This story has been updated to include comments from a call with investors.
NEW YORK – Qiagen reported after the close of the market on Monday that its non-COVID sales increased 5 percent year over year at constant exchange rates (CER) in the third quarter driven by demand for consumables.
Including COVID sales, total revenues declined 5 percent. The firm also exceeded revenue and adjusted earnings per share estimates.
For the three months ended Sept. 30, Qiagen had revenues of $476 million at CER, down 5 percent from $500 million a year ago and below the Wall Street estimate of $469.8 million.
Qiagen CEO Thierry Bernard said in a statement that the firm's resilient performance "was important as we work through the final quarters of COVID-19 testing headwinds from 2022, and also address an increasingly challenging macro environment."
Qiagen's non-COVID product sales increase of 5 percent at CER — to $442 million from $417 million — was supported by 5 percent CER growth in consumables and related revenues, as well as a 3 percent increase in instrument sales, the firm said.
On a call with investors Tuesday morning to recap the earnings, Bernard said revenues from consumables accounted for more than 85 percent of total sales, and grew 8 percent in the first nine months of 2023.
However, sales in Qiagen's COVID-19 product groups declined 60 percent at CER year over year, to $34 million from $83 million.
Overall molecular diagnostics sales were down 2 percent at CER to $254 million from $257 million, while life sciences sales were down 9 percent to $221 million from $242 million.
Excluding COVID product groups, molecular diagnostics grew 15 percent at CER, which Qiagen attributed to growth in its QuantiFeron latent TB testing and precision medicine portfolios. Life sciences sales were down 4 percent at CER due to a decline in OEM products sold to other companies, Qiagen said.
Sales in the sample technologies product group were down 13 percent at CER to $160 million from $183 million, reflecting a significant drop in pandemic testing demand.
Diagnostics solutions, on the other hand, grew 10 percent at CER to $179 million from $160 million, which Qiagen attributed to double-digit instrument and consumables sales.
Within diagnostics, QuantiFeron sales increased 25 percent at CER to $110 million from $88 million, while QIAstat-Dx sales were up 4 percent to $20 million from $18 million a year ago. Sales of NeuMoDx products dropped 59 percent at CER to $8 million from $18 million related to a decline in COVID testing, while sales in other diagnostics increased 13 percent at CER to $41 million from $36 million.
Regarding NeuMoDx, Bernard said on the call that although the brand has advantages in terms of speed and ease of use, and is doing well in Europe, its continued inclusion in the firm's five pillars of growth depends on its business outlook. "The product and the team need to deliver," Bernard said, adding that Qiagen is "reviewing every kind of option" for the NeuMoDx business.
Also within diagnostics, Qiagen said sales in precision medicine consumables to guide oncology treatments maintained a high single-digit CER growth pace, while revenues from companion diagnostic codevelopment partnerships rose 40 percent CER year over year and are on track to exceed $40 million in 2023.
Sales in the PCR and nucleic acid amplification product group fell 25 percent at CER to $68 million from $89 million. QIAcuity digital PCR sales increased 40 percent at CER due to instrument sales and increasing consumables use, but overall sales in the PCR business fell due to a decline in sales of OEM products to third-party companies, Qiagen said.
Genomics and next-generation sequencing sales grew 4 percent at CER to $55 million from $52 million led by 20 percent growth in the Qiagen Digital Insights bioinformatics business.
On a regional basis, sales in the Americas increased 1 percent to $254 million from $251 million, while sales in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa declined 11 percent to $145 million from $155 million. Sales in the Asia-Pacific region and Japan fell 16 percent to $76 million from $93 million, which Qiagen said reflected headwinds related to COVID-19 sales in the year-ago period.
Qiagen reported Q3 net income of $77.8 million, or $.34 per share, compared to $82.4 million, or $.36 per share a year ago. Adjusted EPS at CER was $.50, above analysts' average estimate for adjusted EPS of $.48 per share.
Qiagen affirmed its guidance for 2023 net sales of at least $1.97 billion at CER and adjusted diluted EPS of $2.07 per share.
The firm finished the quarter with $579.9 million in cash and cash equivalents and $435.8 million in short-term investments.
Shares of Qiagen were up approximately 5 percent to $37.29 in Tuesday morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.