Waters Says Mass Spec Sales Fueled 12 Percent Revenue Increase in Q2

NEW YORK, July 27 (GenomeWeb News) - Waters today posted a 12 percent increase in second-quarter 2004 sales, along with a 42 percent increase in net income.

Waters reported sales of $260.5 million for the quarter, up from $232.0 million in sales for the second quarter of 2003. The company attributed the increase in part to its mass spectrometry business, which grew 11 percent during the quarter. The company said that shipments for chromatography systems, however, were below expectations for the second quarter because customer deliveries for the new AcQuity UPLC systems were shifted to August "to allow for additional manufacturing-related testing."

The company's net income was $59.8 million in the second quarter, up from $42.1 million in the year-ago period. Waters' earnings per diluted share for the second quarter were $.49, compared to $.33 for the comparable period in 2003.

The company's R&D costs for the quarter were $15.7 million, compared to $13.8 million in the second quarter of 2003.

Waters had $420 million in cash and cash equivalents as of July 3, 2004.