McKesson Corp. saw robust earnings in the last three months of 2015, thanks to lower foreign taxes and growth in its North American pharmaceutical distribution and services.
The San Francisco-based company reported $634 million in profit for the three months ended Dec. 31, the third quarter of its fiscal year. That was up 34% from the year-ago period. The figure includes $19 million related to tax law changes in foreign jurisdictions.
Overall revenue for the quarter was $47.9 billion, up 3% from the same period the year before. But McKesson's North American pharmaceutical distribution and services business was the only segment that showed revenue growth—It was up 6%.
Revenue from medical-surgical distribution was flat year-over-year, primarily because of the sale of Zee Medical, a workplace-safety supply business that McKesson sold to Cintas Corp.
McKesson's significantly smaller technology segment saw revenue of $694 million in the quarter, down 8%, primarily because it sold its nurse-triage business earlier in the fiscal year. Technology revenue was also dampened by what the company described as a previously anticipated year-over-year decline in its hospital software business.
Revenue for the first nine months of the fiscal year grew 8% to $144.2 billion, while income increased 36% to $1.8 billion. The results included a pretax gain of $52 million from the Zee Medical sale.
