Becton Dickinson’s Q4 meets earnings expectations, beats on revenue

Becton Dickinson & Co. (NYSE:BDX) today met the consensus earnings forecasts and beat revenue expectations for both its fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year results, despite a Q4 swing to red.

The Franklin Lakes, N.J.-based healthcare giant posted losses of -$173 million, or -64¢ per share, on sales of $4.40 billion for the three months ended Sept. 30, for a 39.0% top-line gain compared with fiscal Q4 2017, when profits were $289 million.

Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share were $2.93, in line with the consensus on Wall Street, where analysts were looking for sales of $4.36 billion.

Full-year profits were $159 million, or 60¢ per share, on sales of $15.98 billion, for a -84.6% bottom-line plunge on sales growth of 32.2% compared with fiscal 2017. Adjusted EPS came in at $11.01, again in line with The Street, which was looking for revenues of $15.95 billion.

“Fiscal 2018 was a historic year for BD with the successful completion of the acquisition of C. R. Bard. We are extremely proud of our strong fourth-quarter and fiscal year results, which demonstrate how agile we can be as an organization while executing concurrently on two transformative acquisitions,” chairman & CEO Vincent Forlenza said in prepared remarks. “We enter fiscal 2019 with continued strong momentum and confidence in our ability to execute on our strategy, deliver on our commitments and create value for our shareholders.”

BD said it expects to post adjusted EPS of $12.05 to $12.15 for fiscal 2019 on sales growth of 8.5% to 9.5%.

BDX shares were off by -4.4% to $227.00 apiece today in pre-market trading.