Boston Scientific posts $272 million third-quarter loss

Medical device maker Boston Scientific Corp. on Friday reported a third-quarter loss of $272 million on hefty charges related to acquisitions and asset sales, as the company's top-selling drug-coated stent continued to slump.

Boston Scientific's loss in the July-September equaled 18 cents per share, and compared with a profit of $76 million, or 5 cents per share, in last year's third quarter.

Sales rose 1 percent from $2.026 billion a year ago to $2.048 billion, falling just short of the $2.057 billion consensus estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.

Not counting $435 million expenses related to acquisitions and asset sales, the Natick, Mass.-based company's profit in the latest quarter was 20 cents per share, compared with 10 cents per share a year ago. Analysts typically exclude one-time charges in Thomson polls.

Shares jumped 41 cents, or 3 percent, to $14.27 at the open of trading. Shares have traded between $12.11 and $18.69 in the past year.

Global sales of Boston Scientific's Taxus stent fell 22 percent to $448 million from $572 million a year ago. In the U.S., the Taxus sales decline was a steeper 38 percent, from $384 million to $240 million.

However, Taxus' U.S. decline fell short of the 44 percent U.S. sales drop that Johnson & Johnson reported on Tuesday for its Cypher stent in the third quarter. Taxus and Cypher are the only drug-coated stents on the U.S. market, though new rivals are expected to emerge soon.

Stent sales at both companies have been hurt by recent research findings that have questioned the devices' safety and effectiveness.

Sales of cardiac-rhythm products such as defibrillators and pacemakers that Boston Scientific acquired as part of its $27 billion buyout of Guidant Corp. rose 13 percent, to $517, from $446 million a year ago. The market for such devices also has been in a slump.

The company's stock has been damaged by the twin market downturns and debt lingering from the Guidant deal, and Boston Scientific President and Chief Executive Jim Tobin characterized the third-quarter results as "something of a turn for us."

Tobin noted that the Taxus maintained a market share edge over J&J's Cypher, and his company posted growth in defibrillator and pacemaker sales.

To restore the company's financial health, Boston Scientific on Wednesday announced plans to cut 2,300 jobs, or 8 percent of its work force, as part of a larger restructuring.

For the fourth quarter, the company projects a profit in the range of 14 cents to 19 cents per share, excluding one-time gains and expenses, but a loss of 2 cents to 9 cents per share including such items. Boston Scientific expects sales of $2.05 billion to $2.15 billion.