Cardinal Health raises profit goals in the long term

Cardinal Health has reaffirmed its financial outlook for the 2008 fiscal year, restating its consolidated non-GAAP earnings-per-share (EPS) while increasing the long-term profit goals of its clinical and medical products units.

The company has also increased the top end of the range for its long-term non-GAAP EPS goal, while noting that its growth predictions for the 2008 fiscal year include the dilutive impact of the company’s acquisition of Viasys Healthcare completed this week.

Forecasts also include the predicted advantage of its $3.1 billion (1.55 billion pound) share repurchase programme that followed the sale of the company’s pharmaceutical technologies and services operations.

R Kerry Clark, chief executive officer of the firm, said: “After completing our annual review of the business, we see more substantial profit growth coming from the clinical and medical products segments as strong demand for our market-leading products generates additional customer opportunities worldwide.”

He added that changes to the company’s operations would also provide improved leverage to profits at Cardinal Health, while the company would continue to address performance issues relating to its medical supply chain segment.

In April 2007, Cardinal Health announced its financial results for the third quarter of the 2007 fiscal year, with the company recording revenues of $21.9 billion, an eight per cent increase in revenue over the same quarter in 2006.