Interesting Looking Company...

Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) expects its revenue to climb 40% this year from $600.8 million in 2007 as more hospitals buy and ramp up usage of the company's expensive robotic surgical system, the company said Thursday. Shares of Intuitive, which soared last year but have recently been more than $100 below the 52-week high, recently traded at $291.55 in after-hours trading. That's up considerably from Thursday's close at $254 following an 8.1% climb during the regular trading session.

Intuitive reported net income that more than doubled to $49.2 million in the recent quarter, helped by the sale of 78 da Vinci systems, up from 50 sales a year earlier. Twenty machines were sold to existing customers and 26 were sold outside the U.S. The company is forecasting system revenues, tied to shipments of da Vinci units, to rise about 30% in 2008.

System sales are important, but so is the growth in procedures because Intuitive collects usage-related revenue tied to the sale of accessories, system service and training. "System utilization has steadily increased and currently averages about three procedures per system per week across the installed base," Gong said. The worldwide installed base of da Vinci machines reached 795 at the end of the fourth quarter. The system today has grown on the back of prostate removal surgery, and hysterectomies represent a fast growth area. According to Gong, the company sees prostatectomy procedures growing by about 40% this year and hysterectomy procedures growing by about 150%.

The fourth quarter tends to be the strongest quarter for system sales, Gong noted. Intuitive sees first-quarter revenue down from the fourth quarter, but then growing sequentially in subsequent quarters. The average selling price per da Vinci machine reached a high of $1.38 million in the fourth quarter, helped by sales of a newer model and sales outside the U.S. that benefited from the weak dollar.

The average selling price on the year was about $1.33 million, which Intuitive expects will also be the average price in 2008. Intuitive sees gross margins in 2008 between 69% and 70%.