St. Jude Medical to increase annual earnings per share by 15%; says ICD market will grow

By Jennifer Lanning Drey

Eugene, Ore., Sept. 19 - St. Jude Medical, Inc. plans to grow its earnings per share annually by 15% through market growth and expansions, John Heinmiller, chief financial officer of St. Jude Medical, said Tuesday at the Banc of America investment conference.

"We have multiple platforms of growth drivers in our business that we're in development with, and we expect that in addition to the top-line growth that we can get out of those product opportunities, we will be able to influence the profit margin of our company," Heinmiller told investors.

Heinmiller said the company expects the implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) market to grow, despite a slowdown last year that he believes was the result of recalls in the market and media attention.

St Jude plans to expand beyond the ICD market it currently serves by addressing markets outside of the United States.

"We think that markets outside the U.S. that have shown interest in growth throughout this period are still under-penetrated and provide growth opportunities for ICDs," Heinmiller said.

Additional market growth will come from targeting other under-served patient populations, he said.

In 2006, St Jude Medical introduced more than 20 new products in its cardiac rhythm management business, Heinmiller said.

Beyond growing the ICD market, St. Jude Medical will also look for opportunities to acquire other companies, he said.

"We have a strategy where we're looking to add businesses where we think it can be complementary to our 15% growth goal and where we have a reasonable basis to conclude that we can sustain leadership in a space over time," Heinmiller said.

He also said the company has seen significant growth in its atrial fibrillation business and expects forthcoming studies to establish catheters as the standard of care for atrial fibrillation patients.

"As the techniques and catheters and tools that we provide to the physicians advance in their development, this can be a significant growth area for St. Jude," Heinmiller said.

Based in St. Paul, Minn., St. Jude Medical develops products for cardiac, neurological and chronic-pain patients.

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