ATS Medical Announces Third Quart...( - Revenue for the third quarter 2...),Health

- Revenue for the third quarter 2008 increases 32% to $16.0 million.

- Heart valve therapy products revenue rises 39.1% and ATS CryoMaze

surgical ablation products revenue grows 21.7%.

- Third quarter gross profit improves over prior year to 59.1%.

- Company raises lower end of its 2008 revenue guidance to $65 - $66

million.

MINNEAPOLIS, Nov. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ATS Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATSI), manufacturer and marketer of state-of-the-art cardiac surgery products and services, today reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 27, 2008.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040202/ATSILOGO)

Third Quarter 2008 Results

Revenue from the Company's heart valve therapy products, consisting of mechanical valves, tissue valves and repair products, was up 39.1% on a year-over-year basis to $11.8 million. The growth reflected a 35.3% increase in mechanical valve revenue, a 117.6% increase in valve repair revenue and an 88% increase in tissue valve revenue. Revenue from the Company's ATS CryoMaze(TM) surgical ablation products for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias grew 21.7% to $4.0 million. Revenue from products and services other than the Company's mechanical valves represented 34% of total revenue during the third quarter of 2008 compared with 36% in the third quarter of 2007.

Gross profit margin for the third quarter of 2008 was 59.1%, representing significant improvement from 56.3% in the third quarter of 2007. Year-over-year gross margin improvements were the result of lower product costs and increased contribution of
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