UPDATE 1-Owens & Minor Q3 profit tops market, backs '09 view
* Q3 EPS $0.83 vs est $0.71
* Q3 rev up 13.9 pct at $2.03 bln vs est $2.02 bln
* Backs '09 EPS view of $2.55-$2.70
* Sees '09 rev growth in the top end of 8 to 12 pct
* Shares fall 2 pct after market
Oct 26 (Reuters) - Owens & Minor Inc (OMI.N), a distributor of medical and surgical supplies, reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by the positive impact of supplier price changes, and stood by its 2009 outlook range.
Income from continuing operations for the quarter was $34.7 million, or 83 cents a share, compared with $25.3 million, or 61 cents a share, in the year ago-quarter.
Revenue rose 14 percent to $2.03 billion.
Analysts on average had expected earnings of 71 cents a share from continuing operations, on revenue of $2.02 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
The Mechanicsville, Virginia-based company said it still expects 2009 earnings, excluding items, in the range of $2.55 to $2.70 a share, with revenue growth in the upper end of a range of 8 percent to 12 percent.
The company said it recognize that it is "challenged with lower profitability" from some of its new and acquired customers.
Shares of the company fell 2 percent in trading after the bell. They closed at $47.15 Monday on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Krishnakali Sengupta in Bangalore; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)
