Omnicare Posts Loss In Q4, Guides FY14 Below View

(RTTNews) - Healthcare services firm Omnicare Inc. (OCR) Wednesday reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $83.7 million or $0.77 per share compared to a profit of $59.02 million or $0.54 per share last year.

Earnings per share from continuing operations increased to $0.54 from $0.48.

Adjusted cash earnings per share from continuing operations was $0.87 while it totaled $0.80 last year.

On average, 9 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.90 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Net sales grew to $1.54 billion from $1.46 billion in the prior year. Wall Street expected revenues of $1.59 billion.

Nitin Sahney, Omnicare's President and Chief Operating Officer, said, "We are very pleased with our quarterly performance, which reflects the continued strength of our operations and the benefits of our ongoing operating plan."

For 2014, the company expects adjusted cash earnings per share in the range of $3.64 to $3.72, compared to $3.43 earned in 2013.

Revenues are estimated to range between $6.3 billion and $6.4 billion. The company generated revenues of $6 billion in 2013.

The guidance is exclusive of discontinued operations.

Analysts expect full year earnings of $3.95 per share on revenues of $6.61 billion.