(Reuters) – Waters Corp raised its annual profit forecast after beating Wall Street estimates for third-quarter profit and revenue on Friday, on improved demand for its products and services used in drug development and research.
The lab equipment and software maker expects its 2024 adjusted profit to be between $11.67 and $11.87 per share, compared with its prior forecast of $11.55 to $11.65 per share. Analysts were expecting $11.60, according to LSEG data.
Waters now expects its annual revenue to decline by 0.2% to 0.8%, versus its previous outlook of a 0.7% to 2.2% decline.
The earnings were driven by new product adoption and improved consumer spending trends, said CEO Udit Batra.
Lab equipment makers have been witnessing reduced spending from biotechs since last year, but recent interest-rate cuts could improve the funding environment for such clients as borrowing costs might ease.
Milford, Massachusetts-based Waters supplies lab equipment and technology for scientists across the world, with the majority of its revenue coming in from biopharma clients who use its tools for research and drug development.
Larger peer Thermo Fisher Scientific raised the lower end of its annual profit forecast last month, betting on improved demand for its tools and services used in drug development.
Waters also forecast fourth-quarter adjusted per share profit at $3.90 to $4.10. Analysts on average expect it to be $4.09.
Its third-quarter revenue grew 4% to $740.3 million, ahead of analysts’ estimate of $713 million. The company posted an adjusted profit per share of $2.93, beating estimates of $2.68.
(Reporting by Puyaan Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
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