NEW YORK – Waters reported on Tuesday that its revenues in the third quarter were up 11 percent.
The firm posted revenues of $659.2 million in Q3 compared to $593.8 million in Q3 2020 and beating the average Wall Street estimate of $656.5 million. Waters said that foreign currency translation boosted sales growth by less than 1 percent in the quarter.
The company said that sales in the pharmaceutical market increased 16 percent, sales in the industrial market increased 9 percent, and sales in the academic and government markets decreased 9 percent.
In a statement, Waters CEO Udit Batra said the company saw double-digit growth in instrument sales and recurring revenues.
The Milford, Massachusetts-based company posted a Q3 net profit of $161.2 million, or $2.60 per share, compared to a net profit of $126.8 million, or $2.03 per share, for Q3 2020. On a non-GAAP basis, Waters had EPS of $2.66, beating analysts' average estimate of $2.35.
The firm's R&D spending was up 20 percent year over year to $42.0 million from $35.0 million, while SG&A costs were up 13 percent to $152.5 million from $135.4 million.
The company ended the quarter with $655.2 million in cash, cash equivalents, and investments.
Waters provided a full-year 2021 guidance of revenue growth in the range of 15 percent to 16 percent, and non-GAAP EPS between $10.94 and $11.04. It expects Q4 2021 sales growth between 5 percent and 7 percent and non-GAAP EPS between $3.40 and $3.50.
In Tuesday morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange, shares of Waters were down 4 percent to $350.26.