St. Jude Medical Lifts Full-year Outlook As Q3 Results Beat View

(RTTNews) - Medical equipment maker St. Jude Medical, Inc. (STJ) on Wednesday reported a 49 percent increase in profit for the third quarter from last year, reflecting fewer one-time charges and a slight increase in sales. Both revenue and adjusted earnings beat analysts' expectations. Looking ahead, the company raised its earnings outlook for fiscal 2013.

Daniel Starks, chief executive officer of St. Jude Medical said, "Our third quarter results demonstrate that we are successfully implementing our program to accelerate sales growth on a sustainable basis while strengthening our program with selective and disciplined acquisitions."

In the Cardiac Rhythm Management or CRM segment, sales for the third quarter declined 1 percent from the year-ago period to $682 million. The business includes implantable cardioverter defibrillator or ICD and pacemaker products. ICD product sales increased 1 percent, while pacemaker sales decreased 5 percent.

Atrial Fibrillation product sales increased 7 percent to $235 million and improved 10 percent on a currency-neutral basis. Total cardiovascular sales, which include vascular and structural heart products, edged up 1 percent from last year to $317 million.

Neuromodulation product sales rose 3 percent from the year-ago period on a reported as well as currency neutral basis to $104 million.

Third-quarter net earnings attributable to the company were $262 million or $0.90 per share, up from $176 million or $0.56 per share in the prior-year period.

The latest quarter's results include after-tax charges of $0.05 per share, primarily relating to acquisition-related costs and continued actions associated with our previously announced restructuring activities. The company also recognized an income tax benefit of $0.05 per share, related to the settlement of domestic tax audits.

The prior-year quarter's results include restructuring charges of $0.21 per share and impairment charges of $0.04 per share. In addition, the prior-year results include an income tax benefit of $0.02 per share.

Adjusted earnings per share for the latest quarter were $262 million or $0.90 per share, compared to $261 million or $0.83 per share in the same period last year. On average, 23 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.89 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Net sales for the quarter rose 1 percent to $1.34 billion from $1.33 billion in the year-ago period. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $1.32 billion.

Unfavorable foreign currency translation impact comparisons decreased sales by about $26 million. On a currency neutral basis, net sales rose by about 3 percent from last year.

Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, St. Jude forecast consolidated adjusted net earnings in a range of $0.95 to $0.97 per share and revenue in a range of $1.315 billion to $1.395 billion. Analysts expect earnings of $0.96 per share for the quarter on revenues of $1.39 billion.

For fiscal 2013, St. Jude now forecasts adjusted net earnings in a range of $3.72 to $3.74, up from the prior range of $3.70 to $3.73 per share. The company projects revenues in a range of $5.394 billion to $5.474 billion.

Street expects the company to report earnings of $3.72 per share on revenues of $5.45 billion.

STJ closed Tuesday's trading at $55.38, down $0.65 on a volume of 2.66 million shares.