St. Jude sees small drop in sales, earnings for Q4, FY12

St. Jude Medical has reported a single-digit drop in sales and net earnings for the fourth quarter and year, which ended Dec. 29, 2012. However, the company saw a bump in atrial fibrillation product sales during these time periods.

For the full-year 2012, reported net earnings were $752 million, compared with $826 million in the previous full-year. The 2012 fourth quarter net earnings were $120 million, compared with $125 million in the previous year’s fourth quarter.

The company reported net sales of $1.37 billion in the fourth quarter of 2012, a decline of approximately 2 percent compared with the $1.41 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011. Unfavorable foreign currency translation comparisons decreased fourth quarter sales by approximately $23 million, according to the St. Paul, Minn.-based company. Net sales in 2012 were $5.5 billion compared with $5.61 billion in 2011, a decrease of about 2 percent. Again, the company said that unfavorable foreign currency translation comparisons decreased full-year 2012 sales by about $137 million.

Total cardiac rhythm management sales, which include implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) and pacemaker products, were $682 million for the fourth quarter of 2012, a 6 percent decrease compared with the fourth quarter of 2011. Of that total, ICD product sales were $422 million in the fourth quarter, a 3 percent decrease compared with the fourth quarter of 2011. ICD product sales for the full-year 2012 were $1.74 billion, a decrease of 4 percent when compared with 2011. Fourth quarter pacemaker sales were $260 million, an 11 percent decrease compared with the fourth quarter of 2011. Total pacemaker sales for 2012 were $1.11 billion, down 8 percent compared with pacemaker sales in 2011.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) product sales for the fourth quarter totaled $239 million, a 10 percent increase over the fourth quarter of 2011. For the full-year 2012, AF product sales were $898 million, an increase of 9 percent over the prior year.  

Total cardiovascular (CV) sales, which primarily include vascular and structural heart products, were $338 million for the fourth quarter of 2012, approximately equal to the fourth quarter of 2011. Total CV product sales for 2012 were $1.33 billion, down 1 percent from 2011, including a $36 million decrease due to unfavorable foreign currency translations, the company reported.   

In the CV line, the total structural heart product sales for the fourth quarter of 2012 were $152 million, approximately equal compared with the fourth quarter of 2011. Total structural heart product sales for 2012 were $612 million, an increase of 3 percent compared to 2011. Sales of vascular products in the fourth quarter of 2012 were $186 million, a 2 percent decrease from the fourth quarter of 2011. Total vascular product sales for 2012 were $716 million, down about 3 percent from 2011.

St. Jude said its sales of neuromodulation products were $113 million in the fourth quarter of 2012, down 7 percent from the prior year. Total neuromodulation product sales for 2012 were $423 million, up 1 percent over the prior year, including a $7 million decrease due to unfavorable currency translations.

In the fourth quarter, the company recognized after-tax special charges of $113 million, primarily related to previously announced restructuring activities. Also, during the fourth quarter, the company recognized a $46 million income tax charge, related to adjustments to uncertain tax positions associated with the effective settlement of domestic income tax audits.

The company said it expects its consolidated net earnings for the first quarter of 2013 to be in the range of $0.91 to $0.93 per share and for full-year 2013 consolidated net earnings to be in the range of $3.68 to $3.73.