St. Jude Medical (NYSE:STJ) reported an above-expectations gain for its core implantable cardiac defibrillator business today, prompting 1 analyst to suggest that the ICD sector overall might be on the rebound.
St. Paul, Minn.-based St. Jude posted profits of $270 million, or 93¢ per share, on sales of $1.45 billion for the 3 months ended June 28, for bottom-line growth of some 134.8% on sales growth of 3.2%.
Adjusted to exclude 1-time items, earnings per share were $1.02 apiece, 2¢ ahead of expectations on Wall Street and a penny ahead of its own forecast.
"The progress we made during the 2nd quarter positions us to accelerate sales growth while continuing to deliver EPS leverage. Our growth is based on differentiated medical technology that improves patient outcomes and reduces the cost of health care," president & CEO Daniel Starks said in prepared remarks.
St. Jude Medical said it now expects full-year adjusted EPS of $3.96 to $4.01, up from prior guidance of $3.95 to $4.00, on sales of $5.64 billion to $5.76 billion (up on the lower end from prior guidance of $5.61 billion to $5.76 billion). Third-quarter adjusted EPS are pegged at 95¢ to 97¢, on sales of $1.315 billion to $1.395 billion, according to a press release.
Leerink Partners analyst Danielle Antalffy, writing in a note to investors this morning, said results for St. Jude’s implantable cardiac defibrillator business, which rose 2% to $462 million compared with Q2 2013, could augur growth for the ICD sector overall.
"Notably, STJ’s U.S. ICD sales came in modestly above our expectations – +2% y/y vs. our projected 1% growth – suggesting that: (1) Perhaps the U.S. ICD market growth is trending better following a step down in Q1; and (2) STJ continues to gain market share with Quadra despite BSX’s [MP] competitive generator launch," Antalffy wrote.
Total cardiac rhythm management sales were up 2% to $733 million, St. Jude said.