PerkinElmer tops forecasts with 43-cent adjusted Q4 profit

Topping both analyst’s and its own prior estimates, adjusted fourth-quarter earnings at PerkinElmer Inc. (NYSE:PKI) rose handily despite a slight dip in revenues for the diagnostic and laboratory equipment maker.

Company executives said they were largely pleased with the results, noting that the Waltham, Mass.-based firm was able to top expectations in a tough market while also investing in several initiatives supporting future growth.

“We believe this balanced approach allowed us to exit 2009 stronger and better positioned strategically,” CEO Robert Friel said in a press release.

PerkinElmer said it also anticipates 2010 earnings to be in the range of 98 cents to $1.05 per share, with an organic revenue growth increasie in the low- to mid-single-digits, relative to 2009. The company reported an $85.6 million profit, or 73 cents per share, during 2009 on $1.8 billion in overall revenues.

During the three months ended Jan. 3, net earnings were $39.9 million, or 33 cents per share, on $498.3 million in revenues. That compares with a year-ago profit of $30.6 million, or 29 cents per share, on $499.9 million in sales. Revenues within PerkinElmer’s human health segment grew by about $300,000 during the quarter, reaching $198.2 million, helping offset a $1.9 million decline in sales by its environmental health unit.

Excluding items such as amortization of intangible assets and purchase accounting adjustments, earnings per share during the fourth quarter rose to 43 cents — beating consensus estimates and the company’s own guidance by 2 cents.

Currency translations and acquisitions combined to boost reported revenues by about $25 million during the fourth quarter, with a weak U.S. dollar working to ratchet up the reported results by about 4 percent. Adjusted operating profit for human health segment was $36.7 million, or about $300,000 higher than the fourth quarter of 2008.

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