West Pharma (NYSE: WST) reported Q1 EPS of $0.45, $0.05 better than the analyst estimate of $0.40. Revenue for the quarter came in at $335.9 million, or $369.4 constant currency, versus the consensus estimate of $346.64 million.

West Pharma sees FY2015 EPS of $1.69-$1.84, versus the consensus of $1.84.

"West had a very good start to 2015 despite the challenge presented by the strengthening U.S. dollar," said Donald E. Morel Jr., PhD, West's Chairman. "The keys to our performance were the particularly strong growth in high-value packaging component sales, which had declined in the 2014 quarter, and managing our discretionary spending where possible, in an effort to mitigate the impact of currency. As a result, despite the over 9% adverse sales impact of currency, we delivered a gross profit increase and an 18.4% increase in diluted earnings per share when compared to the relatively slow start last year.

"The first-quarter results highlight the critical, long-term importance of innovation to our business. The leading contributors to PPS' growth in the quarter -- West's FluroTec and Westar lines and similar Daikyo offerings -- continue to drive sales growth after many years in the market, augmented by growth in Envision products. PDS proprietary products also grew by over 12% in the quarter, including the more mature ris" safety system along with Crystal Zenith vials and SmartDose electronic wearable injector sales and related services in support of customers' developmental efforts. We continue to be encouraged by the uptake of NovaPure, and by the progress of our proprietary delivery system products, including an expected mid-year customer introduction of a new CZ vial application.

"Looking forward, our order book is strong entering the second quarter. For the full year 2015, we continue to expect year-over-year revenue growth in the 6% to 8% range, excluding currency, although our visibility into the second half of the year is somewhat limited. We expect adjusted diluted EPS to be in the range of $1.69 to $1.84 for 2015, including $0.23 to $0.25 of adverse currency effects when compared to 2014.

"Finally, as announced on April 15th, Eric Green assumed his responsibilities as chief executive officer on April 24, 2015. I welcome his appointment and will be working with him to complete the transition in leadership over the next two months. I believe that West will be well led and is exceptionally positioned to grow and to achieve the long-term goals we've set for the company.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on West Pharma (WST) click here.