BDX Becton Dickinson and Company

   By Allison Prang 
 

Becton, Dickinson and Co. released its first-quarter earnings Tuesday before the market opened. Here's what you need to know.

LOSS: The company said it lost $174 million, or 76 cents a share, down from the same period a year ago when it made a profit of $562 million, or $2.58 a share. Restructuring and acquisition costs were $354 million, 307% higher than the same period a year ago. The company's income tax provision also rose by 84% to $231 million, and the company reported no other operating income.

ADJUSTED EARNINGS: On an adjusted basis, earnings were $2.48 a share compared with $2.33 a share from the comparable period the prior year. Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting adjusted earnings of $2.41 a share.

REVENUE: Revenue rose 5.4% to $3.08 billion driven by a 9.1% increase in the company's life-sciences segment, particularly driven by revenue growth in its diagnostic systems division which was up 14%. The only division where revenue fell was medication-management solutions, which was down 2.3% from the same time a year ago. Adjusting for foreign exchange, the company said total revenue rose 3.7%.

GUIDANCE: Becton, Dickinson and Co. said adjusted earnings for 2018 are expected to be between $10.85 and $11 a share. Reported revenue is expected to rise between 30% and 31%. It is expected to increase between 4.5% and 5.5% on a currency-neutral basis, the company said.

Shares fell 0.4% premarket on low volume, but have risen 26% in the past year.

Write to Allison Prang at allison.prang@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 06, 2018 06:59 ET (11:59 GMT)

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