Medtronic reports growth in Q1 2014

Medtronic has announced strong financial results for the first quarter of its 2014 business year, which ended on July 26th 2013.

The medical technology company's worldwide first-quarter revenue came to $4.083 billion (2.62 billion pounds), up by three percent year on year on a constant currency basis, with strong international and emerging market growth driving this increase.

Medtronic's cardiac and vascular, restorative therapies and diabetes divisions all saw improvements on the corresponding quarter of last year, with the launch of various new products helping to contribute positively to overall performance.

For the full year, the firm expects to achieve revenue growth in the range of three to four percent on a constant currency basis.

Omar Ishrak, Medtronic's chairman and chief executive officer, said the company's management team "remain confident in both our outlook for the remainder of the year and our long-term competitive position in the changing healthcare environment".

This comes after the company achieved a full-year revenue total of $16.59 billion for 2013, which was up by five percent on the previous year.