Agilent beats quarterly results on strong demand from biotech clients
21/08/2024 22:18
Aug 21 (Reuters) - Agilent Technologies A.N on
Wednesday beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter profit
and revenue, banking on strong demand for its medical tools and
equipment used in clinical studies.
"While market conditions continued to be challenged during
the quarter, we saw steady signs of improvement as anticipated",
said CEO Padraig McDonnell.
The public funding environment for early-stage biotechs is
expected to improve in the second half of this year, on hopes of
interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserves in September. Some
analysts have noted that funding for biotechs could stabilize
due to a strong 2023 for U.S. regulatory approvals.
Last month, Agilent's larger peer Thermo Fisher TMO.N also
raised its annual profit outlook as the company banks on
improved demand for its tools and services used in biopharma.
California-based Agilent on Wednesday raised the lower end
of its forecasts for both full-year revenue and profit.
It now expects full-year revenue of $6.45 billion to $6.5
billion, compared with estimates of $6.46 billion, according to
LSEG data. It had previously forecast a range of $6.42 billion
to $6.5 billion.
The company expects to earn between $5.21 to $5.25 per share
for fiscal 2024, compared with its previous forecast of between
$5.15 to $5.25 per share.
Agilent reported a third-quarter adjusted profit of $1.32
per share for the quarter ended July 31, beating analysts'
estimates of $1.26 per share.
It reported quarterly revenue of $1.58 billion, above
estimates of $1.56 billion.
(Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by
Mohammed Safi Shamsi and Shailesh Kuber)
((Christy.Santhosh@thomsonreuters.com;))