Dentsply Sirona shares rise on Street-beating Q4, 2018 preliminary earnings

Shares in Dentsply Sirona (NSDQ:XRAY) rose today after the dental-focused device maker released preliminary fourth quarter and full year 2018 earnings results that topped expectations on Wall Street.

The York, Penn.-based company said that it expects to post net sales of approximately $1.06 billion and non-GAAP earnings per share of 58¢ for its fourth quarter, ahead of the Wall Street consensus of $1.03 billion and 54¢, respectively.

For the full year, Dentsply Sirona said that it expects to post sales of approximately $3.99 billion and non-GAAP EPS of $2.01, also ahead of the Wall Street consensus of $3.95 billion and $1.97, respectively.

“Although fiscal 2018 financial results were disappointing, we have taken important steps to position the company for improved financial performance. We have completed a top to bottom diagnostic of the company and are executing a major restructuring plan to accelerate growth, improve margins and simplify our business. There has been progress in multiple areas. We are operating under our new simplified organizational framework that included consolidation of our dental product groups, our regional commercial groups, and a centralized supply chain. Additionally, our focused R&D efforts have delivered a significant innovation in PrimeScan, with more innovative new products following later this year. The company’s portfolio shaping efforts resulted in the sale or exit of three underperforming business. We have also started the difficult, but necessary process of reducing our employee base by 6% to 8%, and are well on our way to achieving the targets we shared in November of 2018. The entire management team is confident that this is the right direction for Dentsply Sirona. It will allow us to drive improved operating performance and to deliver for our customers, our employees, our partners, and our shareholders,” CEO Don Casey said in a press release.

Dentsply Sirona also released guidance for 2019, saying it expects to post adjusted earnings per share of between $2.25 and $2.40 with sales of between $3.95 billion and $4.05 billion, representing sales growth of between 4% and 5%.

Shares in Dentsply Sirona are up 12.3% so far today, at $46.90 as of 9:45 a.m. EST.

In January, Dentsply Sirona and 3D printing company Carbon said they inked a partnership deal through which Dentsply will provide denture materials for use on Carbon systems.

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