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| CardioMEMS heart failure monitoring system--Courtesy of St. Jude Medical |
St. Jude Medical ($STJ) reported modest gains in third-quarter sales, supported by new products that include its CardioMEMS heart failure monitoring system.
The Minnesota-based devicemaker reported a 3% gain in net sales of $1.372 billion for the quarter compared to $1.338 billion for the same period last year. Its cardiac rhythm management (CRM) unit continued to lead the company's sales, posting $688 million in total sales in the third quarter versus $683 million a year ago.
However, sales growth in St. Jude's international markets was slower than expected, forcing the company to adjust its outlook for the fourth quarter. International CRM sales dipped 2% to $315 million for the quarter, and ICD sales slipped by 3% to $160 million. International sales of pacemakers were off 1% to $155 million.
The company highlighted the completion of its $200 million acquisition of NeuroTherm during the quarter, making St. Jude the only medical device manufacturer with a chronic pain line that offers both radiofrequency ablation and spinal cord stimulation. Additionally, its CardioMEMS HF System won approval from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services for New Technology Add-On Payment.
"We think the CardioMEMS heart failure monitoring system is the single most important new growth driver, … and this technology has the potential to become a new $1 billion annual revenue opportunity once the market has been developed on a global basis," CEO Daniel Starks said during the earnings call.
Starks added that the product was responsible for $4 million in revenue in the third quarter with the majority of that money earned in September alone.
St. Jude expects fourth-quarter revenue to fall in the range of $1.39 billion to $1.47 billion with full-year revenue to come in between $5.57 billion and $5.65 billion. The change reflects a decline in sales in the Middle East and parts of Eastern Europe, as well as a slump in many of its lines in developed and emerging markets, Starks told analysts.
- see the earnings release
- check out the earnings transcript
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