BD - BD Announces Results for Fourth Fiscal Quarter and Full Year 2005

BD Announces Results for Fourth Fiscal Quarter and Full Year
Thursday November 3, 5:15 am ET
- Fourth-quarter and full-year revenues each increased 10%; annual revenues were $5.4 billion
- Fourth-quarter and full-year earnings per share from continuing operations, excluding specified items and share-based compensation expense, increased 19% to 83 cents and 20% to $3.07, respectively
- The Company plans to repatriate $1.3 billion of foreign earnings under the provisions of the American Jobs Creation Act
FRANKLIN LAKES, N.J., Nov. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (NYSE: BDX - News) today reported quarterly revenues of $1.379 billion for the fourth fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2005, representing an increase of 10 percent over the prior year period. This quarter's growth rate includes an estimated 2 percent benefit from foreign currency translation. Revenue growth in all segments benefited from foreign currency translation, driven primarily by favorable exchange rates in Latin America, Asia Pacific, and Canada.
"Our excellent results this year were driven, in particular, by our strong international performance, new product revenue growth, and significant margin improvement," said Edward J. Ludwig, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Our Asia Pacific/Japan, Canada, Europe, and Latin American regions contributed double-digit revenue growth and the combination of higher margin products and increased operating effectiveness drove margin expansion. Performance such as this will allow us to continue to increase the pace of our R&D spending while also targeting double-digit earnings growth."
"Our strong fourth quarter provides a solid foundation for fiscal 2006," added Mr. Ludwig. "We feel confident in our expectation that earnings will grow by approximately 10 percent. On a performance basis, this equates to about 14 percent, excluding the expected negative impact of foreign currency translation."