Shares in Stryker (NYSE:SYK) have fallen slightly today after the medical device maker posted first quarter earnings that topped Wall Street expectations but saw sales shrink slightly.
The Kalamazoo, Mich.-based company posted profits of $443 million, or $1.16 per share on sales of $3.2 billion for the three months ended March 31, seeing the bottom-line shrink 0.2% while sales grew 9.7% compared with the same period during the previous year.
Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share were $1.70, just ahead of the $1.60 per share consensus on Wall Street, where analysts expected too see sales of $3.2 billion, which the company met.
“We had an excellent start to 2018 with strong organic sales growth, operating margin and adjusted EPS in the first quarter. Our balanced results across businesses and regions position us well for continued positive momentum, as evidenced by our raised guidance,” chair & CEO Kevin Lobo said in a prepared statement.
Stryker released updated guidance for the rest of the year, expecting to see organic net sales growth of between 6.5% and 7% with adjusted EPS of between $7.18 and $7.25.
The company also released guidance for its upcoming second quarter, expecting to see EPS of between $1.70 and $1.75.
Shares in Stryker have fallen approximately 0.1% today, at $167.99 as of 10:57 a.m. EDT.
Last month, Stryker closed a $600 million debt offering it planned to use to buy back some of its other debt.
