May 7 (Reuters) – Becton Dickinson raised its annual profit forecast on Thursday, riding strong demand for its drug-delivery devices and surgical equipment, and appointed Vitor Roque as its chief financial officer.
Shares of the company, which makes and distributes medical and surgical products such as needles, syringes and disposal units, rose 3% in premarket trading after it also beat estimates for second-quarter results.
Demand for pharmaceutical manufacturing is showing signs of steadying for life sciences tools makers, although they continue to contend with cautious post-pandemic funding for smaller biotechs and sluggish academic research spending.
Becton Dickinson completed the spinoff and combination of its biosciences and diagnostic solutions unit in a $17.5 billion deal with Waters Corp earlier this year.
The company expects annual adjusted profit per share to be between $12.52 and $12.72, compared with its previous forecast of $12.35 to $12.65.
On an adjusted basis, it earned $2.90 per share for the quarter ended March 31, while analysts estimated $2.77, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Revenue from its interventional segment, which provides surgical solutions, rose 7.3%, while the medical essentials unit reported a 4.7% increase.
Total quarterly revenue stood at $4.71 billion, compared with the estimate of $4.67 billion. The company reaffirmed annual sales growth forecast to be in low single-digits.
“We would have liked to see more organic earnings upside in the quarter and need to see what drove the stronger other operating income number, but a better top-line performance and Vitor Roque’s formal appointment as CFO still look like small steps in the right direction,” J.P.Morgan analyst Robbie Marcus said.
Roque, a Becton Dickinson veteran for more than 25 years, was serving as its interim CFO since December 2025. During this time, he helped advance key priorities including completing the separation of its biosciences and diagnostic solutions business.
(Reporting by Siddhi Mahatole in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
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