FRIDLEY, Minnesota — Medtronic Inc. Tuesday boosted its 2010 profit guidance forecast to $3.20 to $3.22 per share from its earlier prediction of $3.17 to $3.22 per share.
The medical device maker said third quarter revenue rose 10 percent to $3.851 billion from $3.5 billion during the same period a year ago. For nine months, revenue increased 8 percent to $11.6 billion.
Profits jumped 19 percent to $831 million, or 75 cents a share, from $698 million, or 62 cents in third quarter 2009. Wall Street had expected 76 cents, according to 27 analysts tracked by Yahoo! Finance. For nine months, profits rose 9 percent to $2.145 billion.
BioLabs Pegasus Park Cultivates Life Science Ecosystem
Gabby Everett, the site director for BioLabs Pegasus Park, offered a tour of the space and shared some examples of why early-stage life science companies should choose North Texas.
The third quarter “was another step in establishing a track record of consistent performance,” CEO Bill Hawkins told analysts during a conference call.
Medtronic said sales from its core Cardiac Rhythm Management division, which includes pacemakers and ICDs, increased 6 percent to $1.243 billion.
The company’s neuromodulation, cardiovascular and diabetes businesses all showed good growth though Medtronic’s spine business in the United States continued to struggle despite robust growth in the overall market. Spine revenue was essentially flat at $842 million.
Hawkins said Medtronic’s diverse business portfolio has helped shield the company from a tough economy. Moving forward, Hawkins said he’s pleased with the flurry of new technologies it will roll out over the next few years, calling it Medtronic’s most robust product pipeline ever.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
