BSX To Cut 1,000 Jobs, Posts Loss For 2012

Natick-based medical device maker Boston Scientific Corp. said it will eliminate 900 to 1,000 jobs worldwide this year in an effort to cut costs after posting a loss of more than $4 billion for 2012.

The company made the announcement in its fourth-quarter and full-year 2012 earnings report. BSX said the job cuts are part of an expansion of its 2011 restructuring program that it expects will cut operating expenses by $340 million by the end of this year. Today's announcement will account for $100 million of that.

For 2012, the company posted a net loss of $4.1 billion, or $2.89 per share, compared with net income of $441 million, or 29 cents per share, in 2011. The loss included acquisition and divestiture-related net credits, and restructuring and litigation-related charges.

Sales for the year fell 5 percent, to $7.2 billion. Sales in interventional cardiology, or catheter-based treatment of heart diseases, accounted for nearly $2.2 billion of that, down for $2.5 billion in 2011. Sales in cardiac rhythm management were the second-highest for the year, at $1.9 billion, down from $2.1 billion.

In the fourth quarter, sales fell 1 percent, to $1.8 billion. Meanwhile, profit for the quarter was $60 million, or 4 cents per share. That was a 44-percent decline from a year earlier, when BSX posted net income of $107 million, or 7 cents per share.

During the period, combined revenue from Brazil, Russia, India and China grew 35 percent, BSX said. In its third acquisition in as many months, the firm also acquired Vessix Vascular Inc. in November, for which it paid $125 million initially. Vessix, founded in 2003, developed a catheter-based renal denervation system for the treatment of uncontrolled hypertension, BSX said.

"We are pleased but not satisfied with our improved performance in the quarter," said President and CEO Mike Mahoney. "We continued to enhance our growth portfolio, expand in the emerging markets, and implement operational changes to improve our execution and sharpen our customer focus. I am confident we are taking the critical steps that are needed to return our company to long-term growth."

The company estimates sales for the first quarter of 2013 will range from $1.7 billion to $1.8 billion, with earnings per share between 4 cents and 7 cents. Sales estimates for the full year range from $7.1 billion to $7.3 billion, with earnings between 29 and 37 cents per share.

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