Medtech giant Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) posted Street-beating figures for its 1st quarter, driven largely by growth in its transcatheter heart valves.
Sales of its Sapien suite of valves grew 11.5% year-over-year, contributing to a 2.7% increase in adjusted per-share earnings, which beat analysts’ expectations by 7¢. Total revenues increased 5.3% during Q1, but fell just shy of analysts estimates.
The California company has been making headlines this year, with regulatory wins that expanded its portfolio of Sapien THV devices. The company also got lots of ink over a long-running patent infringement battle with arch-rival Medtronic (NYSE:MDT).
Edwards recorded $5.5 million in legal fees associated with intellectual property litigation during its 1st quarter of 2014. During the same time last year the company had touted a special pre-tax gain of $83.6 million as Medtronic made initial payments associated with the ongoing patent battle.
In total Edwards posted profits of $60.3 million, or 56¢ per diluted share, on sales of $522.4 million during the 3 months ended March 31. That compared with profits of $143.9 million, or $1.24 per share, on sales of $496.7 million during the same period last year.
Excluding special charges, Edwards reported 76¢ in adjusted per-share earnings.
The news preceded a minor boost in Edwards’ shares, which gained 1.6% since the earnings report came out on Thursday. Shares were trading at $80.58 apiece as of about 1:10 p.m. EST today, up 0.4% on the day.
