Baxter (NYSE:BAX) met Wall Street’s expectations with its Q1 2013 financial report, but that didn’t keep the company’s stock from sinking this morning.
The Deerfield, Ill., company reported a 1.8% boost in sales and a 6.1% drop in profits for its 1st quarter 2013, with adjusted per-share earnings beating analysts’ expectations by a penny. BAX shares slid 1.3% to $69.35 as of about 12:05 p.m. today.
Baxter posted profits of $522 million, or $1.00 per diluted share, on sales of $3.45 billion during its 1st quarter, falling in line with its own projections. That compared with profits of $588 million, or $1.01 per share, on sales of $3.39 billion during the same period in 2012.
Baxter’s profits shrank primary as a result of its planned merger with dialysis devices maker Gambro AB, which took $29 million from Baxter’s bottom line, according to the report. The company also reported a 1-time tax benefit which added $19 million to profits.
Adjusted for special items Baxter reported earnings of $1.05 per share, a 4% bump from the $1.01 per share reported for the 1st quarter of 2012. Baxter had previously projected adjusted per-share earnings of $1.03-$1.05 for its 1st quarter.
The company broke even on its medical product sales, reporting a 2% increase in overseas revenue that balanced out a 5% decrease in the U.S. Baxter’s medical products includes its fluid systems, renal, specialty pharmaceuticals and biopharma solutions businesses.
"Baxter’s global portfolio remains strong as we benefit from our focus on lifesaving therapies, achieve important new product milestones and make select investments to position our company for future success and accelerated growth," chairman & CEO Robert Parkinson, Jr., said in prepared remarks.
In total Baxter reported a 1% increase in U.S. revenue and a 2% increase in international revenue, amounting to a 2% total boost for the 3 months ended March 31.
The healthcare company reaffirmed its 2013 earnings guidance in the range of $4.60-$4.70 in earnings amid a projected 10% bump in sales.
Baxter has had some negative headlines in recent weeks, among them layoffs in the hundreds at a facility in Puerto Rico and an international warning of certain HomeChoice dialysis machines over concerns about software glitches and mismatched power cords.
The company is also eying a potential expansion that would add jobs at a facility in Minnesota. Baxter is purportedly working out a deal with state and city regulators in Brooklyn Park that would offer tax credits in exchange for the new jobs.
