By Mariam Sunny (Reuters) -Boston Scientific increased its annual profit forecast on Wednesday, fueled by strong demand for its cardiac implants, but temporarily halted a pivotal heart equipment study citing unexpected events. Shares of the device maker fell about 5% to $83.93 after CEO Mike Mahoney said in a post-earnings call that the company had […]
Health
Boston Scientific lifts annual profit forecast, pauses heart device study
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By Mariam Sunny
(Reuters) -Boston Scientific increased its annual profit forecast on Wednesday, fueled by strong demand for its cardiac implants, but temporarily halted a pivotal heart equipment study citing unexpected events.
Shares of the device maker fell about 5% to $83.93 after CEO Mike Mahoney said in a post-earnings call that the company had paused a trial of its Farapulse device due to a “few unanticipated observations”.
The trial had been testing Farapulse in patients with previously untreated persistent atrial fibrillation, or an irregular heart rhythm. The company did not provide details about these observations.
“While none of the observations were life-threatening, we did make a decision to temporarily pause (the trial),” Chief Medical Officer Ken Stein said, adding that Boston intends to resume enrolments in the near future.
Farapulse, a pulsed field ablation system which uses short high voltage pulses to treat an irregular heartbeat, is currently approved in the United States to treat some patients with intermittent atrial fibrillation.
Massachusetts-based Boston Scientific generates most of its revenue from sales of its heart devices, such as pacemakers and stents. It also makes equipment to diagnose and treat a range of gastrointestinal and pulmonary conditions.
It expects 2024 adjusted earnings per share of $2.45 to $2.47, up from its previous per-share forecast range of $2.38 to $2.42. Analysts were expecting an annual profit of $2.41 per share, according to estimates compiled by LSEG. The company’s revenue increased 19.4% to $4.21 billion for the quarter ended Sept. 30, topping an estimate of $4.04 billion.
Sales at its cardiovascular unit rose 25% to $2.73 billion, beating analysts’ average estimate of $2.62 billion.
Boston Scientific’s quarterly adjusted profit of 63 cents per share exceeded Wall Street’s estimates by 4 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG.
(Reporting by Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai)