Vascular Solutions reports seventh year of double-digit revenue growth

Vascular Solutions (NASDAQ:VASC) on Tuesday reported its seventh consecutive year of double-digit revenue growth.

’The fourth quarter completed another very successful year for Vascular Solutions,” CEO Howard Root said in the company’s statement.

The Maple Grove, Minnesota, company makes makes peripheral and coronary artery devices. After competing head-to-head with St. Jude Medical, the company shifted gears in 2001 and now focuses on several niche markets that have been ignored by larger manufacturers.

Vascular Solutions’ continued growth suggests the strategy is still working. Net revenue for the fourth quarter ending Dec. 31 was $20 million, up 15 percent compared to the previous year’s fourth quarter. Net revenue for the year ending Dec. 31 was also up 15 percent to a record-setting $78.4 million.

In the company’s statement, Root singled out its GuideLiner catheter for surpassing “all our expectations” in 2010. The devices are designed to help surgeons stick tubes into hollow organs or passageways. Sales of the catheter were up 43 percent sequentially from the third quarter, and physician response has been “outstanding,” Root said.

Several of the company’s products have reached the mature stage, Root said, and the company has a full pipeline of internally-generated new products. It’s also evaluating adding more products via acquisitions.

Along those lines, Vascular Solutions announced last week that it has acquired the assets of Zerusa Limited, an Ireland-based device company that manufacturers hemostasis valves. Vascular has been distributing the company’s products in the United States since 2007.

“We are very optimistic about our ability to continue with our consistent sales growth and success in 2011 and beyond,” Root said.