Second quarter 2013 IBO Life Science Index sales grew 2.6%, 4.5% excluding currency, to $3,408 million. Operating profit was flat at $701 million. Based on continuing operations, operating margin slipped 70 basis points to 20.6% of sales.

Fiscal third quarter revenue for Becton, Dickinson’s BD Biosciences division declined 4.2%, 2.5% excluding currency, to $257.1 million to make up 13% of company sales. US sales fell 3.3% to account for 34% of BD Biosciences revenue due to timing of Advance Bioprocessing orders. However, US instrument sales improved and are up in the low single digits for the year. International sales dropped 4.6%, 2.1% excluding currency, to account for 66% of segment sales. This decline was attributed to austerity measures in Western Europe and delays in government funding in Japan. BD Biosciences operating income declined 13.4% to $58.1 million because of increased headcount in emerging markets, the medical device excise tax and product development, especially for high-performance flow cytometers. Given a stronger growth outlook for the fiscal fourth quarter, the company maintained its BD Bioscience 2013 currency-neutral sales growth outlook of 1%–2%.

Biotage’s second quarter revenues declined 4.9% to SEK 116.3 million ($17.7 million = SEK 6.56 = $1) (see page 12), but grew 4.6% excluding currency. Instrumentation sales, which accounted for 42% of revenues, increased due to demand for purification products, including the new Isolera Dalton system. Combined, service and consumables sales accounted for 58% of revenues. European sales were strong, accounting for 40% of revenues due to collection of delayed orders from the first quarter. Japanese sales improved to account for 13%. Chinese sales made up 3%, but were negatively impacted by demand from contract manufacturers and lower services to pharmaceutical customers. Lower demand from academic customers weakened US sales, which accounted for 39% of revenues. Gross margin fell 100 basis points to 56.6% of sales due to product mix and the depreciation of the Japanese yen. Adjusted operating profit grew 8.8% to SEK 10.5 million ($1.6 million) because of lower operating expenses, including R&D.

Fluidigm second quarter sales climbed 35.0% to $17.5 million. Product sales grew 35.2% to account for 99% of revenues due to sustained demand for single-cell genomics products, sales of which more than doubled to make up 45% of revenues. Instrument sales climbed 47.4% to make up 59% of Product revenues, led by demand for the C1 Single-Cell Auto Prep system and the BioMark HD. Overall, system shipments grew 20% from the first quarter to 60 units. Consumables sales grew 21.0% to account for 41% of Product revenues due to strong demand for Integrated Fluidic Circuits (IFC) and higher sales of assays and reagents. US and European sales each grew 56.1% to account for 59% and 26% of Product sales, respectively. Sales to Asia Pacific and Japan contracted 22.5% and 61.3% to make up 9% and 2%, respectively. However, orders in Japan increased. Sales to Other countries soared 78.7% to account for 4%. Product gross margin expanded 250 basis points to 71.8% of sales due to increased IFC volume and higher instrument sales. Grant and license revenues increased 17.7% to account for 1% of sales. Despite increased headcount, total operating loss narrowed 9.0% to $4.0 million. The company increased its 2013 sales growth forecast from 22%–26% to 27%–31%.

Excluding Royalty payments, second quarter sales for Merck Millipore grew 2.5%, 5.6% organically, to €666.3 million ($865.3 million = €0.77 = $1) to make up 24% of company sales. Acquisitions added 0.6% to revenue growth, while currency reduced sales growth by 3.7%. Royalty, license and commission income, which declined 58.4%, added €2.4 million ($3.1 million) to total Millipore revenue. Process Solutions and Lab Solutions organic sales grew 7.7% and 5.8%, respectively, to each account for 42% of Millipore revenues. Process Solutions sales were driven by demand for biotechnology manufacturing products and biodevelopment services for single-use technologies, especially in North America and Western Europe. Sales for the Lab Solutions unit benefited from stronger biomonitoring services for pharmaceutical customers, increased demand for lab water services and consumables, and higher pricing. Organic Bioscience sales rose 0.6% to represent 17% of segment sales. Demand for recently introduced cell analyzers and biomolecular quantitation systems offset lower demand for laboratory materials in the US. Organic sales to Europe, the US and Emerging Markets grew 7.4%, 7.6% and 3.4% to account for 39%, 28% and 24% of sales, respectively. Sales to Rest of the World grew 0.7% organically to make up 10%. Gross profit margin fell 180 basis points to 57.5% of segment sales because of product mix and currency, especially the devaluation of the Japanese yen. Adjusted operating profit grew 2.1% to €130.6 million ($169.6 million) due to lower administrative and R&D expenses.

Second quarter sales for Luminex’s Technology and Strategic Partnerships (TSP) segment grew 5.4% to $31.1 million to account for 57% of sales. Consumables and Royalty sales grew 8.4% and 12.6% to represent 37% and 27% of TSP sales, respectively. Roughly 69% and 31% of Royalty revenues were derived from diagnostic and life science research partners, respectively. Service and Other revenue rose 12.3% and 6.0% to account for 7% and 6%, respectively. Despite a 7.8% decline in System sales to make up 23% of segment sales, shipments exceeded company expectations. The total number of analyzers shipped during the quarter declined 4.3% to 266, including a 25.6% decline in sales of MAGPIX systems to 126 units and a 27.8% decline in sales of automated punching systems to 13 units. TSP operating profit fell 12.3% to $6.4 million due to increased headcount and marketing expenses. Segment gross profit margin fell 240 basis points to 65.6% of sales because of product mix. The company now expects to reach the low end of its full-year sales outlook of $220–$230 million due to slower life science research spending.

Tecan’s half-year sales slipped 0.2%, 0.5% in local currencies, to CHF 181.8 million ($194.0 million = CHF 0.94 = $1). Sales declined sharply in the first quarter due to austerity measures, but grew by double digits in the second quarter, along with strong orders. For the first six months, orders climbed 5.1% in local currency to CHF 189.2 million ($201.9 million). Instruments and components revenues fell 4.1% to make up 65% of sales. Service and consumables revenues expanded 4.0% and 15.8% in local currency to make up 24% and 11% of sales, respectively. Excluding currency, sales to Asia grew 6.4% to make up 13% of revenues, including double-digit growth in China. North American sales improved 0.9% to account for 42% of sales, led by strong demand for components within the OEM segment. European sales fell 3.7% in local currency to make up 43%. Gross profit margin contracted 90 basis points to 48.8% of sales due to product mix and a slight increase in cost of goods. Operating profit expanded 3.3% to CHF 23.1 million ($24.7) due to lower R&D and administrative expenses. The company maintained its full-year currency-neutral mid-single digit sales growth forecast.

Revenue for Tecan’s Partnering business grew 3.5%, 3.2% in local currency, to represent 46% of sales. Demand for components, services and consumables was strong. However, restructuring changes for two of its customers led to a decline in instrument sales. Segment orders grew by double digits. Partnering operating profit rose 16.9% to CHF 25.0 million ($26.7 million), and operating margin climbed 360 basis points to 29.2% of sales. Life Science (LS) sales fell 3.2%, 3.5% in local currency, to represent 54% of sales. Segment sales were negatively impacted by government budget cuts in Europe and North America during the first quarter. Liquid handling sales declined, while demand for detection instruments, services and consumables improved. LS orders for the first six months declined. Segment operating profit slumped more than fourfold to CHF 1.1 million ($1.2 million), and profit margin contracted 340 basis points to 1.0% of LS sales.