Becton Dickinson can’t escape global stock slide despite Q2 beats

Becton Dickinson (NYSE:BDX) couldn’t shake the nosedive in stock markets worldwide, despite posting fiscal second-quarter results that handily beat expectations in its first earnings release involving C.R. Bard.

Franklin Lakes, N.J.-based BD swung to red ink for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2017, reporting losses of -$174 million, or -76¢ per share, on sales of $3.08 billion. That compares to profits of $562 million and sales growth of 5.4% compared with fiscal Q2 2016.

Adjusted to exclude one-time items, including a $276 million increase in acquisition and restructuring costs and the impact of last year’s tax reforms, earnings per share were $2.48, 7¢ ahead of Wall Street, where analysts were looking for sales of $3.05 billion.

But the global selloff didn’t spare the company’s stock. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down -4.6% yesterday, its largest-ever decline, the S&P 500 index closed down -4.1%; European exchanges were off some 2%; and in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei dived 4.7%, Taiwan’s main index lost 5.0% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 4.2%.

BDX shares closed down -5.2% at $224.82 apiece yesterday afternoon and slid a further -3.3% this morning in pre-market trading, to $217.32 per share, as the futures markets pointed to further losses.

“We are proud of our performance in our final stand-alone quarter, as we continued to deliver solid, consistent results,” chairman & CEO Vincent Forlenza said in prepared remarks. “We look forward to the future with confidence as we welcome C.R. Bard to BD. Together, through our combined capabilities and the impact we can have on our customers and their patients, we have a tremendous opportunity to advance the world of health.”

BD said it’s expecting to report adjusted 2018 EPS of $10.85 to $11.00 on sales growth of 30.0% to 31.0%, including contributions from the $24 billion Bard buyout, which closed late last year.

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