Medical device maker Intuitive beats estimates on strong demand for surgical robots

(Reuters) - Intuitive Surgical beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter profit and revenue on Thursday, riding on higher demand for its robots used in minimally invasive procedures.

Investor expectations around the performance of medical device makers have been heightened since last November, as people, especially older adults, opted for medical procedures deferred during the pandemic.

Intuitive, which makes surgical robots called da Vinci, earned $1.50 per share on an adjusted basis for the quarter ended March 31. Analysts on average estimated $1.41, according to LSEG data.

The company's sales rose 11% to $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared with the estimated $1.87 billion.

Worldwide, da Vinci procedures grew about 16% compared with the first quarter of 2023.

Shares of the California-based company were up more than 3% in trading after the bell.

Industry bellwether and rival Johnson & Johnson said on Tuesday it continues to expect medtech-related procedure volumes to remain elevated through 2024, despite missing estimates for its quarterly medical sales.

Brokerage Evercore ISI had then said a decline in sales for J&J's surgical devices likely reflects loss of market share to Intuitive.

Intuitive had forecast in January procedures using its da Vinci surgical robot to grow between 13% and 16% in 2024. That compares with an about 22% growth in 2023.

(Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)

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