NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Becton Dickinson reported after the close of the market Wednesday that its fourth-quarter revenues inched up 1 percent and its fiscal-year 2010 revenues increased around 6 percent.
The Franklin Lakes, NJ-based firm, which makes a wide array of medical, diagnostics, and research products, reported total revenues of $1.87 billion for the three-month period ended Sept. 30, compared to $1.85 billion for the fourth quarter of 2009. The results were in line with analysts' consensus estimate.
Its BD Medical segment had revenues for the quarter that were nearly flat year over year at $958.6 million versus $961.8 million the previous year. Sales for the BD Diagnostics segment were up 2 percent to $591.5 million from $580 million, and sales for BD Biosciences rose nearly 4 percent to $323.1 million from $312.2 million.
Despite the growth in the diagnostics business, BD said that it was negatively impacted by sales comparisons related to the flu pandemic in fiscal-year 2009, in addition to lower lab testing and reduced physician office visits. It said that growth in its BD Biosciences business was primarily driven by instrument and reagent sales in the Cell Analysis business unit, which had 3 percent sales growth to $86.8 million from $84.2 million.
BD posted net income of $396.7 million, or $1.68 per share, compared to net earnings of $317.2 million, or $1.29 per share, for Q4 2009. On an adjusted basis, its EPS was $1.24, just missing analysts' estimates of $1.25.
Its R&D spending for the quarter was up almost 10 percent to $123.6 million from $112.9 million, while its SG&A expenses climbed 3 percent to $438.1 million from $427 million.
For fiscal-year 2010, BD reported total revenues of $7.37 billion, up almost 6 percent from $6.99 billion. The firm fell short of analysts' estimates of $7.5 billion.
Its BD Medical segment had 7 percent revenue growth for the year to $3.8 billion from $3.56 billion, while BD Diagnostics had 4 percent revenue growth to $2.32 billion from $2.23 billion, and BD Biosciences' sales increased 4 percent to $1.26 billion from $1.2 billion.
BD's net income for the year was $1.32 billion, or $5.49 per share, compared to net income of $1.23 billion, or $4.99 per share. On an adjusted basis, its FY2010 EPS was $4.90, falling below Wall Street estimates of $5.11.
Its R&D spending for the year was up nearly 7 percent at $431 million from $404.6 million, and its SG&A spending climbed 2 percent to $1.72 billion from $1.68 billion.
"We met our financial and operational goals despite the challenging macroeconomic climate facing our industry," BD Chairman and CEO Edward Ludwig said in a statement.
BD said that it expects its FY2011 revenues to increase about 4 percent year over year, and its EPS to be between $5.45 and $5.55.
The firm did not disclose its cash position as of the end of the fiscal year. But, it said that it plans to spend $1.5 billion repurchasing its common stock in 2011, followed by another $600 million in 2012, which should aid its bottom line.