Illumina Cuts Sales Forecasts
In April, Illumina raised its annual sales forecast by $10 million (see IBO 5/15/09). The revised guidance restores the company’s annual sales estimate to that made in February (see IBO 2/15/09) for growth of 20%–26%. Second-quarter revenues are now estimated to increase 15%. In a conference call, the company stated that order delays related to the US stimulus were having a larger impact on its sequencing business than on array sales. The company also stated that array pricing is stable, and that the second quarter was the first time that reduced foundation funding affected sales.
San Diego, CA 7/1/09—Illumina has revised its forecast for the second quarter and year-end. The company now expects second-quarter revenues of approximately $161 million, compared to guidance of $168–$173 million (see IBO 5/15/09). Full-year revenues are now estimated to be $690–$720 million. Citing a sequential quarterly decline in array revenue for the change, Illumina highlighted three factors: customers are delaying new genome wide association studies in anticipation of new, rare variant content arrays; the impact of reduced foundation funding on a few key accounts; and order delays related to US stimulus funding. Stimulus funding also delayed orders for the sequencing business in the first and second quarters. Illumina estimates that stimulus-related delays will reduce its first-half revenues by $10–$15 million and creates uncertainty about third-quarter revenues. The company stated that the fundamentals of its markets remain intact.
