St. Jude Medical (NYSE:STJ) got a little love from Wall Street after posting 2011 earnings results that beat analysts’ forecasts by 1 cent.
The St. Paul, Minn.-based medical device maker posted $5.61 billion in sales for 2011, an 8.7% bump over $5.17 billion in 2010.
Non-adjusted earnings slid to $864 million, or $2.64 earned per diluted share, representing a 4.7% decrease from the $907 million, or $2.75 per diluted share, earned in 2010.
Excluding special items, however, St. Jude reported earnings per share of $3.28, 1 cent more than analysts expected and a 9% increase over adjusted EPS of $3.01 in 2010.
The news was well-received on The Street, where STJ shares rose 3.3% to $39.83 as of about 11:30 a.m. today.
The device giant had a mixed bag of headline-making news in 2011, ranging from CEO Daniel Starks’ detention in India, to positive clinical trial reports, to FDA approval for the first quadripolar pacing system on the U.S. market and a Riata defibrillator lead recall that some are beginning to compare to the Sprint Fidelis pullback.
Through it all, St. Jude posted strong growth for its cardiovascular portfolio in 2011, including vascular and structural heart products. The division posted sales of $1.34 billion, up 29% from 2010. Growth was led by vascular sales, which spiked 64% to $597 million.
Neuromodulation sales also saw a healthy bump to $419 million, up 10% from the previous year.
The company posted flat sales of about $3.03 billion for its cardiac rhythm management business, including implantable cardioverter defibrillators and pacemakers. Atrial fibrillation sales grew 16% to $822 million.
St. Jude’s 4th quarter was hit particularly hard by 1-time items, with earnings coming in at $163 million, a 20.9% slide from the same time in 2010. Excluding 1-time charges, adjusted EPS grew 14.7% to 86 cents. Sales for the quarter grew 4.2% to $1.41 billion.
Looking forward, St. Jude forecast 2012 adjusted EPS of $3.43 to $3.48 per share. Analysts are more optimistic, anticipating $3.52 per share for the year.
