Intuitive Surgical Sees Q1 Revenue Below Street - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (ISRG), the industry leader in robotic-assisted surgery, announced that it expects revenue to be approximately $465 million, down 24% compared with $611 million for the first quarter of 2013. Analysts currently expect first quarter revenue of $537.90 million.

The company also announced a pre-tax charge of $67 million to reflect estimated costs of settling a number of product liability legal claims against the company.

The claims are related to alleged complications from surgeries performed with certain versions of Monopolar Curved Scissors or MCS instruments that were the subject of a recall in 2013 and with a first-generation MCS tip cover that was the subject of a market withdrawal in 2012. These estimated settlement amounts apply to tolled legal claims, the earliest of which were initiated in October of 2012.