(Reuters) – Baxter International beat Wall Street expectations for fourth-quarter sales and profit on Thursday on strong demand for its medical devices and improvements in the supply chain environment.
Expectations around performance of medical device makers have increased over the past month after health insurers flagged higher medical costs as people, especially older adults, undergo medical procedures that were delayed during the pandemic.
Larger peers Stryker and Boston Scientific also beat profit estimates this quarter, with industry bellwether Johnson & Johnson expecting medtech-related procedures to remain elevated in 2024.
Baxter’s Medical Products and Therapies segment, which makes IV solutions and infusion pumps, recorded quarterly sales of $266 million, up 2.7%.
The company, which also manufactures dialysis products, reported fourth-quarter revenue of $3.89 billion, beating estimates of $3.80 billion, according to LSEG data.
Baxter forecast full-year adjusted profit between $2.85 and $2.95 per share, compared to analysts’ estimates of $2.93 per share.
On an adjusted basis, the company earned 88 cents per share, beating estimates of 86 cents.
(Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
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