PALO ALTO, Calif., Jan. 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Varian Medical Systems (NYSE:VAR) today is reporting net earnings of $0.91 per diluted share in the first quarter of fiscal year 2014, up 6 percent from $0.86 in the year-ago quarter. Varian's company-wide revenues totaled $712 million for the first quarter of fiscal year 2014, up 5 percent from the year-ago quarter. Varian ended the first quarter with a $2.8 billion backlog, down 1 percent from the end of the first quarter of fiscal year 2013.

"We are pleased with our first quarter earnings performance," said Dow R. Wilson, CEO of Varian Medical Systems. "Continued demand for Oncology services and X-ray imaging components drove growth in revenues during the quarter. Product mix and improved quality costs contributed to strong gross margin performance for the quarter. Operating earnings rose slightly, even with a significant increase in R&D investment."

The company finished the first quarter of fiscal year 2014 with $971 million in cash and cash equivalents and $481 million of debt. Cash flow from operations for the first quarter was $43 million. During the first quarter of fiscal year 2014, the company spent $156 million to repurchase approximately 2 million shares of common stock.

Oncology Systems
Oncology Systems' first quarter revenues totaled $541 million, up 3 percent from the same quarter of fiscal year 2013. First-quarter gross orders were $533 million, up 5 percent versus the year-ago quarter, with a 13 percent gain in North America and a 2 percent decline outside North America. Markets outside North America represented 52 percent of Oncology gross orders for the first quarter of fiscal year 2014. (The attached consolidated statement of earnings provides gross and net orders for the company and the business segments. Also for comparison purposes, a quarterly breakout of reclassified product and service revenues and cost of revenues for fiscal years 2013 and 2012 is attached.)

"Strong demand for new equipment drove double digit Oncology order growth in North America where we won long-term multi-million dollar supply agreements with two large hospital systems," said Wilson. "Demand for radiosurgery products and conversion of competitors' software and hardware, including several aging Siemens machines, also drove order growth in North America. Gross orders were relatively flat in EMEA while slowdowns in equipment purchases in Japan and China led to an order decline in Asia."

"We believe the international markets remain healthy," said Wilson. Early in the second quarter, Varian entered into an agreement with the Algerian Ministry of Health to supply $51 million in equipment, software and services for six treatment centers over the next five years.

X-Ray Products
First quarter revenues for the X-Ray Products business were $145 million, up 9 percent from the year-ago quarter. X-Ray Products' first quarter gross orders were $108 million, down 19 percent from the year-ago quarter, principally due to the timing of order placements. "Shortly after the close of the quarter, we booked over $20 million in panel and tube orders," Wilson said.

"X-Ray Products' panel revenues grew in double digits during the quarter with the help of market traction for our new mammography and cone beam imaging products," Wilson said. "Both gross and operating margins for X-Ray Products improved versus the year-ago quarter."

Separately, the company is announcing the execution of an expanded three-year agreement to supply an estimated $515 million of imaging components to Toshiba. As was previously announced, the company plans to add 120,000 square feet to its production facility in Salt Lake City.

Other
The company's Other category, including the Security and Inspection Products business, the Varian Particle Therapy business, and the Ginzton Technology Center, recorded first quarter revenues of $25 million versus $21 million in the year-ago quarter. Gross orders for the Other category were $14 million for the first quarter, up $5 million from the year-ago quarter.

The company has now received FDA 510(k) clearance for its ProBeam(TM) proton therapy system. The company has contracts to install the ProBeam system at several centers around the world, including four in the United States, one in Saudi Arabia and one in Russia.

Outlook
"The company is executing its marketing and operational strategies effectively and we believe we are on track for hitting our fiscal year 2014 growth targets," said Wilson. "For the fiscal year, we continue to believe that total company revenues could increase by about 6 to 8 percent over the prior fiscal year. Net earnings per diluted share for the fiscal year could be in the range of $4.22 to $4.34. We expect total company revenues for the second quarter of fiscal year 2014 to be about equal to the year-ago quarter when proton revenues were high. Net earnings per diluted share for the second quarter could be in the range of $1.00 to $1.04."

Investor Conference Call
Varian Medical Systems is scheduled to conduct its first quarter fiscal year 2014 conference call at 2 p.m. PT today. To hear a live webcast or replay of the call, visit the investor relations page on the company's web site at www.varian.com/investor where it will be archived for a year. To access the call via telephone, dial 1-877-869-3847 from inside the U.S. or 1-201-689-8261 from outside the U.S. The replay can be accessed by dialing 1-877-660-6853 from inside the U.S. or 1-201-612-7415 from outside the U.S. and entering confirmation code 424753. The telephone replay will be available through 5 p.m. PT, Friday, January 24, 2014.

Varian Medical Systems, Inc., of Palo Alto, California, is the world's leading manufacturer of medical devices and software for treating cancer and other medical conditions with radiotherapy, radiosurgery, and brachytherapy. The company supplies informatics software for managing comprehensive cancer clinics, radiotherapy centers and medical oncology practices. Varian is a premier supplier of tubes and digital detectors for X-ray imaging in medical, scientific, and industrial applications and also supplies X-ray imaging products for cargo screening and industrial inspection. Varian Medical Systems employs approximately 6,473 people who are located at manufacturing sites in North America, Europe, and China and 72 sales and support offices around the world. For more information, visit http://www.varian.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
Except for historical information, this news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements concerning industry outlook, including growth drivers; the company's future orders, revenues, backlog, or earnings growth; future financial results; market acceptance of or transition to new products or technology such as our Edge(TM) radiosurgery system, TrueBeam(TM) and radiographic flat panel detectors, image-guided radiation therapy, stereotactic radiosurgery, filmless X-rays, proton therapy, and security and inspection, and any statements using the terms "could," "should," "believe," "expect," "outlook," "targets," or similar statements are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause the company's actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. Such risks and uncertainties include global economic conditions; the impact of the Affordable Health Care for America Act (including excise taxes on medical devices) and any further healthcare reforms (including changes to Medicare and Medicaid), and/or changes in third-party reimbursement levels; currency exchange rates and tax rates; demand for the company's products; the company's ability to develop, commercialize, and deploy new products such as the TrueBeam platform; the company's ability to meet Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other regulatory requirements for product clearances or to comply with FDA and other regulatory regulations or procedures; changes in the regulatory environment, including with respect to FDA requirements; challenges associated with the successful commercialization of the company's particle therapy business; the effect of adverse publicity; the company's reliance on sole or limited-source suppliers; the impact of reduced or limited demand by purchasers of certain X-ray products, including those located in Japan; the company's ability to maintain or increase margins; the impact of competitive products and pricing; the potential loss of key distributors or key personnel; challenges to public tender awards and the loss of such awards or other orders; and the other risks listed from time to time in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which by this reference are incorporated herein. The company assumes no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements in this release because of new information, future events, or otherwise.

FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:

Elisha Finney (650) 424-6803
elisha.finney@varian.com

Spencer Sias (650) 424-5782
spencer.sias@varian.com


A summary of earnings and other financial information follows.



     Varian Medical Systems,
      Inc. and Subsidiaries

     Consolidated Statements of
      Earnings
     (Unaudited)



     (Dollars and shares in
      millions, except per share
      amounts)                    Q1 QTR      Q1 QTR

                                        2014        2013
                                        ----        ----


     Gross orders                     $655.4      $651.7

       Oncology Systems                533.3       508.8

       X-Ray Products                  108.2       133.8

       Other                            13.9         9.1


     Net orders                        609.0       619.2

       Oncology Systems                489.6       476.9

       X-Ray Products                  107.5       133.2

       Other                            11.9         9.1


     Order backlog                   2,766.5     2,785.2


     Revenues                          711.5       678.4

       Oncology Systems                541.4       524.3

       X-Ray Products                  145.0       132.9

       Other                            25.1        21.2


     Cost  of  revenues                401.9       387.3


     Gross margin                      309.6       291.1

       As a percent of revenues         43.5%       42.9%



     Operating expenses

       Research and development         58.0        47.1

       Selling, general and
        administrative                 109.6       106.5


     Operating earnings                142.0       137.5

       As a percent of revenues         20.0%       20.3%


     Interest income, net                0.4         0.7


     Earnings before taxes             142.4       138.2


     Taxes on earnings                  44.4        42.9


     Net earnings                      $98.0       $95.3

       As a percent of revenues         13.8%       14.0%




     Net earnings per share -
      basic                            $0.92       $0.87

     Net earnings  per share -
      diluted                           0.91        0.86


     Shares used in the
      calculation of net earnings
      per share:

     Average shares outstanding -
      basic                            106.0       109.3

     Average shares outstanding -
      diluted                          107.4       111.1



                                                                                                                                                                               
                                                                 Varian Medical Systems, Inc. and Subsidiaries
                                                                                                                                                                               
                                                                     Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
                                                                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                                               
    (In thousands)                                                                                                                December 27,                  September 27,
    -------------
                                                                                                                                  
                                                                2013                                                                                 2013  (1)
                                                                                                                                  
                                                             (Unaudited)
                                                             ----------
                                                                                                                                                                               
    Assets
                                                                                                                                                                               
    Current assets
                                                                                                                                                                                              
        Cash and cash equivalents                                                                                                                     $971,193                    $1,117,861
                                                                                                                                                                                              
        Short-term investment                                                                                                                           73,981                        62,700
                                                                                                                                                                                              
        Accounts receivable, net                                                                                                                       708,226                       698,254
                                                                                                                                                                                              
        Inventories                                                                                                                                    561,802                       535,223
                                                                                                                                                                                              
        Deferred tax assets and other                                                                                                                  291,147                       290,745
                                                                                                                                                                                              
    Total current assets                                                                                                                             2,606,349                     2,704,783
                                                                                                                                                     ---------                     ---------
                                                                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                                                              
    Property, plant and equipment                                                                                                                      732,667                       715,991
                                                                                                                                                                                              
        Accumulated depreciation and amortization                                                                                                     (411,662)                     (400,660)
                                                                                                                                                                                              
    Property, plant and equipment, net                                                                                                                 321,005                       315,331
                                                                                                                                                       -------                       -------
                                                                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                                                              
    Goodwill                                                                                                                                           226,955                       225,335
                                                                                                                                                                                              
    Other assets                                                                                                                                       236,925                       223,025
                                                                                                                                                                                              
    Total assets                                                                                                                                    $3,391,234                    $3,468,474
                                                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                                               
    Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity
                                                                                                                                                                               
    Current liabilities
                                                                                                                                                                                              
        Accounts payable                                                                                                                              $176,860                      $194,272
                                                                                                                                                                                              
        Accrued expenses                                                                                                                               309,106                       320,884
                                                                                                                                                                                              
        Deferred revenues                                                                                                                              389,029                       389,479
                                                                                                                                                                                              
        Advance payments from customers                                                                                                                153,233                       160,644
                                                                                                                                                                                              
        Product warranty                                                                                                                                48,666                        39,050
                                                                                                                                                                                              
       Current maturities of long-term debt                                                                                                             56,250                        56,250
                                                                                                                                                        ------                        ------
                                                                                                                                                                                              
    Total current liabilities                                                                                                                        1,133,144                     1,160,579
                                                                                                                                                                                              
    Other long-term liabilities                                                                                                                        133,501                       144,048
                                                                                                                                                                                              
    Long-term debt                                                                                                                                     425,000                       450,000
                                                                                                                                                                                              
    Total liabilities                                                                                                                                1,691,645                     1,754,627
                                                                                                                                                     ---------                     ---------
                                                                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                                               
    Stockholders' Equity
                                                                                                                                                                                              
    Common stock                                                                                                                                       105,316                       106,491
                                                                                                                                                                                              
    Capital in excess of par value                                                                                                                     638,079                       637,084
                                                                                                                                                                                              
    Retained earnings and accumulated other comprehensive loss                                                                                         956,194                       970,272
                                                                                                                                                                                              
    Total stockholders' equity                                                                                                                       1,699,589                     1,713,847
                                                                                                                                                     ---------                     ---------
                                                                                                                                                                                              
    Total liabilities and stockholders' equity                                                                                                      $3,391,234                    $3,468,474
                                                                                                                                                                                              




    (1)       The condensed consolidated
              balance sheet as of
              September 27, 2013 was
              derived from audited
              financial statements as of
              that date.




                                Varian Medical Systems, Inc. and Subsidiaries

                       Reclassified Product and Service Revenues and Cost of Revenues

                                                 (Unaudited)



                                               FY 2013                                   FY 2012
                                               -------                                   -------

    (In Millions)                 Q113   Q213   Q313   Q413   FY 2013              Q112  Q212   Q312  Q412  FY 2012
                                  ----   ----   ----   ----   -------              ----  ----   ----  ----  -------

    Revenues

       Product                          $468.0  546.5  503.6    537.6  2,055.7          $433.9  523.0 503.4   543.7 2,004.0

       Service & Other                   210.4  221.9  222.6    232.3    887.2           191.4  197.3 201.9   212.4   803.0

     Total Revenues                     $678.4  768.4  726.2    769.9  2,942.9          $625.3  720.3 705.3   756.1 2,807.0


    Cost of Revenues

       Product                          $294.9  347.5  316.6    336.5  1,295.5          $269.9  333.2 305.4   338.8 1,247.3

       Service & Other                    92.4  101.3   99.1    104.9    397.7            86.6   90.4  92.3    94.1   363.4

    Total Cost of
     Revenues                           $387.3  448.8  415.7    441.4  1,693.2          $356.5  423.6 397.7   432.9 1,610.7


    Gross Margin

       Product                          $173.1  199.0  187.0    201.1    760.2          $164.0  189.8 198.0   204.9   756.7

       Service & Other                   118.0  120.6  123.5    127.4    489.5           104.8  106.9 109.6   118.3   439.6

    Total Gross
     Margin                             $291.1  319.6  310.5    328.5  1,249.7          $268.8  296.7 307.6   323.2 1,196.3

SOURCE Varian Medical Systems