Legal fees hurt Medtronic profits
WASHINGTON — Medtronic Inc., the world’s largest medical device maker, said Tuesday that legal expenses and declining foreign exchange rates weighed down its fiscal 2009 second-quarter profit.
Even excluding the legal fees, the Minneapolis-based company’s performance fell shy of Wall Street forecasts, in part due to lower-than-expected sales of pacemakers, spinal implants and other devices.
Company shares fell $4.82, or 13.2 percent, to close at $31.60. Earlier in the session, the stock hit $30.85, its lowest point since 1999.
Earnings for the period fell 14 percent to $571 million, or 51 cents per share, compared with $666 million, or 58 cents per share, a year earlier. Sales rose 14 percent to $3.57 billion from $3.12 billion.
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Eliminating $187 million in charges, mainly due to a patent dispute over stents with rival Johnson & Johnson, the company said it earned 67 cents per share.
