Second-quarter revenues for IBO’s Lab Equipment/Consumables Sales Index contracted 6.7% to $853.8 million, and operating profits declined 6.1% to $259.2 million. Adjusted operating margins improved 30 basis points to 30.4% of sales.

Biohit’s second-quarter sales declined 5% to €8.7 million ($11.9 million = €0.73 = $1), while operating income plunged 38% to €0.2 million ($0.3 million). Liquid Handling sales fell 6% to €8.2 million ($11.2 million) to represent 94% of sales due to budget constraints and lower demand for pipettes, but was partially offset by higher sales of consumables and maintenance in Asia and North America. Liquid Handling operating profits declined 26% to €0.6 million ($0.8 million) due to lower sales volume. Diagnostics sales, which are comprised mainly of kits, grew 17% to €0.5 million ($0.7 million). The segment’s operating loss narrowed to €0.5 million ($0.7 million), compared to a loss of €0.6 ($0.9 million = €0.64 = $1) last year.

For fiscal third quarter ended August 31, revenue for Gerresheimer Life Science Research declined 4.8%, 12.9% on currency-neutral basis, to €21.8 million ($31.1 million = €0.70 = $1) from €22.9 million ($34.2 million = €0.67= $1) to account for 9% of company sales (see page 12). The decline in revenue was attributed to lower demand for reusable labware glass as a result of budget and inventory constraints. Adjusted operating profits fell 31.0% to €2.0 million ($2.9 million). The company does not anticipate a recovery for the division in the fourth quarter.

Kewaunee Scientific’s fiscal first-quarter sales ended July 31 grew 3.4% to $26.3 million. Order backlog improved 0.5% to $60.7 million. Operating profit rose 1.9% to $1.8 million. Operating margin improved 89 basis points to 22.0% of sales due to enhanced operating efficiencies and lower expenditures. Domestic sales grew 11.2% to account for 89% of revenues, as activity for larger construction projects increased. International sales fell 34.0% to make up 11% of sales due to lower construction activity. Domestic operating income rose 24.8% to $2.5 million, while international operating income fell 26.8% to $0.3 million.

Second-quarter revenue for Millipore’s Bioscience division declined 3.1%, flat organically, to $178.7 million to account for 44% of company sales. Currency effects reduced revenue growth by 7%, while the acquisition of Guava Technologies (see IBO 2/15/09) contributed 4% growth. Revenue for the drug discovery services business declined due to lower spending by large pharmaceutical customers, but the division reported strong growth for bioanalytical services. Sales for the lab water business improved despite declining instrument sales, as 60% of lab water revenue was from consumables and services. Lab water sales were stable in Europe and North America, but declined in Japan. The life science business sustained growth from academic and biotech, particularly for stem cell research, multiplex immunoassays and flow cytometry products. New antibodies and kits also boosted segment sales. On a currency-neutral basis, segment sales to all geographic markets grew in the low-single digits. This year, Millipore expects positive organic revenue growth for the Bioscience division.

For the fiscal fourth-quarter ended July 31, revenue for Pall’s BioPharmaceuticals segment rose 0.4%, 7.8% on a currency-neutral basis, to $156.3 million. Full-year revenue fell 2.5% to $550.6 million, but grew 4.7% on a currency-neutral basis, to account for 59% of Life Sciences revenues. Back orders rose 1.3% to $100.3 million. Demand for vaccine and plasma derivatives products drove BioPharmaceuticals revenue growth. Pharmaceuticals revenue rose 5%, as system and consumables sales climbed 7.3% and 4.9%, respectively. Laboratory revenue grew 2.8% due to demand for single-use biotech and vaccine production technologies. BioPharmaceuticals sales to Europe and Asia improved 7.5% and 14.4%, respectively. Western Hemisphere sales declined 4.7%.

For the fiscal fourth-quarter ended June 30, revenues for Techne’s Biotechnology and R&D Europe segments, declined 0.6% and 14.3%, respectively. For the year, the Biotechnology sales grew 5.0% to account for 66% of sales. Segment revenues to international distributors, pharmaceutical/biotech customers and academia grew 6.2%, 4.7% and 3.9%, respectively. Segment gross margins slipped 40 basis points to 79.3% of sales. Revenue for the R&D Europe segment fell 4.2%, but grew 7.2% on a currency-neutral basis to make up 27% of sales. Segment gross margins fell 480 basis points to 51.7% of sales due to unfavorable exchange rates.

Second-quarter sales for Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Laboratory Products and Services (LPS) contracted 3.5% to $1,599.3 million to account for 64% of the company revenues. Currency transactions reduced the segment’s revenue growth by 4.0%, while acquisitions contributed 2.2%. A drop in products purchased from one supplier resulted in a 1.6% decline in sales growth. The weak demand for lab equipment was partially offset by higher consumables sales and modest growth in the research catalog and clinical-trials services businesses. LPS adjusted operating income declined 6.4% to $217.2 million. Operating margin slipped 40 basis points to 13.6% of sales.

VWR’s second-quarter revenues fell 9.3% to $876.0 million, including a decline of 6.5% and 2.5% from currency transactions and fewer billing days, respectively. Acquisitions contributed 0.5% to growth. Excluding currency and fewer billing days, revenues declined approximately 1%. Sales of capital goods declined in the high-single digits, while sales of consumables were relatively flat. From a market standpoint, pharmaceutical sales were flat. Industrial sales declined in mid-single digits. Adjusted operating profits contracted 7.2% to $44.0 million, while gross profit margins slipped 20 basis points to 27.9% of sales.

Sales for VWR’s North American Lab segment declined 3.1%, 1.4% on a currency-neutral basis, to account for 59% of total sales. The loss of one billing day negatively impacted revenue growth by 1.5%. Adjusted operating income for North American Lab climbed 14.1% to $28.3 million. European Lab sales shrank 16.3%, 4.3% excluding acquisitions and exchange rates, to make up 38% of revenues. Currency transactions and fewer billings days reduced segment revenue growth by 13.4% and 4.0%, respectively, while acquisitions contributed 1.3% to revenue growth. Operating profit for the European Lab segment declined 23.6% to $16.5 million. Science Education revenue fell 21.9%, including a loss of 2.0% from billing disparities, to account for 3% of sales. Segment revenue was negatively impacted by lower publisher business. The segment reported a loss of $0.8 million, compared to a profit of $1.0 million a year ago.

Chart: Quarterly Operating Profit Margins January 2006—June 2009

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

2006 25.9% 25.7% 26.4% 27.4%

2007 29.3% 28.6% 29.5% 28.9%

2008 30.5% 30.1% 31.0% 31.1%

2009 30.3% 30.4%

Chart: Quarterly Sales Performance January 2006—June 2009

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

2006 711.8 731.3 728.5 787.8

2007 802.5 808.5 820.9 876.1

2008 891.9 915.2 883.1 852.0

2009 816.8 853.8