PerkinElmer (RVTY -0.79%) entered 2020 with a pretty good head of steam. The global healthcare company saw its shares jump 24% last year. But there hasn't been a lot of news from PerkinElmer so far in January to move the stock either up or down -- until yesterday.
The company announced its fiscal 2019 fourth-quarter and full-year results after the market closed on Monday. Here are the highlights from PerkinElmer's quarterly update.
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By the numbers
PerkinElmer reported revenue in the fourth quarter of $805.5 million. This reflected a 6% increase from the prior-year-period revenue total of $756.3 million. It also topped the consensus Wall Street revenue estimate of $800.9 million.
The company announced net income of $64.5 million, or $0.58 per share, based on generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). In the prior-year period, PerkinElmer posted GAAP net income of $71.3 million, or $0.64 per share.
PerkinElmer's adjusted earnings in Q4 came in at $1.35 per share. This was a 14% jump from the $1.18 per share reported in the fourth quarter of 2018. It was also a little better than the average analysts' adjusted earnings estimate of $1.33 per share.
Behind the numbers
The company's discovery and analytical solutions segment was its biggest winner in the fourth quarter. Sales for the segment increased by 8% year over year to $496.5 million.
PerkinElmer's diagnostics segment increased by 4% year over year to $309 million. The segment's organic growth, which excludes the impact of currency fluctuations, acquisitions, and divestitures, was slightly higher at 5%.
While the company's year-over-year GAAP earnings decline might cause some eyebrows to raise, there's more to the story. This negative comparison was primarily due to debt extinguishment costs of $32.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2019. The adjusted earnings figure gives a better picture of the company's bottom-line status.
CEO Prahlad Singh said, "We are pleased with our strong finish to 2019." However, investors weren't quite as pleased. PerkinElmer shares fell by nearly 3% in after-hours trading on Monday, spurred more by the company's outlook than its performance in the fourth quarter.
Looking ahead
The company expects that revenue for full-year 2020 will be between $3.05 billion and $3.09 billion. The company anticipates GAAP earnings per share (EPS) of $2.89 to $2.99, with adjusted non-GAAP EPS between $4.50 and $4.60.
For the first quarter of 2020, PerkinElmer is looking for revenue of $700 million. It also projects Q1 GAAP EPS from continuing operations of $0.33 with adjusted EPS of $0.70 -- lower than the consensus Wall Street adjusted EPS estimate of $0.84.
This year could be more volatile for healthcare stocks like PerkinElmer than in recent years because of the U.S. presidential election. However, Singh stated that PerkinElmer's "rapid transformation we made as an organization over the past few years and in particular 2019 has put us in an excellent position to accelerate profitable growth and advance outcomes around the world in 2020 and beyond."
