GE HealthCare Shares Fall, CEO Cites Cautious Optimism on Hospital Spending
25 Abril 2023 - 3:23PM
Dow Jones News
By Will Feuer
Shares of GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. fell 9% after the
company reported better-than-expected first-quarter results, and
Chief Executive Peter Arduini said it is monitoring how medical
providers are spending their capital.
The stock has rallied since the company's spinoff from General
Electric Co. in January. Shares were up some 50% this year headed
into the first-quarter readout. On Tuesday, the stock fell 9% to
$79.85.
The pre-earnings rally may have fed into some of the Tuesday
selloff, which came after the company reiterated its full-year
guidance.
Earlier Tuesday, the company reported a first-quarter profit of
$372 million, or 41 cents a share, down from $389 million, or 86
cents a share, in the same period a year earlier.
Stripping out one-time items, adjusted earnings came to 85 cents
a share, above the 79 cents a share expected by analysts, according
to FactSet.
Revenue rose 8% to $4.71 billion, above the $4.63 billion that
Wall Street analysts expected. Growth was broad-based, with the
company's imaging, ultrasound, patient-care solutions and
pharmaceutical diagnostics all reporting organic sales growth by a
double-digit percentage.
The company backed its full-year guidance for organic sales
growth of 5% to 7% and adjusted earnings of $3.60 a share to $3.75.
Of the five analysts surveyed by FactSet, the average estimate for
2023 adjusted earnings was $3.72 a share, suggesting some hope that
the company might raise its full-year guidance.
On a conference call with analysts, Mr. Arduini said the company
is monitoring for signs that hospitals are pulling back on capital
spending such as on purchases of new machines. The company is
"cautiously optimistic given resilient end market demand."
He acknowledged, though, that businesses are prioritizing
capital in the current environment.
Mr. Arduini pointed to nursing costs, which are beginning to
flatten out after a pandemic-fueled surge in demand for nurses, as
a cause for optimism on hospital spending.
Write to Will Feuer at Will.Feuer@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 25, 2023 14:08 ET (18:08 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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