NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Bruker reported after the close of the market on Wednesday that its fourth quarter revenues declined 6 percent year over year as currency effects negatively impacted revenues by nearly 8 percent.
For the three months ended Dec. 31, the company reported revenues of $478.2 million, down from $508 million in Q4 2014. The results beat the average analysts' estimate of $470 million.
Bruker said that in addition to the adverse effects from currency translation, acquisitions and divestitures reduced revenues in the recently completed quarter by nearly 1 percent. Organic revenues were up almost 3 percent year over year.
For the quarter, Bruker recorded net income attributable to the company of $61.4 million, or $.36 per share, compared to a profit of $26.1 million, or $.15 per share, in the year-ago quarter.
On an adjusted basis, Bruker had EPS of $.38, beating the consensus Wall Street estimate of $.27.
Growth in the quarter was led by the company's CALID and BEST segments, with strong sales from its NMR business a major contributor, President and CEO Frank Laukien said on a conference call following the earnings release. Geographically, the company saw solid Q4 growth in the Americas and Europe, he said.
The firm reduced its Q4 R&D costs by 12 percent year over year to $36.7 million from $41.6 million. Its SG&A costs were down 9 percent to $103 million from $118.5 million.
For full-year 2015, Bruker had $1.62 billion in revenues compared to $1.81 billion in 2014, and matching the consensus Wall Street estimate. Currency effects tamped down revenues by 10 percent, while acquisitions and divestitures decreased revenues by 2 percent. Organically, revenues rose by less than 2 percent, the firm said.
Bruker's net income attributable to the company for 2015 rose to $101.6 million, or $.60 per share, from $56.7 million, or $.33 per share, in 2014. On a non-GAAP basis, Bruker had EPS of $.89. Wall Street had estimated EPS of $.78, on average. The company surpassed its guidance for full year 2015 operating margin expansion and EPS, Laukien said.
The company's Daltonics Division, which houses its mass spec business, "had a good year of revenue growth in 2015 for nearly all product lines," he noted, citing in particular strong sales of its MALDI Biotyper microbiology platform, which continues to be one of its fastest growing product lines. Adjusted for currency effects, sales of the platform grew at roughly 10 percent in 2015 and reached close to $100 million in revenue.
Laukien predicted the Biotyper business would grow in the high-single digits in 2016 but that this growth rate could accelerate in 2017 and 2018 when Bruker plans to bring to market new assays for purposes including testing for drug resistance.
Geographically, Europe had organic revenue growth in the high-single digits in 2015, while the Americas grew in the low-single digits and Asia Pacific revenues declined at a high-single digit rate due to weakness in Japan and Southeast Asia, Laukien said.
China revenues were "relatively healthy," he said, with academic and research markets leading the way. He added that bookings in China grew in the mid-to-high single digits in 2015.
The company's full year R&D costs were down 16 percent year over year to $145.7 million from $174.2 million, while its SG&A spending decreased 13 percent to $392.2 million from $451 million.
Bruker exited 2015 with $267.1 million in cash and cash equivalents and $201.2 million in short-term investments.
The company said that for 2016, organic revenues are anticipated to grow 3 percent year over year with non-GAAP EPS between $.97 and $1.02.
Bruker shares were up 8 percent to $23.54 in trading this morning on the Nasdaq.