Becton Dickinson cuts full-year profit outlook

(Reuters) - Medical technology company Becton Dickinson & Co (BDX.N) lowered its full-year profit forecast because of the strengthening dollar, sending its shares down 4 percent.

It cut its full-year profit forecast from continuing operations to $5.60 to $5.70 a share. It had earlier forecast $5.75 to $5.85 a share.

On a foreign currency-neutral basis, the company backed its previous revenue growth outlook of 2 to 4 percent.

The company's shares, which closed at $80.53 on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, were down 4 percent before the bell on Tuesday.

For its fiscal first quarter ended December 31, 2011, Becton Dickinson's income from continuing operations fell to $263.0 million, or $1.21 a share, from $315.9 million, or $1.35 a share, a year ago.

Analysts on average had expected the maker of medical tests and laboratory equipment to earn $1.17 a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The year-over-year decline was due to difficult pricing comparisons, higher raw material costs and higher expenses from recent acquisitions, the company said.

First-quarter revenue rose 3 percent to $1.89 billion, beating estimates of $1.88 billion.

Revenue from its Medical segment, which sells drug delivery systems, diabetes care and disposable products, rose 2.6 percent to $950 million, led by sales of diabetes products. Revenue from its Diagnostics segment rose 3.2 percent to $621 million. Revenue from its Biosciences segment, which makes cell analysis equipment, increased 0.9 percent to $317 million.

Peter Lawson, an analyst with Mizuho Securities, said the diagnostics business performed better than expected while the other two were slightly below estimates.

Revenue generated in the United States of $829 million was flat from a year ago. Revenue outside of the United States rose 4.5 percent from a year ago to $1.059 billion.

(Reporting by Debra Sherman in Chicago and Shailesh Kuber in Bangalore; Editing by Don Sebastian, Dave Zimmerman)