Medtronic shares soar as disasters fail to dent guidance

Medtronic posted its biggest intraday gain in more than four years after maintaining its outlook following a host of natural and man-made disasters in the past six months.

The world's biggest medical technology company, which is based in Ireland and run from Minneapolis, has put those struggles behind it, chief executive Omar Ishrak said. He described the events – including a computer outage, followed by Hurricane Maria and wildfires in California – as remarkable.

The shares soared 5 per cent to $82.86 in New York, after rising 6.6 per cent earlier.

Medtronic reported quarterly earnings that topped analysts’ estimates, and left unchanged its forecast of revenue growth of 4 to 5 per cent for the fiscal year ending in April.

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The company also reiterated that it expects earnings excluding certain items to rise 9 to 10 per cent from $4.37 a share a year earlier.

The guidance is aggressive, implying a second-half growth rate nearly double the first six months of the year, Michael Weinstein, an analyst at JPMorgan Chase, said in a note to clients. – Bloomberg