NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Bruker reported after the close of the market Thursday that its first quarter revenues rose 12 percent year over year.
For the three months ended March 31, the firm said total revenues rose to $431.7 million from $384.9 million in the first quarter of 2017, beating analysts' consensus estimate of $417.4 million.
Bruker's organic revenue was up 4 percent year over year, while the favorable effect from changes in foreign currency rates was 8 percent, and growth from acquisitions was 1 percent.
On a conference call following release of the earnings results, Bruker President and CEO Frank Laukien said the company saw healthy end markets and organic growth in its scientific instruments segment. He noted that the company's CALID division, which houses its life sciences mass spec business, "strengthened significantly," posting high-single-digit revenue growth on the quarter.
Bruker’s "mass-spec business posted outstanding growth, with strong performance in the microbiology business and healthy results also in life science research mass spectrometry," Laukien said, attributing that performance to a "refreshed portfolio and focused execution within our two primary target markets of microbiology and diagnostics, and life science research."
He highlighted as an example of new portfolio additions the Bologna workflow clinical microbiology method the company introduced at the recent European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Intended to improve identification and management of bloodstream infections, the workflow also includes antibiotic resistance testing on Bruker's MALDI Biotyper platform, which represents one of the company's most significant moves into this part of infectious disease management to date.
Geographically, Q1 revenues increased by high-single-digits in Europe on an organic basis. North American revenues were up in the mid-single-digits. Asia Pacific revenues were down in the low-single-digits due to "shipment and acceptance delays with BioSpin APAC customers," said Gerald Herman, Bruker's interim CFO.
In terms of end markets, the company saw strong biopharma growth, particularly for its mass spec-based biopharma products, as well as solid demand in its microbiology business, Herman said. Academic markets were stable, he said.
Bruker's Q1 net income rose to $27.4 million, or $.17 per share, from $21.7 million, or $.13 per share, in Q1 2017. On an adjusted basis, its EPS was $.24, beating the average Wall Street estimate of $.22.
The firm's Q1 R&D spending rose 15 percent to $43.2 million from $37.6 million, while its SG&A expenses rose 12 percent to $110.3 million from $98.1 million.
Bruker finished the quarter with $283.9 million in cash and cash equivalents.
The company maintained its full-year 2018 guidance, which calls for revenue growth of approximately 7 percent, including organic revenue growth of approximately 3 percent, and adjusted EPS of $1.34 to $1.38 for the year. Analysts are expecting EPS of $1.38 for the year.
Bruker's shares were up 1 percent to $30.01 in Friday morning trading on the Nasdaq.