BioMérieux Q3 Revenues up 3 Percent

Original from: Genomeweb

BioMérieux announced on Wednesday that its third quarter revenues rose approximately 3 percent year over year due in part to unexpectedly strong sales in its BioFire product line.

For the quarter ended Sept. 30, the Marcy l’étoile, France-based firm reported €902.0 million ($905.6 million) in revenues compared to €877.4 million in the year-ago period. At constant exchange rates and scope of consolidation, revenues declined approximately 5 percent.

Overall, "This performance demonstrates the resilience of our syndromic offer and the relevancy of our innovative portfolio of solutions dedicated to the fight against antimicrobial resistance," said Alexandre Mérieux, the firm's chairman and CEO, in a statement. 

The firm's clinical applications business, which consists of microbiology, molecular biology, and immunoassay products, increased sales by 1 percent in the quarter to €763.0 million from €756.6 million, which the firm attributed to a decline in COVID-related testing.

Within microbiology, BioMérieux reported revenues of €311.8 million, up nearly 16 percent from €269.8 million in Q3 2021. The firm attributed this to growth in instrument and reagent sales led by the Vitek automated ID/AST and blood culture BACT/ALERT product lines.

In molecular biology, the firm saw revenues decline approximately 1 percent to €333.5 million from €338.0 million. Within this business, BioFire respiratory panel sales were significantly lower than the prior-year quarter, which occurred during the Delta wave of the coronavirus pandemic. 

However, the firm said sales of its non-respiratory syndromic panels increased nearly 30 percent year over year, while demand for its respiratory panels were "steady during last quarter, [and] stronger than expected, showing the pertinence of the multiplexing solution in an environment with a higher number of respiratory pathogens circulating," BioMérieux said. 

The BioFire FilmArray installed base expanded by approximately 400 units in the quarter to 23,200 instruments.

Revenues for immunoassays declined nearly 16 percent to €101.4 million from €120.3 million, due to decreased demand for COVID-related assays and lower sales of the firm's procalcitonin assay. 

Sales in the firm's industrial applications business, meanwhile, were up 15 percent to €139.0 million from €120.8 million.

By region, sales in North America declined 3 percent to €398.4 million from €410.6 million, while sales in Latin America increased nearly 21 percent to €56.2 million from €46.5 million. Sales in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa rose approximately 2 percent to €274.4 million from €268.1 million, and sales in Asia Pacific were up nearly 14 percent to €173.0 million from €152.2 million. 

During the quarter, the firm announced the CE marking of a test called Covigra on its Vidas system for SARS-CoV-2 specific T-cell response. It also announced a share buyback program related to its Specific Diagnostics business. 

The firm is now targeting the upper range of previously announced guidance for full-year 2022 revenues of €3.2 billion to €3.3 billion.

Source: BioMérieux Q3 Revenues up 3 Percent