Quest Diagnostics Profit Rises, Helped by Lower Costs

Laboratory-testing company Quest Diagnostics Inc. reported profit rose 65% in the latest period as fewer expenses offset a decline in revenue.

During the quarter that ended in June, the company completed the sale of its Focus Diagnostics products business to DiaSorin S.p.A. for $300 million in cash, as part of a broader effort to divest some of its product assets to focus heavily on the core diagnostic information services business. Following a review of its portfolio in 2012, the company decided to refocus on diagnostics, resulting in six divestitures.

In the quarter that ended in June, its diagnostic-information revenue increased 2.2%, while volume--measured by the number of requisitions--rose 1.9%.

Overall, Quest posted earnings of $195 million, or $1.37 a share, compared to $118 million, or 81 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding special items such as amortization, per-share earnings were $1.34 in the period. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had projected adjusted earnings of $1.32.

Revenue slipped 1% to $1.91 billion, meeting analysts expectations, due to divestitures.

Expenses declined 8.6% to $1.48 billion.

For the year, Quest affirmed its revenue forecast range of $7.47 billion to $7.54 billion and its adjusted earnings outlook of between $5.02 and $5.17 per share.

Write to Joshua Jamerson at joshua.jamerson@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 21, 2016 09:45 ET (13:45 GMT)

DiaSorin (BIT:DIA)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024