AmerisourceBergen 4Q Profit Jumps 13 Percent

VALLEY FORGE, Pa. (AP) — Drug distributor AmerisourceBergen Corp. said Tuesday its fiscal fourth-quarter profit jumped 13 percent on a mix of new business and market growth.

For the period ended Sept. 30, AmerisourceBergen earned $130.1 million, or 44 cents per share, up from profit of $114.9 million, or 36 cents per share, last year. Revenue rose 9 percent to $18.72 billion from $17.16 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters on average expected profit of 40 cents per share and $18.06 billion in revenue.

For the fiscal year, the company earned $503.4 million, or $1.66 per share, up from profit of $250.6 million, or 77 cents per share, in fiscal 2008. Revenue rose 2 percent to $71.76 billion from $70.19 billion.

The company said it expects fiscal 2010 profit between $1.82 and $1.92 per share on revenue growth between 5 percent and 7 percent. That suggests revenue should be between $75.35 billion and $77.13 billion. Analysts expect fiscal 2010 profit of $1.84 per share on revenue of $73.94 billion.

Shares of AmerisourceBergen advanced $1.24, or 5.5 percent, to $23.75 in premarket trading.