measure in comparing Abaxis' operating results with historical
performance and believes it provides meaningful and comparable information to
management and investors to assist in their review of Abaxis' performance
relative to prior periods and its competitors.

This press release includes, and our conference call will include, statements
that constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Reform Act"), including but not
limited to statements related to Abaxis' cash position, financial resources
and potential for future growth, process improvements and product
manufacturing quality and efficiencies in future production of our products.
Abaxis claims the protection of the safe-harbor for forward-looking statements
contained in the Reform Act. These forward-looking statements are often
characterized by the terms "may," "believes," "projects," "expects,"
"anticipates," or words of similar import, and do not reflect historical
facts. Specific forward-looking statements contained in this press release or
in Abaxis' conference call may be affected by risks and uncertainties,
including, but not limited to, those related to the market acceptance of the
company's products and the continuing development of its products, required
United States Food and Drug Administration clearance and other government
approvals, risks associated with manufacturing and distributing its products
on a commercial scale free of defects, risks related to the introduction of
new instruments manufactured by third parties, risks associated with entering
the human diagnostic market on a larger scale, risks related to the protection
of the company's intellectual property or claims of infringement of
intellectual property asserted by third parties, risks related to condition of
the United States economy, risks involved in carrying of inventory and other
risks detailed under "Risk Factors" in Abaxis' Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q
for the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2008 and Abaxis' other periodic
reports filed from time to time with the United States Securities and Exchange
Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the
statements were made. Abaxis does not undertake and specifically disclaims
any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

Financial Tables on Following Pages

ABAXIS, INC.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(In thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)

Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended
March 31, March 31,
2009 2008 2009 2008

Revenues $26,338 $26,738 $105,562 $100,551
Cost of revenues 11,663 12,176 46,937 45,507
Gross profit 14,675 14,562 58,625 55,044

Operating expenses:
Research and development 2,245 1,862 8,361 6,966
Sales and marketing 6,330 6,023 24,712 23,689
General and administrative 1,902 1,921 7,757 6,681
Total operating expenses 10,477 9,806 40,830 37,336

Income from operations 4,198 4,756 17,795 17,708
Interest and other income
(expense), net 131 516 1,271 2,096
Income before income taxes 4,329 5,272 19,066 19,804
Income tax provision 1,745 1,960 7,053 7,301
Net income $2,584 $3,312 $12,013 $12,503

Net income per share:
Basic net income per share $0.12 $0.15 $0.55 $ 0.58
Diluted net income per share $0.12 $0.15 $0.54 $ 0.56

Shares used in the calculation
of net income per share:
Weighted average common
shares outstanding - basic 21,912 21,674 21,826 21,499
Weighted average common
shares outstanding - diluted 22,302 22,393 22,324 22,261

ABAXIS, INC.
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(Unaudited and in thousands)

March 31, March 31,
2009 2008
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $49,237 $17,219
Short-term investments 20,776 6,991
Trade receivables, net 21,983 20,873
Inventories, net 15,735 18,657
Prepaid expenses 957 427
Net deferred tax asset - current 4,676 2,426
Total current assets 113,364 66,593
Long-term investments 4,886 35,463
Property and equipment, net 14,798 14,599
Intangible assets, net 5,175 375
Other assets 24 5
Net deferred tax asset - non-current 2,464 3,868
Total assets $140,711 $120,903

Current liabilities:
Accounts payable $3,963 $6,421
Accrued payroll and related expenses 3,698 4,277
Other accrued liabilities 1,150 1,369
Deferred revenue 1,024 807
Warranty reserve 1,714 1,219
Total current liabilities 11,549 14,093

Non-current liabilities:
Deferred rent 137 286
Deferred revenue 1,550 1,146
Warranty reserve 583 729
Total non-current liabilities 2,270 2,161

Shareholders' equity:
Common stock 117,846 109,031
Retained earnings (accumulated deficit) 9,046 (2,967)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss - (1,415)
Total shareholders' equity 126,892 104,649
Total liabilities and shareholders'
equity $140,711 $120,903

Non-GAAP Operating Income Per Share
(In thousands, except per share data)

Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended
March 31, March 31,
2009 2008 2009 2008
Shares used in the calculation
of operating income per share
(non-GAAP):
Weighted average common
Shares outstanding - basic 21,912 21,674 21,826 21,499
Weighted average common
Shares outstanding - diluted 22,302 22,393 22,324 22,261

Non-GAAP operating income per
share - basic $0.19 $0.22 $0.82 $0.82
Non-GAAP operating income per
share - diluted $0.19 $0.21 $0.80 $0.80

Revenues by Geographic Region
(In thousands)

Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended
March 31, March 31,
2009 2008 2009 2008
North America $22,241 $21,962 $87,801 $83,830
International 4,097 4,776 17,761 16,721
Total revenues $26,338 $26,738 $105,562 $100,551

Revenues by Customer Group
(In thousands)

Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended
March 31, March 31,
2009 2008 2009 2008
Medical Market $5,077 $6,309 $24,796 $22,764
Veterinary Market 19,581 18,593 74,046 71,091
Other 1,680 1,836 6,720 6,696
Total revenues $26,338 $26,738 $105,562 $100,551

SOURCE Abaxis, Inc.

Clint Severson, Chief Executive Officer of Abaxis, Inc., +1-510-675-6500; or
Joe Dorame, Robert Blum or Joe Diaz, all of Lytham Partners, LLC,
+1-602-889-9700, for Abaxis, Inc.