AmerisourceBergen Corp. (ABC) posted fourth quarter earnings of 44 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4 cents. Earnings increased 22% from the year-ago period. For the full year, earnings increased 17% to $1.69 per share, 3 cents above the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Performance was driven by strong revenues, lower operating expenses and share repurchases. Total revenues for the quarter increased 9% to $18.7 billion. This was attributable to a 10% growth in AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp. revenues, which was driven primarily by new business and improved market growth and an 8% rise in specialty group sales. Generic revenues remained strong during the quarter, displaying above-market growth. For fiscal 2009, total revenues increased 2% to $71.8 billion. Gross profit for the fourth quarter was $538.5 million, which reflected a 2% increase over the gross profit in the year-ago period. The improvement was driven by strong ...

Last week, AmerisourceBergen Corp. (ABC) posted third-quarter income from continuing operations of $125.13 million and earnings per share of $0.42, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3 cents. The company reported income from continuing operations of $112.77 million and earnings of $0.35 per share in the comparable quarter of 2008. The rise in income from continuing operations was due to a lower effective tax rate and lower interest expense.

Total revenue for the quarter increased 2.2% to $18.4 billion from $18.0 billion in the comparable quarter last year. This was attributable to a 2% growth in AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp. revenue, which was driven primarily by new business and a 6% rise in its specialty group sales. The company displayed strong revenue growth across all its operating segments, with good penetration in independent pharmacy, regional chain, alternate site and hospitals.

Generic revenue grew over 20% in the quarter,

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