CareFusion Corp, the medical device company spun off from Cardinal Health on Sept. 1, posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit, driven by strong demand in ventilators for flu and emergency preparedness related to H1N1, or swine flu.

The company also increased its outlook for the full year to earnings per share of $1.35 to $1.45 from its previous forecast of $1.10 to $1.20, on revenue of $3.85 billion to $4.00 billion.

CareFusion shares rallied 7.4 percent to a record $24.22 in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Management reiterated its long-term goals for top-line growth in the mid-single digits and profit growth from 11 to 15 percent.

CareFusion said its fiscal first-quarter net earnings were $81 million, or 37 cents per diluted share, on revenue of $923 million. In the year-ago period, had CareFusion been operating as a stand-alone company, earnings would have been $113 million, or 51 cents per share, on revenue of $915 million.

Excluding one-time spinoff and other items, earnings per share were 39 cents, in the latest quarter, exceeding the average estimate on Wall Street of 33 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

We continue to see moderate improvement in the nearly year-long deferral of capital spending, Chairman and Chief Executive David Schlotterbeck told a conference call.

But we expect the recovery will be gradual with capital spending constrained through this fiscal year. We expect our quarterly revenue will exceed first quarter results as we move through the year, but the year-over-year comparisons in the first half will be challenging because of the strong growth we had in the first half of last year, he added.

(Reporting by Debra Sherman, editing by Dave Zimmerman)

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