NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Sigma-Aldrich today reported a 3 percent increase year over year in its second-quarter revenues as the company beat consensus analyst estimates on the top and bottom lines.
For the three months ended June 30, the company saw revenues climb to $681 million, compared to $664 million a year ago, and beating the average Wall Street estimate of $678.8 million.
In a statement, President and CEO Rakesh Sachdev said that the firm's Research business unit showed "positive and improving organic sales growth." Academic demand in the US was weaker due to sequestration and budget uncertainties, but still improved sequentially from the first quarter.
All segments in Sigma-Aldrich's Applied business unit also grew organically, Sachdev said, led by high-single digit growth in Diagnostics and Testing and low- to mid-single digit growth in Industrial.
SAFC Commercial organic sales grew 2 percent year over year, short of company expectations, due to a "challenging chemical precursor market for the LED industry served by our Hitech segment," he said, adding SAFC Life Science Products saw high-single digit organic sales growth.
Net income for the quarter was $119 million, or $.98 per share, compared to $115 million, or $.94 per share, a year ago. On an adjusted basis, EPS was $1.05, narrowly beating the average analyst estimate of $1.04.
R&D spending shrank 11 percent to $16 million in the quarter, compared to $18 million a year ago, while SG&A spending was trimmed 3 percent to $147 million from $151 million.
Sigma-Aldrich finished the quarter with $562 million in cash and cash equivalents.
Organic sales growth for full-year 2013 is still expected to be in the low- to mid-single digit range, the company said. It lowered adjusted EPS, however, to a new range of $4.05 to $4.15 from an earlier guidance of $4.10 to $4.20 due to incremental changes in foreign currency exchange rates.
Shares of Sigma-Aldrich on the Nasdaq were down 1 percent at $83.07 in morning trading.