Quest Diagnostics Q1 Profit Decreases, but beats estimates

(RTTNews) - Quest Diagnostics (DGX) revealed a profit for first quarter that decreased from the same period last year but beat the Street estimates.

The company's earnings came in at $202 million, or $1.78 per share. This compares with $355 million, or $2.92 per share, in last year's first quarter.

Excluding items, Quest Diagnostics reported adjusted earnings of $232 million or $2.04 per share for the period.

Analysts on average had expected the company to earn $1.97 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The company's revenue for the quarter fell 10.7% to $2.33 billion from $2.61 billion last year.

Quest Diagnostics earnings at a glance (GAAP) :

-Earnings (Q1): $202 Mln. vs. $355 Mln. last year. -EPS (Q1): $1.78 vs. $2.92 last year. -Analyst Estimates: $1.97 -Revenue (Q1): $2.33 Bln vs. $2.61 Bln last year.

-Guidance: Full year EPS guidance: $8.45 - $8.95 Full year revenue guidance: $8.93 - $9.08 Bln