By Chelsey Dulaney 

Medtronic PLC said Tuesday that it expects earnings in its April quarter to come in at the top end of its previous guidance, while the medical-device maker also reported a slight uptick in revenue for the period.

Medtronic's fiscal-fourth quarter, which ended April 24, was the first that included results from its $43 billion acquisition of Covidien PLC.

The deal, which combined two of the world's largest surgical-implant and hospital-supply companies, closed in late January after drawing scrutiny over a tax-lowering tactic criticized by U.S. government officials. The acquisition involved Medtronic reincorporating from Minneapolis to Dublin, a so-called inversion deal that lowers the company's tax burden.

Overall for the quarter, Medtronic said its preliminary revenue edged up to $7.3 billion from $7.26 billion a year earlier on a comparable basis. Excluding a $482 million currency impact, revenue would have been up 7%.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had recently forecast $7.08 billion in revenue.

In the U.S., revenue grew 8% on a comparable basis.

Based on its sales performance in the quarter, Medtronic said it expects earnings to come in at the upper half of its range of $1.08 to $1.13 a share, excluding special items.

Analysts had forecast per-share earnings of $1.10.

Still, the company warned that currency fluctuations remain a headwind, and foreign exchange rates were lower than it had initially forecast in February.

The company expects to report full results for the quarter and give guidance for its newly-started fiscal year on June 2.

Write to Chelsey Dulaney at Chelsey.Dulaney@wsj.com

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