LIONVILLE, Pa. (April 28) — Medical components supplier West Pharmaceutical Services Inc. reported net earnings of $18.1 million on sales of $222.8 million in the first quarter, up from net income of $13.3 million on sales of $149.5 million in the like period of 2005.
The sales figure marked a 49.1-percent boost from a year before, with acquired businesses in 2005 accounting for 35 percentage points of the increase.
"Our strong first quarter, from both a sales and operations perspective, has the year off to a very good start," said Donald E. Morel, West chairman and CEO. "Stronger than anticipated sales, especially in Europe, coupled with the improving product mix and production efficiencies, resulted in significantly better financial performance."
West´s largest business segment, Pharmaceutical Systems, had an operating profit of $35.8 million on sales of $160 million during the quarter, up from profit of $26.4 million on sales of $135 million in 2005, the company said. Acquired businesses contributed $5.6 million to the segment´s sales and 3.8 percentage points of the increase.
The Lionville-based company expects full-year sales to increase between 20 and 23 percent, producing consolidated revenue of between $840 million and $860 million. West estimates full-year diluted earnings per share from continuing operations to be between $1.68 and $1.78.