St. Jude Medical lowers year-end predictions after Q3 earnings slip

St. Jude Medical, a prominent manufacturer of heart products and other medical devices, reported sluggish international sales growth in its third quarter, which forced the company to lower its revenue projections for the rest of the year.

About half of the devicemaker's sales are overseas. St. Jude Medical, based in St. Paul, Minn., produces and sells various heart devices, including pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators, as well as neurological devices.

The company said international sales in the quarter rose only 2%, while U.S. revenue increased 3%, resulting in total sales of $1.37 billion. However, because of one-time charges, the company's profit fell 9.1% year over year to $238 million.

“Sales growth in our international markets was slower than expected,” St. Jude Medical CEO Daniel Starks said in a news release. “We remain firmly committed to delivering an innovation-based growth program that adds significant value to the healthcare system by improving patient care while reducing costs.”

For the full 2014 fiscal year, St. Jude Medical said its total revenue will be between $5.57 billion and $5.65 billion, down from the $5.64 billion to $5.76 billion guidance it issued earlier this year.

However, St. Jude Medical said it received some positive news during the quarter from its recent purchase of CardioMEMS. The CMS approved a new add-on payment for that company's monitoring technology, which caters to heart-failure patients.

Devicemakers have been under increasing pressure from providers, insurers and patient advocacy groups demanding that manufacturers prove their new technologies lead to better care and lower costs.

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