Danaher profit rises 17% with help from acquisitions

By Nathan Becker, MarketWatch.com SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Danaher Corp. said Thursday its second-quarter earnings rose 17%, boosted by a 25% jump in sales, with revenue from recent acquisitions making the biggest contribution to the bottom line. "Despite the current economic backdrop, we believe our businesses are well positioned to deliver positive results for the balance of 2008," said Danaher president and CEO H. Lawrence Culp Jr. The company said a favorable tax rate contributed about 4 cents a share to its earnings results. The bulk of the company's sales growth came through acquisitions, up 14% from the year-ago quarter, while the weaker dollar boosted the value of overseas sales by 5.5%, the company said. Existing businesses accounted for 5.5% growth compared with the second quarter of 2007. In early June,... [read full story]