Cardinal Health, Inc. (Cardinal Health) has provided its earnings outlook for the second quarter of fiscal 2009 and full-year 2009. For the second quarter of fiscal 2009, non-GAAP earnings is expected to be around $0.90 per share, driven by solid operating results and a better than expected tax rate. For the full-year 2009, the company expects non-GAAP EPS to be in a range of $3.50 to $3.60, compared with a previously provided range of $3.80 to $3.95.
“It is difficult to forecast the exact duration and potential long-term changes in hospital spending patterns, but the company is taking appropriate cost actions to mitigate the impact,” said R. Kerry Clark, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Cardinal Health.
David Schlotterbeck, CEO of Clinical and Medical Products said, “With the delay in hospital capital spending, we expect softness in our capital equipment sales to continue in the second half of the fiscal year. It is important to note that more than 40% of our Clinical and Medical Products business comes from the sale of disposable products and remains stable. There are also segments of our capital equipment business less affected, and therefore we expect Clinical and Medical Products segment results for the fiscal year to be flat or better than last fiscal year.”
George Barrett, CEO of Healthcare Supply Chain Services said, “Our team has made considerable progress over the past nine months, and in spite of an extraordinary economic climate, we remain on track to achieve our goals for fiscal 2009.”
Full-year goals for the Healthcare Supply Chain Services segment remain unchanged with revenue growth expected to be in excess of 6 percent and segment profit expected to be flat to down 5%, with a return to profitable growth in the second half of the fiscal year.