Covidien (NYSE:COV) shares gained on Wall Street today after the medical device company said its fiscal 3rd-quarter earnings beat analysts’ predictions.
Mansfield, Mass.-based Covidien posted profits of $396.0 million, or 84¢ per share, on sales of $2.58 billion during the 3 months ended June 28.
That represents a profit decline of 12.6% on top-line growth of 2.9%. Adjusted to exclude 1-time items, earnings per share were 91¢, 3¢ ahead of expectations on The Street.
"We delivered a solid performance in the third quarter. Operational sales growth was in line with our expectations, but our reported sales growth was restrained by the strength of the U.S. dollar against most foreign currencies," chairman, president & CE José Almeida said in prepared remarks. "With the pharmaceuticals spin-off now behind us, we are focused on strengthening our medical devices and supplies businesses through organic growth, new products and geographic expansion."
Covidien said its medical device segment posted sales of $2.14 billion, up 3.7% compared with Q3 2012. Sales for its medical supplies business were off 0.9% at $439.0 million, according to a regulatory filing.
COV shares were trading at $63.11 apiece as of about 10:50 a.m. today, up 2.4%.
