Edwards Lifesciences post Street-beating Q1 earnings

Shares in Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) fell slightly today despite the medical device maker posting Street-beating first quarter earnings results that saw the growth on the bottom line of over 20%.

The Irvine, Calif.-based company posted profits of $249.7 million, or $1.18 per share, on sales of $993 million for the three months ended March 31, for bottom-line growth of 20.9% while sales grew 11% compared with the same period during the previous year.

Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share were $1.32, well ahead of the $1.22 consensus on Wall Street where analysts expected too see sales of $989.6 million, which the company also topped.

“It’s been an exciting start to 2019 with multiple positive developments for the company and the patients we serve. Most notably, we announced groundbreaking results of the PARTNER 3 Trial, which demonstrated the superiority of our Sapien 3 transcatheter valve technology.  This marks a turning point in the advancement of a therapy that transforms the lives of patients suffering from aortic stenosis.  We are also pleased to report solid first quarter performance, consistent with our expectations, driven by our broad portfolio of new technologies.  We are more convinced than ever in the tremendous opportunity to drive success for many years to come through our differentiated strategy of focus, innovation and leadership,” chair & CEO Michael Mussallem said in a press release.

The company reiterated its sales guidance, expecting to post between $3.9 billion and $4.3 billion. Edwards lifted its full year 2019 adjusted EPS, now expecting to see between $5.10 and $5.35.

For its upcoming second quarter, Edwards said it expects to see sales of between $1.02 billion and $1.08 billion, with adjusted EPS of between $1.27 and $1.37.

“The exciting developments that occurred so far this year reinforce our confidence in our focused innovation strategy and our longer term outlook, and we anticipate a year of value creation as we pursue important therapies that will benefit many more patients.  We look forward to launching a number of new technologies, as well as achieving important milestones across all of our product lines.  We are confident that our differentiated strategy and focus on leadership will continue to create value and benefit the patients we serve,” Mussallem said in a prepared statement.

Shares in Edwards have fallen approximately 0.8% so far in after hours trading, at $179.50 as of 4:53 p.m. EDT.

Last week, Edwards closed its $98 million acquisition of CAS Medical Systems and its non-invasive brain tissue oxygenation monitoring tech.