Leading medical devices maker,
CR Bard Inc.
(
BCR
) is slated to announce its third quarter 2012 results after the
closing bell on Tuesday, October 23. The current Zacks Consensus
Estimate for the third quarter is $1.63, representing an
estimated year-over-year growth of 0.74%.
Second Quarter Recap
Bard's second-quarter 2012 adjusted earnings per share of $1.62
lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.64, but surpassed the
year-ago earnings of $1.57 per share. In the reported quarter,
profits were $133.9 million (or $1.54 a share) versus a net loss
of $47.8 million (or loss of 55 cents) in the year-ago quarter.
Moderate revenue growth and lower operating expenses contributed
to higher net income.
Revenues increased 2% (up 4% in constant currency) year over year
to $742.6 million, but fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate
of $755 million. Year-over-year growth was driven by balanced
growth across the company's Vascular, Urology and Oncology
segments.
On a geographic basis, revenues in the U.S. and international
markets grew 2% and 3% (up 8% in constant currency) to $490
million and $252.6 million, respectively.
Revenues from the core Vascular segment increased 3% (up 6% in
constant currency) year over year to $221.3 million led by the
ClearStream acquisition. Within Vascular, endovascular sales grew
9% led by the ClearStream acquisition. Biopsy sales were flat
year over year due to prevailing softness in the U.S. economy.
Electrophysiology ("EP") revenues dropped 2% due to lower EP
LabSystem sales (down 1%) along with declining disposable EP
sales (down 2%) and surgical graft sales (down 7%).
Sales from the Urology division increased 3% (up 5% in constant
currency) to $188.8 million led by the company's latest targeted
temperature management products. The company's Oncology segment
reported revenue growth of 3% (up 4% in constant currency) year
over year to $198.9 million. Sales from Surgical Specialties
business were $111.4 million, flat year over year (up 2% in
constant currency).
Estimate Revisions Trend
Agreement
Estimates for the third quarter did not demonstrate any activity
over the past week and month. The past 7 and 30 days have seen
none of the 15 estimates change in either direction for the
quarter.
The past 7 days have seen one of the 16 estimates fall for the
full year 2012, while none moved in the opposite direction. In
the past 30 days, only one out of the 16 estimates moved
downwards, with no upward revision.
Magnitude
The magnitude of revisions, for the forthcoming quarter, has hit
a plateau over the last week and month. The estimate for 2012 has
also not moved over the prior week and month.
Surprise History
With respect to earnings surprises, Bard has posted three
positive surprises in the preceding four quarters, while it
missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate once. The company produced an
average positive earnings surprise of 0.94% over the last four
quarters, implying that it has surpassed the Zacks Consensus
Estimate by that measure. Third quarter earnings are also
expected to meet expectations.
Our View
With a market cap of $8.47 billion, C.R. Bard is a
well-diversified medical device company, providing a complete
line of products to treat medical conditions through less
invasive procedures in a cost-effective manner. The company aims
to achieve long-term growth by focusing on business development,
internal Research and Development (R&D) and strategic
investment in higher growth markets.
Bard keeps introducing new products in the market at regular
intervals. The company also has a reasonably strong pipeline
along with a substantial number of projects in each business
segment. Additionally, the company remains committed to
delivering incremental returns to investors by leveraging its
solid balance sheet, healthy free cash flow and earnings power.
However, increasing competition, fluctuating currency,
pricing/volume pressure and an overall tough U.S. and European
economy remain areas of concern. C.R. Bard faces strong
competition from
Boston Scientific Corporation
(
BSX
), and
Johnson & Johnson
(
JNJ
).
We expect the company to provide some light on the pricing/volume
and capital spending trend as well as an update on its pipeline
and guidance for the fourth quarter during the call. We currently
have a 'Neutral' recommendation on C.R. Bard. The stock currently
retains a Zacks #3 Rank, which translates into a short-term
"Hold" rating.
BARD C R INC (BCR): Free Stock Analysis
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