Jan 17, 2003
Guidant Announces Live Webcast of its Fourth Quarter Earnings Conference Call

Indianapolis, Ind. - Guidant Corporation (NYSE and PCX: GDT), a world leader in the treatment of cardiac and vascular disease, will conduct a live webcast of its fourth quarter 2002 earnings conference call on Thursday, January 30, at 11:00 a.m. EST. Guidant will issue a press release detailing fourth quarter 2002 earnings before the opening of the New York Stock Exchange on January 30.

The call will be hosted by Guidant''s President and CEO Ronald Dollens and will feature a review of current financial results. Also participating on the call will be Keith Brauer, vice president, finance and CFO.

As previously announced on January 7, Guidant expects preliminary fourth quarter revenues of approximately $895 million, reflecting sales growth of 25 percent versus the fourth quarter of 2001. Full-year 2002 revenues will be approximately $3.24 billion, up 20 percent versus 2001. The company''s Cardiac Rhythm Management business has experienced significant growth in the implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) market, which continues to be supported by the wide acceptance of the results from the MADIT II and COMPANION trials and sales of our heart failure therapy systems. Fourth quarter U.S. ICD sales of approximately $250 million were up 68 percent versus the previous year.

The live webcast of Guidant''s conference call will be accessible through Guidant''s website at www.guidant.com/webcast or at CCBN's individual investor center at www.companyboardroom.com. The webcast will be archived on both websites for future on-demand replay.

Guidant Corporation pioneers lifesaving technology, giving an opportunity for better life today to millions of cardiac and vascular patients worldwide. The company, driven by a strong entrepreneurial culture of more than 10,000 employees, develops, manufactures and markets a broad array of products and services that enable less invasive care for some of life''s most threatening medical conditions. For more information visit www.guidant.com.

System requirements for the webcast include Internet Explorer 5.0 (or higher) or Netscape Navigator 4.0 (or higher). Users also should have the most recent version of Windows Media Player, which can be downloaded for free at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/en/download/. Users may experience varying levels of performance based on their connection speed, system capabilities and presence of a corporate firewall. To ensure a connection, users should go to the program five to 15 minutes before its start.