Teleflex (NYSE:TFX) shares ticked down today despite a 17¢ earnings beat, as investors likely interpreted the Wayne, Pa.-based company’s raised earnings outlook as too tepid for the circumstances.
Teleflex posted profits of $50.7 million, or $1.04 per share, on sales of $424.9 million for the 3 months ended March 27, representing a 32.2% bottom-line gain on a -1.1% sales decline.
Adjusted to exclude 1-time items, earnings per share were $1.52, well ahead of Wall Street’s consensus $1.35 outlook. Analysts were expecting sales of $423.8 million.
Still, investors sent TFX shares down -1.2% to $158.24 apiece today in late-morning trading.
“On the heels of an extremely strong 4th quarter to end 2015, the company delivered a solid start to 2016, with revenue that was in line with, and adjusted earnings per share that exceeded, our expectations,” chairman & CEO Benson Smith said in prepared remarks. “Despite the headwind of 2 fewer selling days in the quarter, Teleflex was able to expand our adjusted gross and operating margins from the year-ago period and drive double-digit adjusted earnings per share growth.”
Teleflex now expects to post adjusted EPS of $7.10 to $7.25, up from prior guidance of $7.00 to $7.15, and stood pat on its sales forecast for constant-currency growth of 5% to 6%, Smith said.
In a separate release, the company said its anesthesia division a pair of new group purchasing agreements with HealthTrust, for laryngeal mask airways and pain management solutions.
