Shares in LivaNova (NSDQ:LIVN) fell today despite the medical device maker posting fourth quarter and full year 2018 earnings that topped expectations on Wall Street.
The London-based company posted losses of $210.6 million, or $4.34 per share, on sales of $297 million for the three months ended December 31, seeing losses grow 88.5% while sales grew 6.7% compared with the same period during the previous year.
Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share were $1.12, just ahead of the $1.10 consensus on Wall Street where analysts expected to see sales of $295 million, which the company topped.
For the full year, LivaNova posted losses of $189.4 million, or $3.91 per share, on sales of approximately $1.11 billion, seeing losses grow 654.6% while sales grew 9.4% compared with the previous year.
After adjusting to exclude one-time items, earnings per share were $3.55, just in line with the consensus on Wall Street where analysts expected to see sales of $1.11 billion, which the company met.
“We had a strong fourth quarter, which allowed us to achieve all of our targets for 2018. Neuromodulation benefited from commercial expansion in our rest of world region and continued strong performance of our SenTiva vagus nerve stimulation therapy system, in the U.S. and Europe. Cardiovascular maintained solid growth, driven by double-digit sales growth for our S5 heart-lung machine and our oxygenator businesses. We are pleased with the progress of our recently acquired advanced circulatory support business, which grew in the mid-20% range in the fourth quarter. All of this allowed LivaNova to increase our full-year adjusted diluted earnings per share from continuing operations by 7.3% compared to full-year 2017. We intend to continue this momentum throughout 2019, taking actions that strengthen LivaNova’s commitment to improving the lives of patients around the world,” CEO Damien McDonald said in a prepared statement.
LivaNova released guidance for its 2019 year, expecting to see sales growth of between 5% and 7% with adjusted diluted EPS of between $3.55 and $3.75.
“We are entering 2019 with significant momentum to accelerate growth. We continue to focus on our initiatives to fuel sales growth, invest in our TRD program, launch new products and improve our margins. We are investing in advancing our pipeline and implementing programs to reach new patient populations around the globe. We believe these efforts will enable LivaNova to most effectively serve the needs of our customers and patients and create quality, long-term value for our shareholders,” CEO McDonald said in a press release.
Shares in LivaNova have fallen approximately 5.7% today, at $91.67 as of 9:52 a.m. EST.
Last week, LivaNova said that it won national reimbursement through Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare for its Perceval sutureless aortic heart valve intended to treat aortic valve disease.
