M&A

5 November, 2009

UPDATE 1-SXC Health Q3 profit tops estimates, ups '09 view

* Q3 EPS $0.43 vs est $0.36

* Q3 rev $383.5 mln vs est $370.4 mln

* Raises '09 profit and rev view

Nov 5 (Reuters) - Healthcare information technology provider SXC Health Solutions Corp (SXCI.O) (SXC.TO) posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by new customer wins, and raised its outlook for the full year.

"In addition to new customer wins, we are driving both top-line and bottom-line growth by increasing the mail-order penetration in our customer base and converting a number of Health Care IT clients to a broader platform of our PBM (pharmacy benefit management) services", said Chief Executive Mark Thierer.

For the full year, the company now expects to earn $1.57 to $1.62 per share, including certain items, up from its previous view of $1.42 to $1.50 per share.

It sees 2009 revenue of $1.38 billion to $1.42 billion, up slightly from its prior estimate of $1.35 billion to $1.4 billion.

For the third quarter, the company reported a net income of $11.2 million, or 43 cents per share, compared with $3.5 million, or 15 cents a share, in the year ago quarter.

Excluding amortization from the company's acquisition of National Medical Health Card Systems, it earned 47 cents a share.

Revenue for the quarter rose 20 percent to $383.5 million.

Analysts on average were expecting the company to earn 36 cents a share on revenue of $370.4 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Shares of the company closed at $46.73 Wednesday on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Krishnakali Sengupta in Bangalore; Editing by Aradhana Aravindan )

Source: http://www.reuters.com