02:09 PM EDT, 08/01/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Becton Dickinson ( BDX ) on Thursday trimmed its full-year organic revenue guidance after its fiscal third-quarter sales fell short of Wall Street's expectations amid headwinds in China.

The medical technology company now expects fiscal 2024 organic revenue to grow between 5% and 5.25%, down from its prior range of 5.5% to 6.25%. The reduced outlook reflects "the latest market dynamics, which others are also experiencing," Chief Financial Officer Christopher DelOrefice said on an earnings conference call, according to a Capital IQ transcript.

He flagged "transitory" dynamics, including expected inventory destocking in the pharmaceutical systems industry.

Becton now expects full-year adjusted earnings in a per-share range of $13.05 to $13.15, raising the low end of its prior range from $12.95. It now projects revenue at roughly $20.1 billion, compared with its previous range of $20.1 billion to $20.3 billion. The Street is looking for normalized EPS of $13.10 on revenue of $20.25 billion.

Adjusted EPS rose to $3.50 in the quarter through June 30 from $2.96 a year earlier, topping the Street's $3.31 view. Revenue increased 2.3% to $4.99 billion, but fell short of the $5.08 billion modeled by analysts. US revenue gained 4.3% to $2.89 billion, while international operations fell 0.3% to $2.1 billion.

Third-quarter organic revenue grew 5.2% amid volume growth and share gains, partially offset by a drop in China, DelOrefice told analysts.

The company's shares were down 3.9% in Thursday afternoon trade.

"We continue to expect margin acceleration in (the fourth quarter), driven by our BD Excellence and continuous improvement efforts and continued expense leverage on our expected strong revenue performance, including Alaris," DelOrefice said. For fiscal 2025, a 10% EPS growth would likely be "a good starting point," he added.

"Looking ahead to 2030, we view health care process automation and informatics (artificial intelligence) as having the potential to become a business exceeding $7 billion," Chief Executive Tom Polen said on the call. The company's PureWick platform has the potential to become a $1 billion franchise by 2030, "continuing its double-digit growth momentum," he said.

In June, Becton agreed to acquire Edwards Lifesciences' ( EW ) critical care product group for $4.2 billion in cash. That deal is expected to close before the end of the calendar year.

Price: 233.71, Change: -7.35, Percent Change: -3.05