By Tess Stynes
Cardinal Health Inc. (CAH) said its earnings rose 16% led by
sales growth in the company's pharmaceutical distribution business
during the quarter ended March.
Chairman and Chief Executive George Barrett said the company is
"increasingly comfortable" with the upper half of its outlook of
$4.28 to $4.38 a share for the fiscal year that ends in June.
The Dublin, Ohio, company, which provides pharmaceuticals and
medical products, in March reached a $1.94 billion deal to acquire
Johnson & Johnson's Cordis heart-product business. The deal
will add stents and catheters to products Cardinal offers to
hospitals, physicians and ambulatory centers.
The deal came as Cardinal, a drug wholesaler that also makes
gloves and surgical apparel, works to expand its portfolio of
medical products as hospitals merge and consolidate.
For the period ended March 31, Cardinal reported a profit of
$365 million, or $1.09 a share, up from $315 million, or 91 cents a
share, a year earlier. Excluding acquisition-related costs,
litigation recoveries and other items, per-share earnings from
continuing operations rose to $1.19 from $1.01. Revenue increased
18% to $25.38 billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected per-share profit of
$1.16 and revenue of $24.41 billion.
Medical segment revenue rose 4.4% to $2.8 billion, while
pharmaceutical segment revenue climbed 20% to $22.6 billion.
Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com
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