LIONVILLE, Pa. (Aug. 2) — Medical components manufacturer West Pharmaceutical Services Inc. posted sales of $263.7 million in the second quarter, a 9.8-percent increase over the like period of 2006, the company reported Aug. 2.
The company also had net earnings of $26 million in the quarter, up from $20.7 million a year ago. Earnings per diluted share from continuing operations grew to 74 cents during the three-month period — including 6 cents per share of discrete tax benefits recognized in the quarter — up from $0.62 per diluted share in 2006.
For the half-year, West's sales jumped 12.6 percent to $521.3 million, while net earnings climbed 35.3 percent to $52.5 million.
Donald E. Morel Jr., West chairman and CEO, said the company's second quarter improvement was strong considering that the comparable quarter of 2006 was — by a wide margin — its strongest ever to that point.
"Sales will continue to grow in line with our expectations for 2007," he said. "Profitability will be impacted in the second half of this year by some customer-driven changes in the expected product mix and by efficiency issues."
West reconfirmed its full year 2007 guidance, including sales of about $1.0 billion and earnings per diluted share from continuing operations to be between $2.27 and $2.37.