Beckman Coulter’s 4th-quarter profit falls on charges, 2010 outlook reaffirmed

Beckman Coulter 4Q profit falls on charges

BREA, Calif. — Medical-testing instruments maker Beckman Coulter Inc. said Thursday its fourth-quarter profit fell 14.5 percent on costs for the buyout of Olympus Corp.’s lab-based diagnostics business and restructuring.

The company earned $64.2 million, or 90 cents per share, down from $75.1 million, or $1.18 per share, during the same period a year prior. Revenue rose 22 percent to $989.6 million from $811.3 million.

Excluding costs for the $780 million buyout of Olympus’ diagnostics unit and other charges, the company said it earned $1.29 per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected profit of $1.26 per share on revenue of $963.2 million.

For the full year, the company earned $147.1 million, or $2.18 per share, down from $186 million, or $2.89 per share, in 2008. Revenue during the year rose to $3.26 billion from $3.1 billion.

Looking ahead, the company reaffirmed its outlook for full-year profit between $4.40 and $4.55 per share, while setting a revenue outlook of $3.8 billion to $3.9 billion.

Analysts expect 2010 profit of $4.50 per share on revenue of $3.78 billion.

Shares of Beckman Coulter fell 10 cents to $63.5 in after-hours trading after falling 10 cents to close at $63.75 during the regular trading session.