AmerisourceBergen Reports $0.73 Diluted EPS from Continuing Operations, Up 18 Percent, and Revenue Up 5 Percent in the September Quarter

AmerisourceBergen Corporation (NYSE:ABC) today reported that in its fiscal year 2008 fourth quarter ended September 30, 2008, total revenue increased 5 percent to $17.2 billion, and diluted earnings per share from continuing operations were $0.73, an 18 percent increase over the previous fiscal year’s fourth quarter.

Fiscal Fourth Quarter Highlights

• Total revenue of $17.2 billion, up 5 percent.
• Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of $0.73, up 18 percent.
• Pharmaceutical Distribution operating margin of 1.19 percent, up 17 basis points.
• Cash flow from operations of $514 million.
• $126 million of share repurchases.

Fiscal Year 2008 Highlights

• Record total revenue of $70.2 billion, up 7 percent.
• Record diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of $2.89, including $0.03 in special charges, a 14 percent increase.
• Pharmaceutical Distribution operating margin of 1.19 percent, up 7 basis points.
• Cash flow from operations of $737 million; capital expenditures of $137 million.
• $680 million of share repurchases.

"Our results from continuing operations in the September quarter and fiscal year 2008 reflect exceptional performance and resiliency across our businesses,” said R. David Yost, AmerisourceBergen’s President and Chief Executive Officer. "In a pharmaceutical market where growth was soft by historical standards, our strong performance was based on: above-market revenue growth, an excellent contribution from our PRxO^® Generics program, a diverse customer mix, and outstanding expense management. Our working capital management remains exceptional with lower average receivable-days-outstanding and average inventory-days-on-hand. Our balance sheet remains very strong. And looking ahead, our demonstrated discipline in fiscal 2008 will serve us well in fiscal year 2009 as we expect to achieve diluted earnings per share in the range of $3.08 to $3.25, a 7 percent to 12 percent increase over diluted earnings per share from continuing operations in the previous fiscal year.”

Consolidated Results

• Total Revenue: In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008, total revenue was $17.2 billion compared to $16.3 billion for the same period last year, a 5 percent increase, reflecting a 6 percent increase in the Pharmaceutical Distribution Segment. For fiscal year 2008 total revenue was $70.2 billion, up 7 percent from the $65.7 billion in the previous fiscal year.
• Operating Income: Driven by a 23 percent increase in operating income in the Pharmaceutical Distribution Segment, consolidated operating income in the fiscal 2008 fourth quarter increased 15 percent to $202.7 million from $177.0 million in the previous fiscal year's fourth quarter. In fiscal year 2008's fourth quarter, special charges, primarily for employee severance, had a $3.0 million negative impact on consolidated operating income, partially offset by a gain of $1.9 million from antitrust litigation settlements. In the previous fiscal year's fourth quarter, special items had a net positive impact of $7.9 million; a $28 million write-down to market value of tetanus-diphtheria vaccine inventory in the Specialty Group negatively impacted operating income; and PharMerica Long-Term Care (LTC), which was spun off in July 2007, contributed $3.8 million. For fiscal year 2008, consolidated operating income was up 5 percent from the previous fiscal year to $827.9 million, and included $12.4 million in special charges reflected in facility consolidations, employee severance and other, which were offset in part by a $3.5 million gain from antitrust litigation settlements. In fiscal year 2007, special items were a net benefit of $33.8 million primarily due to the positive impact of antitrust litigation settlements.
• Tax Rate: The effective tax rate for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 was 38.7 percent, compared to 35.4 percent in the previous fiscal year's fourth quarter. For fiscal year 2008, the effective tax rate was 38.4 percent, which the Company expects will approximate its effective tax rate going forward.
• Earnings Per Share: In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008, diluted earnings per share from continuing operations were up 18 percent to $0.73 compared to $0.62 in the previous fiscal year's fourth quarter. In last fiscal year's fourth quarter, special items had a $0.03 benefit, PharMerica LTC contributed $0.01, the lower effective tax rate provided a $0.03 benefit, and the tetanus-diphtheria vaccine inventory write-down had a negative impact of $0.10. For fiscal year 2008, diluted earnings per share from continuing operations were $2.89, up 14 percent over last year's $2.53. Special items had a net negative impact of $0.03 in fiscal 2008 and a net benefit of $0.09 in the previous fiscal year. PharMerica LTC added $0.08 to fiscal year 2007.
• Shares Outstanding: For the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2008, average diluted shares outstanding were 158.5 million, down 18.4 million shares from the previous fiscal year's fourth quarter due to share repurchases, net of option exercises. For fiscal year 2008 average diluted shares outstanding were 162.5 million down 25.4 million from the previous fiscal year.

AmerisourceBergen consists of the following two reportable segments: Pharmaceutical Distribution (which includes the operations of AmerisourceBergen Drug Corporation, Specialty Group, Packaging Group and Bellco Health) and Other (which includes PharMerica LTC through July 31, 2007, and excludes PMSI, which has been reclassified to discontinued operations).

Pharmaceutical Distribution Segment Results

• Total Revenue: In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008, total revenue of $17.2 billion was a 6 percent increase over the same quarter in the previous fiscal year, due to a 6 percent increase in AmerisourceBergen Drug Corporation revenue, which included 3 percent from Bellco Health, and a 6 percent increase in Specialty Group, which experienced double-digit growth in its non-oncology distribution businesses and 2 percent growth in oncology distribution. Across all of AmerisourceBergen, anemia drugs used in oncology represented approximately 2 percent of total revenues in the fiscal year 2008 fourth quarter, reflecting a decrease of 23 percent compared to the previous year’s fourth quarter and a 14 percent decrease sequentially from the third quarter of fiscal 2008.
• Gross Profit: As a percentage of total revenue, gross profit increased 16 basis points to 3.06 percent in the fiscal 2008 fourth quarter compared to the same period in the previous year. This margin performance was driven by increased contributions from generic drugs, a $12 million settlement of disputed fees with a supplier in the Specialty Group, and the prior year’s fourth quarter $28 million write-down to market value of tetanus-diphtheria vaccine inventory. The LIFO charge in the fiscal 2008 fourth quarter was $3.4 million compared with a $4.9 million credit in the previous year’s fourth quarter. For the 2008 fiscal year, the LIFO charge was $21 million compared to a $2 million charge last year, reflecting significant increases in brand-name drug price inflation.
• Operating Expenses: As a percentage of total revenue, operating expenses in the fiscal fourth quarter of 2008 did not change from the same period in the previous fiscal year, due to improved productivity and the benefits of the Company’s cE2 cost management initiative. The improved performance in the fiscal 2008 fourth quarter offset fixed asset write-downs of $5.6 million related to IT assets abandoned as a result of the Company’s Business Transformation Program and $5.3 million of intangible asset write-downs involving certain smaller business units.
• Operating Income: In the fiscal 2008 fourth quarter, operating income increased a robust 23 percent to $203.7 million compared with the previous year’s fourth quarter due to solid revenue growth, improved gross profit, and strong expense management.
• Operating Margin: As a percentage of total revenue, the operating margin in the fiscal 2008 fourth quarter was 1.19 percent, a significant 17 basis point increase over the same period in the previous fiscal year. For fiscal year 2008, the operating margin increased an impressive 7 basis points to 1.19 percent, exceeding expectations.

Other Segment Results

• PMSI: AmerisourceBergen completed the sale of its PMSI workers’ compensation business to H.I.G. Capital, LLC in October 2008. In the fiscal 2008 year and fourth quarter, the Other Segment had no results because the PMSI workers’ compensation business was reclassified as a discontinued operation.
• PharMerica LTC: In the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2007, PharMerica LTC contributed revenue and operating income of $104.3 million and $3.8 million, respectively. For fiscal year 2007, revenue and operating income from PharMerica LTC contributed $1.0 billion and $25.0 million, respectively.

Fiscal Year 2009 Expectations

"We expect diluted earnings per share for fiscal year 2009 to be in a range of $3.08 to $3.25, which represents an increase of 7 percent to 12 percent over the $2.89 from continuing operations in fiscal 2008,” said Yost. "Key assumptions supporting this diluted earnings per share range are: total revenue growth of between 1 percent and 3 percent, reflecting expected market conditions, our customer mix, and the 3 percent negative impact from the loss on July 1, 2008 of a large retail drug chain; operating margin expansion in the low to mid single digit basis point range; and free cash flow in the range of $460 million to $535 million, which includes capital expenditures in the $140 million range. Also, subject to the approval of our Board of Directors and market conditions, we expect to spend approximately $350 million to repurchase our common shares in fiscal 2009.”

Conference Call

The Company will host a conference call to discuss its results at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time on October 30, 2008. Participating in the conference call will be: R. David Yost, President and Chief Executive Officer and Michael D. DiCandilo, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer for AmerisourceBergen Drug Corporation.

To access the live conference call via telephone:

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About AmerisourceBergen

AmerisourceBergen is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical services companies serving the United States, Canada and selected global markets. Servicing both pharmaceutical manufacturers and healthcare providers in the pharmaceutical supply channel, the Company provides drug distribution and related services designed to reduce costs and improve patient outcomes. AmerisourceBergen's service solutions range from pharmacy automation and pharmaceutical packaging to reimbursement and pharmaceutical consulting services. With more than $70 billion in annual revenue, AmerisourceBergen is headquartered in Valley Forge, PA, and employs approximately 11,000 people. AmerisourceBergen is ranked #28 on the Fortune 500 list. For more information, go to www.amerisourcebergen.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements about AmerisourceBergen’s future business and financial performance, estimates and prospects. These statements are based on our current expectations and are subject to uncertainty and change in circumstances. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, anticipated or implied are the following: changes in pharmaceutical market growth rates; the loss of one or more key customer or supplier relationships; changes in customer mix; customer or supplier defaults or insolvencies; changes in pharmaceutical manufacturers' pricing and distribution policies or practices; adverse resolution of any contract or other dispute with customers or suppliers; federal and state government enforcement initiatives to detect and prevent suspicious orders of controlled substances and the diversion of controlled substances; changes in U.S. legislation or regulatory action affecting pharmaceutical product pricing or reimbursement policies, including under Medicaid and Medicare; changes in regulatory or clinical medical guidelines and/or labeling for the pharmaceuticals we distribute, including erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) used to treat anemia patients; price inflation in branded pharmaceuticals and price deflation in generics; significant breakdown or interruption of our information technology systems; success of integration, restructuring or systems initiatives; interest rate and foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations; economic, business, competitive and/or regulatory developments in Canada, the United Kingdom and elsewhere outside of the United States; the impact of divestitures or the acquisition of businesses that do not perform as we expect or that are difficult for us to integrate or control; our inability to successfully complete any other transaction that we may wish to pursue from time to time; changes in tax legislation or adverse resolution of challenges to our tax positions; our ability to maintain adequate liquidity and financing sources; continued volatility and further deterioration of the capital markets; and other economic, business, competitive, legal, tax, regulatory and/or operational factors affecting our business generally. Our most recent annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Forms 10-Q and current reports 8-K (which we may revise or supplement in future reports filed to the SEC) provide additional information about these risks, uncertainties and other matters. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements.