Hill-Rom Holdings (NYSE:HRC) settled 1 of 2 patent spats with Stryker (NYSE:SYK) over 10 patents covering motorized hospital bed wheels, with Stryker forking over nearly $3.8 million to put the case to rest, according to regulatory filings.
Batesville, Indiana-based Hill-Rom said it accrued $3.6 million from the settlement, net of legal expenses. Both companies said the outcome of the 2nd case has yet to be determined, according to the filings.
Kalamazoo, Mich.-based Stryker said that case involves 9 patents covering "electrical network communications for hospital beds," according to 1 of the filings.
"We continue to vigorously defend ourselves in this suit," Stryker said.
"No trial date for the remaining lawsuit has been set," Hill-Rom added.
Last month Hill-Rom beat analysts’ expectations for its 4th-quarter and fiscal 2012 results, posting Q4 profits of $39.2 million, or 63¢ per share, on sales of $330.1 million for the 3 months ended Sept. 30. That represents a sales increase of 4.4%, but a bottom-line decrease of 38.3%. For the full year, Hill-Rom reported profits of 120.8 million, or $1.94 per share, on sales of $1.20 billion, representing sales growth of 7.1% but a profit slide of 9.4%. Analysts on The Street were expecting adjusted EPS of $2.23, a penny under HRC’s adjusted EPS of $2.24.
For its part, Stryker disappointed Wall Street with its 3rd-quarter numbers, reporting profits of $353 million, or 92¢ per share, on sales of $2.05 billion during the 3 months ended Sept. 30, for bottom-line growth of 8.0% and a meager top-line addition of 1.0%, compared with the same period last year.
