AmerisourceBergen posts modest 2Q profit

CHICAGO AmerisourceBergen reported that its second-quarter profit was up 3 percent on higher drug sales, according to published reports.

The company said drug distribution sales rose 9 percent in the quarter, offset by the weaker performance of PMSI, the company’s workers’ compensation business, which it is looking to sell but has not received any offers for.

AmerisourceBergen posted a net profit of $133.8 million in the quarter compared with $129.5 million, or 68 cents, in the same period a year earlier. Revenue rose 8 percent to $17.8 billion, boosted by higher institutional drug distribution sales and the acquisition of Bellco Health.

AmerisourceBergen said that if pharmaceutical market growth is in the range of 2 percent to 3 percent, “We see a clear path to low-double-digit diluted-earnings-per-share growth in fiscal-year 2009 through operating margin expansion and strong cash generation.”