Becton Dickinson 4Q profit rises 12 percent

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FRANKLIN LAKES, N.J. -Medical device maker Becton Dickinson and Co. said Wednesday its fiscal fourth-quarter profit rose 12 percent on higher sales of surgical, pharmaceutical, and diagnostic products.

Becton Dickinson earned $317.2 million, or $1.29 per share, up from profit of $282.2 million, or $1.12 per share, during the same period a year prior. Revenue rose 5 percent to just under $1.9 billion from $1.81 billion. The fiscal quarter and 2009 fiscal year ended Sept. 30.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected profit of $1.25 per share on revenue of $1.85 billion.

Revenue at the company's medical business rose 8 percent to $1 billion, on a mix of surgical and other medical product sales. The company said flu-related sales gave the unit, which makes syringes and prefillable drug deliver devices, a boost. Meanwhile diagnostics revenue rose 5 percent to $580 million. Bioscience revenue fell 5 percent to $312.2 million, as demand for equipment remained weak because of funding constraints.

For the full year, the company earned $1.23 billion, or $4.99 per share, up from profit of $1.13 billion, or $4.46 per share, a year prior. Revenue rose to $7.16 billion from $7.07 billion.

Becton Dickinson said it expects adjusted earnings per share to grow between 1 percent and 3 percent in fiscal 2010, from $4.95 in fiscal 2009. That implies a range of $4.99 to $5.10 in adjusted earnings per share. Meanwhile, the company expects a 6 percent boost in revenue, implying revenue of about $7.59 billion in 2010.

Analysts expect fiscal 2010 profit of $5.09 per share on revenue of $7.56 billion.

2009-11-04 08:30:46