July 30--Baxter International has begun looking for a replacement for Chief Executive Bob Parkinson.
Parkinson, 64, told analysts Wednesday in a conference call that the company's board of directors has hired a search firm to help find a successor. Parkinson has been CEO since 2004.
He said the board has not set a timetable to find a replacement, but he hinted that he could step down next year.
The board has discussed succession planning for the last few years, Parkinson said, but put the issue on the backburner as the company embarked on a spin-off of its biosciences division, which was completed July 1.
"I'll be 65 in January," Parkinson said. "Inevitably this has to be dealt with."
Baxter reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue in its second quarter. Here is a snapshot of the quarter:
By the numbers: Net income was $332 million, or 60 cents a share, in the period ended June 30, down from $520 million, or 95 cents a share, a year ago. The results include the company's biosciences division, which was spun off July 1 into a separate publicly traded company, Baxalta.
The quarter included split-related costs of $115 million after tax, as well as several other one-time expenses. The company also recorded a one-time after-tax gain of $33 million related to a litigation settlement.
Excluding the special items, earnings were $1 a share, beating by 10 cents the average of 11 analysts' estimates compiled by FactSet.
Revenue fell 6 percent to $3.9 billion. Baxter said unfavorable foreign exchange rates hurt its total sales by 9 percentage points.
Highlights: Excluding the impact of the strong dollar, medical product sales were flat, and sales of bioscience products increased 7 percent.
Outlook: Baxter expects earnings as a separate company in the third quarter, excluding one-time items, of 29 to 31 cents a share. For the second half of 2015, the company expects earnings before one-time items of 58 to 62 cents a share.
Market reaction: Baxter reported earnings after the stock markets closed. Shares increased 41 cents to $38.50.
Hospira income rises
Hospira reported second-quarter net income of $145.1 million, or 82 cents a share, up from $70.9 million, or 42 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. The Lake Forest-based drugmaker agreed in February to be acquired by Pfizer for $15.2 billion. The transaction is expected to close later this year.
A year ago, Hospira took several one-time charges, including costs to address manufacturing quality issues and expand capacity in India.
Hospira said second-quarter revenue rose 4.2 percent, to $1.18 billion, because of strong U.S. sales of injectable drugs and the sale of low-cost knockoffs overseas. In February, the company began selling a copy of Johnson Johnson's arthritis treatment Remicade in several European markets.
asachdev@tribpub.com
