As expected, IBO’s annual list of the top 30 analytical and life science instrument companies was reshuffled in 2010 due to consolidation and the global economic recovery. Several transactions, including Life Technologies’ divestiture of its joint venture MS business to Danaher (see IBO 9/15/09, 2/15/10) and Agilent Technologies’ acquisition of Varian (see IBO 7/31/09, 5/15/10), were completed during the year. Meanwhile, a number of companies experienced resilient growth due to increased capital spending, inventory replenishment, product introductions and strong demand in emerging and industrial markets.

Given the durable economic expansion and consolidation, the 2010 list of the top 30 instrument companies produced several notable changes, including the return of Thermo Fisher Scientific to the number one position. Total calendar year (CY) 2010 analytical and life science instruments and aftermarket sales of the top 30 companies climbed 10.0% to $28.4 billion to account for approximately 72% of the total instrument market.

IBO’s calculations of the top 30 companies and their rankings are based on the companies’ analytical and life science instruments and related aftermarket sales in US currency for CY2010. For each company, only sales of instruments and aftermarket products that fall into one of nine instrument categories, as defined by IBO’s annual forecast issue (see IBO 1/15/11) are counted.

The sales growth for each company includes updated estimates of CY2009 instrument and aftermarket sales and rankings. Among the companies whose rankings were affected by the revised CY2009 estimates was Hitachi High-Technologies. Revenues for Hitachi High-Technologies were increased from earlier estimates due to a reclassification of business segments and updated financial information. As a result, Hitachi High-Technologies moved into the top 20 at number 14. Adjusted CY2009 revenues also affected JEOL and Eppendorf.

In 2010, the top 10 analytical and life science instrument companies each recorded revenues of more than $1 billion for the first time. Yet, despite the upsurge in revenues, the combined sales for the top three companies have outdistanced themselves. Thermo Fisher Scientific regained its premier position, which it last held in 2008, via acquisitions and strong instrument sales in environmental, food safety, bioprocess and industrial markets. Life science instrument and aftermarket revenues for Life Technologies declined 10% in CY2010, according to IBO’s estimates, due to the sale of its MS business. Excluding the transaction, Life Technologies’ revenues improved 8% to secure the number two spot.

Agilent Technologies minimized the revenue gap between itself and Life Technologies as a result of the acquisition of Varian in 2010. The company’s analytical instrument and related revenues grew 30% in CY2010 due to the acquisition, strong sales of target-enrichment products, elevated demand for GC and LC systems, and higher academic and government revenues. Although the gap between the top three companies has become narrower, Thermo’s pending acquisition of Dionex (see IBO 12/15/10) should extend its position as the largest provider of analytical and life science instruments and aftermarket products.

Other companies, such as Danaher and Merck KGaA, moved several spots higher on the list of top 30 companies due to acquisitions. Danaher jumped six spots to the number five position as it increased its analytical instrument and aftermarket revenues by more than 100% following the purchases of Life Technologies’ MS business and MDS Analytical Technologies. The acquisition significantly expanded its existing life science research instrument business. The company’s ascent is expected to resume in 2011 as it completes its purchase of Beckman Coulter (see IBO 2/15/11). Merck jumped four places to the number 13 position following its purchase of Millipore (see IBO 2/28/10) and strong demand for its life science research products. Dionex improved its ranking to number 24 from number 25 as a result of its acquisition of ESA Life Sciences Tools (see IBO 9/30/09), new products and higher HPLC sales.

Rankings were also influenced by changes in revenue growth. Nikon rose six places to number 23 due to increased lab and industrial instrument sales. The company’s revenue growth was further enhanced by the conversion to US dollars. In local currency, Nikon’s CY2010 sales jumped 32%. Illumina rose one spot to number 12 due to strong demand for sequencing instrumentation and consumables. Like Nikon, Mettler-Toledo’s sales grew due in part to a weak year-over-year comparison and also benefited from higher Lab sales. Mettler-Toledo advanced two places to number 16.

New to the top 30 list this year were AMETEK and FEI, which moved onto the list following the departure of Varian and MDS due to acquisitions. AMETEK debuted at number 27 as a result of strong sales of high-end analytical instruments, product introductions and robust growth in India and China. However, FEI, which came in at number 30, was one of four companies among the top 30 to record declines in revenues in CY2010.

Aside from FEI and Life Technologies, the two other companies to report revenue declines for their instrument and related aftermarket sales in native currencies in CY2010 were Beckman Coulter and Affymetrix. Revenues for Beckman Coulter slipped, according to IBO’s calculations, due to lower sales of life science instruments to the European and pharmaceutical markets, which were partially offset by growth in research flow cytometry sales. As a result, the company fell five places on the list to number 17. Affymetrix‘s revenues declined 8% as a result of continued weak sales due to lower pharmaceutical and gene expression–related revenues.

 The Top 30 Analytical and Life Science Instrument Companies of 2010

 Rank Company                  CY Rev. ($B)

 1 Thermo Fisher Scientific    2.84

 2 Life Technologies           2.67

 3 Agilent Technologies        2.61

 4 Waters                      1.64

 5 Danaher                     1.45

 6 Shimadzu                    1.24

 7 PerkinElmer                 1.24

 8 Bruker                      1.23

 9 GE                          1.04

 10 Becton Dickinson           1.01

 11 Sigma-Aldrich              0.88

 12 Illumina                   0.87

 13 Merck KGaA                 0.87

 14 Hitachi High-Technologies  0.73

 15 QIAGEN                     0.71

 16 Mettler-Toledo             0.70

 17 Beckman Coulter            0.68

 18 Roche                      0.67

 19 JEOL                       0.62

 20 Bio-Rad Laboratories       0.57

 21 Carl Zeiss                 0.55

 22 Olympus                    0.54

 23 Nikon                      0.48

 24 Dionex                     0.45

 25 Eppendorf                  0.44

 26 Spectris                   0.42

 27 AMETEK                     0.34

 28 Tecan                      0.34

 29 Affymetrix                 0.31

 30 FEI Company                0.31

 Pie Chart: Top 30 Revenue Share by Ranking CY2010

          Sales

 #1–#5    40%

 #6–#10   20%

 #11–#15  14%

 #16–#20  11%

 #21–#25  9%

 #26–#30  6%