Thermo Fisher reports a 10% increase in sales in the second quarter

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO) published its quarterly financial results on Wednesday that topped analysts’ estimates for earnings and revenue in the second quarter. The company attributed its hawkish performance to the Coronavirus pandemic that fuelled demand for its products that are widely used in lab settings.

Shares of the company remained almost flat in premarket trading on Wednesday. At £318.36 per share, Thermo Fisher is currently a little under 30% up year to date in the stock market after recovering from a low of £201.50 per share in March. Learn more about how to choose winning stocks.

Thermo Fisher’s Q2 financial results versus analysts’ estimates

According to FactSet, experts had forecast the company to print £4.81 billion in revenue in the second quarter. Their estimate for earnings per share (EPS), was capped at £2.28. In its report on Wednesday, the company topped both estimates posting £5.45 billion in revenue and £3.07 of adjusted earnings per share in Q2.

At £910 million, the diagnostics company said that its net income in the second quarter came in higher than £880 million in the same quarter last year. Its sales in the recent quarter were also reported 10% up on a year over year basis. Its Swiss peer, Novartis, also reported a 4% decline in net profit in the second quarter earlier this week.

According to the Waltham-based company, its sales at its business for analytical instruments remained under pressure in the second quarter. But its life sciences division and other products related to lab and speciality diagnostics, on the other hand, noted robust sales in Q2. The company valued its COVID-related revenue at about £1.02 billion in the recent quarter.  

Thermo Fisher raises its bid to acquire Qiagen

In an announcement last week, Thermo Fisher agreed to a 10.3% increase in its bid to acquire Qiagen NV. The move was also attributed to the ongoing pandemic that gave a significant boost to the value of the Dutch molecular diagnostics firm.

CEO Marc Casper of Thermo Fisher commented on the earnings report on Wednesday and said:

“We delivered an extraordinary quarter. We quickly mobilised our resources to support the global COVID-19 response and made a significant contribution to our customers and society while effectively managing the company through the current economic environment.”

At the time of writing, Thermo Fisher is valued at £125.45 billion and has a price to earnings ratio of 44.23.