Covidien fiscal 4Q net income rises 2 pct

NEW YORK (AP) — Covidien PLC said Friday that its fiscal fourth-quarter net income rose 2 percent, as lower costs helped offset a slight drop in revenue.

The Irish drug and medical device maker earned $461 million, or 95 cents per share, for the quarter ended Sept. 28, up from $451 million, or 92 cents per share, in the same quarter last year.

Excluding one-time items, the company posted adjusted earnings of $1.02 per share for the recent quarter.

Revenue fell 3 percent to $3 billion from $3.08 billion.

Analysts, on average, expected earnings of $1 per share on $2.98 billion in revenue, according to a FactSet poll.

Covidien said the effects of unfavorable currency exchange rates lowered its sales by about 3 percentage points. The Dublin company operates in over 140 countries but reports results in dollars, which means exchange rates can affect revenue comparisons with previous quarters.

In addition, the inclusion of an extra selling week in the fourth-quarter of 2011 lowered the company's sales growth by between 7 and 8 percentage points, the company said.

But selling, general and administrative expenses fell about 1 percent to $929 million, largely as a result of higher year-ago costs stemming from the extra week in the 2011 quarter.

For the full-year 2012, Covidien reported net income of $1.91 billion, or $3.92 per share, up from $1.87 billion, or $3.76 per share, in fiscal 2011. Revenue rose to $11.85 billion from $11.57 billion.

Covidien shares rose 64 cents to $54 in premarket trading. Its shares peaked for the year at $60.81 in early October, and fell as low as $41.69 in mid-December.