Beckman Coulter Inc. reported a fourth-quarter profit before charges Friday that beat Wall Street’s expectations.
The Fullerton-based maker of medical testing equipment and supplies earned $67.8 million in the quarter, excluding charges. Revenue was up 11% to $789 million.
Analysts expected Beckman to earn $64.6 million on sales of $765.6 million in the quarter.
Beckman’s net fourth-quarter profit after a writeoff and restructuring charges was down 28% to $44.7 million.
Separately, Beckman said Chief Executive Scott Garrett also will take on the chairman’s title, effective April 24. Garrett’s been with Beckman since 2002 and succeeded longtime leader John Wareham in 2005.
Beckman also gave guidance for 2008. The company said it expects to post a profit of $219.6 million to $229 million on revenue of $2.95 billion to $3.01 billion in 2008.
Wall Street analysts expect $226.5 million in profit on sales of $2.95 billion.
