Waters: 4Q Earnings Snapshot

MILFORD, Mass. (AP) _ Waters Corp. (WAT) on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter net income of $185.2 million, after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier.

The Milford, Massachusetts-based company said it had net income of $2.46 per share. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were $2.87 per share.

The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $2.65 per share.

The maker of products used in drug discovery and development posted revenue of $715 million in the period, also beating Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $702.5 million.

For the year, the company reported profit of $593.8 million, or $7.65 per share. Revenue was reported as $2.42 billion.

For the current quarter ending in April, Waters expects its per-share earnings to range from $1.65 to $1.75. Analysts surveyed by Zacks had forecast adjusted earnings per share of $1.78.

The company expects full-year earnings in the range of $9.20 to $9.45 per share.

Waters shares have climbed 8 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has climbed 5 percent. The stock has fallen slightly more than 3 percent in the last 12 months.

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This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on WAT at https://www.zacks.com/ap/WAT