Solventum's first-quarter profit falls 19% on lower surgical product sales

Solventum

09/05/2024 13:03

May 9 (Reuters) - 3M spin-off Solventum's  SOLV.N 
first-quarter profit fell 19% on Thursday, hurt by lower sales
of its wound care and sterilization products used in surgeries.
    The medical equipment maker reiterated its organic revenue
and profit forecast for the current year. It expects organic
revenue to be flat to down 2% from a year earlier, and adjusted
profit of $6.10 to $6.40 per share.
    A stronger dollar could hurt annual reported sales of the
company by 50 basis points, it said. Solventum expects
functional expenses to increase for the rest of the year.
    Solventum is one of the largest providers of sterilization
devices, wound dressings, medical tapes and other hospital
consumables used by healthcare facilities.
    Industrial conglomerate 3M continues to own a 20% stake in
Solventum and expects to monetize the stake within five years
after the divestiture.
    Solventum said its first-quarter results were prepared on a
"carve-out" basis from 3M's healthcare business. It will report
results on a stand-alone basis from the second quarter.
    Total net sales for the quarter came in at $2.02 billion,
more than half of which came from its MedSurg business that
provides wound dressings and surgical equipment.
    Solventum said it plans to prioritize debt repayment over
the next 24 months. It had long-term debt of $8.30 billion as of
March 31.
    The Minnesota-based company's net income fell to $237
million, or $1.37 per share, in the quarter, from $293 million,
or $1.70 per share, a year earlier.
    On an adjusted basis, Solventum earned $2.08 per share for
the quarter ended March 31.

 (Reporting by Vaibhav Sadhamta and Bhanvi Satija in Bengaluru;
Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
 ((Vaibhav.Sadhamta@thomsonreuters.com))