Thermo Fisher Scientific reports record Q3 results
rise to $2.4bn (€1.7bn) with its Analytical Technologies division
growing 12 per cent with quarterly sales of $1.04bn.
The life sciences behemoth continued its inexorable growth during the third quarter of 2007 with revenues growing to $2.4bn (€1.68bn) from $2.39bn in the previous quarter. Because of the merger between Thermo Electron and Fisher Scientific in May of last year direct comparisons with Thermo's results last year are meaningless, so the company has presented its results on a pro forma basis, as if the company's been combined for the entire year. On this pro forma basis, revenues rose 7 per cent, from $2.24bn in 2006 with pretax profits hitting $235m. "We had solid revenue growth led by high demand for life science and air quality instruments, specialty diagnostics products and biopharma services," said Marijn Deckers, CEO of Thermo Fisher Scientific. "In addition, we continued our long track record of significant margin expansion by remaining focused on improving our operating performance." The company's Analytical Technologies group saw revenue grow 12 per cent during the quarter to $1.04bn, compared with pro forma revenues of $931m in 2006. The Laboratory Products and Services segment saw more modest growth of 4 per cent, with revenues reaching $1.45bn compared to the pro forma value of $1.39bn achieved during the quarter in 2006. These results have led the company to once again upgrade its expectations for the year. "Due to acquisitions and favourable currency translation we are raising our previous 2007 revenue guidance of $9.50bn to $9.55bn to a range of $9.60bn to $9.65bn, resulting in 8 to 9 per cent revenue growth over our pro forma 2006 results," said Dekkers. The company still does not appear to be satisfied with its current size, stating that acquisitions continue to be an important part of the company's growth strategy. "The life, laboratory and health sciences industry remains highly fragmented, and this presents opportunities for us to make acquisitions that create tremendous value by expanding our global reach, our commercial capabilities or our technology portfolio," said Dekkers. "This complements our ongoing internal investments, which include capacity expansion to accommodate growing demand for our products and services, or R&D that yields significant technological advancements - such as our new RNAi platform that broadens life sciences research."
