Halyard Health Inc. reported better-than-expected earnings Wednesday, sending shares higher, as the company seeks to quell concerns raised in a recent "60 Minutes" report over the quality of its surgical gowns.

Halyard's stock, which hit an intraday high of $29.75 Wednesday, rose 5.8% to $28.27 in recent afternoon trading. Before the results Wednesday, the stock had fallen 15% since Thursday, on concerns raised by the CBS report.

In a conference call, Halyard Chairman and Chief Executive Robert Abernathy reiterated the company's belief that its Microcool surgical gowns have an "exceptional" record.

The "60 Minutes" report accused the company of selling defective protective equipment to health-care workers following the recent Ebola outbreak. Halyard was spun off from Kimberly-Clark Corp. in 2014.

Halyard has said it received fewer than one complaint for every million gowns sold and that it hasn't heard of a health-care professional being infected as a result of a flaw in its product.

CBS News said Wednesday it stood by its report.

In the latest quarter, Halyard said sales in its surgical and infection prevention unit edged down to $254.7 million. Sales volume climbed 4% on strong demand for exam gloves in North America but were offset in part by lower selling price for the gloves.

Sales in the company's smaller medical devices unit increased 4% to $126.7 million. All other sales, including sales of non-healthcare products by Kimberly-Clark, fell to $3.4 million from $17.1 million a year ago.

Over all, Halyard's profit fell to $14.2 million, or 30 cents a share, from $21.7 million, or 46 cents a share, a year ago.

The company said that excluding special items—such as acquisition-related charges, litigation and legal expenses, and a tax rate change in Thailand—it earned 53 cents a share. Analysts expected 34 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters.

Revenue slipped 2.4%, or 1% in constant currencies, to $384.8 million. Analysts anticipated $371.4 million.

The company also backed its 2016 adjusted per-share profit forecast of $1.50 to $1.70. On the call, Mr. Abernathy said the "60 Minutes" report wasn't considered when the company decided to maintain the guidance range.

Write to Joshua Jamerson at joshua.jamerson@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 04, 2016 15:45 ET (19:45 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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