Intuitive, a US-based medical technology firm, reported a GAAP net income of $565m for the third quarter of 2024 (Q3 2024), marking an increase of 35.8% compared to $416m in the same quarter of the previous year.
In the preceding quarter, Q2 2024, Nasdaq-listed Intuitive registered a net income of $527m.
For Q3 2024, the company’s diluted earnings per share (EPS) were $1.56, compared to $1.16 in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
Intuitive specialises in developing solutions for minimally invasive care and robotic-assisted surgery, including the da Vinci surgical systems and the Ion endoluminal system.
Intuitive’s revenue for the quarter ending 30 September 2024 stood at $2.04bn, an increase of 17% compared to $1.74bn in Q3 2023. The revenue growth in Q3 2024 was primarily driven by an increase in the da Vinci procedure volume and a rise in the installed base of systems.
Revenue from instruments and accessories in Q3 2024 rose by 18% to $1.26bn, compared to $1.07bn in Q3 2023. This increase was mainly attributed to an approximately 18% growth in da Vinci procedure volume and an approximate 73% growth in Ion procedure volume.
Systems revenue for Q3 2024 was $445m, compared with $379m in the same quarter of the previous year.
Intuitive placed 379 da Vinci surgical systems, including 110 da Vinci 5 systems, in Q3 2024, compared with 312 systems in Q3 2023. Of these placements in Q3 2024, 220 systems were under operating lease arrangements, with 141 systems under usage-based operating lease arrangements, compared to 163 systems under operating leases and 93 under usage-based leases in Q3 2023.
The company expanded its installed base of da Vinci surgical systems to 9,539 as of 30 September 2024, a 15% increase compared to 8,285 systems as of the end of Q3 2023.
During the first nine months of 2024, Intuitive did not experience any significant disruptions in procedure volumes due to COVID-19. However, in Q1 2023, COVID-19 resurgences in China impacted da Vinci procedure volumes in January, with a recovery noted in February and March.
The company believes that patient treatment backlogs from the pandemic also contributed positively to 2023 procedure volumes as patients returned for diagnosis and treatment.
Intuitive CEO Gary Guthart said: “Core measures of our business were healthy this quarter, and we are pleased by customer adoption of da Vinci 5.
“We remain focused on delivering the goals we share with our customers, centred on improving patient outcomes.”
Earlier this month, Intuitive received regulatory approval in South Korea for the da Vinci 5 surgical system. The approval authorises its use in urologic, general, gynaecologic, thoracoscopic, thoracoscopically-assisted cardiotomy, and transoral otolaryngology surgical procedures.
