Baxter International (BAX) has reported 18.54 percent rise in profit for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2016. The company has earned $243 million, or $0.44 a share in the quarter, compared with $205 million, or $0.37 a share for the same period last year. On the other hand, adjusted net income for the quarter stood at $312 million, or $0.57 a share compared with $236 million or $0.43 a share, a year ago.

Revenue during the quarter went up marginally by 1.61 percent to $2,645 million from $2,603 million in the previous year period. Gross margin for the quarter expanded 48 basis points over the previous year period to 41.66 percent. Total expenses were 89.34 percent of quarterly revenues, down from 93.16 percent for the same period last year. This has led to an improvement of 382 basis points in operating margin to 10.66 percent.

Operating income for the quarter was $282 million, compared with $178 million in the previous year period.

However, the adjusted operating income for the quarter stood at $407 million compared to $279 million in the prior year period. At the same time, adjusted operating margin improved 467 basis points in the quarter to 15.39 percent from 10.72 percent in the last year period.

"Baxter's solid operational performance in 2016 was fueled by strong sales and disciplined execution across the organization," said José E. Almeida, chairman and chief executive officer. "We'll continue to build on this momentum in 2017 and beyond, driven by new product launches, effective portfolio management and further progress on our business transformation initiatives ��" all in support of delivering sustainable top-quartile results for our shareholders, and advancing our mission to save and sustain lives."

For the first quarter, the company expects sales growth of approximately 2 to 3 percent on a reported basis, or 3 to 4 percent on a constant currency basis. Adjusting for the impact of generic

For the first-quarter, the company forecasts diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $0.39 to $0.42.  On an adjusted basis, the company forecasts diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $0.50 to $0.52.

For financial year 2017, the company forecasts diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $1.52 to $1.67, the company forecasts diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $2.10 to $2.18 on adjusted basis.