(By Balachander S) St. Jude Medical Inc. (NYSE:STJ) posted a drop in quarterly earnings amid a drop sales of its ICD and pacemaker products and the medical device maker guided fourth quarter slightly below consensus.
Following the announcement, shares shed 1.00 percent in Wednesday's premarket trading.
Adjusted results, however, beat Wall Street expectations and the company revised its full-year earnings outlook.
Net earnings fell to $176 million or $0.56 per share for the third quarter from $227 million or $0.69 per share in the year-ago quarter.
Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) increased 6.4 percent to 83 cents, beating market expectations of 81 cents.
Net sales dropped 4 percent to $1.33 billion, versus analysts' expectations of $1.34 billion. Total U.S. sales fell 2.7 percent and International sales also declined 5.4 percent.
Cardiac Rhythm Management (CRM) sales declined 8 percent as sales of implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) and pacemaker products fell 7 percent and 9 percent, respectively. In the U.S., ICD sales were down 4 percent and 9.5 percent, respectively.
Atrial Fibrillation (AF) product sales gained 9 percent, while cardiovascular sales fell 4 percent.
Looking ahead for the fourth quarter, STJ forecasts adjusted EPS between 86 cents and 88 cents, shy of expectations of 89 cents.
For full year 2012, the company now expects adjusted EPS in the range of $3.42 to $3.44 from prior expectations of $3.40 to $3.45, while analysts expect $3.43 per share.
St. Jude Medical also said it has authorized the repurchase of up to $300 million of its shares.
The stock, which has been trading between $32.13 and $44.80 over the past year, closed Tuesday's regular trading session at $42.94.