(Reuters) — Medical device maker Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) posted a 19% fall in fourth-quarter profit as litigation charges more than doubled.
Marlborough, Mass.-based Boston Scientific said its profits fell 19.4% to $87 million, or 6¢ per share, in the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2014.
Excluding charges for restructuring, litigation and other costs, the company earned 22¢ per share, edging past Wall Street expectations of 21¢, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Total revenue rose 2.7% to $1.89 billion, just shy of the average analyst estimate of $1.9 billion.
For 2015, the company forecast revenue of $7.3 billion to $7.5 billion, below the average analyst estimate of $7.59 billion.
Boston Scientific said it expects to earn an adjusted profit in the range of 88¢ to 92¢ per share for the year. Analysts on average estimate 90¢ per share.
For the full year, Boston swung to black ink, posting profits of $267 million, or 20¢ per share, on 3.3% sales growth to $7.38 billion. Adjusted EPS were 84¢. again a penny ahead of The Street.
Boston Scientific and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) are awaiting a New York federal court decision in what could culminate into the final leg of a more than 6-year battle between the 2 firms. J&J is seeking more than $7.2 billion in damages against Boston Scientific after the latter won a controversial bidding war for device maker Guidant, which was eventually swallowed for $27 billion.
Meanwhile, Boston Scientific also remains embroiled in a transvaginal mesh litigation, with over 24,000 claims against it in U.S. state and federal courts over the urinary incontinence devices. Last November, it was ordered to pay $18.5 million for injuries caused by the devices in a 3rd courtroom loss.