Becton Dickinson & Co. (NYSE:BDX) beat the consensus forecast for its fiscal 1st-quarter earnings and boosted the bottom end of its outlook for the rest of fiscal 2014, sending share up slightly today.
BD reported profits of $271 million, or $1.37 per share, on sales of $2.02 billion for the 3 months ended Dec. 31, 2013. Although that’s a nearly 57% plunge for the bottom line, it includes revenues from discontinued operations of $355 million, or $1.78 per share. Sales grew 6.1% during the quarter, according to a press release.
Excluding such 1-time items, earnings per share were $1.42, well ahead of the $1.30 forecast on Wall Street. That, and the raised guidance, sent BDX shares up 0.6% to $106.04 apiece as of about 2:15 p.m. today.
"Fiscal year 2014 is off to a strong start," chairman, president & CEO Vincent Forlenza said in prepared remarks. "Our revenue and earnings growth exceeded our expectations and we have continuing confidence that we have built a solid foundation for future growth. Accordingly, we are raising the bottom end of our previous revenue and earnings ranges for our full fiscal year guidance."
BD said it expects to post EPS from continuing operations of $6.19-$6.22 for fiscal 2014, on sales growth of 4.5%-5.0%. Adjusted EPS are expected to grow 9.0%-9.5%, or 9.5%-10.0% "excluding the incremental impact of the medical device tax," according to a press release.
A $450 million share repurchasing is also planned, the company said.
