Medtronic reports confident third quarter sales figures

Medical device maker Medtronic has announced its third quarter earnings, revealing that the company saw better than expected revenue and profit.

The company revealed that its net sales rose by 5% in the third quarter to $7.28 billion.

Medtronic attributed the positive sales figures to a higher demand for its heart, vascular and minimally invasive products. The company’s surgical solutions saw a 6% increase in sales to $1.34 billion, whereas its cardiac and vascular unit rose 5% to $2.55 billion, accounting for around 35% of total sales.

Medtronic’s main Irish subsidiary saw profits more than double. The healthy sales were attributed to a change in operating structure.

The company’s Irish turnover rose from €6.8 million to €40.4 million and gross profit equaled €9.1 million compared to €6.8 million the year earlier.

However despite the good news, Medtronic’s earnings fell. The company’s overall profit was $821 million, down from £1.10 billion a year earlier. Harsh foreign exchange rates affected the company’s business groups, costing a total of $40 million.

Omar Ishrak, Medtronic chairman and chief executive officer said: “In Q3, we achieved solid results across all of our business groups and geographies. At the same time, we produced meaningful operating profit growth based largely on our synergy programs from the Covidien integration, as well as our focus on operating excellence initiatives."