Boston Scientific Posts 12% Earnings Gain

Boston Scientific Corp. said fourth-quarter net income rose 12% as sales of its artery-clearing heart stents slowed, and it reassured investors that it was moving quickly to close the $27-billion purchase of Guidant Corp.

The medical device maker also said it had stopped the sales slide of its top product, the Taxus drug-coated stent.

Profit was $334 million, or 40 cents a share, up from $297 million, or 35 cents, a year earlier, Natick, Mass.-based Boston Scientific said. Revenue fell 4% to $1.54 billion.

Shares of the company rose 64 cents to $22.26.