Boston Scientific Posts 4Q Net, Sales Growth, Sees More Growth in '24

By Rob Curran

Boston Scientific posted stronger-than-anticipated growth in fourth-quarter net income and sales and forecast more of the same in 2024, amid robust demand for its stents and other surgical hardware.

The Marlborough, Mass., medical-device maker posted fourth-quarter earnings of $504 million, or 34 cents a share, up from $126 million, or 9 cents a share, a year earlier.

Excluding certain one-off items, the company logged fourth-quarter earnings of 55 cents a share, topping the average Wall Street target of 51 cents a share, as provided by FactSet.

Fourth-quarter sales rose 15% to $3.73 billion, surpassing the mean analyst estimate of $3.59 billion, as per FactSet.

Sales growth topped 10% in all regions, including Europe Middle East and Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Canada and the U.S.

Hospital chains and health insurers have reported that Americans have sought out discretionary procedures at a higher rate in the fourth quarter.

For the first quarter, Boston Scientific forecast earnings in a range between 29 cents and 31 cents a share. Excluding certain one-off items, Boston Scientific forecast first-quarter adjusted earnings between 50 cents and 52 cents a share.

The medical-device maker forecast first-quarter sales growth in a range between 7.5% and 9.5%. On an organic basis, excluding the impact of foreign-exchange translation, Boston Scientific anticipates first-quarter sales growth in a range between 7% and 9%.

For 2024, Boston Scientific anticipates earnings in a range between $1.38 and $1.42 a share, compared with $1.07 in 2023. On an adjusted basis, Boston Scientific projected full-year earnings between $2.23 and $2.27 a share. The company targeted 2024 sales growth of 8.5%-to-9.5% from 2023 levels of $14.24 billion. That translates to a range between $15.45 billion and $15.59 billion. On an organic basis, Boston Scientific anticipates 2024 sales growth in a range between 8% and 9%.

Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 31, 2024 07:09 ET (12:09 GMT)

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