CareFusion 3Q profit falls on sale of Nicolet unit

SAN DIEGO — Medical device maker CareFusion Corp. said Thursday that its profit fell 31 percent in the fiscal third quarter as it took a loss on its neurodiagnostic business, which it has agreed to sell.

The company said its profit fell to $31 million, or 13 cents per share, from $45 million, or 20 cents per share. Excluding the loss from its Nicolet unit and other items, CareFusion said it earned 49 cents per share. Revenue rose 9 percent, to $919 million from $842 million.

Analysts were forecasting a profit of 45 cents per share and $890.6 million in revenue in the quarter ended March 31, according to FactSet.

The company said its medical system revenue grew 19 percent to $591 million on greater sales of dispensing, infusion, and respiratory products. Revenue in its other division, procedural solutions, fell 5 percent to $328 million.

On April 23, CareFusion agreed to sell Nicolet to Natus Medical Inc. for $58 million. The business, which was in the procedural solutions unit, makes electroencephalography devices and other products used in neurologic diagnosis and monitoring, and it had revenue of about $95 million in fiscal 2011.

CareFusion narrowed its profit forecast to a range of $1.75 to $1.80 per share from $1.75 and $1.85 per share. It said the new outlook reflects its expectations for the current quarter and the sale of the Nicolet business, which is expected to close in July. It now expects sales to grow 4 to 5 percent excluding revenue from Natus, which implies a total of $3.57 billion to $3.6 billion for the current year.

Analysts were forecasting income of $1.79 per share and $3.64 billion in revenue on average.

Shares of the San Diego company slipped 40 cents to $25.80 in regular trading Thursday and were unchanged in aftermarket trading.