Danaher (NYSE:DHR) shares rose before hours on first-quarter results that easily toppled the consensus forecast.
The Washington, D.C.-based company posted profits of $1.7 billion, or $2.29 per share, on sales of $6.9 billion for the three months ended April 2, 2021, nearly tripling its bottom-line on sales growth of 57.9%.
Adjusted to exclude one-time items, earnings per share were $2.52, 77¢ ahead of Wall Street, where analysts were looking for sales of $6.3 billion.
“We had a very strong start to the year, delivering better-than-expected first-quarter results across our portfolio,” Danaher president & CEO Rainer M. Blair said in a news release. “This broad-based outperformance was driven by double-digit core revenue growth in our base business, and our ongoing contributions to the development and production of COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostic tests.
“Our record top-line performance contributed to strong earnings per share growth and cash flow generation and, we believe, continued market share gains in many of our businesses.”
Danaher said it anticipates full-year revenue growth will range in the high-teens, percentage-wise.
DHR shares were up 0.7% at $246 per share in pre-market trading today.