By Everdeen Mason
Covidien PLC said its fiscal first-quarter earnings fell 19% as
the company's increased expenses masked a rise in its
medical-supplies sales.
Covidien--a maker of operating-room gear, generic drugs and
other medical supplies--has generally seen improved revenue over
the past two years on the strength of its medical-devices
sales.
This year, the company is focused on expanding its product
portfolio and expanding in emerging markets such as China and
Brazil, said Chief Executive Jose E. Almeida. Covidien most
recently agreed to buy Given Imaging Ltd., a maker of ingestible
pills that take photos inside patients' bodies, last month.
For the quarter ended Dec. 27, Covidien reported earnings of
$398 million, or 87 cents a share, down from $493 million, or $1.03
a share. Excluding items such as restructuring charges, per-share
earnings from continuing operations rose to $1 from 97 cents.
Sales climbed 2.8% to $2.64 billion. Foreign exchange rate
fluctuations lowered the quarterly sales growth rate by two
percentage points.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters recently expected per-share
earnings of 94 cents on sales of $2.6 billion.
Sales in the medical-devices business, its largest by revenue,
rose 3.2% to $2.25 billion. Medical-supplies increased to $388
million from $385 million.
Research and development expenses rose 13% to $125 million,
while income tax expense jumped 24% to $115 million.
Write to Everdeen Mason at everdeen.mason@wsj.com
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