Intuitive Surgical profit dives 77% on robot sales

Intuitive Surgical Inc. said its first-quarter earnings fell 77% on a steep decline in sales of its da Vinci robotic-surgery systems. Shares fell 4.1% to $405 in recent after-hours trading. Intuitive Surgical has struggled recently as concerns about the safety and cost-effectiveness of the company's robots have hurt sales, according to analysts. The company on April 8 had preannounced the company's preliminary results for the quarter.In the latest quarter, da Vinci systems sales fell 59% to $106 million, as expected.