They include commitment to the customer, a moral and social and business responsibility to create jobs and profits, and a focus on making improvements now, not later. Steris last year began to enjoy some of the savings from eliminating overlapping functions in companies it acquired. It also finished converting the company to a single information system that will allow customers anywhere in the world to order products in exactly the same way. In April, when Steris announced its annual results, investors were surprised to see that the fourth quarter's net income met estimates only with the help of a one-time tax windfall. They showed their disappointment by selling, knocking a third off the value of Steris stock.
Analysts say the sell-off was an overreaction.
But they don't expect the stock to recover until the next quarter's results are out. Analysts are looking to the next quarter's results to see if Steris redeems itself with growth in North America, which accounts for 87 percent of revenues, and from Europe, where Steris is positioned to reap higher-margin sales of supplies and service for the sterilizing systems it sold there last year.