NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Danaher today reported that its fourth quarter revenues rose nearly 13 percent year over year.
The company said revenues increased to $5.88 billion for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2015, from $5.22 billion a year ago, but it missed analysts' consensus estimate of $6.00 billion in revenues for the quarter.
The firm's net earnings for the quarter were $688.6 million, or $.99 per share, compared to $661.7 million, or $.92 per share, for Q4 2014. Its adjusted earnings per share was $1.27 for the quarter, matching the consensus Wall Street estimate.
In a conference call with analysts, Danaher CEO Tom Joyce said core revenue growth in Q4 was negatively impacted by having four fewer selling days in the quarter, but said he was "pleased" with the company’s results, especially its ability to drive gains "despite a more challenging economic landscape."
The firm's selling, general, and administrative expenses rose to $1.71 billion in Q4 from $1.49 billion in Q4 2014. The company also increased its R&D spending during the quarter to $327.1 million from $300.7 million in the year-ago period.
Danaher reported that its full-year 2015 revenue rose nearly 8 percent to $20.56 billion from $19.15 billion in 2014, but fell short of the average Wall Street estimate of $20.86 billion.
Its net earnings for the year were $3.36 billion, or $4.74 per share, versus $2.60 billion, or $3.63 per share, for FY 2014. On an adjusted basis, its FY 2015 EPS was $4.30, falling just shy of analysts' consensus estimate of $4.31.
Its SG&A expenses rose to $6.05 billion in 2015 from $5.39 billion in 2014, and its R&D costs rose to $1.24 billion from $1.16 billion year over year.
The life sciences and diagnostics business was Danaher's best-earning segment for both Q4 and FY2015 with revenues rising to $2.68 billion in Q4 from $1.99 billion in Q4 2014, and to $8.21 billion in 2015 from $7.19 billion in 2014.
As he did during Danaher's presentation at the JP Morgan Healthcare conference two weeks ago, Joyce credited the Danaher Business System for the company's execution over the course of the year.
Joyce also said on the call that Danaher has made meaningful progress towards spinning off Fortiv, its new diversified industrial growth company, adding that 2015 was a "historic" year for the company in terms of M&A with 14 acquisitions completed for nearly $14.5 billion. Danaher reported that acquisitions added 17.5 percent to revenue growth during the quarter and 10.5 percent revenue growth during the year, accounting for a majority of the revenue growth for both periods.
For the first quarter of 2016, the company anticipates reporting adjusted EPS between $1.00 and $1.04. It expects adjusted 2016 EPS of $4.80 to $4.95, a 12 percent to 15 percent increase over 2015. Analysts have issued expectations for $1.04 for the first quarter and $4.90 for the full year.
Shares of Danaher were up a fraction of 1 percent at $84.53 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.