LivaNova (NSDQ:LIVN) shares took a dip this morning despite fourth-quarter results that topped the consensus forecast.
The London-based company posted losses of $279.8 million, or -$5.75 per share, on sales of $269.6 million for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2020, for a 95.4% bottom-line slide deeper into the red on a sales decline of -6.3%.
Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share were 71¢, 5¢ ahead of Wall Street, where analysts were looking for sales of $268.8 million.
Much of LivaNova’s profit slide in the fourth quarter can be attributed to the anticipated sale of its heart valve business, which was announced in December and resulted in an impairment charge of $208.2 million. Additionally, LivaNova paid a $42.2 million provision for future obligations related to hazardous substances from former operations at its Saluggia, Italy, campus.
“Sales in all product categories and regions improved sequentially over the third quarter of 2020,” LivaNova CEO Damien McDonald said in a news release. “We start 2021 with three clear objectives: execute on our core growth drivers, achieve the milestones for our pipeline priorities, and continue to execute on initiatives to improve profitability and cash generation. These fundamental objectives, combined with our expectation for declining COVID-19 infection rates, make us optimistic that our 2021 results will improve over the course of the year.
“We believe our efforts will enable us to most effectively serve our patients and position the company to achieve long-term success.”
LivaNova said it now expects to log adjusted EPS of between $1.40 and $1.90 for 2021 and set its sales guidance for growth of between 8% and 13%.
LIVN shares were down -3.4% at $71.56 per share in early-morning trading today. MassDevice’s MedTech 100 Index — which includes stocks of the world’s largest medical device companies — was up 0.6%.