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Medtronic skips a beat
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February 19, 1998: 6:24 a.m. ET
Medical-implant maker takes $205M 3Q charge, plans to trim 600 jobs
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Medtronic Inc. the world's largest maker of implantable biomedical devices, said it cut 600 workers and wrote down some assets in its fiscal third quarter as part of a major restructuring program that cost it $205.3 million in pretax charges.
The Minneapolis-based medical giant makes therapeutic products for improving cardiovascular and neurological health. Its highly competitive vascular business includes pacemakers and devices to correct rapid or irregular heartbeats.
Medtronic said third quarter net earnings plummetted $7.3 million, or two cents per diluted share, down from $128.7 million in the year-ago period. The restructuring also entails the shutdown of various manufacturing facilities around the world, which will result in the elimination of 600 jobs. The company currently employs 13,500 people.
William George, Medtronic's chairman and chief executive officer, said "disappointing results" from the vascular had made the measures all but inevitable "to right-size this organization."
George expressed hope that the actions "will significantly strengthen our competitive position in the global health care market, which itself is under increasing cost pressures."
Without the charge, earnings for the third quarter ended Jan. 30 were $144.1 million, or 31 cents a share, up 15 percent from the comparable period a year ago and in line with Wall Street expectations. Revenue increased 5.4 percent to $631.4 million.
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Medtronic Inc.
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