Becton, Dickinson Posts Upbeat Q3 Earnings, Lifts Outlook

reported better-than-expected earnings for its fiscal third quarter and raised its earnings forecast for the full year. The Franklin Lakes, New Jersey-based company posted quarterly net income of $62 million, or $0.29 per share, compared to $326 million, or $1.65 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Excluding non-recurring items, the company's earnings rose to $2.05 per share from $1.75 per share. Its revenue climbed 44.6 percent to $3.12 billion, while adjusted revenue surged 45.2 percent to $3.13 billion. Analysts were expecting earnings of $2.01 per share on revenue of $3.13 billion. The average estimate among 5 Estimize users was for earnings of $2.08 per share and revenue of $3.18 billion. In the BD Medical segment, worldwide adjusted revenue surged 84.2 percent to $2.21 billion for the quarter, while revenue in the BD Life Sciences segment fell 3.7 percent to $921 million. Adjusted revenue in the U.S. rose 95.9 percent to $1.71 billion for the quarter, while revenue outside of the U.S. gained 10.9 percent to $1.43 billion. "We are pleased with our performance this quarter, which includes the results of CareFusion, and marks a historic milestone for BD," said Vincent A. Forlenza, Chairman, CEO and President. "We are progressing well with the integration of CareFusion and are on track to achieve the accretion targets we communicated for fiscal 2015 and 2016. We have confidence in our increased earnings outlook for fiscal year 2015 and remain committed to serving our customers with superior healthcare products." Becton Dickinson now projects full-year earnings of $7.08 to $7.12 per share. It also projects currency-neutral adjusted revenue growth of 28.5 percent to 29.0 percent. Becton, Dickinson shares gained 0.99 percent to close at $153.86 yesterday.