Becton Dickinson (NYSE:BDX) shares dipped slightly despite first-quarter results that came in well above the consensus forecast.
The Franklin Lakes, N.J.-based company posted profits of $981 million, or $3.35 per share, on sales of $5.3 billion for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2020, tripling its bottom-line on sales growth of 25.8%.
Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share were $4.55, $1.44 ahead of Wall Street, where analysts were looking for sales of $4.9 billion.
BD received a significant boost from its life sciences segment, which produced nearly $2 billion in revenue, marking a 76.2% year-over-year increase. Much of that came down to COVID-19 diagnostic revenues, which totaled $867 million.
Routine diagnostic testing and specimen collection improved within the segment, although procedure volumes remained below pre-pandemic levels, according to a news release.
“BD’s strong revenue and EPS growth reflect solid execution across the company and positive momentum to start fiscal 2021,” BD CEO & president Tom Polen said. “While the market continues to be dynamic with the COVID-19 pandemic, BD has emerged as an essential partner to help the world respond to the COVID-19 pandemic from diagnostics to devices used in treatment to injection devices for vaccines and real-time surveillance and reporting.
“I’m proud of the worldwide BD team for their COVID-19 response efforts and support of healthcare providers around the world. We are focused on driving our BD 2025 Grow-Simplify-Empower strategic initiatives which include bringing new and exciting innovations to the health care markets, expanding access globally and creating value for our shareholders. To that end, we continue to make solid progress.”
BD said it now expects to log adjusted EPS of $12.75 to $12.85, compared with $12.40 to $12.60 previously, and updated its prior sales guidance for between 12% and 14% growth.
BD shares were down -1.7% at $256.49 per share in mid-morning trading today. MassDevice’s MedTech 100 Index — which includes stocks of the world’s largest medical device companies — was up 1.9%.
