Bio-Rad Q1 results

 Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: BIO and BIOb), a global leader of life science research and clinical diagnostic products, today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021.

First-quarter 2021 net sales were $726.8 million, an increase of 27.1 percent compared to $571.6 million reported for the first quarter of 2020. On a currency-neutral basis, quarterly sales increased 23.4 percent compared to the same period in 2020. First-quarter gross margin was 55.1 percent compared to 55.5 percent during the first quarter in 2020.

Life Science segment net sales for the first quarter were $366.5 million, an increase of 61.3 percent compared to the same period in 2020. On a currency-neutral basis, Life Science segment sales increased by 56.9 percent compared to the same quarter in 2020. Currency-neutral sales increased across most of our core life science research product lines but were primarily driven by growth in our qPCR, Western Blotting, Droplet Digital PCR, and Process Media products. A significant portion of the Life Science segment growth came from products used to support COVID-19 research and testing. All regions experienced double digit currency-neutral sales growth compared to the same quarter last year.

Clinical Diagnostics segment net sales for the first quarter were $358.5 million, an increase of 5.4 percent compared to the same period in 2020. On a currency-neutral basis, net sales were up 2.2 percent versus the same quarter last year. The currency-neutral sales increase was primarily driven by our Diabetes and Quality Controls products, primarily in the Asia Pacific region.

Income from operations during the first quarter of 2021 was $100.9 million versus $74.4 million during the same quarter last year.

Net income for the first quarter of 2021 was $977.4 million, or $32.38 per share, on a diluted basis, versus $685.9 million, or $22.72 per share, on a diluted basis, during the same period in 2020. Net income for the first quarter of 2021 and 2020 was impacted by the recognition of changes in the fair market value of equity securities, primarily related to the holdings of our investment in Sartorius AG. The effective tax rate for the first quarter of 2021 was 24.7 percent, compared to 23.7 percent for the same period in 2020. The tax rates for both periods were driven by the large unrealized gain in equity securities.

"We are pleased with our overall results for the first quarter that reflect strength in many of our core product areas and regions," said Norman Schwartz, Bio-Rad President and Chief Executive Officer. "As we have anticipated, some of our markets continue to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and not operating at full capacity, although we are beginning to see a gradual improvement in our end-markets. We expect that momentum to continue as the year progresses," he said.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bio-rad-reports-first-quarter-201500619.html