Quest Diagnostics Q4 Profit Increases, beats estimates

(RTTNews) - Quest Diagnostics (DGX) reported a profit for its fourth quarter that increased from the same period last year and beat the Street estimates.

The company's bottom line came in at $192 million, or $1.70 per share. This compares with $101 million, or $0.87 per share, in last year's fourth quarter.

Excluding items, Quest Diagnostics reported adjusted earnings of $245 million or $2.15 per share for the period.

Analysts on average had expected the company to earn $2.11 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The company's revenue for the quarter fell 1.7% to $2.29 billion from $2.33 billion last year.

Quest Diagnostics earnings at a glance (GAAP) :

-Earnings (Q4): $192 Mln. vs. $101 Mln. last year. -EPS (Q4): $1.70 vs. $0.87 last year. -Analyst Estimate: $2.11 -Revenue (Q4): $2.29 Bln vs. $2.33 Bln last year.