Shares of Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) took a hit today after reporting it received a warning from the Food & Drug Administration and posted big profit declines for the fourth quarter and full year 2010.
The Deerfield Park, Ill.-based medical device giant said the FDA sent it a warning letter about a pair of plants in Puerto Rico, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The plants, which make nutritional and critical-care products, were found to violate good manufacturing practice requirements and failing to file post-market surveillance reports, according to the newspaper. No patients were affected by the problems, CEO Robert Parkinson Jr. said during a conference call, adding that the company has already addressed the issues raised in the warning letter.
That news, and Baxter’s report of double-digit declines for Q4 and full-yer 2010 profits, sent BAX shares were down nearly 2 percent today. Fourth-quarter profits were down 26.0 percent to $423.0 million, or 72 cents per diluted share, compared with $572.0 million, or 94 cents per share, during Q3 2009. Profits dropped 35.6 percent in 2010 to $1.42 billion, or $2.39 diluted EPS, compared with $2.21 billion, or $3.59 diluted EPS, in 2009.
Fourth-quarter sales were flat at $3.50 billion, compared with $3.47 billion during Q4 2009; full-year sales were $12.84 billion, up 2.2 percent compared with $12.56 billion during the prior year.
Baxter said a slew of charges contributed to its bottom-line woes, including a recall of its Colleague insulin pump, legal expenses and increased sales & marketing and research & development expenses.
Sales are expected to increase between 2 percent and 3 percent this year, the company said, with full-year 2011 diluted EPS of between $4.15 and $4.25.
BAX shares dipped 1.8 percent to $50 this morning.
