WALTHAM, Mass. (AP) -- Medical diagnostics company Alere Inc. reported a large fourth-quarter loss Wednesday, but its shares jumped after the results surpassed Wall Street expectations.
Alere said it took a loss of $365.2 million, or $4.62 per share, in the quarter ended in December. Its results include a charge of $383.6 million from a write-down of its health management business, $80.9 million in amortization costs, and other charges. Excluding those items, the company reported an adjusted profit of 74 cents per share. Its revenue grew 13 percent to $651.1 million from $578.5 million.
A year earlier Alere took a loss of $1.04 billion, or $12.24 per share. Excluding a $1 billion goodwill impairment charge and other items, it earned 71 cents per share.
Analysts expected the company to post a profit of 70 cents per share on revenue of $629.9 million, according to FactSet.
Shares of Alere rose $1.98, or 8.1 percent, to $26.50 in afternoon trading.
Alere said its professional diagnostics revenue rose 24 percent to $497.4 million, with most of the growth coming from recent acquisitions. Revenue from sales of flu tests in North America slipped to $8.3 million from $8.9 million during this year's mild flu season. Revenue from Alere's health management unit fell 15 percent to $125.9 million
In 2011, Alere lost $127.5 million, or $1.53 per share. The previous year it took a loss of $1.04 billion, or $12.33 per share. Its revenue grew 11 percent, to $2.39 billion from $2.16 billion.
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