Intuitive Surgical profit rises

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Intuitive Surgical Inc (ISRG.O) on Tuesday reported third-quarter profit rose 12 percent, helped by a jump in instruments and accessories revenue and sales of new, more expensive versions of its da Vinci surgical robots.

The Sunnyvale, California-based company posted a net profit of $64.5 million, or $1.64 per share, compared with a profit of $57.6 million, or $1.44 per share, a year ago.

Revenue rose 18.7 percent to $280.1 million, easily topping Wall Street estimates of $258.2 million.

The rise was driven by a 32.8 percent jump in instruments and accessories revenue to $100.8 million as da Vinci surgical procedures rose 49 percent in the quarter despite lower revenue per procedure.

The company sold 86 of its flagship da Vinci robot systems used in delicate prostate surgeries and gynecological procedures. That was five fewer than in the year-ago quarter, but 70 of the 86 were the newer, more expensive models, the company said.

It said the average price per system sold in the quarter was about $1.4 million.

(Reporting by Bill Berkrot; Editing by Richard Chang)