It was a challenging year for many publicly held contract testing lab companies, which provide a variety of analytical testing as well as other services across a range of industries. With networks of labs worldwide and extensive testing capabilities, such companies are major customers for analytical instrumentation and lab products. Their acquisition activities, lab expansions and consolidations, and operational improvements affect the purchase, utilization and application of lab instruments and products.

Together, three such companies, ALS, Eurofins and SGS, represent hundreds of labs worldwide. In 2015, sales for ALS and SGS, which both have major commodities testing businesses, suffered due to the continued weakness in oil, gas and mineral prices. In January 2015, SGS named a new CEO. And, last month, ALS rejected a $1.9 billion take over offer from private equity firms Advent and Bain Capital, calling the proposal “opportunistic.” However, all three companies reported more positive results for their food, environmental and life science testing services.

With more than 225 labs in 39 countries, Luxembourg-based contract testing company Eurofins operates in the agricultural, clinical, environmental, food and pharmaceutical, markets, providing bioanalytical testing services. Acquisitions fueled 2015 sales. Eurofins sales rose 38.3% last year, including 5.5% growth due to currency effects, to €1,950.1 million ($2,166.8 million = €0.90 = $1). On an organic basis, revenues rose 7.5%. Adjusted operating profit increased 39.2% to €264.3 million ($293.7 million). Nonrecurring and restructuring costs declined 48.2% to €15.8 million ($17.6 million). Capital expenditures grew 24.8% to €163.8 million ($182 million). During 2015, Eurofins’ share price increased 52.7%.

In 2015, Eurofins purchased 21 companies, spending €627 million ($697 million) and adding over €570 million ($633 million) in revenues. So far, this year, it has announced nine acquisitions. Notably, in 2015, the company further expanded its specialty clinical diagnostic business, acquiring five diagnostic testing providers with total revenues of more than $500 million: US-based cardiology diagnostic provider Boston Heart Diagnostics; Diatherix, a US-based provider of infectious disease testing using TEM (Target Enriched Multiplex)–PCR; French clinical diagnostics lab company BioAccess, which has a network of over 103 sites; a 75% stake in US-based Emory Genetics Laboratory, specializing in testing of rare genetic disorders; and European specialty diagnostic provider Biomnis.

The company also continued its acquisition of food, environmental and agricultural testing labs. Geographic expansion included Vietnam, with the purchase of a 65% stake in food and agricultural testing lab Sac Ky Hai Dang (EDC-HD), and Malaysia, with the acquisition of NML, which provides food and environmental testing.

In 2015, Eurofins continued its multiyear program of investing in “start-up” labs (defined as greenfield or newly acquired businesses with operating losses), as well as consolidation of existing sites and network expansion. Revenue from “start-ups and businesses in significant restructuring” accounted for 13% of total sales in 2015. Revenue from mature businesses accounted for the remainder, rising 37.3%.

During the first phase of its start-up labs program from 2010 to 2013, Eurofins opened 17 labs in 12 countries. In the next phase, 2014–2017, the company plans to open 35 labs, of which 21 were opened as of June 2015. Six of the 21 are located in Asia Pacific, including a 2,153 ft2 (200 m2) Hong Kong lab for bacteriology testing of food, which opened last year, as well as two labs in India, a food testing lab in New Delhi and an agroscience lab in Coimbatore.

The company’s consolidation and expansion of lab sites consisted of 10 sites in 2015. Opened earlier this year, a $12.5 million, 65,800 ft2 (6,113 m2) facility in Louisville, Kentucky, encompasses both the Eurofins Genomics business, including NGS and synthesis services, as well as Eurofins ExpressMicro for microbiological testing. European site consolidation included the opening last year of the relocation of several its German food testing labs into a Eurofins Campus Hamburg, as well site consolidations in Sweden and Benelux.

Eurofins plans to add 1.3 million ft2 (120,000 m2) of “modern lab surface” in 2016 and 2017, with 18 site expansions planned. Lancasteronline.com reported earlier this year that the company intends to add a third campus to its Lancaster, Pennsylvania, location, which conducts pharmaceutical and environmental testing. The proposed $40 million site would include a 167,000 ft2 (15,515 m2) facility. And, last month, the company announced an expansion of its Lancaster Laboratories campus in Dungarvan, Ireland, for pharmaceutical testing, consisting of a lab expansion and a new 19,375 ft2 (1,800 m2) site.

ALS, an Australian-based provider of testing services for the energy, environmental, food, industrial, life science and minerals markets, experienced an 8.6% decline in revenues to AUD 1,364.9 million ($1,026.2 million = AUD 1.33 = $1) for its FY ending March 31. Adjusted operating profit declined 20.3% to AUD 177.9 million ($133.8 million). The company’s share price ended 2015 down 25.9% for the 12-month period.

ALS’s Life Sciences, Minerals, Energy and Industrial Divisions accounted for 46%, 25%, 15% and 14% of sales, respectively. The company completed at least five acquisitions during the FY for AUD 20.0 million ($14 million).

ALS’s primary chemical and biological analytical testing operations are centered in its Life Sciences Division, which consists of the Environmental, and Food and Pharmaceutical business units, which accounted for 82% and 18% of Life Sciences revenue in FY16. The only Division to record a rise in sales last FY, Life Sciences revenue grew 13.7%.

ALS’s Environmental business, consisting of 4,500 employees at 125 sites and over 70 labs, recorded an 11% increase in sales in FY16. During the FY, the firm upgraded 538,196 ft2 (50,000 m2) of lab space, including an expansion of its Regina, Canada, lab and the opening of a new lab in Townsville, Australia, for water analyses. Capital expenditures, excluding acquisitions and facilities, totaled AUD 25 million ($19 million) for the Environmental business.

The Food and Pharmaceutical business employs 1,200 people and recorded capital expenditures of AUD 7 million ($5 million) last FY. New market entries for the business included Spain, Poland, Slovakia, Norway and Sweden due to the acquisition of three companies: molecular biology lab firm Controlvet, as well as food and water testing firms OMM-Lab and Mikolab. New lab locations included Songkhla, Thailand, and Sentul, Indonesia. In Europe, new labs were opened in England and Denmark. This year, the company will open a £2 million ($3 million = £0.65 = $1) extension to its Ely, UK, location, according to the Ely Standard.

Inspection, verification, testing and certification firm SGS also provides analytical testing services. Total company revenues for 2015 grew 3.6% on a constant currency basis to CHF 5,712 million ($5,950 million =CHF 0.96 = $1), including 2.0% organic growth. SGS consists of 10 business segments, with 1,800 offices and labs. Among the businesses recording organic growth last year were three offering analytical testing services: Agricultural Services, Environmental Services and Life Science Services.

SGS’s 2015 adjusted operating profit declined 3.2% to CHF 917 million ($955 million). Restructuring costs rose 482% to CHF 64 million ($67 million). Share price during the calendar year declined 4.2%. The company completed 10 acquisitions last year out of 14 announced for a total of CHF 103 million ($107 million), adding CHF 45 million ($47 million) in revenues. This year, the firm expects revenues to grow 2.5%–3.5%.

SGS Life Science Services (LSS) revenue rose 6.8% last year, 6.4% organically, to make up 4% of total revenues. The segment includes 19 labs offering analytical and bioanalytics services on a contract basis. Revenue for lab services grew double digits. LLS adjusted operating profit rose 14.6% to CHF 22.8 million ($23.8 million).

LSS “capital additions” fell 6.3% to CHF 15 million ($16 million). New facilities opened during 2015 included a cGMP chemistry and biotechnology testing lab in Shanghai, China, and the doubling in size of a cGMP facility in Mumbai, India. In France, a 22,604 ft2 (2,100 m2) QC and biologics lab was opened near Paris, replacing a previous facility. As for acquisitions, Life Science Services announced in December 2015 the purchase of Canadian-based Quality Compliance Laboratories, which provides pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and cosmeceutical testing.

Among SGS Divisions, Environmental Services was the fastest growing last year, with revenue increasing 16.9%, 5.2% on an organic basis, to make up 6% of revenues. The Division acquired two Australian firms in 2015, Radiation Safety Services and Western Radiation Services (WRS). WRS’s offerings include water, soil and food analysis. The division also purchased Brazilian-based AirServices and Cronolab, which specializes in dioxins and furans testing. Earlier this year, the Division increased its US environmental testing presence with the purchase of Accutest Laboratories, which has annual revenues of $65 million. The Division’s 2015 capital additions rose 15.8% to CHF 22 million ($23 million).

SGS Agricultural Services’ 2015 organic revenue rose 4.0% last year to CHF 368 million ($383 million). The Division reported strong growth for lab services, but capital additions declined 11.8% to CHF 15 million ($16 million). Facilities opened during the year included a lab in Kalulushi, Zambia, for soil, plant and fertilizer testing. In addition, SGS opened an express grain cargo testing lab in Astrakhan, Russia, and a palm oil testing lab in Bintulu, Malaysia.