Medtronic has plans to get more neurostimulation products approved by the FDA and is continuing to increase its smaller mergers and acquisitions.
The company posted its first quarter results for the fiscal year 2022, seeing growth in its spine segments and total revenue.
CEO Geoff Martha and CFO Karen Parkhill discussed Medtronic's performance in an earnings call Aug. 24, transcribed by Seeking Alpha.
On the progress of spinal cord stimulation: "In addition to receiving FDA approval in the quarter for our recharge-free spinal cord stimulator, [Vanta], we also received FDA approval for our SenSight Directional Deep Brain Stimulation," Mr. Martha said. "We also remain on track to submit our ECAP Spinal Cord Stimulator to the FDA later this calendar year, which has the potential to be a disruptive technology, and Pain Stim."
On robotics: "The progress in our surgical robotics business has been impressive in recent months," Mr. Martha said. "We have momentum on a number of important milestones and initiatives. But most notable, and something that has energized our entire company and the robotics team, the first procedures with Hugo were performed at Clinica Santa Maria in Chile by Dr. Ruben Alvarez in June."
On how the company is faring during the pandemic: "Our results reflected the recovery of elective procedures during the quarter, with most of our businesses finishing at or above pre-COVID levels. Now, while the delta variant is having an impact on procedure volumes in certain geographies, we believe the effects will be manageable. Healthcare systems are really just better prepared and vaccination rates continue to increase."
On mergers and acquisitions: "We continue to balance our investment for future growth while returning cash to our shareholders, primarily through our strong and growing dividend," Ms. Parkhill said. "As we've noted for several quarters, we are increasing our level of tuck-in acquisitions, having announced seven for a total of $2.3 billion since the start of the fiscal year 2021."