Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowSecond-quarter profit slipped at Zimmer Holdings Inc., but the Warsaw-based orthopedic implant maker topped the lowered expectations of Wall Street analysts.
Zimmer earned $210 million in the quarter, down 7 percent from $227 million during the same period a year ago. On a per-share basis, Zimmer earned 98 cents, down from 99 cents a year ago.
Excluding a handful of extraordinary items both this year and last, Zimmer would have seen its earnings drop 9 percent from a year ago to $215.5 million, or $1.00 per share. On that basis, analysts were expecting earnings of 96 cents per share, according to a survey by Thomson Financial Network.
Patients have delayed orthopedic surgeries in the recession in order to save money or because they lost health insurance when they lost their job. But Zimmer leaders declared that the sales decline has run its course and business soon will start growing again.
“Our second quarter results provide further evidence that we are successfully stabilizing our business and making progress toward restoring positive momentum,” said Zimmer CEO David Dvorak, in a statement.
Zimmer affirmed its full-year profit forecast, predicting it will earn $3.85 to $4.00 per share, excluding extraordinary items.
It also predicted revenue growth of 1 percent to 3 percent, which will continue to be dampened because foreign currencies have fallen against the value of the dollar.
In the second quarter, Zimmer’s revenue fell 5.5 percent to $1.02 billion, in line with analysts’ expectations. If currency values had been the same as they were a year ago, Zimmer’s sales would have dropped only 0.6 percent.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.