AmerisourceBergen Net Falls

The drug distributor sticks to its 2005 guidance, which is well above expectations.

Author:: TSC Staff
Publish date:: Nov 2, 2004 9:29 AM EST

AmerisourceBergen

shares rose Tuesday after the drug distributor reported a lower fourth-quarter profit, but still beat Wall Street's expectations.

The Valley Forge, Pa.-based company said net income fell 23% to $92 million, or 81 cents a share, vs. $119.5 million, or $1.04 a share, a year ago. Revenue rose 4% to $13.38 billion. Analysts expected the company to earn 77 cents a share, based on a Thomson First Call survey.

"We are disappointed with our performance for the quarter and the year, as a lack of price increases in the quarter and the loss of a major customer in the June quarter significantly reduced earnings," the company said.

The company failed to win renewal of a major Veterans Administration contract.

Looking ahead, the company said it expected operating revenue and income to be "essentially flat" for fiscal 2005, and repeated its recent forecast for full-year EPS of $4.20 to $4.30. The consensus forecast is $4.11 a share.

The company warned about its 2004 performance in October.

Shares rose $1.40, or 2.6%, to $56 in premarket trading.