DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) _ Cardinal Health Inc. (CAH) on Thursday reported fiscal fourth-quarter profit of $656 million.

The Dublin, Ohio-based company said it had net income of $2.23 per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring gains, were $1.04 per share.

The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 91 cents per share.

The prescription drug distributor posted revenue of $36.69 billion in the period, which did not meet Street forecasts. Four analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $37.06 billion.

Cardinal expects full-year earnings in the range of $5.25 to $5.65 per share.

Cardinal shares have risen 14% since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has risen 3%. The stock has climbed 26% 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 CAH at https://www.zacks.com/ap/CAH

Automated Insights, source Associated Press News