St. Jude Medical (NYSE:STJ) posted sales and profit declines for the 4th quarter and 2012, but beat analysts’ expectations anyway.
The St. Paul, Minn.-based medical device company reported annual profits of $752 million, or $2.39 per share, on sales of $5.50 billion during the 12 months ended Dec. 29, 2012. That amounts to a 4% decline in earnings and a 2.5% sales drop compared with 2011.
Fourth-quarter profits were $120 million, or 39¢ per share, on sales of $1.37 billion, for declines of 9.0% and 1.9%, respectively, according to a press release.
St. Jude said it expects net 1st-quarter earnings of 91¢-93¢ and full-year earnings of $3.68-$3.73.