Business News

Danaher Reports First Quarter 2009 Results

Thursday 23. April 2009 - Danaher Corporation (NYSE: DHR) announced results for the quarter ended April 3, 2009. Net earnings for the first quarter of 2009 were $237.7 million, or $0.72 per diluted share, down 13% versus net earnings per diluted share for the first quarter of 2009.

Absent prior year items, diluted net earnings per share for the first quarter of 2009 declined 19% over the first quarter of 2008 adjusted diluted net earnings per share. Sales for the 2009 first quarter were $2.63 billion, 13% lower than the $3.03 billion reported for the 2008 first quarter. Operating profit margin for the first quarter of 2009 was 12.9% versus 13.6% for the first quarter of 2008.

H. Lawrence Culp, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “We continue to experience significant headwinds across our businesses and end markets as a result of a weak global economy. Few of our businesses have been immune to this unprecedented downturn and as a result we continue to deploy cost reduction actions across the company. Core revenues declined 10% in the quarter, compared to the first quarter of 2008. Our operating cash flow performance, despite softer revenues was over $310 million, declining only 5% as compared to the same period last year. While we expect economic conditions in 2009 to remain difficult, we believe our solid portfolio of businesses, our strong balance sheet and robust operating model rooted in the Danaher Business System will provide us the opportunity to outperform.”