Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE:BSX) managed to put some black ink on the books during the third quarter, despite posting a top-line slide of 5.4 percent.
The Natick, Mass.-based medical device maker posted profits of $190 million, or 12 cents per diluted share, on sales of $1.92 billion during the three months ended Sept. 30. That compares with a net loss of $94 million, or 6 cents per diluted share, on sales of $2.03 billion.
“During the quarter we made good progress toward the execution of both our strategic plan and the necessary financial discipline, which resulted in a strong operating performance despite the challenges facing our industry,” president and CEO Ray Elliott said in prepared remarks. “These results reflect our recovery from the CRM ship hold and our successful focus on regaining share. We also made progress on our restructuring initiatives and the realignment and diversification of our product portfolio, two essential components of our plan for future growth.”
Sales of Boston Scientific’s two flagship product lines, cardiac rhythm management devices and stents, both suffered during the quarter. CRM sales of pacemakers and defibrillators were $550 million worldwide, down 9.5 percent compared with Q3 2009. Drug-eluting and bare-metal stent sales dropped 12.4 percent, to $396 million, compared with the third quarter last year.
Elliott said the cash thrown off by the company’s various business lines is expected to cover any “investments in high-growth opportunities that will complement our existing product offerings, as well as consistently reduce our debt obligations.”
Looking ahead, Boston Scientific forecast fourth-quarter sales of $1.93 billion to $2.0 billion and adjusted earnings per share of between 15 cents and 18 cents per share. For the full year, the company predicted sales of $7.73 billion to $7.80 billion and adjusted earnings of between 63 cents and 66 cents per share.
BSX shares closed at $5.97 today, down 3.7 percent.
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