Stryker fourth-quarter profit up on higher sales, lower tax

(Reuters) – U.S. orthopedic implant maker Stryker Corp said on Wednesday quarterly net profit rose 43 percent, driven by increased sales in its reconstructive and neurotechnology divisions as well as lower taxes. Excluding items such as product recall and acquisition charges, Stryker earned $1.23 per share, just ahead of the $1.22 per-share forecast, on average, by Wall Street analysts, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Stryker said its effective tax rate in the latest quarter was 10.3 percent, compared with 24.6 percent in fourth quarter 2012. Shares of Stryker, which closed nearly unchanged at $78.58 on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, were up about 0.5 percent at $79.00 in after-hours trading.