Becton Dickinson & Co. (NYSE:BDX) shares lost about 1% today after the medical products maker reported lackluster 2nd-quarter results, despite beating Wall Street’s earnings expectations by a penny.
Franklin Lakes, N.J.-based BD reported profits of $291.0 million, or $1.39 per diluted share, on sales of $2.0 billion for the 3 months ended March 31, for a bottom-line slide of 6.7% and a top-line gain of 3.6% compared with profits of $312.0 million, or $1.38 diluted EPS, on sales of $1.92 billion during the same period last year.
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"We are very pleased with our second quarter results. We posted solid revenue growth led by our BD Medical and BD Diagnostics segments, despite continuing challenges in the U.S. in our BD Biosciences segment," president & CEO Vincent Forlenza said in prepared remarks.
BD raised its full-year sales guidance from flat to between 1% and 2% and boosted its diluted EPS forecast from $5.60-$5.70 to $5.68-$5.73. The company also said it plans to repurchase $1.5 billion worth of its own stock during 2012.
BDX shares closed down 1.2% today, at $77.49 apiece.