Intuitive Surgical rises on strong 4th-qtr results
Intuitive Surgical rises aftermarket as company reports growth in da Vinci sales, procedures
NEW YORK (AP) -- Robotic surgical system maker Intuitive Surgical Inc. said Tuesday its fourth-quarter net income rose 16 percent, sending the stock jumping in aftermarket trading.
Intuitive reported a 25-percent increase in procedures performed using its da Vinci robotic system. The biggest areas of growth included gynecology and general surgery procedures. Intuitive said it sold another 175 da Vinci systems during the quarter, up from 152 a year ago.
Shares of Intuitive Surgical gained $10.16, or 2 percent, to $518.49 on Tuesday, and shot up $42.51, or 8.2 percent, to $561 in aftermarket trading.
Intuitive said its net income rose to $174.9 million, or $4.25 per share, from $151.2 million, or $3.75 per share, in the year earlier quarter. Revenue rose 23 percent, to $609.3 million from $496.8 million.
Analysts were forecasting a smaller profit of $4.03 per share and $585.7 million in revenue, according to FactSet.
The da Vinci system is also used in heart surgeries, prostatectomies, and other operations. The Sunnyvale, Calif., company said revenue from system sales rose 18 percent to $264.9 million. Revenue from instrument and accessory sales grew 29 percent to $253.8 million.
For the full year, Intuitive Surgical said its net income climbed 33 percent to $656.6 million, or $15.98 per share, from $495.1 million, or $12.32 per share. Revenue rose 24 percent, to $2.18 billion from $1.76 billion.
