DEERFIELD, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) today announced strong financial results for the first quarter of 2011, and raised its outlook for full-year 2011. Baxter reported net income in the first quarter of $570 million and earnings per diluted share of $0.98, which exceed the company’s previously-issued earnings guidance of $0.92 to $0.94 per diluted share. On an adjusted basis, excluding special items in the first quarter of 2010, Baxter’s earnings per diluted share increased 5 percent from $0.93 per diluted share in the prior-year period. Baxter’s financial results for the first quarter 2010 included after-tax special items totaling $627 million (or $1.04 per diluted share) related to the COLLEAGUE infusion pump and a change in the tax treatment of post-retirement prescription drug benefits.
