Hospira Q4 Profit Rises, Tops View - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Hospira Inc. (HSP), a provider of injectable drugs and infusion technologies that is being bought by Pfizer Inc. (PFE) in a $15.23 billion cash deal, Thursday said fourth-quarter net income advanced to $35.8 million from $33.5 million in the previous year. Earnings per share grew to $0.21 from $0.20.

Adjusted earnings per share were $0.53, while it totaled $0.51 last year. On average, 12 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.42 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Net sales rose to $1.127 billion from $1.084 billion in the prior year. Analysts expected revenues of $1.13 billion.

Excluding the impact of foreign currency fluctuations, net sales increased 6.2 percent from last year.

Citing the announcement earlier this month that Pfizer and Hospira have entered into a definitive merger agreement, the company said it is not providing annual projections.