Zimmer Biomet (NYSE: ZBH) shares took a hit today on fourth-quarter results that just missed the consensus forecast.
The ortho device giant has been wrestling with the effects of the COVID-19 omicron variant on sales. It is also managing unanticipated developments in the product tenders that are part of China’s ongoing centralization of its medical device procurement.
Along with its quarterly earnings, Zimmer Biomet announced that its board declared a pro-rata dividend of 80.3% of the outstanding common stock of ZimVie, payable on March 1, 2022, confirming that day as the expected completion date of the previously announced spinoff of its spine and dental businesses.
On the back of the announcements, shares of ZBH were down more than 7% at $113.97 per share by midday trading today. MassDevice’s MedTech 100 Index — which includes stocks of the world’s largest medical device companies — was up slightly.
The Warsaw, Indiana–based company posted losses of $84 million, or 40¢ per share, on sales of $2.04 billion for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2021, for a bottom-line slide into the red from profits of more than $333 million this time last year on a sales decline of 2.3%.
Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share were $1.95, 3¢ behind Wall Street, where analysts were looking for sales of $2.07 billion.
“As we expected, the ongoing COVID pandemic continued to pressure our business in Q4. The quarter was particularly impacted throughout December due to hospital staffing shortages and the omicron variant surge worldwide,” Zimmer Biomet Chair, President and CEO Bryan Hanson said in a news release. “I remain confident in our ZB strategy and incredibly proud of our ZB team. We continued to execute in the quarter and are focused on delivering on our mission and driving value for all stakeholders.”
Zimmer Biomet said it expects its annual revenues to range between a decline of 4% and breakeven at 0%. The company projects adjusted EPS of between $6.40 and $6.80.
“With management seemingly factoring ‘worst-case’ assumptions about COVID into its 2022 guidance, we believe that the guidance is likely to prove conservative and we reiterate our Buy rating,” said Needham & Co. analyst Mike Matson.
