Beckman Coulter Posts 8 Percent Q3 Growth on Strong Recurring...

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Beckman Coulter reported after the close of the market Thursday that its third-quarter revenues rose 8 percent, or nearly 12 percent on a constant currency basis, due to a strong recurring revenue.

The Orange County, Calif.-based firm had total revenues of $822.8 million for the three-month period ended Sept. 30, compared to revenues of $758.8 million. Its recurring revenues — derived from supplies, service, and lease payments — were $676.1 million, up from $594.6 million for the third quarter of 2008. Its cash instrument sales fell to $146.7 million from $164.2 million.

Beckman's clinical diagnostics sales rose 12 percent to $711 million from $635.9 million. Within that group, its chemistry and clinical automation sales rose 28 percent to $282.7 million, while its immunoassay and molecular diagnostics sales increased 9 percent to $199.3 million. Its cellular analysis sales declined 2 percent to $229 million. The firm's life sciences revenues fell 9 percent to $111.8 million from $122.9 million.

Beckman's net income for the quarter was $1.5 million, or $.02 per share, compared with net earnings of $24.1 million, or $.37 per share, for the comparable period in 2008. The most recent quarter included restructuring and acquisition-related charges of $79.2 million related to its $780 million acquisition of Olympus' lab-based diagnostics business, its office consolidation project, and a supply chain improvement initiative.

Its adjusted EPS for Q3 2009 was $.85, beating analysts' consensus estimate by a penny.

Beckman's R&D expenses declined to $71.7 million from $74.8 million, and its SG&A spending climbed to $222.6 million from $209.2 million.

The firm finished the quarter with $262.3 million in cash and cash equivalents.

"Based on the year-to-date results and the current market conditions, we expect our total revenue to be roughly flat, or up 0 percent to 2 percent in constant currency," Beckman Chairman, President, and CEO Scott Garrett said in a statement. "Recurring revenue is still expected to grow in the range of 6% to 7% for the year on a constant currency basis."