BD
(NYSE: BDX)
shares took a hit this morning on fourth-quarter results that came in mixed compared to the consensus forecast.
Shares of BDX fell 9.2% at $232.29 apiece in early-morning trading today. MassDevice’s MedTech 100 Index — which includes stocks of the world’s largest medical device companies — fell slightly.
The Franklin Lakes, New Jersey-based company posted profits of $108 million. That equals 53¢ per share on sales of $5.09 billion for the three months ended Sept. 30, 2023. BD recorded a 59.2% bottom-line slide on sales growth of 6.8%.
Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share totaled $3.42, falling 1¢ behind Wall Street expectations. However, BD posted a sales beat as experts forecast $5.02 billion in revenue for the quarter.
The Medical and Interventional segments at BD led the way in the quarter with 7.5% and 9.7% growth, respectively. BD reported softness in China for medication delivery offset by strong catheter performance in North America and Europe. The company also saw strength in dispensing and demand for pre-fillable solutions in Medical.
For Interventional, surgery performance drove double-digit growth in advanced repair and reconstruction. Percutaneous interventions also grew with global penetration coming from the company’s Rotarex atherectomy system.
Life Sciences, which grew 3.3%, saw solid growth in base business, offset by an expected decline in COVID-19-only testing revenues.
Highlights in the quarter also included the resumed shipping of Alaris systems after winning updated FDA clearance.
“We achieved another quarter, and another year, of strong performance through our talented team’s execution of our BD2025 strategy and differentiated portfolio of medical technologies that are increasing healthcare efficiency and improving the lives of patients around the world,” said Tom Polen, chair, CEO and president of BD. “Looking ahead, continued execution of our category leadership strategy in higher-growth markets, advancement of our strong innovation pipeline and delivery against our simplification programs position us well to deliver durable growth in fiscal 2024 and beyond.”
For 2024, BD expects revenues to range between $20.1 billion and $20.3 billion with adjusted EPS between $12.70 and $13.
