Medtronic, Inc. (MDT)
Q4 2009 Earnings Call Transcript
May 19, 2009 8:00 a.m. ET

Executives

Jeff Warren - Vice President, Investor Relations
William A. Hawkins III - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Gary L. Ellis – Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Analysts

Larry Biegelsen – Wachovia Capital Markets, LLC
Rick Wise - Leerink Swann & Company
Bob Hopkins – Bank of America/Merrill Lynch
Matthew Dodds – Citigroup
Michael Weinstein – JPMorgan
Kristen Stewart – Credit Suisse
Ben Andrew – William Blair & Co.
David Lewis – Morgan Stanley

Presentation

Operator

Good morning. My name is Rachel and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Medtronic fourth quarter fiscal year end conference call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speakers’ remarks, there will be a question-and-answer session. If you would like to ask a question during this time, simply press “*” then the number “1” on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question, press the “#” key. Thank you.

I would now like to turn the call over to Mr. Jeff Warren, Vice President of Investor Relations. Sir, you may begin.

Jeff Warren

Thanks Rachel. Good morning and welcome to Medtronic’s fourth quarter conference call and webcast. During the next hour, Bill Hawkins, Medtronic Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Gary Ellis, Chief Financial Officer will provide comments on the results of our fourth quarter and fiscal year 2009, which ended April 24, 2009. After our prepared remarks, we will be happy to take your questions.

A few logistical comments; earlier this morning we issued a press release containing our financial statements and a revenue by business summary. You should also note that some of the statements made during this call may be considered forward-looking statements, and that actual results might differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statement.

In addition, the 10-K for the fiscal year 2008 identifies certain factors that could cause the company’s actual results to differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statements made during this call. The company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information or future events or developments. The 10-K is available through the company or via the Medtronic website.

During the call, non-GAAP financial measures may be used to provide information pertinent to ongoing business performance. These measures are addressed in a non-GAAP to GAAP reconciliation that were included in today’s press release and are also available on the Investor Relations portion of the Medtronic website, and unless we say otherwise, reference to quarterly results increasing or decreasing are in comparison to the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2008.

With that, I am now pleased to turn the call over to Medtronic Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Bill Hawkins.

William A. Hawkins III

Good morning and thank you, Jeff. Q4 was a solid quarter with revenue of $3.8 billion, growing 5% after adjusting for a $211 million unfavorable impact of foreign currency. Total year revenue of $14.6 billion, grew 9% after adjusting for a $100 million unfavorable impact of foreign currency. Fourth quarter earnings and diluted earnings per share on a non-GAAP basis were $916 million and $0.82 respectively. Total year earnings and diluted earnings per share on a non-GAAP basis were $3.3 billion and $2.92, growing 10% and 12% respectively.

Despite a challenging economic environment, our fourth quarter and annual results reflect the underlying resilience and strength of Medtronic’s diversified portfolio of businesses that focus on many of the most prevalent chronic diseases across a range of increasingly important global markets. While we continue to closely monitor any potential impact from the ongoing economic turbulence, I remain confident in our ability to deliver sustainable, market leading performance.

Looking ahead, we intend to extend our market leadership by increasing our focus on innovation. Over the next year, we expect to introduce many new products. We will also continue our efforts on relentless execution. We intend to extend our market leadership by strategically investing in faster growing markets like endovascular, diabetes, atrial fibrillation, transcatheter valves, Neuromodulation and spine. And we expect to extend our leadership by leveraging our global footprint.

Today, we are well positioned in the most attractive chronic disease markets with leading technology. We exited fiscal 2009 stronger than we began.

MDT	$51.53	-1.57%

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