HAMILTON, Bermuda, and MANSFIELD – For the fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 26, medical supply giant Covidien Ltd. (NYSE, BSX: COV) today posted a profit of $386 million, down 8.10 percent from the year-ago period’s $420 million, on revenue that rose 6.13 percent to nearly $2.46 billion.

First-quarter earnings per diluted share amounted to 76 cents compared with the year-ago period’s 84 cents per share, the company said. Unfavorable changes in foreign exchange rates pared the company’s year-over-year revenue growth by about 4 percent.

“We are off to a good start in fiscal 2009,” said Richard J. Meelia, Covidien’s chairman, president and CEO, who described the overall results as “in line with our expectations” and said that, “despite unfavorable foreign exchange, we reported strong growth in our first-quarter operating earnings.”

Among segments, first-quarter sales in Pharmaceutical Products rose 50 percent to $331 million, boosted by higher sales of “dosage pharmaceuticals,” especially the new extended-release version of painkiller oxycodone HCl; Medical Supplies sales rose 8 percent to $235 million, led by nursing-care products; and Medical Devices rose 3 percent year-over-year to $1.63 billion, “reflecting new products and higher volume,” the company said. But first-quarter sales in the Imaging Solutions segment fell 9 percent to $265 million.

“We benefited from the September 2008 launch of oxycodone extended-release, as well as several other new products,” Meelia said. “Our Imaging segment again posted disappointing results, however, and we are executing on our plan to improve its performance going forward. We will continue to make the investments that will drive our business growth in 2009 and beyond – including our strong, ongoing commitment to increasing R&D spending to competitive levels.”

Covidien today reaffirmed its full-year earnings guidance for fiscal 2009, which started Sept. 27. The forecast calls for net sales to rise 0 percent to 3 percent, while operating earnings (excluding the effect of currency exchange rates) rise 6 percent to 9 percent.

The company is in the process of moving its incorporation from Bermuda to Ireland – where it plans to hold its annual meeting this March – by creating a new holding company to be called Covidien plc. (READ MORE)

Covidien Ltd. (NYSE, BSX: COV) – formerly Tyco Healthcare – is a leading manufacturer of health care devices and supplies for the global market. Based in Mansfield, Mass., with its official headquarters in Bermuda, it posted 2008 revenue of nearly $10 billion and has more than 41,000 employees in 59 nations around the world. For more information, visit www.covidien.com.