Cardinal Health Inc. (NYSE:CAH) delivered second-quarter fiscal 2019 adjusted earnings of $1.29 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.09. However, the reported figure decreased 15% year over year.
Revenues increased 7.3% on a year-over-year basis to $37.74 billion and exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $36.25 billion.
The stock has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
Segmental Analysis
Pharmaceutical Segment
In the fiscal second quarter, pharmaceutical revenues increased 8% to $33.74 billion on a year-over-year basis. The segment witnessed strong growth in the Specialty business and gained a large number of Pharmaceutical Distribution customers.
However, strong growth in the segment was partially offset by the divestiture of the company's China distribution business.
Pharmaceutical witnessed a 14% decline in profits to $443 million due to a negative impact from the company's generics program performance.
Medical Segment
In the quarter under review, revenues at this segment decreased 1% to $4.01 billion.The downside can be attributed to the divestitures of the China distribution and naviHealth businesses.
Medical segment profits decreased 14% to $188 million.
Cardinal Health, Inc. Price and Consensus
Margin Analysis
Gross profit plunged 7% year over year to $1.73 billion.
As a percentage of revenues, gross margin in the quarter was 4.6%, down 70 basis points (bps) on a year-over-year basis.
Distribution, selling, general and administrative expenses totaled $1.06 billion, down 6% year over year. Adjusted operating margin for Cardinal Health in the quarter under review was 1.8% of net revenues, down 30 bps.
Guidance Raised
The company raised its guidance for fiscal 2019 adjusted earnings per share.
Adjusted earnings from continuing operations are expected in the range of $4.97-$5.17, up from $4.90-$5.15 projected earlier. The midpoint of the latest guidance range of $5.07 beats the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $5.
In Conclusion
Cardinal Health exited the fiscal second quarter on a solid note, wherein adjusted earnings and revenues outpaced the consensus mark. The Pharmaceutical segment registered solid growth in the Specialty business and gained a number of Pharmaceutical Distribution customers. An upbeat guidance is indicative of brighter prospects.
Nevertheless, sluggishness in the Medical segment is a concern. Despite growth in business, profits in the Pharmaceutical segment were hurt by generic pharmaceutical pricing. Also, huge investments in Pharmaceutical IT platform and lackluster generics performance are likely to mar Cardinal Health’s operational efficiencies in the upcoming quarters. Intense competition and customer concentration are other bottlenecks. Recently, the company closed the divestiture of Cardinal Health China distribution.
Earnings of MedTech Majors at a Glance
Some better-ranked MedTech stocks that delivered solid performance in their respective quarters are Varian Medical Systems (NYSE:VAR) , AngioDynamics (NASDAQ:ANGO) and CONMED Corporation (NASDAQ:CNMD) .
Varian reported fiscal first-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.06, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Revenues totaled $741 million, which outpaced the consensus mark of $717.9 million. The stock has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
AngioDynamics’ fiscal second-quarter adjusted EPS of 22 cents exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny. Revenues amounted to $91.5 million, which surpassed the consensus estimate by 2.9%. The stock sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
CONMED delivered fourth-quarter adjusted EPS of 73 cents, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Revenues of $242.4 million outshined the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $229.2 million. The stock carries a Zacks Rank of 2.
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AngioDynamics, Inc. (ANGO): Free Stock Analysis Report
Varian Medical Systems, Inc. (VAR): Free Stock Analysis Report
CONMED Corporation (CNMD): Free Stock Analysis Report
Cardinal Health, Inc. (CAH): Free Stock Analysis Report
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