Medtronic reported 28.2% earnings growth for the third quarter of its fiscal 2015, a period that ended just three days before the medical-device manufacturer closed on its acquisition of Irish rival Covidien.
Medtronic's net earnings rose to $977 million for the quarter ended Jan. 23, up from $762 million a year ago. Diluted earnings per share rose 30.7% to $0.98. The improvement came thanks to both a boost in revenue and a drop in overall expenses.
Worldwide revenue hit $4.32 billion for the period, up 3.7% from $4.16 billion last year.
“Q3 was a strong quarter, with revenue growth well above our outlook range for the fiscal year and exceeding our mid-single-digit baseline goal,” Medtronic CEO Omar Ishrak said in a news release. “All three legacy Medtronic groups contributed to our robust performance.”
But one group—Medtronic's cardiac and vascular area, the company's largest division by revenue—contributed the most to Medtronic's quarterly percentage growth with sales of $2.22 billion, representing a 5% increase. Sales in Medtronic's restorative therapies group, which includes the spine, neuromodulation and surgical technologies divisions, grew 2%, and the company's suite of diabetes products increased sales by 3%.
Medtronic did adjust for a $158 million negative foreign currency impact, but the effect of its Covidien purchase has not yet hit the company's bottom line for the quarter. Medtronic closed on the $49.9 billion cash and stock purchase of the Irish company Jan. 26. As a result, its legal headquarters moved from Minneapolis to Dublin, allowing the company to take advantage of more favorable corporate tax rates. Its operational headquarters will stay in the U.S.
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