NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Becton Dickinson said today that its fiscal third quarter revenues grew 45 percent year over year largely on its recent acquisition of medical technology firm CareFusion.
For the three months ended June 30, BD recorded revenues of $3.12 billion compared to $2.16 billion in fiscal Q3 2014, and just shy of the consensus analysts' estimate of $3.13 billion. On a comparable, currency-neutral basis, adjusted revenues grew just over 2 percent.
By segment, BD Life Sciences revenues for the quarter fell 4 percent to $921 million from $956 million, but increased 4 percent on a currency-neutral basis, reflecting solid growth in the preanalytical systems and biosciences units.
In a conference call following release of the company's earnings, BD Chairman, President, and CEO Vince Forlenza noted that biosciences revenue growth was about 5 percent in Q3, "driven by strong performance in research instruments and reagents, and the timing of orders in our advanced bioprocessing business." Forlenza added that as expected, the company saw a small favorable impact related to the timing of government funding in Japan.
Meantime, diagnostic systems growth of about 4 percent reflected "solid core microbiology growth, and double-digit growth in our BD Max molecular platform, partially offset by the impact of extended interval testing in the US, and continued pressure in our ProbeTec/Viper platforms," Forlenza said.
Revenues for the BD Medical segment increased 83 percent year over year to $2.20 billion from $1.20 billion. Revenue growth for this segment included sales from CareFusion, which BD acquired in March for $12.2 billion. On a comparable, currency-neutral basis, adjusted Medical revenues grew 2 percent, reflecting strong sales in the medication and procedural solutions and pharmaceutical systems units, partially offset by an unfavorable comparison to the prior-year period in the medication management solutions unit.
BD recorded a profit of $62 million, or $.29 per share, in fiscal Q3 compared to $326 million, or $1.65 per share, in the year-ago period. On an adjusted basis, EPS was $2.05, topping the Wall Street estimate of $2.01.
The company's R&D expenses grew 30 percent to $178 million from $137 million, while its SG&A costs jumped 44 percent to $764 million from $528 million. BD also recorded $108 million in acquisition-related costs in the quarter compared to no such expense in fiscal Q3 2014.
On a comparable, currency-neutral basis, BD continues to estimate organic revenue growth of approximately 4.5 percent for fiscal year 2015, and EPS of between $3.85 and $3.89. BD said it expects currency-neutral adjusted revenues for Fiscal Year 2015, including the accretion from the acquisition of CareFusion, to grow between 28.5 and 29 percent, which is at the high end of its previously communicated guidance range. It expects adjusted diluted earnings per share of between $7.08 and $7.12, representing growth of 20 to 21 percent on a currency-neutral basis.