Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) said it now expects to post earnings of at least $4.29 per share this year, after logging strong third-quarter results today.
The medical device & diagnostics giant said Q3 profits were up 9.7 percent on a 7.9 percent increase in revenues for the three months ended Sept. 30. Baxter reported profits of $576 million, or $1.01 per diluted share, on sales of $$3.48 billion for the quarter. That compares with profits of $$525 million, or 89 cents diluted EPS, on sales of $3.22 billion during the same period last year.
Adjusted earnings, excluding one-time items, were $1.09, one penny more than the consensus analysts’ estimate.
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“The evolving global macro-environment will exert ongoing pressures on our business, creating challenges that we will manage through disciplined execution of our strategies,” chairman & CEO Robert Parkinson Jr. said in prepared remarks.
Sales for Baxter’s medical products division slipped 2.9 percent in the U.S. but rose 6.9 percent overall, thanks to a 13.2 percent contribution from international sales. Domestic medical product sales were $692 million for the quarter; international sales were $1.26 billion, for a grand total of $1.95 billion.
Baxter said it expects full-year EPS, adjusted to exclude one-time items, to be $4.29 to $4.32, up from $4.27 to $4.32. Fourth-quarter diluted EPS is pegged between $1.15 and $1.18.
