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Becton Dickinson Reports 2 Percent Increase in Fiscal Q3 Revenues

NEW YORK – Becton Dickinson reported a 2 percent year-over-year increase in its fiscal third quarter revenues today.

For the three months ended June 30, the medical technology company posted $4.35 billion in revenues, up from $4.28 billion in the year-ago quarter and on par with the average analyst estimates of $4.36 billion.

"Our revenues highlight the breadth and diversity of the growth drivers in our portfolio, and we are seeing strength across all three segments," said Vincent Forlenza, BD's chairman and CEO, in a statement.

Revenues from BD's medical segment were $2.31 billion during the quarter, an increase of 3 percent from $2.25 billion last year driven by medication management solutions, medication delivery solutions, and pharmaceutical systems units.

BD life sciences revenues totaled $1.06 billion, down 2 percent from $1.08 billion in the prior-year quarter driven by performance across the diagnostic systems, preanalytical systems and biosciences units. 

Specifically, preanalytical systems revenue was $407 million, up nearly 1 percent from $404 last year. Diagnostic systems revenue was $368 million, up 2 percent from $362 million last year. Biosciences revenues were $284 million, down almost 10 percent from $314 million last year.

On a conference call to discuss the earnings, CFO Chris Reidy said the firm saw strength in molecular platforms and diagnostic systems, with continued double-digit growth in BD Max and in microbiology solutions for ID-AST, including the firm's Phoenix panels.

In the quarter, the firm also launched the high-throughput, automated BD Cor system for centralized labs along with an assay for human papillomavirus genotyping.

"Early customer interest and placement of our BD Cor units are exceeding our expectations," Forlenza said on the call. He added that strong growth on the BD Max platform is supported by the commercial success of recently introduced assays such as the BD Max vaginal panel and BD's suite of enteric panels. "In addition, we have seen success with our Phoenix M50 ID-AST instrument along with our recently-launched CPO Detect assay," Forlenza also said.

BD interventional revenues were $981 million during the quarter, up 3 percent from the prior-year quarter revenues of $954 million, driven by performance in the urology and critical care and surgery units.

Revenues from BD's US business were $2.44 billion for the quarter, up 4 percent from $2.34 billion last year due primarily to performance in the medical and interventional segments. Revenues from international markets totaled $1.91 billion, down 2 percent from $1.94 billion in the prior year period but driven by strong performance in China and the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region.

Reidy noted on the call that the firm saw "broad-based double-digit growth in China and EMA," and that the firm expects continued double-digit growth in China for the full fiscal year.

The company's net income applicable to its common shareholders for the quarter was $413 million, or $1.51 per share, down from $556 million, or $2.03 per share, in the prior-year period. Adjusted EPS was $3.08, beating the consensus analyst estimate of $3.05.

BD's R&D expenses for the quarter were $282 million, up 2 percent from $277 million in fiscal Q3 2018, while selling and administrative expenses totaled $1.08 billion, down 1 percent from $1.09 billion last year.

"For the full fiscal year, we will invest approximately $1 billion in R&D, which reflects our continued commitment to drive innovation," Reidy said.

The firm reaffirmed its full fiscal year 2019 revenue guidance of a revenue increase of 8.0 to 9.0 percent and adjusted diluted earnings per share between $11.65 and $11.75.

"Our performance has accelerated and we expect this momentum to continue," Forlenza said, adding, "We remain confident in our outlook for fiscal year 2019 and our ability to deliver value to customers and shareholders." 

BD's shares were down 4 percent at $236.24 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.