Becton Dickinson (NYSE:BDX) reported Street-beating fourth-quarter financial results and revealed its 2021 fiscal guidance.
The Franklin Lakes, N.J.-based company posted profits of $128 million, or 36¢ per share, on sales of $4.8 billion for the three months ended Sept. 30, 2020, for a -21.5% bottom-line slide on sales growth of 4.4%.
Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share were $2.79, 27¢ ahead of Wall Street, where analysts were looking for sales of $4.5 billion.
Revenues in BD’s medical segment decreased by nearly 5% as a result of the Alaris infusion pump system’s remediation (a process for retaining market access, ensuring conformance to evolving standards and regulations and keeping the product relevant) and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the company’s life sciences business saw 31.2% growth in the quarter, thanks to its Veritor and BD Max COVID-19 testing platforms.
“I’m extremely proud of the team for their execution this quarter, as we delivered sequential improvement across each of our segments and successfully launched our Veritor SARS-CoV-2 assay,” BD president & CEO Tom Polen said in a news release. “Collectively, we drove mid-single-digit revenue growth, building on the strength of our COVID-19 diagnostics revenues to overcome headwinds from both COVID-19 and Alaris.
“Looking to fiscal 2021, BD remains focused on partnering with governments, healthcare systems, and healthcare professionals to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, ensure access to rapid diagnostics and enable care for patients around the world,” Polen added. “We are aligned on our priorities and steadfast in our commitments, including completing our Alaris 510(k) submission, investing in innovation and strategic growth initiatives, simplifying our processes and empowering our organization.”
BD said it expects to log adjusted EPS of between $12.40 and $12.60 for the full 2021 financial year, representing growth of between 21.5% and 23.5% from 2020. Polen also said in the company’s earnings call that the BD expects fiscal 2021 Veritor testing revenues in a range of between $1 billion to $1.5 billion, according to a Reuters report.
BDX shares remained basically even in early-morning trading today at $236.32.
