SAN RAMON, Calif.—CooperCompanies (NYSE: COO) announced late yesterday financial results for its fiscal first quarter ended Jan. 31, 2023. Revenue increased 9 percent year-over-year to $858.5 million. CooperVision (CVI) revenue increased 4 percent to $581.3 million, and CooperSurgical (CSI) revenue was up 23 percent to $277.2 million. Commenting on the results, Al White, Cooper's president and CEO said, "We started the year on a positive note with double-digit organic revenue growth and strong operational performances at both CooperVision and CooperSurgical.

"We're continuing to focus on operational execution combined with prudent investment activity to drive long-term sustainable growth," he said.

CooperCompanies reported a gross margin of 65 percent compared with 66 percent in last year’s first quarter. Operating margin was 17 percent compared with 17 percent in last year’s first quarter. Interest expense of $26.1 million compared with $6.6 million in last year's first quarter was driven by higher interest rates and a higher average debt balance, the company said.

Net debt outstanding at quarter end was $2.6 billion (total debt excluding unamortized debt issuance costs less cash and cash equivalents) down $47.7 million from last quarter. Cash provided by operations of $166.6 million offset by capital expenditures of $83.0 million resulted in free cash flow of $83.6 million.

Net income for the third quarter was $84.6 million compared to $95.3 million for Q1 in 2022.

CooperVision revenue of $581.3 million improved 4 percent from last year’s first quarter, up 11 percent in constant currency, and 10 percent organically. The growth was led by 9 percent year-to-year growth in multifocal lenses and 4 percent growth in toric lenses.

CooperSurgical revenue of $277.2 million improved 23 percent from last year's first quarter (up 26 percent in constant currency, up 10 percent organically). Office and surgical led the way with a 28 percent gain year-over-year while fertility grew at a rate of 16 percent in the quarter.

Based on its first quarter performance, the CooperCompanies updated its fiscal year 2023 financial guidance with projected revenue of $3,496 million to $3,553 million, and organic growth of 7 percent to 9 percent. CVI revenue of $2,352 million to $2,388 million (organic growth of 8 percent to 9 percent) and CSI revenue of $1,144 million to $1,166 million (organic growth of 5 percent to 7 percent) were also updated.