West Pharmaceutical Services up 10.5% on Q1 Outlook

West Pharmaceutical Services

is trading higher on the session following its Q1 guidance announcement. The company sees a Q1 EPS of $0.81 vs $0.65 estimate 2012 EPS of $2.37-$2.55 vs $2.47 estimate. Donald E. Morel, Jr., Ph.D., West's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer said: "The strong order flow we experienced at the close of 2011 carried through the first quarter. Pricing actions, overall inventory-building by customers that included supplying one customer's needs for a planned new product launch, along with progress payments on customer-funded R&D projects, contributed to a more profitable sales mix and a record quarter. Demand remains strong in Pharmaceutical Packaging Systems, with our committed-order backlog continuing to grow faster than sales." West Pharmaceutical Services is currently trading at $44.12, a gain of $4.19 or 10.49%.