Medical device company Thoratec (NSDQ:THOR) took a harsh blow from Wall Street after releasing its Q1 earnings report, with shares down more than 10% by mid-day.
Thoratec posted a 7% drop in revenue and a nearly 29% drop in profits during the 3 months ended March 30, 2013. Adjusted for special charges, per-share earnings for the quarter came to 41¢, a 10¢ decline compared to the same period last year and 5¢ shy of analysts’ consensus expectations.
The company noted that it had weathered some headwinds but said that it was "on track" for the year with respect to clinical trials for its HeartMate suite of products.
"Although we faced some expected challenges in the 1st quarter, our team is responding well to our near-term priorities while also staying focused on key longer-term growth drivers, giving us confidence in Thoratec’s outlook for 2013 and beyond," president & CEO Gary Burbach said in prepared remarks. "We are focused on our longer-term initiatives and remain on track to begin pivotal clinical trials later this year for both HeartMate III and HeartMate PHP."
In total Thoratec posted $18.2 million in profit, or 31¢ per diluted share, on sales of $117.7 million during its 1st quarter. That compared with $25.5 million in profit, or 43¢ per share, on sales of $126.8 million during the same period last year.
The Pleasanton, Calif.-based company reported some substantial declines in various product lines, including a 7.9% decrease in HeartMate sales and a dramatic 34.5% slide in paracorporeal and implantable ventricular assist device sales. Those declines were partially offset by a 19.5% uptick in CentriMag revenues during the quarter.
Regionally speaking, Thoratec lost about 11.2% of its U.S. sales during Q1, which wasn’t quite made up for by a 10.9% increase in international sales, according to an SEC filing.
THOR shares were down 10.3% to $32.75 as of about 2:35 p.m. today.