IntriCon Corporation (NASDAQ: IIN), a designer, developer, manufacturer and distributor of miniature and micro-miniature body-worn devices, today announced financial results for its fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2012.

For the 2012 fourth quarter, the company reported net sales of $16.7 million, an increase of 15.1 percent from the prior-year period. IntriCon had net income of $332,000, or $0.06 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $(352,000), or $(0.06) per diluted share, for the 2011 fourth quarter.

“We are pleased to have delivered growth across all markets for both the quarter and year – in fact our body-worn device segment had a record year,” said Mark S. Gorder, president and chief executive officer of IntriCon.

“Our medical business posted its strongest revenue quarter ever, driven by increased activity from our largest customer, Medtronic, among others. In hearing health, our non-conventional personal sound amplifier products, drove modest quarterly growth despite continued softness in the conventional hearing health market. And in professional audio communications we delivered significant gains, with sales increasing 44 percent over the 2011 fourth quarter on strong demand for securities products domestically and headset products internationally.”

As a percentage of 2012 fourth-quarter sales, healthcare-related revenue (hearing health and medical combined) totaled 72.7 percent (32.8 percent hearing health and 39.9 percent medical), with professional audio communications at 27.3 percent. This compares to 2011 healthcare-related revenue of 78.2 percent (37.4 percent hearing health and 40.8 percent medical), with professional audio communications at 21.8 percent.

Gross profit margins increased to 23.5 percent from 23.1 percent in the prior-year fourth quarter. The gain was primarily due to higher sales volume, partially offset by an unfavorable product mix within the professional audio communications market.

Said Gorder, “As part of our margin enhancement program, we continued to transfer select, labor-intensive programs to our Singapore and Indonesia facilities during the fourth quarter. In an effort to drive further margin improvement and remain competitive from a cost standpoint, we will continue that shift in 2013. We’re also working to increase the percentage of proprietary IntriCon technology in all of our products by investing in our core technologies—this also will have a favorable effect on margins as we move through the 2013 year.”

IntriCon reduced its operating expenses in the fourth quarter 2.8 percent, despite higher sales, reflecting the company’s ongoing focus on expense management.

Full-Year Results
For the 2012 year, IntriCon reported net sales of $63.9 million and net income of $709,000, or $0.12 per diluted share. This is up from 2011 net sales of $56.1 million and a net loss of $(1.4 million), or $(0.25) per diluted share. Hearing health sales rose 13.2 percent over the prior year, with medical and professional audio up 6.7 percent and 29.4 percent, respectively. Included in 2012 full-year results was a one-time gain of $822,000, or $0.14 per diluted share, from the previously disclosed sale of the company’s 50-percent ownership interest in Global Coils, to its Switzerland-based joint venture partner, Audemars SA.

As a percentage of 2012 sales, healthcare-related revenue totaled 75.5 percent (37.2 percent hearing health and 38.3 percent medical), with professional audio communications at 24.5 percent. This compares to 2011 healthcare-related revenue of 78.4 percent (37.5 percent hearing health and 40.9 percent medical), with professional audio communications at 21.6 percent.

Gross profit margins for 2012 were 23.4 percent, up from 22.6 percent in the prior year, primarily due to volume increases, partially offset by an unfavorable product mix.

hi HealthInnovations
As previously disclosed, IntriCon satisfied hi HealthInnovations’ initial product ramp-up needs for hearing aids early in 2012. As a result, minimal new orders were received in the second half of 2012. The company remains optimistic about the long-term prospects of this program.

Said Gorder, “hi HealthInnovations continues to make progress building the infrastructure to provide high-quality, affordable hearing health care to a broad range of customers. During the year, UnitedHealthcare expanded its hi HealthInnovation' program to more than 26 million people enrolled in its employer-sponsored and individual health benefit plans. We expect that this will open up additional opportunities for IntriCon and that new orders will be received in the second half of 2013.”

Business Update
Within IntriCon’s medical business, year-over-year sales rose 12.6 percent in the fourth quarter. The growth, as previously stated, was primarily due to increased activity from various large medical customers, most notably Medtronic. Near term, the company expects medical sales going forward to continue to strengthen.

On the cardiac front, IntriCon continues to deliver demo units of its two FDA-approved wireless cardiac diagnostic monitoring (CDM) devices—Centauri™ and Sirona™— to targeted customers to compile feedback. Additionally, the company is expanding its CDM sales and marketing infrastructure, to further advance its cardiac program and elevate its devices with market-demanded features.

Said Gorder, “Our technology connects patients and caregivers in non-traditional ways. We help shift the point of care from traditional settings such as hospitals, to non-traditional settings like the home. We accomplish this with devices that are more advanced, smaller and lightweight. In 2013, we will focus more capital and resources in sales and marketing to expand our reach to other large medical device manufacturers and healthcare companies.”

Within hearing health, IntriCon continues to experience softness in the conventional market. Said Gorder, “The 13.2 percent growth we experienced during the year came primarily from our hi HealthInnovations work, and non-conventional personal sound amplifier products. And in 2013, while we don’t anticipate hi HealthInnovations to ramp until the second half of the year, there are several growth opportunities that give us optimism for the longer term to strengthen our position as a supplier to the value hearing health market.

“First, we continue to develop new technology to improve the user experience. Our Audion6™, a six-channel hearing aid amplifier, is a notable example. Audion6 is a feature-rich amplifier that fits a wide array of applications and has a complete set of proven adaptive features.

“Second, hearing health technology is evolving beyond traditional hearing aid applications. Devices can now wirelessly stream music, television, audio or a companion’s voice—making them significantly more versatile and effective than traditional hearing devices. In addition, this technology and functionality holds great potential in the non-conventional personal sound amplifier market.”

Fourth-quarter professional audio communications sales remained very strong, up more than 44 percent from the prior-year period. The company completed delivery on its significant contract with the Singapore government during the quarter, providing technically advanced headsets to be worn in difficult listening environments. Professional audio sales going forward are expected to moderate to more historical levels.

Heightened Focus on Marketing
Said Gorder, “Over the past five years we have invested heavily in our technology portfolio and global manufacturing infrastructure. Better understanding customer and market needs, and evolving our technology portfolio to meet those needs, as well as developing new products and product platforms, is the next step in our strategic plan.

“To that end, we will be increasing investments in marketing and sales in 2013 to advance us down that path. That process has already begun and we expect to add additional staff and resources throughout the year to build customer relationships, market knowledge and sales.”

Looking Ahead
Concluded Gorder, “As a business, our primary goals are to build revenue, improve margins and grow our bottom line. We plan to do so by: placing a heightened focus on marketing; raising the percentage of proprietary IntriCon technology we incorporate in our products; and leveraging our low-cost manufacturing footprint.

“Consistent with historical revenue cycles we anticipate a more moderate 2013 first quarter in comparison to our 2012 fourth quarter. That being said, we are optimistic about our opportunities in 2013 and our ability to execute and deliver growth.”

Conference Call Today
As previously announced, the company will hold an investment community conference call today, Wednesday, February 13, 2013, beginning at 4:00 p.m. CT. Mark Gorder, president and chief executive officer, and Scott Longval, chief financial officer, will review fourth-quarter performance and discuss the company’s strategies. To join the conference call, dial: 1-877-941-6009 (international 1-480-629-9818) and provide the conference identification number 4596685 to the operator.

A replay of the conference call will be available one hour after the call ends through 11:59 p.m. CT on Tuesday, February 19, 2013. To access the replay, dial 1-800-406-7325 (international 1-303-590-3030) and enter access code: 4596685.

About IntriCon Corporation
Headquartered in Arden Hills, Minn., IntriCon Corporation designs, develops and manufactures miniature and micro-miniature body-worn devices. These advanced products help medical, healthcare and professional communications companies meet the rising demand for smaller, more intelligent and better connected devices. IntriCon has facilities in the United States, Asia and Europe. The company’s common stock trades under the symbol “IIN” on the NASDAQ Global Market. For more information about IntriCon, visit www.intricon.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
Statements made in this release and in IntriCon’s other public filings and releases that are not historical facts or that include forward-looking terminology are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements may be affected by known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that are beyond IntriCon’s control, and may cause IntriCon’s actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results, performance and achievements expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and other factors are detailed from time to time in the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011. The company disclaims any intent or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, regardless of whether new information becomes available, future developments occur or otherwise.