Beckman Coulter 1Q Profit Halved By Charges

FULLERTON, Calif. (AP) — Beckman Coulter Inc. said its profit fell 50 percent in the first quarter due to restructuring and acquisition costs, but the biomedical diagnostics instrument maker's adjusted earnings were stronger than Wall Street expected.

Beckman Coulter said Tuesday it earned $20.6 million, or 32 cents per share, in the first quarter. The results included severance charges of $9.9 million due to job cuts, $6.7 million in restructuring expenses, and $9.8 million in costs related to the buyout of Olympus Corp.'s lab-based diagnostics business.

Excluding those costs and other one-time items, the company said it earned $45.5 million, or 71 cents per share. Analysts expected 59 cents per share, according to a Thomson Reuters estimate. ...