Covidien reports good progress in first quarter of 2013

Covidien has expressed satisfaction with its financial performance for the first quarter of the new 2013 fiscal year after exceeding its commercial targets for the period.

During the three months from October to December 2012, the company's net sales rose by five percent year over year to $3.06 billion (1.94 billion pounds), while medical device sales shot up by eight percent.

The firm continued to experience above-market growth in key categories such as stapling, energy, airway and ventilation, while also realising the benefits of its recent investments in emerging markets.

Covidien has therefore raised its forecasts for the 2013 full-year period and pledged to invest further in research and development in order to maintain this momentum.

Jose Almeida, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Covidien, said: "We remain confident that our robust pipeline of new products, sizeable expansion opportunities in emerging markets and recent promising portfolio additions will enable us to meet the significant challenges of the global marketplace."

This comes after the firm last week received European CE Mark approval for its latest product, the EverFlex self-expanding peripheral stent with Entrust delivery system.