BURLINGTON, N.C. (AP) _ Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings (LH) on Thursday reported fourth-quarter profit of $227.1 million.

The Burlington, North Carolina-based company said it had net income of $2.32 per share. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to $2.86 per share.

The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $2.80 per share.

The medical laboratory operator posted revenue of $2.95 billion in the period, which also beat Street forecasts. Seven analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $2.93 billion.

For the year, the company reported profit of $823.8 million, or $8.35 per share. Revenue was reported as $11.55 billion.

LabCorp expects full-year earnings in the range of $11.75 to $12.15 per share.

LabCorp shares have increased 11% since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has increased almost 5%. The stock has climbed 28% in the last 12 months.

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on LH at https://www.zacks.com/ap/LH

Automated Insights, source Associated Press News