Hardware Sales Lift Lexmark

Strong printer sales drove up Lexmark's(LXK Quote) fourth-quarter earnings a better-than-expected 11.6% from the year-ago quarter.

The company earned $155.0 million, or $1.18 a share, in the quarter, compared with $138.8 million, or $1.05 a share, last year. Sales rose 12% from last year to $1.54 billion. Analysts had been forecasting earnings of $1.14 a share on sales of $1.47 billion in the 2004 quarter.

For the current quarter, Lexmark expects to earn 95 cents to $1.05 a share, up from 91 cents a share in the year-ago first quarter. Revenue should climb by a percentage in the mid- to high-single digits. Analysts are expecting earnings of $1.02 a share on sales of $1.36 billion in the first quarter. ...