Medtronic net down 2 pct as ICD wire recall hurts

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Medtronic Inc. (MDT.N) on Monday said quarterly net earnings fell 2 percent from a year ago as the recall of a component used with its implantable devices to treat abnormal heart rhythms hurt revenue.

Medtronic last month suspended sales of the Sprint Fidelis family of leads, or wires that link the heart to an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), saying the equipment may have contributed to five patient deaths.

Medtronic is the largest maker of ICDs -- life-saving devices that can shock a racing heartbeat back to normal rhythm -- with about 50 percent of the market.

Fiscal second-quarter net income was $666 million, or 58 cents a share, compared with $681 million, or 59 cents a share, a year ago.

That beat analysts' average forecast of net earnings of 55 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.

Medtronic's overall second-quarter revenue rose 2 percent to $3.12 billion from a year ago, but sales of its ICDs declined 16 percent to $639 million.

Quarterly revenue from the company's overall Cardiac Rhythm Disease Management business, which also includes pacemakers, fell 8 percent to $1.15 billion.

Sales of ICDs have declined since 2005 following a series of defibrillator recalls, mostly by Guidant Corp, later acquired by Boston Scientific Corp (BSX.N), that slowed demand from cardiologists and their patients.

(Reporting by Susan Kelly; Editing by Gary Hill)