Is Cutera finally starting to roll?

Cutera, Inc., a leading provider of laser and other light-based aesthetic systems for practitioners worldwide, reported financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2005. Key financial highlights are as follows:

Fourth quarter 2005, compared with the same quarter in 2004:

-- Revenue increased by 49% from $16.1 million to $24.0 million

-- Operating margins improved from 17% to 29%

-- Earnings per diluted share climbed from $0.16 to $0.41

-- Cash generated by operations improved from $3.9 million to $7.6 million

Full year 2005, compared with full year 2004:

-- Revenue increased by 44% from $52.6 million to $75.6 million

-- Operating margins improved from 10% to 22%

-- Earnings per diluted share climbed from $0.31 to $1.00

-- Cash generated by operations more than doubled, from $9.2 million to $20.4 million

-- Cash and marketable investments increased by $25.7 million from $66.3 to $92.0 million.

"These impressive results are attributable to the positive reception that our products have been receiving in the marketplace and to the expansion of our sales force," said Kevin Connors, President and Chief Executive Officer. "In 2005, we experienced significant financial leverage in our business model. We increased gross margins and decreased each of our operating expenses, as a percent of revenue.

"We remain committed to aggressively investing in our business to exploit the growth opportunities in this robust market. Specifically, we are focused on the following key initiatives, which are yielding measurable returns as proven by our results in 2005: (i) worldwide sales force expansion -- we ended 2005 with 47 direct sales territories in North America, up from 32 territories at the end of 2004; (ii) new aesthetic solutions and product introductions; and, (iii) marketing to the broad and expanding market of physicians outside of the traditional dermatology and plastic surgery physician specialties, including the emerging medi-spa market. That market is comprised of physicians who offer aesthetic treatments in a spa environment."

Revenue highlights for the full year 2005, compared with the full year 2004, are as follows:

-- U.S. and international revenue increased by 57% and 19%, respectively.

-- Product revenue grew by 46%, primarily due to our premium multi-application Xeo product and the newly introduced Solera platform products.

-- Service revenue increased by 60%, primarily due to the sales of post-warranty service contracts to an increasing number of customers.

-- Revenue from Titan refills- an annuity business line introduced in late 2004 -- contributed $1.8 million in 2005.

Mr. Connors concluded, "We are very pleased with the results of our key initiatives. Our strong financial position, together with the fast-paced growth of our company, strategically position Cutera as a leading global provider of light-based aesthetic systems."

Comments

[medspaonline]

Cutera 1064 nm : Not all 1064 nm are the same. Why?

1) Cutera ND:Yag 1064 for example 10mm spot size at 60 J/cm2 fluence and a 10 ms pulse width ( I use this setting on the 4-5 treatment. ) This requires 4,700 watts of power !!!!! Almost all other 1064 cannot generate this much juice.
2) Sciton?CandelaLuminesPalamor (everything is IPL except 1064) Syneron (everything is mixed with bipolar RF - you have no choice you will always have "ice" in your drink) : 1064 nm limited to 600 watts.
10mm spot and 10ms pulse width will give you only 8 J/cm2 of power you can't remove
hair or do veins . this is totally whimpy.
10mm spot and 60 J/cm2 with 78 ms pulse duration is too long for efficient heating of fine
hair

10 ms pulse duration and 60 J/cm2 with 3 mm spot size is too small for deep penetration.

3) The disadvantages:
Shorter wavelength lasers --- like any 810 diode and flash lamps (IPL) -- like palamor
these are difficult to safely treat dark skin and tan skin in the summer.
Low power lasers especially 1064 nm --------- Cutera was first to introduce this in 1998 !
you cant treat fine black hairs with low power. I use 7mm ; 110-140 J/cm2; at 20 ms !!
Fixed pulse width with other lasers; you have to be able to change it yourself depending on the
hair.
Spot size is fixed so you cannot penetrate deep hairs.

[Denise Curtis]

I have a Lumenis One with a 1064 Yag. I was "convinenced" that I really needed it. Now, I rarely use it for anything but am very interested in your thoughts for fine hairs, wrinkle reduction, etc. Any comments would be appreciated.

[vanessa]

I manage a medical spa and we have Cutera's Xeo - Our results on laser hair removal are less than stellar, especially on skin types 1-3 and it is PAINFUL on the bikini, upper lip & underarms. The platform is very user-friendly but I would not recommend; especially since we had 6 service calls in 6 months..... OK if you are starting out or if this is an addition to your medical practice but I personally would not recommend solely using Cutera's lasers.

Laser Hair Removal - too painful and time consuming (the 770 has helped with that though)

Laser/Solar Genesis - NOT very comfortable for the technician to perform and our patient success rate is about 35% - too low for this expensive procedure. You don't obtain referrals with less than mediocre results.

Titan - painful and very time consuming (the XL hand piece is quicker but you still need the small original hand piece to treat around the eyes)

Cutera does have a great website, brochures and seminars if that is of importance to you.....

[MD]

What do all other physicians say about Cutera ?
check out "Aesthetic Trends and Technologies Awards" nonbiased vote across the country.

Have users been to the clinical forum?

I own Cutera, Candela and Lumines. I find Cutera is the best and most powerful. If you are getting substandard results, check settings. Even the best laser will not be "good" if the operator is new to this field or does not have enough clinical experience with Cutera systems.

Titan results in our office have been awesome. Titan won the award across the country over Thermage in the journal above. We just sold our Thermage. Check your settings again. This is technique driven. We use on the face upwards of 60 Joules. We are excited to try Palamor's Lux IR with higher joules.

Last note on hair: Cutera is the only 1064 nm that I can use with powers for hair in the 100 J range at 20 ms. On smaller areas, our office can completely treat hair in 2-3 sessions ! money back guarantee ! That is Cutera.

[cutera stocks TANK]

The following health care companies were removed from the Russell 2000: Altus Pharmaceuticals Inc., American Dental Partners Inc., Animal Health International Inc., Aspect Medical Systems Inc., Bionovo Inc., Cutera Inc., Cytrx Corp., Genvec Inc., Hythiam Inc., Keryx Biopharmaceuticals inc., LCA-Vision Inc., MDRNA Inc., Minrad International Inc., Neurogen Corp., Northstar Neuroscience Inc., Novacea Inc., Penwest Pharmaceuticals Co., Poniard Pharmaceuticals Inc., Santarus Inc., Somaxon Pharmaceuticals Inc., Sonic Innovations Inc., Supergen Inc., Telik Inc., Trubion Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc.

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