Spine Unit Crimps Medtronic Earnings, Stent Gets 510(k) Nod

Medtronic plans to overhaul its U.S. spine unit — or divest it altogether — if the business doesn’t show a profit soon, CEO Omar Ishrak said during the company’s fiscal 2012 third-quarter earnings call Feb. 21. The company reported slightly lower revenues of $0.84 per share, down 2.2 percent over the same quarter in 2011. The drop was driven by 9 percent reductions in Medtronic’s implantable cardiac defibrillator and spine business units, which combined account for about 37 percent of total Medtronic sales.
Devices & Diagnostics Letter