Baxter International Raises FY18 Adj. Earnings Outlook - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Baxter International Inc. (BAX) on Wednesday raised its fiscal 2018 adjusted earnings from continuing operations, before special items, guidance to a range of $2.98 to $3.00 per share from the previous forecast range of $2.94 to $3.00 per share.

The company also now projects full-year sales growth of about 5 percent on a reported basis, about 4 percent on a constant currency basis, and about 3 percent on an operational basis.

Previously, the company projected full-year sales growth of about 6 percent on a reported basis, about 5 percent on a constant currency basis, and about 4 to 5 percent on an operational basis.

On average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report earnings of $2.99 per share on sales growth of 6.1 percent to $11.20 billion for the year. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The company also projects fourth-quarter adjusted earnings from continuing operations, before special items, in a range of $0.71 to $0.73 per share on sales growth of about 1 percent on a reported basis, about 3 to 4 percent on a constant currency basis, and 3 to 4 percent on an operational basis. Street is looking for earnings of $0.77 per share on sales growth of 4.6 percent to $2.90 billion for the quarter.

Full-year and fourth-quarter operational sales have been adjusted for the impact of foreign exchange, generic competition for U.S. cyclophosphamide and the benefit from the acquisitions of Claris (full-year only) and the two Mallinckrodt surgical products.