Intuitive Surgical Q3 Profit Declines, But Revenues Beat View

(RTTNews) - Intuitive Surgical Inc (ISRG) Tuesday reported a 21 percent decline in profit for the third quarter from last year, as higher expenses more than offset a double-digit increase in revenues. However, revenues for the quarter beat analysts' estimates.

Dr. Gary Guthart, President and CEO of Intuitive Surgical, said, "We are pleased with our third quarter procedure and da Vinci system placement growth, the positive surgeon response to our da Vinci Xi System, and our progress in expanding our international business."

Intuitive makes the da Vinci Surgical System - a surgical platform designed to enable complex surgery using a minimally invasive approach. The company shipped 111 da Vinci surgical systems in the quarter, up from 101 in the prior-year period, while procedures rose about 10 percent.

Sunnyvale, California-based Intuitive Surgical reported net earnings for the third quarter of $123.7 million or $3.35 per share, down from $156.8 million or $3.99 per share in the same period last year.

Excluding items, adjusted earnings for the quarter were $3.92 per share, compared to $4.94 per share in the prior-year quarter. On average, 20 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $3.80 per share for the quarter. Analysts estimates typically exclude one-time items.

The surgical systems maker's revenues for the quarter 10 percent to $550.1 million from $499.0 million in the prior year. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $517.81 million for the quarter.

Instruments and accessories revenue grew 14 percent from the year-ago period to $272.8 million, driven by about 10 percent higher da Vinci procedure volume and the timing of customer orders. Higher procedure volume was driven by growth in U.S. general surgery procedures and worldwide urologic procedures.

Systems revenue increased 6 percent to $168.8 million, while services revenue rose 7 percent to $108.5 million.

Total operating expenses for the quarter rose 10 percent to $201.5 million from $182.5 million in the prior-year period.

ISRG closed Tuesday's trading at $495.77, up $10.51 or 2.17 percent on a volume of 779,578 shares. In after-hours, the stock further gained $1.48 or 0.30 percent to $497.25.