Lagging Pacemaker Sales Don't Derail St. Jude in 3Q

St. Jude Medical (NYSE:STJ) reported improved third-quarter earnings on Wednesday despite lagging sales of pacemakers and backed its full-year outlook.

The St. Paul, Minn.-based medical-device maker reported net earnings of $262 million, or 90 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier profit of $261 million, or 56 cents.

Adjusted for one-time items, earnings per share topped average analyst estimates in a Thomson Reuters poll by a penny.

Revenue for the three months ended Sept. 28 increased by 1% to $1.34 billion, beating the Street’s view of $1.32 billion.

The results "demonstrate that we are successfully implementing our program to accelerate sales growth on a sustainable basis while strengthening our program with selective and disciplined acquisitions," St. Jude CEO Daniel Starks said in a statement.

A slight decline in sales of cardiac rhythm management devices, such as pacemakers, were offset by a 7% increase in atrial fibrillation device sales and increased demand for cardiovascular equipment.

Looking toward the fourth quarter, St. Jude Medical sees revenue between $1.31 billion and $1.39 billion and non-GAAP EPS of 95 cents to 97 cents. The consensus is calling for in-line EPS of 96 cents on sales of $1.39 billion.

For the full year, it anticipates EPS of $3.72 to $3.74 on sales of $5.39 billion to $5.47 billion. Analysts on average are looking for earnings of $3.72 on sales of $5.45 billion.

Shares of St. Jude slumped about 1% after the results on Monday to $54.88. They’ve grown about 52% so far this year.