BURLINGTON – Laboratory Corp. (LH) on Thursday reported fourth-quarter financials that split the goalposts of analysts’ expectations – beating on earnings but missing on revenue. However, its CEO described the quarter as demonstrating “strong underlying fundamentals.”

The news come as Labcorp progresses toward the spin-off of its Clinical Development business which recently was named Fortrea. Led by former Quintiles CEO Tom Pike, Fortrea is expected to launch as a separate company later this year.

“We finished the year strong, with accelerated revenue growth in Diagnostics, continued strong underlying fundamentals in Drug Development and margin expansion,” said Adam Schechter, chairman and CEO of Labcorp, in a statement about the earnings.

“In 2022, we also advanced our strategy with the announcement of the spin of our Clinical Development business, which will be named Fortrea, and acceleration of several hospital partnerships and acquisitions,” he added. “Looking ahead, we will continue to harness science, innovation and technology to drive sustained financial performance and address the evolving needs of our customers.”

Earnings came in at $76.1 million.

Labcorp names its looming spinoff Fortrea with focus on clinical trials, 19,000 workers

The Burlington-based company said it had net income of 86 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were $4.14 per share.

The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $4.06 per share.

The medical laboratory operator posted revenue of $3.67 billion in the period, falling short of Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $3.75 billion.

For the year, the company reported profit of $1.28 billion, or $13.97 per share. Revenue was reported as $14.88 billion.

LabCorp expects full-year earnings in the range of $16 to $18 per share.

For the full earnings report, read here: https://ir.labcorp.com/news-releases/news-release-details/labcorp-announces-2022-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-results