Edwards Lifesciences’ TAVR sales increase 25 percent in fourth quarter

Led by strong sales in its transcatheter heart valve (THV) therapy division, Edwards Lifesciences’ fourth quarter revenue in 2015 increased 8.6 percent and its GAAP earnings per share increased 28 percent compared with the same period a year earlier.

Edwards also raised its guidance for 2016 and expects full year sales of between $2.60 billion and $2.85 billion and earnings per share of between $2.57 and $2.67.

Net sales for the fourth quarter were $671.1 million, including $334.4 million in the THV division. In the U.S., THV sales were $193.9 million. The FDA approved the Sapien 3 transcatheter aortic valve replacement device in June for high-risk patients with severe aortic stenosis.

“Our THV performance was driven by strong overall procedural growth,” Edwards CEO and chairman Michael A. Mussallem said in a news release. “Based on our momentum and expectation of continued therapy adoption, we now expect our underlying THV sales growth in 2016 to be in the range of 15 to 25 percent.”

For the fourth quarter, the company’s surgical heart valve therapy sales decreased 4.8 percent to $196.2 million.

“Globally, sales growth was lifted by higher surgical heart valve units, but was lowered by the company’s planned exit of non-strategic products,” Edwards said.

For the full year, net sales increased 7.4 percent to $2.5 billion, diluted earnings per share decreased 39.8 percent to $2.25 and non-GAAP earnings per share increased 30.9 percent to $2.29.

Tim Casey,

Executive Editor

Tim Casey joined TriMed Media Group in 2015 as Executive Editor. For the previous four years, he worked as an editor and writer for HMP Communications, primarily focused on covering managed care issues and reporting from medical and health care conferences. He was also a staff reporter at the Sacramento Bee for more than four years covering professional, college and high school sports. He earned his undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Notre Dame and his MBA degree from Georgetown University.

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