Hill-Rom Holdings (NYSE:HRC) shares gained today after the medical device company put up fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year numbers that beat the consensus estimates.
The Chicago-based company posted profits of $90.4 million, or $1.33 per share, on sales of $759.2 million for the three months ended Sept. 30, amounting to a bottom-line gain of 30.3% on sales growth of 2.8% compared with Q3 2017. Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share were $1.63, a full 12¢ above the average on Wall Street, where analysts were looking for sales of $750.9 million.
Full-year profits were up a whopping 88.9% to $252.4 million, or $3.73 per share, on sales growth of 3.8% to $2.85 billion compared with fiscal 2017. Adjusted EPS were $4.75, 11¢ ahead of The Street, which had pegged annual sales at $2.84 billion.
“We are very pleased with the momentum generated by our core business and strong financial results in the fourth quarter,” president & CEO John Groetelaars said in prepared remarks. “Our performance reflects the diversity of our portfolio, strong new product contributions, and solid execution in driving sustainable revenue growth and double-digit growth in adjusted earnings per share, while delivering on our long-range financial objectives.”
Hill-Rom said it expects to log adjusted EPS of $5.08 to $5.16 for fiscal 2019, on sales growth of 1% to 2% reported and 2% to 3% on a constant-currency basis. First-quarter adjusted EPS are forecast to be between 97¢ and 99¢ on reported sales growth of 1% and 2 to 3% in constant-currency terms.
The news sent HRC shares up 6.0% to $92.00 apiece today in mid-morning trading.
