The Sunnyvale, California-based surgical robotics leader reported profits of $545 million, or $1.51 per diluted share, for the three months ended March 31, 2024, up 53% from the first quarter of 2023.
Total revenue was $1.89 billion for the quarter, up 11% from the same period a year ago. Intuitive cited procedure volume growth and an increase in its installed base of systems.
Global da Vinci procedures grew approximately 16% from the same quarter a year ago. Intuitive placed 313 da Vinci surgical systems during the quarter, compared to 312 from the prior-year period.
Intuitive’s total installed base climbed to 8,887 systems, up 14% from a year ago. Eight of the systems placed in the first quarter of 2024 were Intuitive’s next-generation da Vinci 5.
“The core measures of our business remained healthy this quarter, as we reached meaningful milestones across several parts of our business,” Intuitive CEO Gary Guthart said in a news release. “We are pleased by feedback from our measured da Vinci 5 launch as well as the continued adoption of SP and Ion, and we remain focused on delivering the goals we share with our customers, including improving patient outcomes.”
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Intuitive reported an 18% increase in sales of instruments and accessories to $1.16 billion, driven by the growth of da Vinci procedure volume and a 90% growth in Ion procedure volume.
Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share were $1.50, $0.09 ahead of The Street, where analysts were looking for EPS of $1.41 on sales of $1.87 billion.
The company increased its forecast for full-year procedure growth from a range of 13-16% to 14-17%.
“The low end of the range assumes further weakness and bariatric procedures along with challenges in China from increasing provincial robotic competition and delayed tenders impacting capital placements and therefore procedure growth,” Intuitive Head of Investor Relations Brian King said on a call with executives to discuss the results. “We also assume there is no benefit patient backlog in the year. At the high end of the range, we assume bariatrics continues at flat to slightly positive growth rates and factors in China don’t have a significant impact on our business. In addition, we assume any backlog of patients would decline throughout the year.”
Investors reacted positively to the results, with ISRG shares rising 3% to $385 apiece in after-hours trading.
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