Medical device maker Boston Scientific has reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by strong demand for its surgical products.

Excluding special items, the company earned 24 cents per share in the third quarter to the end of September. Analysts had expected a profit of 23 cents per share.

The company’s MedSurg unit - which makes surgical products, excluding those for the heart - notched sales growth of 17.5 per cent in the quarter.

That helped the unit overtake the defibrillators and implantable devices unit as the second-biggest contributor to the company’s revenue.

Sales in the company’s cardiovascular business, its biggest, increased 9 per cent in the quarter.

Total revenue rose 2.3 per cent to $1.89 billion, above analysts’ average expectation of $1.86 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.

Boston Scientific said total revenue increased 9 per cent, excluding the impact of a strong dollar and divested businesses.

The company posted a net loss of $198 million, or 15 cents per share, including litigation and impairment charges of $524 million, or 39 cents per share. It earned $43 million, or 3 cents per share, a year earlier.

The company’s shares were up 4 per cent at $17.50 in light volumes in premarket trading on Wednesday.

- Reuters