Edwards Lifesciences raises outlook on strong Q2 numbers

(Reuters) — Edwards Lifesciences (NYSE:EW) yesterday raised its full-year profit forecast, citing strong demand for its transcatheter aortic valve implants.

Irvine, Calif.-based Edwards reported 2nd-quarter earnings that exceeded Wall Street’s expectations, saying it benefited from significant growth in procedures using its TAVI devices, which are threaded through the arteries to the heart from a small incision.

The procedure is a newer alternative for patients considered at high risk for open-heart surgery, the traditional approach to treating diseased heart valves.

“We just continue to see patients come off the sidelines,” CEO Mike Mussallem said on a conference call.

The company said it now expects full-year earnings, excluding items, of $4.30 to $4.40 a share. It previously forecast $4.10 to $4.30 a share.

Edwards reported quarterly net income of $112.7 million, or $1.02 a share, down -79.4% compared with $547.0 million, or $5.09 a share, in the year-ago period, when it recorded a large gain from a litigation settlement.

Excluding some items, income rose to $1.13 a share from 88¢ a share a year ago. On that basis, analysts had expected $1.05 a share, on average, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Quarterly net sales rose 7% to $616.8 million.

Sales of transcatheter heart valves climbed 28% in the quarter to $281.4 million.

Edwards, the first company to sell transcatheter valves in the U.S. market, said sales are accelerating even as it contends with new competition from Medtronic (NYSE:MDT), which launched its own minimally invasive valve last year.

“The U.S. number in particular was quite strong,” said Jefferies analyst Raj Denhoy.

Edwards said it still expects full-year total sales of $2.3 billion to $2.5 billion. The impact of the strong dollar, which reduces the value of overseas sales when they are translated back into U.S. dollars, dampened reported results, it said.

Edwards is now ramping up sales of its 3rd-generation transcatheter system called Sapien 3, which gained U.S. approval in June, and hopes to win U.S. approval to treat intermediate-risk patients in late 2016, Mussallem said.

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