Look what is happening to the competition(BSX). This company is losing share to MDT in stents. I heard some feedback on the new MDT S670 rapid exchange stent. The cardiologist stated that he thought MDT had hit "a home run" with this stent.
Good luck all longs,
Mike
Boston Scientific Expects Slower Sales Growth in '00
Natick, Massachusetts, Dec. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Boston Scientific Corp., one of the biggest makers of artery-clearing products, said sales growth will slow next year because of a lack of new products.
The company said it expects sales to rise about 8 percent, to about $3.06 billion from about $2.84 billion this year, lower than the rate of sales increases in the past several years. This year's estimated sales will be about 27 percent higher than the $2.23 billion it reported in 1998.
Boston Scientific said sales in the U.S. will be hurt because of delays in introducing new products in its line of stents -- small metal-mesh tubes that prop open cleared arteries -- in the first several months of 2000. The company said it expects revenue to pick up later next year as it introduces new devices.
``We've not been able to get anything new out there for some time,' said Larry Best, Boston Scientific's chief financial officer, on a conference call with investors and analysts. ``We're not happy with not delivering double-digit growth.'
Shares of Natick, Massachusetts-based Boston Scientific rose 1 to 20 in New York Stock Exchange trading.
The company also said its goal for earnings is $1.20 a share next year. Boston Scientific was expected to earn $1.21, the average estimate of analysts polled by First Call Corp.
Gold-Plated Stent
Boston Scientific has said it plans to introduce a gold- plated version of its Nir stent in the U.S. next year, and to re- introduce a system using the Nir -- the Nir on Ranger with Sox -- which was recalled last year after reports of problems with balloons the system uses to open clogged arteries before inserting stents.
Gold plating makes stents easier to see under medical imaging scans. The company had previously hoped to gain U.S. approval for a gold-plated stent called the NiRoyal by the end of this year. The delay is part of the reason why the company's sales are expected to increase at a slower rate next year.
The company said its sales have increased by at least 20 percent for the last several years, with its 1998 sales increasing by about 22 percent over sales of $1.83 billion in 1997.
Sales, though, may rise at a faster rate as the company receives new product approvals, Boston Scientific said. The company said on the call that it's expecting about $725 million in revenue in the first quarter, $750 million in the second quarter, $775 million in the third quarter and $810 million in the fourth quarter.
``Boston Scientific has always been a high-growth opportunity and we expect will continue to be a high-growth opportunity in the years to come,' Best said on the conference call.
Obstacles
The company has faced a series of obstacles during the past year.
In August, Boston Scientific recalled several models of its Rotablator devices, used to break up plaque deposits in blood vessels. The announcement of the flaw sent shares down 18 percent and forced the company to cut its 1999 earnings forecast to $1.01 from $1.09.
The recall cut revenue by about $25 million in the third quarter as the company tried to make up for the loss of the product by selling an older version that didn't have the same defects. Earlier this week, the company received approval to market a redesigned version of the device in the U.S.
Boston Scientific also had to restate some past earnings results after it discovered some accounting irregularities at its operations in Japan.
Dec/15/1999 16:19
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