Henry Schein 1Q Profit Rises As Costs Decline

MELVILLE, N.Y. (AP) — Medical-products supplier Henry Schein Inc. said Monday its first-quarter profit rose 7 percent as lower costs more than offset a decline in revenue.

The company earned $54.9 million, or 61 cents per share, up from profit of $51.4 million, or 56 cents per share, during the same period a year prior. Revenue fell 2 percent to $1.49 billion from $1.52 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected profit of 58 cents per share on revenue of $1.52 billion.

The revenue drop came from a mix of lower sales and a stronger U.S. dollar cutting into international performance. Dental group sales fell 2.4 percent to $597 million while medical group sales fell 1.2 percent to $327 million. International group sales fell 3 percent to $524 million.

Meanwhile, the company cut selling, general and administrative costs by 5 percent to $346.1 million.

"With market conditions largely as we expected during the quarter, we remain committed to managing expenses and delivering growth in diluted earnings per share from continuing operations," said Chairman and Chief Executive Stanley M. Bergman in a statement.

Looking ahead, the company expects full-year profit between $3.11 and $3.26 per share, while analysts expect profit of $3.14 per share.