(Reuters) – Baxter International on Thursday beat Wall Street expectations for third-quarter revenue and profit, as a recovery in surgical procedure volumes after the pandemic helped drive the demand for its medical devices higher.
Larger peers Abbott Laboratories and Boston Scientific also topped quarterly profit estimates on easing staffing shortages and a surge in hospital admissions for elective procedures, which were deferred during the pandemic.
Baxter, which manufactures dialysis products and infusion pumps, reported a 3% year-on-year rise in quarterly revenue to $3.71 billion, beating analysts’ average estimate of $3.69 billion, according to LSEG data.
Sales at the company’s kidney care unit, which is expected to be spun off by July 2024, rose 1% to $1.11 billion.
In October, Baxter’s shares had hit their lowest levels since 2016 after Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic drug showed early success in a trial to treat kidney failure in diabetes patients.
The company from the current quarter plans to start streamlining its business model, which will replace its current nine segments with four new units, Baxter said.
The healthcare products company expects its full-year adjusted profit, before special items, to range between $2.57 per share and $2.60 per share. It reflects the forecast for continuing operations following the sale of Baxter’s BioPharma Solutions unit.
On an adjusted basis, it earned 68 cents per share from continuing operations in the third quarter, compared with analysts’ average estimate of 67 cents per share, according to LSEG data.
Shares of the Deerfield, Illinois-based company were up 1.6% at $33.30 in premarket trading.
(Reporting by Christy Santhosh)
