Fullerton-based Beckman Coulter Inc. reported a fourth-quarter profit that fell short of Wall Street expectations on Friday morning.
The maker of medical testing gear said net income in the fourth quarter was $59.8 million, down 15% versus a year earlier when the company had booked a favorable court settlement. Sales grew 8.5% to $693 million in the period.
Analysts had been looking for net income of about $65 million in the quarter.
“This caught the market a little off guard,” William Quirk, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, told Reuters.
Beckman said it’s gaining market share for its diagnostic instrument test kits, but ramping up sales has hurt profits in the short term.
Shares of Beckman were off 6% to $67 midday Friday. Shares had been on a tear of late in response to an analyst upgrade and a rosy outlook for its product launch plans this year.
Beckman boosted its quarterly dividend 7.7% to 14 cents a share. Meanwhile, its board approved the buyback of up to 2.5 million shares through 2006.
The company is set to get a new chief executive when its chief operating officer, Scott Garrett, takes over Feb. 21, succeeding John P. Wareham.
Garrett said Beckman expects sales to grow 7% to 9% this year.
