The quarter ended June 30, 2009 provided positive earnings results for major pharmaceutical distributors Owens & Minor, McKesson Corp. and AmerisourceBergen.
Second quarter sales for Owens & Minor, Richmond, VA, were $2.01 billion, an increase of 13.7% over the same period a year ago. Profit was flat in the year over year comparison at $23.6 million.
Year-to-date, Owens & Minor sales were $3.96 billion, up 13.3% from the first half of 2008. Profit decreased 21.4% to $37.6 million, due in part to charges associated with exiting the direct-to-consumer business during the first quarter.
San Francisco, CA-based McKesson’s fiscal year 2010 first quarter sales were flat with first quarter 2008 sales at $26.7 billion. Profit improved 23% to $288 million.
Sales for AmerisourceBergen, Valley Forge, PA, increased 2.2% to $18.4 billion in the third quarter. Profit was $118.8 million, compared to a loss of $108.0 million for the same period a year ago. Third quarter 2008 results were severely impacted by a recorded loss of $220.8 million from discontinued operations.
For the first nine months of fiscal year 2009, AmerisourceBergen’s sales were $51.8 billion, up 1.8% from third quarter 2008. Profit nearly tripled during the period to $373.3 million, compared to $135.7 million the prior year.
