Heska posts record revenues but acquisition costs force net loss

LOVELAND — Heska Corp. (Nasdaq: HSKA) said it had its best quarter in company history with a year-over-year sales increase of 81% from the same period in 2019 but still posted a net loss.

The Loveland-based veterinary diagnostics company said it generated $56.6 million in revenue in the third quarter of 2020, with $34.4 million from U.S. sales and $22.2 million from sales abroad.

That revenue figure beat Wall Street consensus estimates by $7.72 million, according to data from finance site Seeking Alpha.

“Our teams delivered record revenue and near-universal outperformance across key metrics that led us to believe that we will perform at the top of the ranges for most, if not all, of the full-year targets,” CEO Kevin Wilson said in a statement.

However, it posted a net loss of $5.2 million for the period, which it attributed to costs related to the string of international acquisitions it made this year, including the $110 million deal to buy the European branch of competitor Covetrus Inc. (Nasdaq: CVET). That acquisition is estimated to give Heska large portions of the German, Spanish and French veterinary diagnostics market.

That brought its adjusted earnings-per-share figure to a loss of 57 cents, missing analyst estimates by 28 cents.

Heska’s stock was virtually unchanged in trading Thursday, sitting at $124.03 as of 12:45 p.m. Mountain Time.

© 2020 BizWest Media LLC