A tough comparison with the year-ago quarter pushed C.R. Bard‘s (NYSE:BCR) 4th-quarter profits down 80%, due largely to hefty gains from patent infringement suit and the 2013 sale of its electrophysiology unit.
Bard posted profits of $134.2 million, or $1.72 per share, on sales growth of 10% to $867.2 million. That’s a bottom line slide of 80.0% compared with the $667.5 million Bard earned in Q4 2013.
But adjusted to exclude 1-time items, including the $894.3 million windfall from a patent infringement case against W.L. Gore & Assoc. and $213 million in proceeds from the sale of its electrophysiology business to Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX), topping analysts’ expectations by 5¢.
For full-year 2014, Bard’s profits slid 57.3% to $294.5 million, or $3.76 per share, on sales growth of 8.9% to $3.32 billion, according to a regulatory filing.
“Two years ago we announced a strategic investment plan with the objective to shift the mix of the portfolio to faster growth through investments in emerging markets and new product development. We said at the time that we expected the early returns from those investments to begin in the back half of 2014,” CEO Timothy Ring said in a statement. “We are pleased with the performance of our investment plan so far, as we delivered accelerating organic revenue growth throughout 2014. We remain focused on executing our plan with the objective of improving the long-term growth profile of the company in a profitable manner that adds value for shareholders.”
CFO Christopher Holland told analysts during a conference call that the company is expecting to post adjusted EPS of between $2.04 and $2.08 on constant-currency sales growth of 4% to 5%. Full-year adjusted EPS are pegged at between $8.95 and $9.05 per share on constant-currency sales growth of 4% to 5%, Holland said.