Zimmer (NYSE:ZMH) shares are down this morning after the orthopedic medical device company reported lower 3rd-quarter profits and narrowed its earnings guidance for the rest of the year.
Warsaw, Ind.-based Zimmer posted profits of $154.4 million, or 90¢ per share, on sales of $1.07 billion for the 3 months ended Sept. 30, for a profit slide of 13.3% on sales growth of 4.8% compared with Q3 2012.
Adjusted to exclude 1-time items, earnings per share were $1.25, a penny ahead of the consensus on Wall Street.
"Zimmer achieved accelerated top-line growth in the third quarter, fueled by our innovative new product offerings and the focused execution of our global sales teams," president & CEO David Dvorak said in prepared remarks. "For the balance of 2013, we expect to continue building stockholder value through the ongoing execution of our growth, operational excellence and capital deployment strategies."
But Zimmer narrowed its outlook for the rest of 2013, saying it now expects adjusted EPS of $5.70 on sales growth of 4.5%, down from prior guidance for adjusted EPS of $5.70-$5.80 and sales growth of 4.0%-5.0%.
Investors reacted by sending ZMH shares down 3.5% to $86.78 apiece as of about 10 a.m. today.