("CR Bard 2Q Profit Up 41% On Margins, 2008 Charges," published
at 4:46 p.m. EDT, misstated the profit growth in the headline. A
corrected story appears below.)
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
C.R. Bard Inc.'s (BCR) second-quarter profit jumped 44% on
higher margins and prior-year charges as the medical device maker
also saw slight sales gains.
Shares fell 1.2% after-hours, to $72.00, as revenue fell short
of analysts' expectations.
Bard's varied portfolio of often-disposable products seemed to
protect it from hospital cutbacks, which first targeted big-ticket
items.
But in April, the company said it would cut costs to protect its
goal of 14% earnings-per-share growth this year. It also increased
its quarterly dividend in June.
C.R. Bard posted a profit of $112.2 million, or $1.11 a share,
up from $77.9 million, or 76 cents a share, a year earlier.
Excluding restructuring and other charges, earnings rose to $1.23
from $1.10.
Revenue climbed 1.2%, to $624.6 million, or 6% excluding
currency changes.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters predicted earnings of $1.21
a share on revenue of $634 million.
Gross margin was 61.8% from 60.6%.
Vascular sales saw 11% growth on a constant-currency basis, or
3% overall. Oncology sales rose 2%, or 6%, excluding the currency
impact, while urology had a 3% increase, excluding the currency
impact. Total urology sales fell 1%, helping narrow the gap between
urology, Bard's biggest-selling category by revenue, and vascular
and oncology. All three are similar-sized.
-By Joan E. Solsman and Kevin Kingsbury, Dow Jones Newswires;
212-416-2291; joan.solsman@dowjones.com