Hologic (NSDQ:HOLX) posted first quarter results this evening that either matched or beat the consensus forecast on Wall Street, upping its earnings forecast for the year while cutting its projected revenue range.
The Marlborough, Mass.–based women’s health medtech company reported profits of $385.8 million, or $1.43 per share, on sales of $850.5 million for the three months ended Dec. 28, 2019, nearly quadrupling the bottom line year-over-year on what CEO Steve MacMillan described as a “discrete tax benefit.” Hologic sales grew 2.4% compared with Q1 a year ago.
Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share were 61¢, matching The Street, where analysts were looking for sales of $839.82 million. MacMillan said the company achieved the profit even as it absorbed a loss from its divested Cynosure medical aesthetics business.
“Excluding acquisitions and divestitures, our core businesses significantly outperformed expectations in the quarter, growing 4.1%, or 4.6% in constant currency, against our toughest comparable of the year,” MacMillan said.
Hologic said it expects to log adjusted EPS of $2.63–$2.67 this year, up from prior guidance of $2.60–$2.65, and cut its top-line outlook to $3.238–$3.268 billion, compared with $3.450–$3.500 billion previously.
Investors reacted by sending HOLX shares down 4.9%, to $52 apiece in after-hours trading.