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Boston Scientific returns to profit in 3rd quarter as heart-pacing device sales stand ground
(AP) 06:23:33 PM (ET), Monday, October 19, 2009 (NATICK, Mass)
Medical device maker Boston Scientific Corp. said Monday it returned to a profit in the third quarter as sales of its heart-shocking implants held up in spite of reported hospital cutbacks.

The company's sales for the period rose 3 percent to $2.03 billion on higher revenue for implantable cardiac defibrillators, which control irregular heart rhythms.

Net income for the period was $200 million, or 13 cents per share, compared with a net loss for the same period last year of $62 million, or 4 cents per share.

Health care companies are typically seen as resilient to financial downturns, but medical device sales have declined amid cutbacks by both hospitals and patients.

Rival company St. Jude Medical recently reported a decline in sales of the cardiac devices to hospitals. But Boston Scientific said its product sales increased 5 percent to $445 million.

"So far this year ... market growth has not been as strong as expected, but our 'cardiac rhythm management' business has continued to grow, and we have not seen the slowdown in hospital stocking described by St. Jude," said CEO Ray Elliott, in a company statement.

Defibrillators use powerful electric jolts to correct irregular heart rhythms. The company also sells pacemakers, which use low-voltage electrical currents to keep hearts beating.

Boston Scientific also sells stents, which are mesh-metal tubes that are used to prop open arteries after they have been surgically cleared of plaque.

Sales of those devices rose about 1 percent to $452 million.

Excluding one-time restructuring and impairment charges, the company said it would have earned $297 million, or 20 cents per share for the period.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected expected earnings of 14 cents per share on revenue of $2.04 billion. Such estimates generally exclude one-time events.

Company shares fell 26 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $9.90 in after-markets trading.


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