HeartWare dives on big Q1 sales, earnings misses

Shares prices for HeartWare International (NSDQ:HTWR) plunged this morning after the implantable heart pump maker posted 1st-quarter earnings that badly missed expectations on Wall Street.

Framingham, Mass.-based HeartWare reported that losses widened 20.1% to -$17.5 million, or -$1 per share, on a -21.3% revenue slide to $55.1 million. Adjusted to exclude 1-time items, losses per share were -95¢, -16¢ off the forecast on The Street, where analysts were looking for sales of $59.9 million.

“In the 1st quarter, our international revenue performance was impacted by competitive dynamics in Germany, as well as lower implant volumes in certain other international markets,” president & CEO Doug Godshall said in prepared remarks. “In the U.S., the bridge-to-transplant segment of the market for which the HVAD system is approved, showed softness resulting from a slowdown in the volume of patients eligible for bridge-to-transplant procedures at the start of the year and an evolving trend toward destination therapy due to ease of reimbursement. Our 1st-quarter financial performance and the overall market dynamics reinforce the importance of our work toward securing a DT indication in the U.S. and focusing our energies upon the continued enhancement of our technologies.

“Despite 1st-quarter trends, the HVAD system remains the most versatile pump, utilized in the widest range of patients, among currently available ventricular assist systems,” Godshall said. “The versatility and utility of the HVAD was on full display at the recently concluded International Society for Heart & Lung Transplantation 36th annual meeting, where the HVAD system was the subject of more than 90 oral and poster presentations, reinforcing the positive, real-world commercial experience with the device.”

HTWR shares opened down -7.2% at $31.97 apiece this morning before sliding -12.0% to $30.31 in early trading.

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