Baxter forecasts 2025 profit above estimates on medical device demand; shares rise

Baxter International

20/02/2025 13:13

Feb 20 (Reuters) - Baxter International  BAX.N  on
Thursday forecast 2025 profit above Wall Street estimates
banking on strong sales of its medical devices, sending the
company's shares up 7% in premarket trade.
    Baxter expects 2025 adjusted profit between $2.45 and $2.55
per share, with its midpoint above analysts' average estimate of
$2.47 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG. 
    Investors have high expectations from medical device makers
as they continue to benefit from healthy demand for non-urgent
surgeries, especially among older Americans.
    The company said earlier this week that it had returned to
pre-hurricane production levels, following a January
announcement that it had restarted production at all 10
manufacturing lines of its facility.
    Baxter's North Cove facility in North Carolina was
temporarily closed due to flooding caused by Hurricane Helene in
late September. The plant makes 60% of the United States' supply
of IV fluids and peritoneal dialysis (PD) solutions, according
to the American Hospital Association.
    Baxter saw a lesser negative impact from Hurricane Helene
during the reported quarter than previously anticipated.
    Revenue for the fourth quarter ended December 31 came in at
$2.75 billion, beating estimates of $2.67 billion. 
    Excluding items, the company earned 58 cents per share,
compared with estimates of 52 cents per share.

 (Reporting by Siddhi Mahatole and Puyaan Singh in Bengaluru;
Editing by Maju Samuel and Shailesh Kuber)
 ((SiddhiPrabhanjan.Mahatole@thomsonreuters.com;))