Covidien and C.R. Bard were among the devicemakers to report earnings this week. Covidien reported that Q1 2011 net sales were $2.77 billion--up five percent from the $2.64 billion reported a year ago. And the medical device segment drove a lot of the growth.
Medical device sales of $1.88 billion in Q1 were 11 percent above the $1.69 billion seen in the same quarter last year. Growth was driven by acquisitions, new products and increased volume, partially offset by divestitures.
Excluding special items, Covidien earned 95 cents a share from continuing operations, Reuters notes. Analysts on average expected 81 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
"Integration of our 2010 acquisitions--Aspect, ev3 and Somanetics--is proceeding as planned, and all three businesses are meeting or exceeding our expectations," explains Richard Meelia, company chairman, president and CEO. "We continue to make the growth-driving investments that will propel our business forward, such as our substantial increase in R&D spending and our growth initiative for emerging markets. Although we face some market-related softness in certain businesses, we are confident that our solid portfolio additions, robust pipeline of significant offerings across our businesses and strategic investments funded by our strong cash flow will drive superior operational results for the remainder of 2011 and beyond."
Meanwhile, Bard reported that Q4 2010 net sales were $717.1 million, an increase of six percent over the prior-year period. Its earnings were higher than expected, helped by better sales of its vascular, oncology and surgical products, as Reuters notes. Excluding special items, Bard earned $1.54 a share. Analysts had expected the company to earn $1.48 a share, excluding special items, on revenue of $718.7 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
"In 2010, we achieved another year of solid results in a challenging environment," says company Chairman and CEO Timothy Ring. "Bard continued to drive revenue growth through innovation, providing clinicians with differentiated products to better meet the needs of patients. We reached record levels of organic research and development, business development, gross margin, and sales-force deployment, all key components of our growth strategy. Once again, we delivered strong EPS growth while investing and building for our future."
- get Covidien's release
- read Reuters story on Covidien
- see Bard's release
- read the Reuters report