St Jude reports profits up, signs acquisition

Medical device maker St Jude Medical said second quarter profits were up and confirmed it inked an acquisition deal for heart device developer Thoratec.

Shares in the New York Stock Exchange listed firm were up 1.32% to $77.73 at 1506 BST.

Pre-tax profits for the three months ended 4 July 2015 were up almost 10% from $268m to $294 compared with the three months ended 28 June 2014.

Net sales were up by 6% on the same period last year on a constant currency basis, although in real terms this was a 3% decrease.

The company said it expected revenue to grow between 5-7% compared on a constant currency basis compared with the third quarter of 2014 with currency negatively impacting the third quarter between $105-115m.

St Jude said it would buy heart device developer Thoratec for $63.50 per share in a cash transaction valued at approximately $3.4bn.

The share price is a 35.4% premium on the closing price on Thoratec’s at 17 July and was expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2015.