Medtronic profit fell 7 percent after natural disasters affected plants in Puerto Rico, California

Nov. 21--Severe hurricanes and wildfires pushed medical-device maker Medtronic's revenue and profits down last quarter, but the results it released Tuesday morning were still better than investors expected.

The multinational maker of pacemakers and artificial heart valves, which operates from offices in Minnesota, reported net adjusted profits of $1.46 billion for the three months ended Oct. 27. That was nearly a 7 percent decline from the same quarter last year, but the result was not surprising because Medtronic announced preliminary figures two weeks ago.

Wall Street analysts had forecast earnings of 99 cents per share, but the final results were better, at $1.07 in adjusted diluted earnings per share for Medtronic's second fiscal quarter results.

The company's stock was up about 4 percent in premarket trading indications.

"Our second quarter financial results are very encouraging, when considered in the context of a quarter in which we faced three hurricanes and the California wildfires," chief executive Omar Ishrak said in a statement. "Hurricane Maria, in particular, significantly affected our manufacturing operations in Puerto Rico."

Medtronic has four plants in Puerto Rico that make products for all four of the company's divisions. The plants were closed and damaged by the Sept. 20 hurricane, but were back up to near pre-storm capacity by Oct. 18. Medtronic also has plants in northern California that affected by wildfires last month.

Despite those challenges, Medtronic posted worldwide revenue of $7.05 billion in the just-ended quarter, down 4 percent from a year ago but still well above analysts' estimates.

Adjusted operating profits in the quarter were down 6 percent, to $1.88 billion.

Medtronic reiterated its earnings forecast for the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends in April. For the fiscal year, Medtronic expects currency-adjusted revenue growth of 4 to 5 percent, and adjusted diluted earnings per share growth between 9 and 10 percent.

"We are seeing increased revenue momentum from several important new product launches, which we expect to continue into the second half of the fiscal year," Ishrak said. "The combination of our growth momentum, business and geographic diversification, as well as our scale in markets around the world contribute to our goal of delivering increasingly consistent and dependable results for our shareholders."

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