Dentsply International reported record sales in 2011 due in large part to its acquisition of Astra Tech, a provider of dental implants, but the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan put a damper on the company's annual profits, particularly in orthodontics.
Dentsply reported a record $738 million in net sales for the fourth quarter of 2011 (end-December 31), a 30% increase over net sales of $568.2 million for the same quarter a year ago, according to the company. But net income attributable to Dentsply for the fourth quarter was $40.6 million, down from $67.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2010.
Net sales for the full year 2011 were a record $2.5 billion, a 14.3% increase over net sales of $2.2 billion in the prior year. Net income attributable to Dentsply for 2011 was $244.5 million, compared with $265.7 million for 2010.
"Astra Tech added over $150 million in sales for the quarter and over $200 million in sales for the four months under our ownership," Bret Wise, Dentsply chairman and CEO, said in a conference call with analysts February 16.
