Medtronic Q4 Reported Profit Drops 54% - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Medical device maker Medtronic, Inc. (MDT) announced a 54% fall in reported net earnings for the fourth quarter ended April 25, 2014.

Including a one-time, non-cash $746 million pre-tax certain litigation charge, related mainly to the firm's global patent deal inked with Edwards Lifesciences Corp., as well as the company's INFUSE product liability settlement, fourth-quarter reported net earnings were $448 million, or $0.44 per share, both decreasing by 54 percent over the prior year's $969 million, or $0.95 per share.

Adjusting for this charge and other items, net earnings, on a non-GAAP basis, totaled $1.135 billion, or $1.12 per share for the recent quarter. On average, 21 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings per share of $1.12 for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.

The firm reported worldwide quarterly revenue of $4.57 billion, compared with the $4.46 billion reported a year back, up by 3 percent on a constant currency basis after adjusting for a $39 million negative foreign currency impact or 2 percent as reported. Nineteen analysts estimated revenues of $4.58 billion for the quarter.

In a separate press release, Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (EW) reported signing an agreement with Medtronic to settle all outstanding patent litigation between the companies, including cases related to transcatheter heart valves. The deal would result in the dismissal of all pending cases or appeals in courts and patent offices worldwide, and includes a provision that the parties would not litigate patent disputes with each other in the field of transcatheter valves for the 8-year duration of the agreement.

As part of the patent cross-license agreement that is part of the settlement, Medtronic would make a one-time payment of $750 million to Edwards. Further, it would pay Edwards quarterly license royalty payments through April 2022. These payments would be based on a percentage of Medtronic CoreValve sales, subject to a minimum annual payment of $40 million.