Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: BIO and BIO.B), a global leader in life science research and clinical diagnostics products,  announced financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2024.

Third-quarter 2024 total net sales were $649.7 million, an increase of 2.8 percent compared to $632.1 million reported for the third quarter of 2023. On a currency-neutral basis, quarterly sales increased 3.4 per cent compared to the same period in 2023. The increase in net sales was driven by higher sales in our Clinical Diagnostics segment.

Life Science segment net sales for the third quarter were $260.9 million, a decrease of 1.0 percent compared to the same period in 2023. On a currency-neutral basis, sales decreased by 0.6 percent compared to the same quarter in 2023, driven by ongoing weakness in the biotech and biopharma end markets. Currency neutral sales decreased in the Americas, offset by increases in EMEA.

Clinical Diagnostics segment net sales for the third quarter were $388.8 million, an increase of 5.6 percent compared to the same period in 2023. On a currency-neutral basis, sales increased 6.4 percent compared to the same quarter last year. The currency neutral sales increase was primarily driven by increased demand for quality control products, and a favorable compare for our immunology products, which were impacted by supply constraints in the third quarter of 2023. Currency neutral sales increased across all regions.

Third-quarter gross margin was 54.8 percent compared to 53.1 percent during the third quarter of 2023.

Income from operations during the third quarter of 2024 was $64.5 million versus $90.9 million during the same quarter last year.

During the third quarter of 2024, the company recognized a change in the fair market value of its investment in Sartorius AG, which substantially contributed to a net income of $653.2 million, or $23.34 per share, on a diluted basis, versus a net income of $106.3 million, or $3.64 per share, on a diluted basis, reported for the same period of 2023.

The effective tax rate for the third quarter of 2024 was 24.2 percent, compared to 22.5 percent for the same period in 2023. The effective tax rate reported in these periods was primarily affected by the accounting treatment of our equity securities.

“Our third-quarter revenue performance was slightly ahead of expectations, driven by steady growth in clinical diagnostics products, while our life science business continued to improve reflecting a gradual recovery in the biopharma end market,” said Norman Schwartz, Bio-Rad’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "During the quarter, we also welcomed Jon DiVincenzo as President and Chief Operating Officer. Jon joins Bio-Rad's other recently hired senior executives who collectively bring a wealth of life science, clinical diagnostics, and operations experience. With the new senior leadership team in place, we are focused on margin expansion, commercial excellence, and creating long-term shareholder value."

The non-GAAP financial measures discussed below exclude certain items detailed later in this press release under the heading “Use of Non-GAAP and Currency-Neutral Reporting.” A reconciliation between historical GAAP operating results and non-GAAP operating results is provided following the financial statements that are part of this press release.

Non-GAAP gross margin was 55.6 percent for the third quarter of 2024 compared to 53.9 percent during the third quarter of 2023.

Non-GAAP income from operations during the third quarter of 2024 was $73.3 million versus $81.6 million during the comparable prior-year period.

Non-GAAP net income for the third quarter of 2024 was $56.4 million, or $2.01 per share, on a diluted basis, compared to $68.1 million, or $2.33 per share, on a diluted basis, during the same period in 2023.

The non-GAAP effective tax rate for the third quarter of 2024 was 28.8 percent, compared to 23.9 percent for the same period in 2023. The higher rate in 2024 was driven by geographical mix of earnings and a one-time acquired in-process research and development expense.

Updated Full-Year 2024 Financial Outlook

Bio-Rad continues to expect its non-GAAP revenue to decline by approximately 2.5 to 4.0 percent on a currency-neutral basis. The company estimates a non-GAAP operating margin of between 12.75 to 13.25 percent, which now also includes the impact of a one-time acquired in-process research and development expense related to an acquisition completed during the third quarter.

Conference Call and Webcast

Management will discuss the company’s third quarter 2024 results and financial outlook in a conference call scheduled for 2 PM Pacific Time (5 PM Eastern Time) on October 30, 2024. To participate, dial 800-579-2543 within the U.S., or (+1) 785-424-1789 from outside the U.S., and provide access code: BIORAD.

A live webcast of the conference call will also be available in the "Investor Relations" section of the company’s website under "Events & Presentations" at investors.bio-rad.com. A replay of the webcast will be available for up to a year.

Use of Non-GAAP and Currency-Neutral Reporting

In addition to the financial measures prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), we use certain non-GAAP financial measures, including non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP EPS, which exclude amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets, certain acquisition-related expenses and benefits, restructuring charges, asset impairment charges, gains and losses from change in fair market value of equity securities and loan receivable, gains and losses on equity-method investments, and significant legal-related charges or benefits and associated legal costs. Non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP EPS also exclude certain other gains and losses that are either isolated or cannot be expected to occur again with any predictability, tax provisions/benefits related to the previous items, and significant discrete tax events. We exclude the above items because they are outside of our normal operations and/or, in certain cases, are difficult to forecast accurately for future periods.

We utilize a number of different financial measures, both GAAP and non-GAAP, in analyzing and assessing the overall performance of our business, in making operating decisions, forecasting and planning for future periods, and determining payments under compensation programs. We consider the use of the non-GAAP measures to be helpful in assessing the performance of the ongoing operation of our business. We believe that disclosing non-GAAP financial measures provides useful supplemental data that, while not a substitute for financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP, allows for greater transparency in the review of our financial and operational performance. We also believe that disclosing non-GAAP financial measures provides useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our operating results and future prospects in the same manner as management and in comparing financial results across accounting periods and to those of peer companies. More specifically, management adjusts for the excluded items for the following reasons:

Amortization of purchased intangible assets: we do not acquire businesses and assets on a predictable cycle. The amount of purchase price allocated to purchased intangible assets and the term of amortization can vary significantly and are unique to each acquisition or purchase. We believe that excluding amortization of purchased intangible assets allows the users of our financial statements to better review and understand the historic and current results of our operations, and also facilitates comparisons to peer companies.

Acquisition-related expenses and benefits: we incur expenses or benefits with respect to certain items associated with our acquisitions, such as transaction costs, professional fees for assistance with the transaction; valuation or integration costs; changes in the fair value of contingent consideration, gain or loss on settlement of pre-existing relationships with the acquired entity; or adjustments to purchase price. We exclude such expenses or benefits as they are related to acquisitions and have no direct correlation to the operation of our on-going business.

Restructuring, impairment charges, and gains and losses from change in fair market value of equity securities and loan receivable, and gains and losses on equity-method investments: we incur restructuring and impairment charges on individual or groups of employed assets and charges and benefits arising from gains and losses from change in fair market value of equity securities and loan receivable, and gains and losses (including impairments) on equity-method investments, which arise from unforeseen circumstances and/or often occur outside of the ordinary course of our on-going business. Although these events are reflected in our GAAP financials, these unique transactions may limit the comparability of our on-going operations with prior and future periods.

Significant litigation charges or benefits and legal costs: we may incur charges or benefits as well as legal costs in connection with litigation and other contingencies unrelated to our core operations. We exclude these charges or benefits, when significant, as well as legal costs associated with significant legal matters, because we do not believe they are reflective of on-going business and operating results.

Income tax expense: we estimate the tax effect of the excluded items identified above to determine a non-GAAP annual effective tax rate applied to the pretax amount in order to calculate the non-GAAP provision for income taxes. We also adjust for items for which the nature and/or tax jurisdiction requires the application of a specific tax rate or treatment.

From time to time in the future, there may be other items excluded if we believe that doing so is consistent with the goal of providing useful information to investors and management.

Percentage sales growth in currency neutral amounts are calculated by translating prior period sales in each local currency using the current period’s monthly average foreign exchange rates for that currency and comparing that to current period sales.

There are limitations in using non-GAAP financial measures because the non-GAAP financial measures are not prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and may be different from non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies. The non-GAAP financial measures are limited in value because they exclude certain items that may have a material impact on our reported financial results. The presentation of this additional information is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the directly comparable financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP in the United States. Investors should review the reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures as provided in the tables accompanying this press release.

We do not provide a reconciliation of our non-GAAP financial expectations to expectations for the most comparable GAAP measure because the amount and timing of many future charges that impact these measures (such as amortization of future acquisition-related intangible assets, future acquisition-related expenses and benefits, future restructuring charges, future asset impairment charges, future valuation changes of equity-owned securities, future gains and losses on equity-method investments or future legal charges or benefits), which could be material, are variable, uncertain, or out of our control and therefore cannot be reasonably predicted without unreasonable effort, if at all.