NEW YORK – Agilent Technologies reported after the close of the market on Tuesday that its fiscal first quarter revenues declined about 6 percent year over year on lower capital spending across most end markets, though company officials predicted the company would return to growth later in the fiscal year.
For the three months ended Jan. 31, the Santa Clara, California-based company reported revenues of $1.66 billion, down from $1.76 billion a year earlier but above analysts' consensus estimate of $1.59 billion and the company's earlier guidance for the quarter of $1.56 billion to $1.61 billion.
Agilent President and CEO Mike McMullen said in a statement that the company remains well positioned for long-term growth due to its diversified business. "While near term market challenges remain, I continue to be optimistic about our future," he said.
Agilent officials said in January during a presentation at the 42nd annual JP Morgan Healthcare Conference that 2024 would be a "transitory" year of recovery and lower growth than the company's predicted long-term average of 5 to 7 percent growth. They added, however, that revenues were expected to pick up following a trough in Q1.
The company also announced last week that McMullen will step down from his position as CEO on May 1 and become an adviser to the company until his retirement on Oct. 31. Padraig McDonnell, president of the Agilent CrossLab Group and chief commercial officer, is succeeding McMullen as CEO.
Agilent's Diagnostics and Genomics Group revenues declined 6 percent to $407 million from $432 million in the first quarter of 2023. The division's revenues were also down 6 percent on a core basis.
The firm reported that its diagnostics revenues declined during the quarter on a softer market for the firm's next-generation sequencing reagents and nucleic acid solutions division products, although that decline was partly offset by mid-single-digit growth in the group's pathology business.
Meantime, the company's Life Sciences and Applied Markets Group revenues declined 10 percent, or 11 percent on a core basis, to $846 million compared to $943 million in the year-ago quarter. However, Agilent CrossLab Group revenues rose 6 percent, or 5 percent on a core basis, to $405 million compared to $381 million in the year-ago period.
Agilent officials reported net income for the Q1 of $348 million, or $1.18 per share, compared to $352 million, or $1.19 per share, in Q1 2023. On a non-GAAP basis, the firm reported EPS of $1.29 compared to the Wall Street consensus estimate of $1.22 per share and Agilent's earlier guidance for EPS in the range of $1.20 to $1.23.
The firm's R&D spending was up about 4 percent, to $128 million from $123 million in the year-ago quarter. SG&A spending was down about 5 percent, to $396 million compared to $419 million one year earlier.
The firm ended the quarter with $1.75 billion in cash and cash equivalents.
Agilent expects revenues of $1.56 billion to $1.59 billion in the second quarter of fiscal year 2024. Non-GAAP EPS is estimated to be in the range of $1.17 to $1.20. The firm also reaffirmed that its full-year fiscal 2024 revenues are expected to be in the range of $6.71 billion to $6.81 billion and that non-GAAP EPS will be in the range of $5.44 to $5.55.