DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

Boston Scientific Corp.'s (BSX) fourth-quarter net loss widened on a $2.68 billion write-down of goodwill related to its acquisition of Guidant Corp. in 2006.

Shares rose 2.9% to $8.75 as the medical-device maker Wednesday forecast first-quarter earnings above Wall Street's expectations.

Boston Scientific reported a net loss of $2.43 billion, or $1.62 a share, compared with a net loss of $458 million, or 31 cents a share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, earnings fell to 21 cents a share from 24 cents.

Net sales decreased 7% to $2 billion.

In October, the company had forecast per-share earnings of 18 cents to 23 cents on revenue of $1.97 billion to $2.08 billion.

Gross margin fell to 68.5% from 70.5%.

"During the quarter, we continued to gain share in our cardiac-rhythm management and drug-eluting stent businesses, driven by the approval and successful launch of important new products," said Chief Executive Jim Tobin.

Boston Scientific's share of the drug-coated stent market grew to 47%, with worldwide sales of the stents, tiny metal scaffolds used to prop open blood vessels, rising 1.4%, including a 3.1% increase in the U.S. and a 6.2% drop in international sales.

Boston Scientific's drug-coated stents are a key sales driver, but the product has faced increased competition from newly approved rivals and sales have fallen off in the past several quarters because of worries about blood clots.

On Tuesday, the company and Medtronic Inc. (MDT) agreed to end two patent lawsuits between the companies and put three more on hold for a limited time. The suits were among myriad legal moves involving major players in the $4 billion stent market, which also includes Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ).

In the latest quarter, worldwide sales of heart-rhythm management devices, including implantable cardioverter defibrillators, or ICDs, grew 5%, while U.S. sales climbed 10%.

The company expects first-quarter earnings of 15 cents to 20 cents a share on revenue of $1.95 billion to $2.07 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of 14 cents a share on revenue of $2.05 billion.

-By Kathy Shwiff and John Kell, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5285; john.kell@dowjones.com

(Jon Kamp contributed to this report.)

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