Business

Boston Scientific earnings beat estimates, stock rises

The medical device maker said it benefited in July from an uptick in elective procedures.

Reuters

July 30, 2020 at 3:21AM

A Boston Scientific Corporation logo is displayed in Massachusetts in July 2010. (AP file photo.) ORG XMIT: MIN2018051422163682 ORG XMIT: MIN1908191620283731 (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Medical device maker Boston Scientific Corp. on Wednesday posted a surprise adjusted quarterly profit and said demand for elective procedures picked up pace in July following an easing of coronavirus-driven restrictions.

"We've seen a very nice, consistent recovery with the sequential improvement," CEO Michael Mahoney said in a post earnings call.

The company, which is based in Massachusetts with major operations in the Twin Cities, said it was seeing a healthy mix of both rescheduled and new patient procedures.

It appears that the hospital systems are doing a much better job of a parallel path in managing COVID-19 patients and doing important elective procedures that patients need, Boston Scientific added.

A broad-based recovery, highlighted by all segments, was impressive, said Evercore ISI analyst Vijay Kumar.

Still, rising new cases of COVID-19 in some U.S. states fueled the possibility of new restrictions.

Excluding items, the company earned 8 cents per share, compared with analysts' estimates for a loss of 2 cents per share

Revenue fell 23.8% to $2 billion, but was ahead of estimates of $1.73 billion.

Given the deferrable nature of Boston's portfolio, this quarter's results should be viewed as "better than feared," said Raymond James analyst Jayson Bedford.

The company's shares rose 4% to $39.81 on Wednesday. The stock had declined more than 15% this year as Boston Scientific, like its peers, had warned of a sharp hit from the pandemic in April.