Zimmer Biomet shares rise on Q4, 2018 earnings beat

Shares in Zimmer Biomet (NYSE:ZBH) rose today after the medical device maker beat expectations on Wall Street with its fourth quarter and full year 2018 earnings results.

The Warsaw, Ind.-based company posted losses of $902.5 million, or $4.42 per share, on sales of approximately $2.07 billion for the three months ended December 31, seeing a swing into the red while sales grew 0.1% compared with the same period during the previous year.

Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share were $2.18, a single cent ahead of the $2.17 consensus on Wall Street, where analysts expected to see sales of $2.06 billion, which the company also topped.

For the full year, Zimmer Biomet posted profits of $379.2 million, or a loss of $1.86 per share, on sales of approximately $7.93 billion, seeing profits shrink 79.1% while sales grew 1.7% compared with the previous year.

After adjusting to exclude one-time items, earnings per share were $7.64, again a single cent ahead of the consensus on Wall Street where analysts expected to see sales of $7.92 billion, which the company topped.

“We are encouraged with the solid close to 2018, driven by strong fourth quarter performance in the Asia Pacific and Europe, Middle East and Africa regions, and in our spine & CMF category. Overall, our financial results for the full year were in-line with our expectations for the progress of the turnaround of the business, and increase our confidence in achieving our 2019 objectives.  We look forward to delivering on our near-term commitments to transition to offense and drive enhanced shareholder value, including the launch of a number of exciting new products and platform technologies to expand our ecosystem of differentiated solutions,” prez & CEO Bryan Hanson said in a prepared statement.

The company provided guidance for 2019, expecting to see sales growth of between -0.5% and 0.5%. Zimmer Biomet said that it expects to post adjusted diluted EPS of between $7.70 and $7.90 for the year, with an adjusted operating profit margin of between 27% and 28%.

Shares in Zimmer Biomet have risen approximately 6.6% today, at $116.83 as of 9:56 a.m. EST.

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