PharMerica Reaffirms FY13 Outlook; Acquires BGS Pharmacy Partners - Update

(RTTNews) - PharMerica Corp. (PMC) Friday reaffirmed its adjusted earnings per share and revenue outlook for full year 2013, and issued preliminary full year 2014 guidance.

Separately, PharMerica, announced that on December 31, 2013 it completed the all-cash acquisition of BGS Pharmacy Partners, Inc., a provider of pharmacy services to long-term care facilities and other customers. Although financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, the company expects the acquisition to be accretive to earnings in 2014.

In November, the company forecast adjusted earnings per share of $1.71 to $1.76, and revenues of $1.700 billion to $1.725 billion for full year 2013.

On average, seven analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to earn $1.79 per share, on revenues of $1.73 billion for 2013. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

For the full year 2014, the company preliminarily expects adjusted earnings per share to be in the range of $1.35 to $1.501.

Revenues for the year are expected to be between $1.67 billion and $1.72 billion. Street currently is looking for 2014 earnings of $1.47 per share, on annual revenues of $1.52 billion.

PharMerica noted that its preliminary 2014 guidance reflects impact of recently announced investment in Onco360, but does not include effect of any potential 2014 acquisition activity. The 2014 revenue guidance includes 100 percent of expected Onco360 results of approximately $170 million and 2014 adjusted earnings per share guidance includes 37.5 percent of Onco360's results.

The company said its strategic investment in Onco360 is intended to expand its presence in the rapidly growing oncology market.

Looking ahead, Greg Weishar, chief executive officer of the company said, "Fiscal 2014 will be a transitional year for the Company, with significant potential upside in 2015 to come from accretive external growth opportunities. We are confident that our 2015 financial performance will be in line with or better than the Company's 2013 financial results due to the strong tailwinds and anticipated acquisitions."

Louisville, Kentucky-based institutional pharmacy services company said its restructuring program will generate about $50 million of savings, on an annualized basis, when fully implemented in the fourth quarter of 2014. These savings will occur mainly in the first half of 2014.

The firm expects to incur about $4 million in restructuring charges, primarily related to severance and other one-time expenses. Some of this restructuring expense was recorded in the third and fourth quarters of 2013, and the remainder will be recorded in 2014, it added.

Further, the company said it is targeting acquisitions that generate at least $100 million of annualized sales, in the aggregate, in each of 2014 and 2015.

PMC closed Thursday's regular trading at $20.39 on the NYSE.