Drug distributors Cardinal Health ($CAH) and McKesson ($MCK) each reported positive financials for the last fiscal quarter and say they are upbeat about the future.
Cardinal credits its generics programs and acquisitions for pharma-side revenue growth of 10%, which contributed to an 11% hike overall for the company. It earned a 19% increase in pharma side profit, according to a financials release.
"While we're pleased with the performance this quarter, we're even more excited about the growth in strategic priority areas including specialty, positron emission tomography, generics, ambulatory, preferred medical products and China," said CEO George Barrett in the release.
During the last quarter, Cardinal agreed to acquire Futuremed Healthcare Products in Canada, a distributor of medical disposables. Among its acquisitions last year were New York-area distributor Kinray and Zuellig Pharma China, a distributor and pharmaceutical importer.
For its part, McKesson cites acquisitions along with brisk business as contributors to its 10% revenue rise. It saw "strong performance of both its Distribution Solutions and Technology Solutions segments, aided by the acquisition of US Oncology," a cancer treatment and research network, says Zacks.
AmerisourceBergen ($ABC), the remaining of the Big 3 distributors, will announce results Nov. 1. It also has been on an acquisition roll, announcing deals to buy commercialization services provider TheraCom, oncology data analysis specialist IntrinsiQ, and consultancy Premier Source in September alone.
- see the Cardinal release
- here's a McKesson summary
Special Report: The Big 3 Distributors