Baxter Continues Momentum with Strong Growth in Earnings and Sales
Baxter's Earnings Escalate 17 Percent in the 4th Quarter
And For Full-Year 2000
Company Generates Nearly $600 Million in Cash Flow in 2000
Baxter Well-Positioned to Achieve 2001 Commitments
DEERFIELD, Ill., Jan. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Baxter International Inc. (NYSE: BAX) today reported strong earnings growth of 17 percent for the fourth quarter. Net earnings for the quarter totaled $270 million, an increase from the $231 million reported last year. Earnings per diluted share grew 15 percent to 90 cents, from 78 cents last year.
"We generated great momentum and solid growth across our entire business portfolio in the fourth quarter as well as for the full year," said Harry M. Jansen Kraemer, Jr., chairman and chief executive officer.
Baxter's sales advanced 15 percent in the quarter, excluding the impact of foreign exchange. After the impact of foreign exchange, Baxter's sales grew 9 percent to $1.93 billion, up from the $1.77 billion for the same period last year. Domestic sales in the quarter increased 13 percent, while international sales rose 5 percent (or 17 percent excluding the impact of foreign exchange).
Sales grew across all of Baxter's businesses, with BioScience achieving 15 percent growth, I.V. Systems/Medical Products achieving 4 percent growth, and Renal achieving 9 percent growth. BioScience's sales were $690 million for the fourth quarter, driven by strong sales of recombinant and plasma-derived clotting factors used in the treatment of hemophilia, immune globulins used in the treatment of certain immune disorders, and vaccines. Specifically, sales of Recombinate Antihemophilic Factor (rAHF) grew approximately 20 percent including the impact of foreign exchange in the quarter (or in excess of 25 percent excluding the impact of foreign exchange). Baxter's I.V. Systems/Medical Products sales in the quarter were $750 million, with anesthesia products and electronic infusion pumps fueling the business' growth. The company's Renal business reported sales of $492 million in the quarter, boosted by the company's acquisition of Althin Medical and increased sales of hemodialysis products.
Full-Year 2000 Results
"For the seventh consecutive year, we met our earnings and cash flow commitments," Kraemer said.
Baxter's commitments for 2000 were to achieve earnings growth in the mid-teens, sales growth of approximately 10 percent and generate at least $500 million in cash flow.
Baxter's earnings for 2000 rose 17 percent to $915 million, up from the $779 million reported last year. Earnings per diluted share rose 16 percent to $3.06, from the $2.64 reported last year.
For the full year, Baxter's sales grew 8 percent (or 12 percent excluding the impact of foreign exchange) to $6.9 billion, up from the $6.4 billion reported last year. Domestic sales rose 9 percent for the year, while international sales advanced 7 percent (or 14 percent excluding the impact of foreign exchange). Sales from the company's BioScience business grew 8 percent in 2000 to $2.4 billion. Baxter's I.V. Systems/Medical Products business sales totaled $2.7 billion for the year, an increase of 8 percent from the prior year. Renal sales grew 9 percent in 2000, to $1.8 billion.
Baxter generated $588 million in operational cash flow for the year, after investing more than $1 billion in research and development and capital expenditures.
2000 Highlights
-- On March 31, 2000, Baxter successfully completed its spin-off of
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE: EW) as a separate publicly held
company. Baxter shareholders received one share of Edwards
Lifesciences stock for each five shares of Baxter stock they owned on
March 29. Edwards Lifesciences designs, develops and markets a
comprehensive line of products and services to treat late-stage
cardiovascular disease.
-- Baxter, in collaboration with Cerus Corporation, made significant
progress in the development of products for pathogen inactivation of
blood components. During 2000, the companies submitted a CE Mark
application for European approval of the Intercept Platelet System,
initiated a U.S. Phase 1c study of the Intercept Red Cell System, and
continued to enroll patients in a U.S. Phase III study for the
Intercept Plasma System.
-- Baxter announced $400 million in expansions and upgrades to its
BioScience facilities in California, Switzerland and Austria to provide
greater flexibility in manufacturing, additional production capacity
for the company's biopharmaceuticals and vaccines and alignment of
research and development priorities. As part of these efforts, Baxter
began construction of a new state-of-the-art plasma processing facility
in Los Angeles and made significant progress in construction of a
multi-product recombinant protein manufacturing facility in Neuchatel,
Switzerland.
-- Baxter's BioScience business received U.S. Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) licensure for a second production suite (Suite B) at its Thousand
Oaks, California facility. The company also received European approval
for Suite B and an additional production suite (Suite C) later in the
year. These approvals allowed the company to increase production of
its Recombinate Antihemophilic Factor (rAHF), which is produced by
recombinant DNA technology for people with hemophilia.
-- Baxter and Arriva Pharmaceuticals (formerly known as AlphaOne
Pharmaceuticals) entered into a collaboration on the development of an
inhaled, recombinant alpha 1-antitrypsin ("rAAT") product for the
treatment of hereditary emphysema, and other pulmonary indications,
including asthma, cystic fibrosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease.
-- Baxter announced a collaboration with Pharming Group on the development
of recombinant human C1 inhibitor to treat hereditary angiodema, a
potentially fatal disease that results in the swelling of tissues and
organs.
-- Baxter entered into a strategic alliance with Cambridge, UK-based
Acambis Plc (formerly known as Peptide Therapeutics Group) that
encompasses several agreements to position each company in the
development and commercialization of their respective vaccine
pipelines.
-- Baxter and XOMA announced a collaboration in the development of
NEUPREX(R) (rBPI21) for certain anti-bacterial and anti-endotoxin
indications.
-- During the year, Baxter completed its acquisitions of Althin Medical
A.B., a leading manufacturer of hemodialysis products, and North
American Vaccine, Inc. Within weeks of completion of its acquisition
of North American Vaccine, the company received market authorization
from the United Kingdom Medicines Control Agency for NeisVac-C, a group
C meningococcal vaccine.
-- Baxter made significant progress on several e-business and e-health
initiatives in 2000, with the formation of the Global Healthcare
Exchange in collaboration with other leading health care manufacturers,
and the launch of several on-line educational tools for patients and
clinicians, including www.kidneydirections.com , a patient education
website dedicated to increasing awareness of kidney disease and
treatment options, www.tissuesealing.com and www.nutriforum.com .
-- Late in the year, Baxter signed an agreement to acquire Sera-Tec
Biologicals Limited Partnership, which owns and operates 80 FDA- licensed plasmapheresis centers in 28 states, and a central testing
laboratory. The transaction is expected to close within the next few
weeks.
Positioned Well to Accelerate Growth in 2001 and Beyond
"We accomplished a great deal in 2000 and achieved many significant milestones, including the successful spin-off of Edwards Lifesciences, several important acquisitions and alliances, advances in our product pipeline and solid financial performance. These achievements and initiatives position us extremely well to accelerate growth in 2001 and beyond," said Kraemer.
"For 2001, Baxter expects to accelerate its sales growth to the low double digits and once again generate a minimum of $500 million in operational cash flow. We expect to achieve earnings growth in the low double digits for 2001. However, if the Euro remains at current levels or strengthens further, our sales and earnings growth in 2001 will be stronger," Kraemer explained.
Baxter International Inc. is a global medical products and services company that provides critical therapies for people with life-threatening conditions. Baxter's products and services in bioscience (biopharmaceuticals and blood collection, separation and storage devices), medication delivery and renal therapy are used by health-care providers and their patients in more than 100 countries.
A web cast of Baxter's fourth quarter conference call for investors can be accessed live from a link on Baxter's web site at www.baxter.com beginning at 10:00 a.m. CST on January 25, 2001. The company will be making investor presentations on the following dates during the first quarter of 2001: February 1, February 8, March 1, March 15 and March 27 |
