Shares in Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) have risen in after-hours trading today after the medical device maker beat expectations on Wall Street with its fourth quarter and full fiscal 2017 earnings results.
The Irvine, Calif.-based company posted profits of $35.7 million, or 17¢ per share, on sales of $888.5 million for the 3 months ended Dec. 31, seeing the bottom line shrink 77.5% while sales grew 15.7% compared with the same period during the previous year.
Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share were 94¢, just ahead of the 91¢ consensus on Wall Street where analysts were expecting to see sales of $867.1 million.
For the full year, Edwards posted profits of $622.1 million, or $2.88 per share, on sales of $3.4 billion, seeing the bottom-line grow 9.2% while sales grew 15.9% compared with the previous fiscal year.
After adjusting to exclude one-time items, earnings per share were $3.80, ahead of the $3.77 consensus on Wall Street where analysts were expecting to see sales of $3.4 billion, which the company also met.
“We are pleased to report robust fourth quarter results including double-digit organic revenue growth in each region. Our company finished the quarter and year strong, both at 16 percent sales growth. Our strong 2017 growth was driven by clinician and patient preferences for our innovative and meaningful therapies. Profitability was also strong in 2017, with adjusted EPS growing over 30 percent, even as we continued to invest aggressively in our technology pipeline and infrastructure,” chair & CEO Michael Mussallem said in prepared remarks.
For the full year, Edwards Lifesciences said it expects to post between $3.5 and $3.9 billion in sales, with adjusted earnings per share of between $4.43 and $4.63.
For its first quarter in 2018, Edwards said it expects to post sales of between $900 and $950 million with adjusted EPS of between $1.04 and $1.14.
Shares in Edwards Lifesciences are up 3.7% in after hours trading today, at $131.65 as of 4:47 p.m. EST.
