Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) announced today that its fourth-quarter net sales represent an approximate decline of 6.8% year-over-year.
Marlborough, Mass.-based Boston Scientific’s estimation of $2.71 billion in fourth-quarter revenue brings its full-year 2020 sales total to approximately $9.91 billion, marking a 7.7% total decline from 2019.
Wall Street analysts on average had predicted $2.86 billion in revenue in Q4.
The company highlighted that, within its organic results (which saw a fourth-quarter revenue decline of 8% year-over-year), it there was a negative impact associated with the conversion of U.S.-based Watchman customers to a consignment inventory model and the transition to the next-generation Watchman FLX left atrial appendage closure device, according to a news release.
Despite the negative impact made by the transition, both Boston Scientific and analysts are bullish on the future of Watchman, with CEO Mike Mahoney offering optimism on the momentum the system currently has back in December, followed by UBS Investment Bank listing the company among its 21 most compelling stock investment selections for 2021, citing Watchman as a potential growth driver.
Boston Scientific managed year-over-year fourth-quarter revenue increases of 1.5% in its medsurg segment, mainly driven by recovering procedural trends amid the COVID-19 pandemic and favorable site of service mix. However, the company saw a -6.1% drop in rhythm and neuro, then a -12% decrease in its cardiovascular business.
Along with Watchman, which surpassed 150,000 cumulative implants worldwide, Boston Scientific cited fourth-quarter successes with its WaveWriter Alpha spinal cord stimulator portfolio, including recent FDA approval after a European launch in the previous quarter.
Shares of BSX took a hit today, trading down -4.3% at $34.86 per share in midday trading. MassDevice’s MedTech 100 Index, which includes stocks of the world’s largest medical device companies, was down slightly.