BURLINGTON, N.C. (AP) _ Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings (LH) on Tuesday reported second-quarter profit of $231.6 million.

The Burlington, North Carolina-based company said it had profit of $2.37 per share. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were $2.57 per share.

The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 78 cents per share.

The medical laboratory operator posted revenue of $2.77 billion in the period, which also beat Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $2.42 billion.

LabCorp shares have climbed 19% since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has stayed nearly flat. The stock has increased 17% 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