Cardinal Health ups guidance on strong pharma sales

Medical products supplier Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) raised its full-year earnings expectations, driven in part by a 25 percent increase in third-quarter profits in its pharmaceutical business.

Dublin, Ohio-based Cardinal now expects adjusted full-year earnings per share from continuing operations between $2.61 and $2.67, according to a statement from the company. CEO George Barrett cited strong year-to-date financial performance for the increase.

Cardinal’s third-quarter earnings from continuing operations rose 11 percent to $250 million, or 71 cents per diluted share. That beat Wall Street analysts’ expectations of 69 cents per share.

Revenues increased 7 percent to $26.1 billion. That barely topped Wall Street’s expectations of $25.8 billion.

The company’s pharmaceutical segment, by far its largest, posted an impressive 25 percent year-over-year increase in profits to $384 million. The gain was driven by strong sales of generics, an increasingly important part of Cardinal’s business, and acquisitions. The segment’s revenues grew 7 percent to $23.8 billion.

Cardinal’s medical segment — which sells items like gloves, gowns, surgical drapes and scrubs — faced “pressure” from rising commodities costs, Barrett said. Increased commodity prices, plus “sluggishness” in surgical procedure volumes, caused profits in the segment to decline 1 percent even though sales grew 5 percent.