Edwards Lifesciences
(NYSE: EW)
shares dipped despite first-quarter results that topped the consensus forecast.
Shares of EW were down slightly to $86.72 apiece by the close of trading today. MassDevice’s MedTech 100 Index — which includes stocks of the world’s largest medical device companies — finished the day up slightly.
The Irvine, California–based medical device maker yesterday evening posted profits of $340.5 million. That amounts to 56¢ per share on sales of $1.46 billion for the three months ended March 31, 2023.
Edwards posted an 8.9% bottom-line slide on sales growth of 8.8%. The company attributed the reduction in profits to a less favorable impact from foreign exchange. TAVR sales grew 8% to $948 million, while Edwards’ structural heart revenues grew by 12%. Critical care sales ticked up 5%.
The company noted that overall valve surgery growth came in higher than expected.
Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share totaled 62¢. That landed 1¢ ahead of expectations on Wall Street. Sales topped projections, too, as analysts forecast $1.39 billion in revenues.
Edwards looks out to 2023 with confidence
Soon-to-be retiring Edwards chair and CEO, Michael Mussallem, expressed optimism ahead of the year to come based on Edwards’ first-quarter performance.
“We are pleased with our start to 2023, which exceeded our expectations and reflected an improvement in healthcare staffing, along with strong execution of our patient-focused innovation strategy,” said Mussallem. “This encouraging start gives us increased confidence in our full-year outlook. We believe that 2023 will be an important year for Edwards as we expect a return to higher sales growth and pursue meaningful progress on our innovations to improve care for many more patients.”
Edwards upped its guidance based on what it called a “strong start to the year.” All product groups received upticks in full-year sales guidances. Meanwhile, the company projects 2023 sales to grow by 10% to 12%, rather than the previously projected 9% to 12%.
The company expects sales to reach the high end of its $5.6 billion to $6 billion range. It projects adjusted EPS to range between $2.48 and $2.60, compared to $2.45 and $2.60 previously.
This story originally ran on April 26, 2023. Updated April 27 with next-day stock price.
