Edwards Lifesciences 2005 Annual Report"
Our solid financial performance created a strong platform
from which we continue to grow. We met or exceeded all of our 2005 financial
goals, achieving sales in excess of $998 million and improving our gross
profit margin by more than 200 basis points. Non-GAAP net income grew
20%, and we also delivered free cash flow of $126 million. We continued
to grow and gain share in our Heart Valve Therapy and Critical Care
franchises, while improving these product lines’ profitability.
On an underlying basis, all of Edwards’ businesses posted higher
sales growth rates over last year, and presently more than 80% of our
sales come from products in #1 global market positions.
Our R&D investment, which we increased nearly 14% this
year, is yielding considerable returns, with newer
products representing a growing proportion of our
sales and further extending Edwards’ leadership in
key areas. New product introductions included our
PERIMOUNT Magna valve with ThermaFix treatment,
Theon mitral tissue valve and Geoform valve repair
ring in the U.S., as well as our PERIMOUNT Magna
mitral valve in Europe. We also unveiled one of
the most exciting new advancements in surgical heart valve
treatment — our
Ascendra minimal access heart valve system, which
enables aortic heart valve replacement to be performed
on a patient’s
beating heart. We also introduced the FloTrac sensor
and Vigileo monitor, the first innovations from a next-generation
Critical Care platform that should yield a number
of additional, less-invasive technologies in the coming
years.
