WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - AmerisourceBergen Corp.(ABC) said that its third-quarter net loss was $12.78 million or $0.06 per share, compared to net income of $168.44 million or $0.71 per share in the same quarter last year.
Adjusted operating income of $393.5 million was up 26.0 percent versus the prior year, as the percentage increase in gross profit was higher than the percentage increase in operating expenses.
Adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations increased 29.5 percent to $1.01 from last year's $0.78 last year, driven by the strong increase in operating income. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.92 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Revenues for the quarter rose to $30.35 billion from $21.91 billion in the prior year quarter. Fourteen analysts had consensus revenue estimate of $29.25 billion for the quarter.
AmerisourceBergen now expects adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations in fiscal year 2014 to be in the range of $3.89 to $3.94, an increase of 21 to 23 percent over fiscal 2013. The company expects revenue growth in the 35 percent range, and operating income growth in the high-teens percentage range.
Wall Street currently is looking for fiscal year 2014 earnings of $3.73 per share on annual revenues of $116.72 billion.
The company said in April that it anticipated adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations to be in the range of $3.64 to $3.74. The company expected revenue growth in the range of 30 percent to 34 percent, and operating income growth in the 12 percent to 16 percent range.
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