(Reuters) – Becton Dickinson reported fourth-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates on Thursday, helped by strong demand for its drug-delivery devices and surgical equipment.
The company manufactures and distributes medical and surgical products such as needles, syringes and sharps disposal units.
The company reported a 6.8% rise in quarterly revenue to $5.09 billion, marginally ahead of analysts’ average estimate of $5.02 billion, according to LSEG data.
BD joined a list of companies that have benefited from a recent boost to medical technology businesses, including larger rivals Abbott Laboratories and Boston Scientific, as more people, especially older patients, opted for surgeries they put off during the pandemic.
Becton’s largest unit, which makes devices to administer drugs, reported a 7.5% rise in sales to $2.55 billion, largely in line with analysts’ average estimate.
The company’s interventional unit, through which it offers surgical and critical care devices, recorded sales of $1.20 billion, beating estimates of $1.16 billion.
On an adjusted basis, the company reported a profit of $3.42 per share in the quarter ended Sept. 30, narrowly missing analysts’ estimate of $3.43 per share.
The New Jersey-based company now expects an adjusted profit of $12.70 to $13.00 per share for the fiscal year 2024, compared with analysts’ average expectation of $13.50 per share.
The company said its profit forecast includes impact from the divestiture of its surgical instrumentation platform which was sold to Steris in June.
(Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
