DOW JONES NEWSWIRES Cardinal Health Inc.'s (CAH) fiscal fourth-quarter earnings fell 9.3% on restructuring-related expenses though acquisitions helped drive strong growth in its pharmaceuticals business. Adjusted profit and revenue beat analysts' expectations. For the year, the company projected per-share earnings of $3.04 to $3.19, above estimates of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters of $3.01. The second-biggest drug distributor in the U.S. behind McKesson Corp. (MCK) has continued to report stronger revenue, partly thanks to acquisitions. Cardinal has been acquisitive amid efforts to reduce its dependence on major customers such as CVS Caremark Corp. (CVS) and drug-store chain Walgreen Co. (WAG). Its most recent purchases include a diverse range of businesses including China's largest pharmaceutical importer, a distributor focused on smaller pharmacies in the Northeast and a specialty pharmaceutical services company. Pharmaceutical sales, which account for the vast majority of its revenue, rose 9.6% and profit jumped 30% boosted by acquisitions. Its much smaller medical segment sales were up 7.1% though earnings fell 24% amid high commodities costs and inventory related charges. Chairman and Chief Executive George Barrett said "although commodity costs and sluggish utilization continued to challenge our medical segment, we are taking actions to mitigate their impact." Cardinal Health reported a profit of $202.7 million, or 57 cents a share, down from $223.5 million, or 62 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding restructuring-related impacts, earnings from continuing operations were 59 cents. Revenue increased 9.4% to $26.76 billion. Analysts expected earnings of 58 cents on revenue of $26.13 billion. Gross margin rose to 3.9% from 3.7%. Shares closed Wednesday at $42.19 and were inactive premarket. -By Tess Stynes, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2481; Tess.Stynes@dowjones.com
