A $197 million stockpile of personal protective equipment was the main cause of a 40 percent drop in Cardinal Health's operating earnings in the most recent quarter, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The medical supplier told the Journal Aug. 6 that it is holding more PPE in its warehouses and adding more warehouse space to prepare for future surges of COVID-19. It's also working to diversify its PPE sources to shield against supply disruptions like the ones the U.S. saw early in the pandemic.
"We've added additional warehouse space and are carrying more inventory so if there is any type of resurgence we are there and ready," Cardinal CEO Mike Kaufmann told the Journal.
To accommodate the additional supplies, Cardinal has had to rearrange some distribution space to maximize efficiency, the company told the Journal. It recently opened a warehouse in Channahon, Ill., to help some of its hospital customers store stockpiles of PPE and other medical supplies.
On Aug. 5, the company reported $42.6 billion in quarterly revenue, up 16 percent year over year, and $116 million in net earnings, compared with $656 million the prior year, according to the Journal.
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