Profit spikes at Thermo Fisher

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. today reported a sharply higher first-quarter profit, boosted by a $10.6 billion merger completed in November that more than doubled the newly renamed company's revenue and work force.

Excluding costs from the merger, the maker of scientific instruments and laboratory supplies beat Wall Street's profit and revenue expectations, and the company raised its profit forecast for the full year.

In its first full quarter as a combined company following the merger's completion Nov. 9, Waltham-based Thermo Fisher Scientific reported net income of $138.9 million, or 31 cents per share.

That profit was nearly triple the net income of $46.9 million, or 28 cents per share, in last year's first quarter, when the former Thermo Electron was a standalone company. The per-share profit comparison was clouded by the increase in the number of shares on the market after the deal with the former Fisher Scientific closed.

Revenue more than tripled from $684.3 million to $2.338 billion, beating the consensus forecast of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial, who expected revenue of $2.241 billion in the latest quarter.

Had the two companies been combined in the first quarters of both years, revenue grew at a more modest 12 percent. Adjusted operating income -- a measure that excludes one-time charges and gains -- rose 34 percent.

Not counting charges from the merger and other items, Thermo Fisher Scientific's profit in the latest quarter was 59 cents per share, beating analysts' estimate of 53 cents per share.

President and Chief Executive Marijn Dekkers said the company was raising its profit forecast for 2007 because of a more favorable tax rate. Excluding one-time items, the firm now expects a profit of $2.43 to $2.53 per share, compared with the range of $2.35 to $2.45 per share the company forecast in December. Thermo Fisher Scientific reaffirmed expectations for full-year revenue of $9.4 billion to $9.5 billion.

Analysts expect revenue of $9.466 billion and a profit of $2.41 per share.

Last year's merger was structured as a reverse stock swap. The smaller 11,000-employee Thermo acquired Hampton, N.H.-based Fisher Scientific, which had 19,500 workers.

Thermo Fisher Scientific sells scientific supplies and analytical instruments to customers including pharmaceutical firms, government research labs, hospitals and universities. (AP)