MILFORD, Mass. (AP) _ Waters Corp. (WAT) on Tuesday reported fourth-quarter profit of $200.7 million.

The Milford, Massachusetts-based company said it had net income of $3.12 per share. Earnings, adjusted for amortization costs and restructuring costs, were $3.20 per share.

The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $3.02 per share.

The maker of products used in drug discovery and development posted revenue of $716.3 million in the period, also beating Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $714 million.

For the year, the company reported profit of $592.2 million, or $8.69 per share. Revenue was reported as $2.41 billion.

For the current quarter ending in April, Waters expects its per-share earnings to range from $1.55 to $1.65. Analysts surveyed by Zacks had forecast adjusted earnings per share of $1.87.

The company expects full-year earnings in the range of $9.15 to $9.40 per share.

Waters shares have decreased 3% since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has increased roughly 1%. The stock has declined 2% 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 WAT at https://www.zacks.com/ap/WAT

Automated Insights, source Associated Press News