Diabetes care, drug-delivery power Becton Dickinson's beat
(Reuters) - Medical equipment maker Becton Dickinson & Co reported better-than-expected profit and revenue, helped by strong sales in its diabetes care and drug-delivery businesses. Becton said it expected adjusted earnings from continuing operations to be between $6.76 and $6.83 per share for the year ending September 2015. Analysts on average were expecting $6.70 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Becton, which makes products such as disposable needles, syringes and catheters to administer drugs, last month said it would buy CareFusion Corp, whose products include infusion pumps, to create a market leader in the $20 billion medication management industry. Becton said it expected revenue to rise 4.5-5 percent on a foreign currency neutral basis for the year ending Sept. 30, 2015. The company reported revenue of $8.45 billion this year. Net income rose to $301 million, or $1.53 per share, in the fourth quarter, from $91 million, or 46 cents per share, a year earlier. The year-ago quarter included pretax charges of $347 million. On an adjusted basis, the company earned $1.68 per share, exceeding the average analyst estimate of $1.65. Revenue rose 4.8 percent to $2.20 billion, above analysts' average estimate of $2.16 billion. (Reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Bangalore and Susan Kelly in Chicago; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
