Stryker tightens profit forecast on steady demand for its medical devices

(Reuters) - Stryker Corp on Thursday raised the lower end of its full-year profit forecast as the medtech company sees steady demand for its medical and surgical devices from a post-pandemic pick-up in volumes of surgical procedures at hospitals.

The joint-implant maker raised the lower end of its profit forecast to $10.35 from 10.25 per share, while keeping the top-end of the range unchanged at $10.45.

The company also beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter profit, benefiting from a recovery in procedure volumes, especially as older patients return to hospitals for surgeries, including hip and knee replacements that they had put off during the pandemic.

Its revenue rose 9.6% to $4.91 billion, compared with estimates of $4.86 billion.

Sales at Stryker's medical surgery and neurotechnology unit rose 10.5% to $2.86 billion, while sales in the orthopedics and spine segment rose nearly 8.4% to $2.05 billion.

Analysts were expecting a profit of $10.36 per share for the year, according to LSEG data.

On an adjusted basis, Stryker reported a profit of $2.46 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, beating analysts' estimates of $2.43 per share.

(Reporting by Pratik Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)