Edwards Lifesciences Corp. on Monday reported mixed third-quarter results and offered a fairly upbeat outlook for the rest of the year.
The Irvine heart valve maker said its third-quarter profit came in at $51.1 million, excluding one-time charges. That beat analysts’ expectation of $49.9 million.
Third-quarter sales rose 7% to $349 million, below Wall Street’s projection of $354 million.
Sales of the company’s Sapien less-invasive replacement heart valves, one of Edwards’ most-heralded products, grew 85% to $49 million in the quarter.
Sapien, which is sold in Europe, is in a major U.S. clinical trial. Approval could come here next year.
The device and a rival one are seen as the biggest advancement in heart valves in years.
They potentially could open up the market for millions of patients who aren’t candidates for replacement valves implanted during open heart surgery.
Analysts forecast the vavles to become a multibillion-dollar annual market.
Edwards also offered outlooks for the current quarter and 2010.
For the current quarter, the device maker said profit could come in at $61.8 million to $64.2 million.
Analysts had been expecting a profit of $61.8 million.
Edwards didn’t give a sales outlook. Wall Street expects its fourth-quarter sales to come in at $381 million.
For 2010, Edwards said full-year profit could come in at $215.2 million to $217.6 million.
Wall Street had been expecting Edwards to make $214 million in 2010.
Full-year sales are seen coming in at $1.43 billion to $1.46 billion, compared to analysts’ consensus of $1.44 billion.
