Beckman Coulter 3Q Profit Falls On Buyout Costs

FULLERTON, Calif. (AP) — Medical testing instruments maker Beckman Coulter Inc. said Thursday that its third-quarter profit plunged on costs for the buyout of Olympus Corp.'s lab-based diagnostics business.

The company said net earnings plunged to $1.5 million, or 2 cents per share, from $24.1 million, or 37 cents per share, during the same period year prior. Revenue rose 8 percent to $822.8 million from $758.8 million.

Excluding costs for the $780 million buyout of Olympus' diagnostics unit, the company said it earned 85 cents per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected profit of 84 cents per share on revenue of $819.1 million.

Looking ahead, the company expects full-year profit between $3.85 and $3.95 per share, tightened from a prior range of $3.76 to $3.91 per share. It also expects revenue to be roughly flat.

Analysts expect profit of $3.91 per share on revenue of $3.22 billion.

Shares closed at $67.06 Thursday.