By Robb M. Stewart 



  Medtronic PLC reported on Tuesday a sharp drop in first-quarter earnings as its sales were squeezed by a year-over-year fall in procedure volumes amid the coronavirus pandemic. 


  Net income was $487 million, or 36 cents a share, for the three months to July 31, against $864 million, or 64 cents, a year earlier. 


  Still, adjusted earnings of 62 cents a share for the quarter was well ahead of the 19 cents expected by analysts polled by FactSet. Due to the company's fiscal year, the quarter had one more week than the same period a year earlier, which Medtronic estimated added between six cents and 10 cents a share to earnings. 


  First-quarter worldwide revenue was $6.51 billion, a drop of 13% from $7.49 billion last year. 


  Geoff Martha, the Dublin-based medical-technology company's chief executive officer, said the results were a solid improvement from the prior quarter and reflected a recovery from the depths of the coronavirus pandemic seen in April. Procedure volumes began to recover around the world, Mr. Martha added. 


  Revenue from its cardiac and vascular division was down 13% year-over-year at $2.43 billion, while its minimally invasive therapies arm saw revenue slide 14% to $1.8 billion. Revenue from its restorative therapies unit was 15% lower at $1.71 billion, and its diabetes group unit revenue was 5.1% lower at $562 million. 


  Medtronic said it isn't providing formal annual or quarterly financial guidance at this time. 


  Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com