Becton Dickinson’s Q1 sales, earnings top forecasts

Becton Dickinson & Co. (NYSE:BDX) beat the consensus forecast for both sales and earnings with its fiscal 1st-quarter results, sending share prices up ahead of the open today.

Franklin Lakes, N.J.-based BD posted profits of $562 million, or $2.58 per share, on sales of $2.92 billion for the 3 months ended Dec. 31, mounting a 145.4% bottom-line increase despite losing -2.1% from the top line compared with Q1 2016.

Adjusted to exclude 1-time items, earnings per share were $2.33, a full 21¢ ahead of the consensus on Wall Street, where analysts were looking for sales of $2.86 billion.

“We are very pleased with our strong start to fiscal year 2017,” chairman, president & CEO Vincent Forlenza said in prepared remarks. “Our results this quarter continue to demonstrate the breadth and diversity of the growth drivers within our portfolio. Our 1st-quarter performance, combined with our current outlook, gives us the confidence to raise our currency-neutral earnings guidance for fiscal year 2017.”

Becton Dickinson raised its adjusted EPS forecast for fiscal 2017 on a constant-currency basis from between $9.62 an $9.72 to between $9.70 and $9.80, but also increased its forecast for sliding sales, forecasting a -3.5% to -4.0% top-line slide for the year compared with prior guidance of 3.0% to 3.5%.

Investors pushed BDX shares up 2.1% to $182.69 apiece today in pre-market trading; the stock closed up 1.0% at $178.97 per share yesterday.

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