Hospira (NYSE:HSP) posted profits for the 3 months ended June 30 and strong per-share earnings, beating Wall Street’s expectations after adjusting for 1-time items such as a less-lucrative U.S. R&D tax benefit and a huge hit for "retiring" some of its troubled infusion pump lines.

The adjusted figures have Hospira beating the Street by 4¢ with a per-share earning of 55¢, leading analysts to peg shares as "underweight."

The Lake Forest, Ill.-based company posted 2nd-quarter 2013 profits of $52.2 million, or 55¢ per diluted share. That compares with Q2 2012 losses of $2.2 million, or 2¢ lost per share.

Sales took less than a 1% dip during the quarter, remaining relatively flat at $1.03 billion in Q2 2012 and $1.03 billion in Q2 2013.

The 2nd quarter report accounts for some major 1-time items, including restructuring charges, quality control charges, certain holdings and the cost of developing a new device strategy.

In the 1st quarter the infusion pump device company took a $134 million charge on its plan to “retire” some of its older, trouble-plagued infusion pumps, subsequently lowering its sales and earnings guidance.

Q2 earnings have Hospira swinging from red to black, with the company also re-affirming 2013 guidance estimates of flat-to-5% growth and EPS of $2.00 to $2.10.

"While we continued to make progress in supply recovery and in advancing our quality-improvement initiatives, we still have work to do to reinforce our foundation," said CEO Michael Ball in prepared remarks. "We are working through our commitments to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as well as seeking alignment with global regulatory bodies regarding our devices."

Company shares were up 3.4% to $41.05 as of about 2:45 p.m. yesterday.