NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Bruker reported after the close of the market Wednesday that its revenues in the second quarter were up 8 percent year over year, rising to $454.9 million, compared to $420.7 million in Q2 2012.
The results beat the average Wall Street estimate of $426.4 million, as the company saw "weakness in some key markets partially offset by diversified pockets of growth," Bruker President and CEO Frank Laukien said in a statement.
"Both the geographic and end market trends we are seeing vary throughout the Bruker business portfolio," Laukien said on a conference call following release of the results. "For example, while demand from academic customers was strong in some businesses, it is weaker in others. Similarly, we see mixed signals from our European customer base."
The company's MALDI Biotyper mass spectrometry platform saw "robust growth" in the quarter, Laukien said. This was countered by "relatively weak revenue" from Bruker's other mass spec instruments, he said, citing, in particular, weak bookings for these products in Europe in Q1.
He added, however, that the company had seen an uptick in orders for its non-Biotyper mass spec products in Q2, noting that with the release of several new instruments at the American Society of Mass Spectrometry annual meeting in June, the company's competitive position is "quite a bit stronger than at the beginning of the year in life science mass spectrometry."
Bruker launched its EVOQ Elite ER triple quadrupole and its Impact HD QTOF at the ASMS meeting.
The Billerica, Mass.-based company reported a profit of $22.9 million, or $0.14 per share, compared to $9.9 million, or $0.06 per share, a year ago. On a non-GAAP basis, Bruker had EPS of $0.18, beating the consensus Wall Street estimate of $0.14.
The growth in "second quarter operating profitability was the result of controlled operating spending and a return to revenue growth after a slow start to the year," Bruker Chief Financial Officer Charles Wagner said in the statement.
Bruker's Scientific Instruments segment posted an organic revenue increase of around 8 percent year over year, while its Energy and Superconducting Technologies segment saw organic revenues grow 40 percent. The BEST revenues reflect $5.7 million of license milestone revenue related to Bruker's contract with the Russian state atomic energy corporation, Rosatom.
The company's R&D costs were $46.5 million for the quarter, down 10 percent from $51.9 million in Q2 2012. Its SG&A spending was $107.1 million, down 3 percent from $110.6 million in the year-ago second quarter.
Bruker ended the quarter with $250.9 million in cash and cash equivalents.
The company said it was maintaining its updated financial guidance from May 2. It expects revenue growth of 2 percent to 3 percent for full-year 2013 and non-GAAP EPS of between $0.80 and $0.83.