Baxter Q4 Profit Down, Adj. EPS Tops View; Sees Q1, FY16 EPS Below Estimates

(RTTNews) - Baxter International Inc. (BAX) reported Tuesday that its fourth-quarter net income declined 78 percent to $205 million from last year's $953 million. Earnings per share fell to $0.37 from $1.74 a year ago.

Income from continuing operations was $190 million or $0.34 per share, 50 percent higher that $127 million or $0.23 per share last year.

On an adjusted basis, excluding special items, Baxter's fourth quarter income from continuing operations totaled $236 million or $0.43 per share, compared to $155 million or $0.28 per share.

On average, 14 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.32 per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Net sales declined 7 percent to $2.6 billion from $2.79 billion last year. Sales increased 2 percent on a constant currency basis.

Looking ahead, for the first quarter, the company expects reported earnings of $3.64 to $3.67 per share, and earnings from continuing operations, before special items, of $0.28 to $0.30 per share.

For the first quarter, the company expects sales to grow 3 to 4 percent, on a constant currency basis. On a reported basis, including the impact of foreign exchange, the company expects sales to decline approximately 2 percent.

For fiscal 2016, the company expects reported earnings of $9.15 to $9.28 per share and earnings from continuing operations, before special items, of $1.46 to $1.54 per share.

For the full-year 2016, Baxter expects sales to increase 2 to 3 percent excluding the impact of foreign exchange, and after adjusting for the impact of both foreign exchange and increased U.S. competition for cyclophosphamide, the company expects full-year sales growth of 3 to 4 percent. On a reported basis, including the impact of foreign exchange, Baxter expects sales to decline approximately 1 percent.

Analysts expect earnings of $0.32 per share for the first quarter and $1.42 per share for the full year.