Thermo Fisher raises profit forecast on strong demand for its tools and services
Oct 23 (Reuters) -Thermo Fisher Scientific TMO.N on Wednesday raised the lower end of its annual profit forecast, tweaking it for the third time this year, betting on improved demand for its tools and services used in drug development.
Contract drug manufacturers witnessed reduced spending from biotech clients last year, but recent interest cuts could improve the funding environment for biotechs as borrowing costs might ease.
Thermo, which had raised its profit forecast range twice earlier this year, now expects annual profit between $21.35 and $22.07 per share, compared with previous forecast of $21.29 to $22.07 per share.
On Tuesday, rival Danaher DHR.N beat Wall Street estimates for profit and revenue, but said that it is not seeing large improvement in demand from smaller biotechs and flagged weakness in China.
Thermo Fisher retained its annual revenue forecast in the range of $42.4 billion to $43.3 billion.
Analysts are expecting a profit of $21.72 per share and revenue of $42.91 billion for this year, according to LSEG data.
For the third quarter, sales in the company's laboratory products segment that provides products and services used in clinical trials and drug development came in at $5.74 billion, above analysts' expectations of $5.45 billion.
Revenue from that segment makes up more than half of Thermo Fisher's total sales.
European peer Sartorius SATG.DE last week reported better-than-expected bioprocessing order intake in its nine-month results, lifting shares of life sciences firms like Thermo Fisher, Danaher and Waters WAT.N. Citi analysts had said the results were "a clear positive data point for bioprocessing players".
On an adjusted basis, Waltham, Massachussets-based Thermo earned $5.28 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 28, compared with analysts' expectations of $5.25 per share.
However, its third-quarter revenue of $10.60 billion fell short of estimates of $10.64 billion.
Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
