Boston Scientific posts Q4 net loss on charges

-Reuters

02/04/2008 - Medical device maker Boston Scientific Corp posted a fourth-quarter net loss on Monday as it took charges for restructuring operations, divesting assets and patent litigation. The company, which has focused on reducing costs and shedding non-core assets as it copes with downturns in its two key heart device markets, said the net loss was $458 million, or 31 cents a share.

That compared with a year-ago net profit of $277 million, or 19 cents a share. The net loss in the most recent quarter included acquisition, divestiture, litigation and restructuring-related charges and pretax amortization expense of $939 million, or 55 per share. Excluding special items, the company posted a profit of 24 cents a share, exceeding Wall Street expectations. Analysts on average were expecting a profit of 18 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates. "It looks like good cost controls, slightly lower interest expense and slightly better sales," said Jeff Jonas, manager of the Gabelli Healthcare and Wellness Trust, which owns shares of Boston Scientific. Fourth-quarter net sales rose to $2.15 billion from $2.07 billion a year ago.

The Natick, Massachusetts-based company said worldwide sales of its drug-eluting heart stents declined to $435 million in the fourth quarter from $506 million a year ago. U.S. sales of drug-eluting stents were $224 million, down from $329 million. Worldwide sales of cardiac rhythm management devices rose to $544 million, including $396 million of implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) sales. CRM sales last year were $489 million, including ICD sales of $356 million. "They beat our revenue estimate.

They came in higher in cardiac rhythm management than we thought they would. They are a little bit lower in stents. I think it was a good quarter for them," said Jan Wald, analyst for the Stanford Group. Boston Scientific has suffered from soft demand for its two biggest products -- stents that prop open clogged coronary arteries and implantable cardioverter defibrillators, or ICDs, that manage abnormal heart rhythms. It acquired the latter business when it bought Guidant Corp for $27 billion in 2006. It has responded with plans to reduce its work force by about 9 percent and restructure or sell several business units in an effort to cut operating expenses. Boston Scientific's ICD sales likely got a boost from a competitor's product recall, analysts said.

Medtronic Inc in October halted sales of its Sprint Fidelis line of leads, or wires that link the heart to an ICD, after finding the components may have contributed to five patient deaths. Boston Scientific estimated first-quarter net sales of $1.96 billion to $2.08 billion, with earnings excluding special items of 15 cents to 20 cents per share.

It forecast first-quarter net earnings of 13 cents to 18 cents a share. The company's shares were little changed in after-hours trading. The shares closed Monday up 48 cents, or 3.88 percent, at $12.85 on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock is off 71 percent from its mid-2004 peak.

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