Due to the IBO’s January 15 forecast issue, third-quarter results for the Lab Equipment/Consumables Sales Index are included in this issue. Index sales grew 2.7%, 3.6% excluding currency, to $3,760.20 million. Operating profits improved 3.2% to $631.67 million, and adjusted operating margins were unchanged at 17.2% of sales.

For the fiscal first quarter ending October 31, revenue for Pall’s BioPharmaceuticals segment climbed 12.7%, 14.6% on a currency-neutral basis, to $161.4 million to account for 27% of company sales. Excluding currency, Pharmaceuticals and Laboratory sales grew 14.6% and 14.0% to account for 85% and 15% of BioPharmaceuticals sales, respectively. Despite flat sales of vaccine products, Pharmaceuticals revenue were driven by higher systems and consumables sales, which grew 30.3% and 13.5%, respectively due to strong demand from plasma and biotech customers in emerging markets including India, Korea, Japan and China. Sales for the Laboratory business were reinforced by higher end-user demand and restocking of inventory.

Combined revenue for Sigma-Aldrich’s Research units rose 2.9%, 4.7% excluding currency, to $396 million to represent 70% of company sales. Revenue for Research Specialties improved 6.5% organically to $207 million due to demand for analytical products and higher sales of chemistry and biochemistry products. Revenue for Research Essentials grew 2.9% excluding currency to $105 million, led by higher sales outside the US. Revenue for Research Biotech increased 2.4% excluding currency due to higher sales of biomolecular products. Total gross profit margin improved 330 basis points as a result of higher sales and favorable product mix.

Third-quarter sales for Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Laboratory Products and Services (LPS) improved 1.2%, 2.3% organically, to $1,650.8 million to account for 62% of company revenues. Divestitures, net of acquisitions, and currency reduced sales by 1.0% and 0.1%, respectively. Similar to the second quarter, laboratory equipment revenue increased, but was partially offset by lower H1N1-related sales and a cancelled supply contract, which lowered revenue growth by 2.5%. LPS adjusted operating income declined 5.7% to $221.4 million due to increased investments in Asia/Pacific and information technology projects in Europe. Operating margin slipped 100 basis points to 13.4% of sales.

VWR’s third-quarter revenues improved 0.1%, 2.1% organically, to $903.3 million. Currency transactions, net of acquisitions, reduced sales by 2.0%. Consumables sales grew in the low single digits. Sales of capital goods improved in the low to mid-single digits. Overall, pharmaceutical sales declined in the low to mid-single digits, industrial and educational sales grew in the mid-single digits, and sales to governmental entities were flat. Adjusted operating profits contracted 3.3% to $60.9 million, and gross profit margins slipped 43 basis points to 28.4% of sales. North American Lab and European Lab sales grew 2.2% and 3.6% organically to make up 58% and 37% of sales, respectively. Science Education sales fell 9.5% organically. Adjusted operating income for North American Lab and Science Education fell 3.7% and 19.7% to $31.2 million and $5.3 million, respectively, but grew 1.7% for the European Lab unit to $24.4 million.