Becton Dickinson & Co. (NYSE:BDX) handily beat Wall Street’s consensus estimate for its fiscal 2nd-quarter earnings, meeting top-line expectations dead on, as sales and profits surged from its Carefusion subsidiary.
Franklin Lakes, N.J.-based BD, which closed the $12 billion buyout of Carefusion in March 2015, posted profits of $338 million, or $1.56 per share, on sales of $3.07 billion for the 3 months ended March 31. That represents a 56.5% bottom-line surge on sales growth of 49.5%, compared with Q2 2015.
Adjusted to exclude 1-time items, earnings per share were $2.18, well ahead of The Street’s $2.02 forecast.
“We are pleased with our 2nd-quarter revenue growth and strong operating performance,” chairman, president & CEO Vincent Forlenza said in prepared remarks. “Our results this quarter continue to demonstrate the breadth and diversity of the growth drivers within our portfolio. This performance enables us to continue to create value for shareholders and provides us with the capacity to invest for the future.”
BD raised its outlook for fiscal 2016, saying it now expects to post adjusted EPS of $8.50 to $8.57 (or $9.01 to $9.08 on a constant-currency basis), up from prior guidance of $8.37 to $8.44. Constant-currency sales growth is now pegged at 24.5% to 25.0% (4.5% to 5.0% on an adjusted constant-currency, organic basis), up from 20.0% to 20.5% previously.
BDX shares closed up 0.7% at $161.60 apiece yesterday and ticked up a hair to $161.66 each in after-hours trading.
