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ISRG 04-17-2012 Intuitive Surgical first-quarter profit rises
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/intuitive-surgical-first-quarter-profit-203902657.html

(Reuters) - Intuitive Surgical Inc (NSQ:ISRG - News) reported higher-than-expected first-quarter profit on Tuesday on increased sales of its high-priced da Vinci surgical robots and a rise in procedures using the systems and its shares rose more than 5 percent.

The company posted a net profit of $144 million, or $3.50 per share, compared with a profit of $104 million, or $2.59 per share, a year ago. That exceeded analysts' average expectations by 36 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue for the quarter jumped 28 percent to $495 million, topping Wall Street estimates of $464.1 million.

Instruments and accessories sales rose 32 percent to $208 million, while procedures grew 29 percent, primarily driven by growth in U.S. gynecological surgeries using da Vinci systems.

Intuitive sold 140 da Vinci systems in the quarter, which was up from 120 a year ago, but a decline from the 152 systems sold in the prior quarter. The da Vinci systems cost about $1.4 million each.

Intuitive Surgical shares rose to $574.45 in after hours trading from a Nasdaq close at $545.53. The company's high flying shares were already up more than 17 percent for the year and up about 56 percent since early October.