Waters Corporation
(
WAT
) released its first-quarter 2012 earnings before the market opened
today, reporting earnings per share from continuing operations of
$1.00, below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.09. Earnings in the
quarter decreased from $1.04 in the first quarter of 2011.
The top-line and bottom-line performance failed to meet the
company's expectations.
Revenue
On the top line, Waters reported total revenue of $428 million for
the first quarter, down 2% year over year. Foreign currency
translation had a negative impact of 2% on sales. The top-line
result was affected by lower sales in the developing markets and
declines in capital expense by many pharmaceutical firms.
Income
Operating income for the quarter amounted to $110.2 million
compared with $115.9 million in the first quarter of 2011. The
company incurred total SG&A expense of approximately $117.1
million in the quarter, almost flat year-over-year. R&D expense
was approximately $23.3 million in the quarter versus $22.3 million
in the prior-year quarter.
Balance Sheet
Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments reached
approximately $1.35 billion at the end of the quarter compared with
$1.28 billion at the end of 2011. Long-term debt was $700.0 million
and shareowner's equity was $1.29 billion at the end of
first-quarter 2012.
Moving Ahead
The company believes its strong competitive position and strategic
market initiatives will facilitate it to perform well as it moves
ahead.
The company continues to see considerable stability in its end
markets and continued momentum in the acceptance of new products.
The company continues to introduce new products. However, the
analytical instrument and systems market is highly competitive.
Major competitors of Waters are
Agilent Technologies Inc.
(
A
),
Life Technologies Corporation
(
LIFE
) and
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.
(
TMO
).
Waters Corporation, an analytical instrument manufacturer, designs,
manufactures, sells and services, through its Waters Division, high
performance liquid chromatography, ultra performance liquid
chromatography (LC) and mass spectrometry (
MS
) instrument systems and support products, including chromatography
columns, other consumable products and comprehensive post-warranty
service plans.
We currently maintain our Neutral rating on Waters, with a Zacks #2
Rank (short-term Buy recommendation) over the next one-to-three
months.
AGILENT TECH (
A
): Free Stock Analysis Report
LIFE TECHNOLOGS (
LIFE
): Free Stock Analysis Report
THERMO FISHER (
TMO
): Free Stock Analysis Report
WATERS CORP (
WAT
): Free Stock Analysis Report
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