(Reuters) – Bio Rad Laboratories reported fourth-quarter profit that beat Wall Street estimates on Thursday, helped by a better-than-expected demand for its diagnostic instruments and quality control products offsetting weaker sales in its life-sciences unit.
On an adjusted basis, Bio-Rad recorded a per-share profit of $3.1 in the quarter ended Dec. 31, above analysts’ estimates of $2.82.
The company’s shares rose 6.8% to $355 after the results.
The diagnostics firm has been witnessing subdued demand for its life science tools and products used in developing vaccines and therapies as biotech clients have reined in spending amid rising interest rates.
The company, however, said it is cautiously optimistic about the gradual recovery of the biopharma sector in the second half of the year.
The Hercules, California-based company now sees adjusted revenue growth between 1.0% to 2.5% on a currency-neutral basis for 2024.
It reported a 19.1% fall in sales at its life science segment that serves biotech, pharmaceutical and food testing clients.
Sales from its clinical diagnostics unit, its largest by revenue, rose 5.3% to $389 million during the fourth quarter. Bio Rad manufactures and sells blood and other diagnostic test kits to hospitals and physicians through this unit.
(Reporting by Pratik Jain and Unnamalai L in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
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