DEERFIELD - Dade Behring Holdings Inc., a clinical diagnostics company, said its fourth-quarter profit rose 43 percent to $34.3 million, or 38 cents a share, from the same period as last year. Revenue rose less than 1 percent to $420.8 million. Dade Behring said its board of directors approved an increase in the quarterly cash dividend to 5 cents per common share from 3 cents. The board also authorized the company to purchase 5 million more shares of common stock under its share repurchase plan.

GLENDALE HEIGHTS - AHPC Holdings Inc.' s loss grew by 135 percent to $984,023, or 81 cents per share, in its 2006 fiscal second quarter ended Dec. 31. The disposable glove distributor cited increased cost of goods caused by higher raw material costs, primarily latex. AHPC also reported a 9 percent drop in revenue to $5.9 million, which it attributed to competitive pricing pressures.

NORTHFIELD - Stepan Co. suffered a $428,000 loss in its fourth quarter after turning a $601,000 profit in the same period of the prior year. That translated to a loss of 7 cents per share in the quarter, compared to earnings of 4 cents per share in the year- earlier period. Stepan, which produces specialty chemicals, attributed the loss to a $1.4 million decline in its Philippine joint venture income and a $1 million reduction in foreign exchange gains. Revenue rose 13 percent to $270.1 million and reached $1.1 billion in 2005 for the first time in history.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -Pharmacy benefits manager Caremark Rx Inc., which has Northbrook operations, Wednesday said profit rose more than 40 percent to $290.7 million in the fourth quarter, driven by its prescriptions by mail business. Earnings totaled 64 cents per share in the quarter, compared to 45 cents in the year-earlier period. Revenue rose to $8.4 billion from $8 billion. Mail pharmacy revenue was $3 billion, a 30 percent increase.

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