Boston Scientific has reported a near trebling of profit after tax in the second quarter despite an expensive recall of its biggest selling product, which is manufactured in Galway.
The company, which employs more than 2,500 people in Galway, reported profit after tax of $313 million (€258 million) or 36 US cents per share, compared with $114 million, or 13 cents a year, in the same period last year.
The figures, which are a record, came despite the recall of the group's Taxus drug-coated coronary stent - a product used in angioplasty surgery - just months after its introduction in the US market.
The Taxus stent, which is manufactured in Galway and in Minnesota, was implicated in one death and 18 serious injuries on the operating table in the US.
The stent, which has been on the market in Europe since February 2003, has not been implicated in any problems here.
A second, bare metal stent from Boston Scientific was also recalled after one reported death and 25 injuries.
A total of 96,000 units - including lots manufactured in both Ireland and the US - were recalled. Galway supplies part of the US market as well as European and global requirements.
The company said the recall had cost $78 million-$43 million in inventory write-offs and $35 million in lost sales. This is around $10 million less than originally estimated.
Chief executive Mr Jim Tobin said: "Despite the recall, we had a blowout quarter. But at a time when we should have been taking a victory lap, we are dealing with an unfortunate self-inflicted problem."
However, he said the group was now in a recovery phase. The recall was complete and the US market had been restocked within 48 hours.
In a conference call yesterday, company executives said the Galway production lines were running as normal, even though one of the three steps designed to ensure no repeat of the problems that forced the recall had yet to be fully implemented.
They also said that it would be some weeks before it had completed restocking of hospitals in European and global markets, although they were confident the process would be finished by the end of the August "lull" period.
Taxus has a market share of almost 80 per cent in the US just four months after launch and a 70 per cent share of the European market for drug-coated stents.
Shares in Boston Scientific were up 6 per cent following the results and conference call.
