Hamilton Thorne, Inc. Announces Continued Revenue And Net Income Growth For The Quarter Ended March 31, 2015

BEVERLY, MA and TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - May 20, 2015) -

Hamilton Thorne Ltd. (TSX VENTURE: HTL), a leading provider of precision laser devices and advanced image analysis systems for the fertility, stem cell and developmental biology research markets, today reported operational and financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2015.

The Company’s strategy to focus on its core products in established markets continues to generate substantial improvements in financial performance and yield significant operating leverage. Revenues were up 7% for the quarter to $2.1 million. The Company continued to generate dramatic gains in net income (up 147%) and EBITDA (up 64%) attributable to improved gross profit margins coupled with strong expense controls. Cash flow from operations increased 220% to $336,000.

“We are extremely pleased to have performed so well in Q1 given the significant headwinds we faced as a result of the strong US dollar. Product sales growth softened somewhat, particularly in Europe and Canada where we saw as much as a 20% swing in exchange rates cause customers to defer buying,” said David Wolf, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hamilton Thorne Ltd.

Mr. Wolf continued, “We are currently focusing more of our activities and resources on expanding the breadth of the products and services that we offer through our own development efforts and a strategy of selective acquisitions of complementary products and companies in our field. We recently completed the acquisition of the Oosight® product line and I am delighted to report that we have completed our integration and systems are shipping to customers.”

 Three Month Periods Ending March 31, Statements of Operations: 2015 2014 ----------------- ----------------- Sales $2,097,897 $1,965,283 Gross profit 1,315,858 1,216,858 Operating expenses 1,126,666 1,112,536 Net income 135,512 54,754 EBITDA 204,248 124,253 Basic earnings per share $0.002 $0.001 Diluted earnings per share $0.002 $0.001 

All amounts are in US dollars, unless specified otherwise, and results, with the exception of EBITDA, are expressed in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”).

The Company announced that it has granted a total of 1,742,000 stock options to purchase common shares pursuant to the Company’s incentive stock option plan. The options are exercisable at Cdn$0.36 per share, and expire ten years from the date of grant. A total of 1,275,000 of these options were granted to the Company’s Directors, CEO, CTO and CFO. Grants to non-employee Directors vest over three years; grants to employees vest over four years.

Financial statements and accompanying Management Discussion and Analysis for the periods are available on www.sedar.com and the Hamilton Thorne website.

About Hamilton Thorne Ltd. (www.hamiltonthorne.com)

Hamilton Thorne designs, manufactures and distributes precision laser devices and advanced imaging systems for the fertility, stem cell and developmental biology research markets. It provides novel solutions for Life Science that reduce cost, increase productivity, improve results and enable research breakthroughs in regenerative medicine, stem cell research and fertility markets. Hamilton Thorne’s laser products attach to standard inverted microscopes and operate as micro-surgical instruments, enabling a wide array of scientific applications and IVF procedures. Its imaging systems improve outcomes in human IVF clinics and animal breeding facilities and provide high-end toxicology analyses.

Hamilton Thorne’s growing customer base includes pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, fertility clinics, university research centers, and other commercial and academic research establishments worldwide. Current customers include world-leading research labs such as Harvard, MIT, Yale, McGill, DuPont, Monsanto, Charles River Labs, Jackson Labs, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, and Oxford and Cambridge.

Neither the Toronto Venture Exchange, nor its regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the exchange), accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

The Company has included earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, (“EBITDA”) as a non-IFRS measure, which is used by management as a measure of financial performance. See section entitled “Use of Non-IFRS Measures” in the Company’s Management Discussion and Analysis for the periods covered for further information.

Certain information in this press release may contain forward-looking statements. This information is based on current expectations that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict including the risk that the Company may not be able to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals, as applicable. Actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements unless and until required by securities laws applicable to the Company. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties is contained in filings by the Company with the Canadian securities regulators, which filings are available at www.sedar.com