Electrochem is a worldleader in the design and manufacture of technology solutions for industrialapplications. Greatbatch Medical develops and manufactures criticaltechnologies used in medical devices for the cardiac rhythm management,neuromodulation, vascular access and orthopaedic markets. (NYSE: GB) provides top-quality technologies to industries thatdepend on reliable, long lasting performance through its brands GreatbatchMedical and Electrochem. To access the replay, dial 888-286-8010 (U.S.) or617-801-6888 (International) and enter the passcode 91410012 About Greatbatch, Inc.Greatbatch, Inc.
The scheduled conference call will be webcastlive and is accessible through the Company`s website at Anaudio replay will also be available beginning from 11:00 a.m E.T on May 7,2009 until May 14, 2009. Conference CallThe Company will host a conference call on Thursday May 7, 2009 at 8:00 a.m.E.T to discuss these results. Adjustedoperating income excludes non-recurring costs associated with plantconsolidations and integration of acquisitions of approximately $10 million to$13 million. Financial GuidanceConsistent with previous guidance, our current expectations is for 2009 annualrevenue to be in the range of $550 million to $600 million and for adjustedoperating income to be between 11.0% and 13.0% of sales in 2009. We continue toactively manage our business so that we will be better prepared to meet theneeds of our customers once the markets recover.
This decreaseis primarily related to the slowdown in the oil and gas markets, which causedcustomers to reduce inventory levels and push back projects. ElectrochemFirst quarter 2009 sales for the Electrochem business segment were $17.7million, compared to $19.6 million in the first quarter of 2008. First quarter year-over-yearcomparisons for Orthopaedic sales include the benefit of a full quarter ofrevenues from the 2008 acquisitions of approximately $8 million, partiallyoffset by foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations of approximately $3million and other market conditions. Orthopaedic product line revenues were $34.1 million for the quarter, comparedto $27.8 million for first quarter 2008. This increase wasprimarily due to higher sales of introducer products that was partially offsetby lower catheter revenue.
First quarter revenues for the Vascular Access product line were $10.7 million,compared to the prior year quarter revenues of $9.6 million. We continue to work with our customers toprovide them cost effective technological advantages to enable them to bringsolutions to market, which ultimately will drive our revenue growth. The first quarter`s results benefited from strongfeedthrough, coated component and medical battery revenue that was partiallyoffset by lower capacitor sales. In addition, wecontinued to make progress with the on-going consolidation of our Blaine andExton facilities, and have accelerated the Teterboro consolidation into ourRaynham facility for more efficient capacity utilization," commented Thomas J.Mazza, Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer. "We delivered strong operating margins this quarter, which is attributable tovarious cost cutting and consolidation initiatives and implementation of theGreatbatch operating model across all of our business lines. This decrease was primarily due to a one-time contractualraw material inventory purchase related to the acquisition of our ChaumontFrance facility. (See Table B for reconciliations of adjusted amounts to GAAP) Consistent with our expectations, cash flows from operations for the firstquarter of 2009 were approximately break-even compared to $3.1 million for the2008 first quarter.