First quarter Life Science Index sales grew 2.4%, 3.2% on a currency-neutral basis, to $3,235 million. Revenue growth for several companies was negatively impacted by lower research funding in the US and Europe. Operating profit contracted 2.8% to $649 million. Based on continued operations, operating margin fell 130 basis points to 20.8% of sales. Of the 13 Index companies, Tecan was the only company for which first quarter estimates have been used.

Fiscal second quarter revenue for Becton Dickinson and Company BD Biosciences grew 0.6%, 1.9% excluding currency, to $279.4 million to make up 14% of company sales. US sales grew 5.8% to account for 32% of BD Biosciences revenue due to higher instrument placements, timing of Advanced Bioprocessing orders and a weak year-over-year comparison. Within the US, instruments sales benefited from the new Accuri analyzer and low single-digit sales growth for cell sorters and high-end analyzer systems, for which sales were particularly weak in the previous year. International sales declined 1.7% but grew 0.2% excluding currency to account for 68% of segment sales. Increased demand for high-end instruments in China was partially offset by weak sales in Western Europe and Japan. Despite increased investment in emerging markets and the medical device excise tax, BD Biosciences operating income improved 0.2% to $71.4 million. The company maintained its fiscal 2013 currency-neutral BD Biosciences sales outlook of 1%–2% growth.

First quarter sales for Biotage fell 13.7%, 6.9% on a currency-neutral basis, to SEK 103.2 million ($16.0 million = SEK 6.44 = $1) (see page 12). Sales contracted due to weak government spending in the US, lower European demand and the timing of orders. Sales of sample preparation products declined, with the exception of China. Demand for synthesis systems was mixed, with growth coming primarily from microwave-assisted peptide synthesis sales in the US and Japan. Sales of traditional peptide synthesis systems were sharply lower. Sales of purification products were stable as the company expanded its market penetration in the US. Overall, consumables and service revenues accounted for 61% of sales, and instrument sales made up 39%. Geographically, Japan and China performed the best, accounting for 18% and 6% of sales, respectively. Sales to the US, EU and Rest of World made up 38%, 32% and 6% of revenues, respectively. Despite managing expenses, adjusted operating profit dropped 43.2% to SEK 6.6 million ($1.0 million) as a result of lower sales volume. Gross profit margin declined 60 basis points to 56.5% of sales due to product mix and currency. The company set an average organic sales growth target of 8% for the three-year period of 2013–2015, which will greatly depend on the success of its new products. The average operating margin goal for the period is 10%.

Fluidigm first quarter sales jumped 32.8% to $14.5 million. Product sales grew 32.5% to account for 98% of revenues due to strong demand for single-cell genomics products, sales of which nearly doubled to make up 40% of revenues. Instruments and Consumables sales climbed 34.0% and 30.7% to make up 55% and 45% of Product revenues, respectively. Instrument sales were driven by demand for the C1 Single-Cell Auto Prep system and BioMark HD. With 50 systems shipped during the quarter, cumulative placements reached 720 units, of which 64% were analytical systems and 36% were preparatory systems. Consumables sales were led by strong demand for genotyping and Access Array products, especially from agricultural and clinical laboratory markets. By end-market, sales to academic and government customers, which include hospitals, accounted for roughly 50% of revenues. Clinical markets made up roughly 20%. Pharmaceutical, biotechnology and Ag-Bio sales accounted for roughly 10%–12%. Sales to the US, Europe, Asia Pacific and Japan grew 19.0%, 36.3%, 60.3% and 51.3% to account for 49%, 25%, 13% and 10% of Product sales, respectively. Sales to other countries more than doubled to represent 3% of revenues. Japanese sales, which grew roughly 70% excluding currency, benefited from stimulus funding. Grant revenue increased 48.7% to account for 2% of sales. Adjusted operating loss narrowed 19.4% to $5.1 million due to higher margins. Gross margin advanced 310 basis points to 70.7% because of instrument product mix and higher sales of assays and reagents. The company stated that it was not impacted by sequestration and maintained its 2013 sales growth outlook of 22%–26% to $64–$66 million.

Excluding Royalty payments, first quarter sales for Merck Millipore grew 2.5%, 3.6% organically, to €668.7 million ($879.9 million = €0.76 = $1) to make up 24% of Merck KGaA sales. Acquisitions added 0.5% to revenue growth, while currency reduced sales growth by 1.6%. Royalty, license and commission revenue more than doubled to €5.8 million ($7.6 million). Increased activity for biopharmaceutical production in emerging markets, especially China and South Korea, boosted organic sales growth. New products accounted for roughly one-third of organic sales growth. Process Solutions (PS) and Lab Solutions sales grew 6.9% and 1.9% organically to account for 43% and 40% of Millipore sales, respectively. PS sales were driven by sustained demand for biologics manufacturing products and services, especially for single-use technologies.

Millipore Lab Solutions sales were led by increased biomonitoring services for pharmaceutical, and food and beverage customers, demand for lab water consumables and pricing. Despite demand for new analytical instruments, Bioscience sales fell 0.5% organically to make up 17% segment sales due to lower academic spending in the US. Millipore sales to North America and Emerging Markets grew 8.0% and 10.9% organically to account for 28% and 23% of segment sales, respectively. Organic sales to Europe and Rest of World declined 0.9% and 4.5% to make up 38% and 11%, respectively. Japanese sales were particularly weak. Adjusted operating profit fell 5.3% to €133.1 million ($175.1 million) as a result of increased sales personnel in emerging markets and higher R&D investments. Gross profit margin fell 60 basis points to 59.1% due to product mix. The company projected moderate organic sales growth for Millipore in 2013.

Sequenom Genetic Analysis (GA) sales fell 7.1% to represent 24% of revenues. Consumables and System sales declined 13.9% and 10.9% to account for 50% and 28% of GA sales, respectively. The decline in instrumentation was due to timing of revenues collected as placements of MassARRAY systems were unchanged. Maintenance Services revenue grew 5.1% to represent 14% of segment sales. Contract Research and Other sales increased 66.0% to make up 8%. GA operating profit slumped 93.6% to just above breakeven due to lower Consumables revenue.