UPDATE: St. Jude Medical Posts Higher Q2 Earnings, Raises FY14 Earnings Outlook

St. Jude Medical

reported a strong rise in its second-quarter earnings and raised its forecast for the full year. The Saint Paul-based company posted a quarterly profit of $270 million, or $0.93 per share, compared to a year-ago profit of $115 million, or $0.40 per share. Excluding certain items, its adjusted earnings climbed to $1.02 per share versus $0.96 per share. Its revenue gained 3.2% to $1.45 billion. St. Jude had projected a profit of $0.99 to $1.01 per share on revenue of $1.38 billion to $1.46 billion. Analysts were expecting a profit of $1.00 per share on revenue of $1.44 billion. St. Jude's total cardiac-rhythm management sales surged 2% to $733 million, while cardiovascular sales gained 3% to $351 million. Neuromodulation product sales dropped 1% to $107 million. St. Jude expects Q3 earnings of $0.95 to $0.97 per share on revenue of $1.32 billion to $1.40 billion. Analysts projected earnings of $0.96 per share on revenue of $1.40 billion. For the full year, St. Jude now projects adjusted profit of $3.96 to $4.01 per share, on revenue of $5.64 billion to $5.76 billion. St. Jude Medical Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Daniel J. Starks said, “The progress we made during the second quarter positions us to accelerate sales growth while continuing to deliver EPS leverage.” St. Jude shares gained 0.18% to $68.40 in pre-market trading.