UPDATE: Danaher Q3 Profit Beats Estimates

Danaher

reported upbeat earnings for the third quarter. The Washington, District of Columbia-based company posted a quarterly profit of $680.6 million, or $0.95 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $597 million, or $0.84 per share. The latest quarter earnings included a $0.04 per share after-tax gain on the divestiture of a product line and a $0.01 per share benefit from discrete tax items. Its revenue climbed 4.3% to $4.87 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.89 per share on revenue of $4.90 billion. For the fourth quarter, Danaher projects earnings of $1 to $1.04 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $1.04 per share. Thomas P Joyce, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “As we plan for 2015, we remain mindful of the challenging macroeconomic outlook including the recently stronger dollar. However, we believe our focus on high-impact growth investments and margin expansion, combined with our robust balance sheet and M&A capacity, position us to finish 2014 well and drive long term results." Danaher shares fell 0.03% to close at $71.98 yesterday.