West Pharmaceutical Services Inc. WST fell sharply after it predicted full-year profits below expectations and said its chief executive will retire next year.
The Eaton, Pennsylvania-based drug-maker put third-quarter earnings in line with analysts' forecasts but said full-year results will be between $1.77 and $1.82 per share, versus analysts expectations of $1.84 per share.
Full-year profits will be hurt by $0.04 per share from a stronger dollar as well as by tax-rate changes "attributed to the geographic mix of our earnings," the company said.
In July, West Pharmaceutical had forecast full-year earnings of $1.77 to $1.89 per share and cut its sales outlook to between $1.43 billion and $1.46 billion from an earlier estimate of $1.45 billion to $1.48 billion.
West Pharmaceutical said Wednesday it hired a search firm to recruit a replacement for Chief Executive Donald E. Morel Jr., who will retire in May 2015. Morel was named to his current position in 2002 after 10 years with the company.
West Pharmaceutical began to rebound shortly after the open and traded recently at $44.86, down 1.1 percent.
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