CFO Jeffrey Henderson said in response to an analyst question about the quarterly performance, “I would describe the revenue in Q3 as quite strong. If you actually strip out the Walgreens impact for our pharmaceutical business … we actually grew over 9% with the rest of the business. And that really reflects strength across the board.”
Cardinal reported that its third-quarter net earnings fell 9% to $315 million from $345 million in the same period the prior fiscal year. Revenue for the quarter hit $21 billion, a 13% fall compared with $24.6 billion in the same quarter of its prior fiscal year.
Cardinal reaffirmed its previous forecast that its non-GAAP diluted earnings per share from continuing operations would be $3.75 to $3.85 for the year. By that nonstandard accounting method of looking at earnings, its most recent quarterly non-GAAP diluted earnings were $1.01, a 16% drop from the same quarter the prior year. Using generally accepted accounting principles, its quarterly earnings per share from continuing operations were 91 cents.
Dublin, Ohio-based Cardinal last year lost a roughly $20 billion annual contract to supply drugs to Walgreen Co., about 20% of overall company sales at the time. The drugstore chain opted not to renew its contract and instead entered a 10-year supplier contract with AmerisourceBergen Corp.
Cardinal supplies pharmacies, hospitals and ambulatory-care centers.
Follow John N. Frank on Twitter: @MHJFrank
