St Jude Medical Profit Falls On One-time Charges

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — St. Jude Medical Inc. said Wednesday its profit fell 10 percent in the third quarter, as employee termination expenses and other charges more than offset improved heart device sales.

The medical products company trimmed its annual profit guidance, and gave a fourth quarter forecast that was below analyst expectations.

It said it was lowering its expectations because about 50 U.S. hospitals failed to participate in normal quarter end purchases of cardiac rhythm management devices due to a variety of financial considerations.

The company said it was "confident that our long term growth program is on track."

Its shares rose 72 cents, or 2.2 percent, to $33.88 in late morning trading.

For the quarter ended Oct. 3, St. Jude's profit fell to $166.9 million, or 48 cents per share. That included employee termination costs of $31.9 million, or 9 cents per share, and impairment charges of $5.2 million, or 2 cents per share. A year ago St. Jude reported net income of $189.7 million, or 53 cents per share.