Waters Corp raises annual profit forecast on stronger lab equipment demand

By Siddhi Mahatole

(Reuters) -Lab equipment maker Waters Corp raised its annual profit forecast on Tuesday, after beating third-quarter profit estimates on improved demand from biotech clients for its tools used in drug development and research.

Shares of the Milford, Massachusetts-based company rose nearly 10% in early trading following the results.

Waters now expects annual adjusted profit per share in the range of $13.05 to $13.15, up from its prior view of $12.95 to $13.05.

This forecast “incorporates the expected impact of the current tariff structure on our business, including the recent increases in tariff rates since our last update,” said CFO Amol Chaubal in a call with analysts.

The company had said earlier it is well-positioned to mitigate the impact of tariffs after growing global uncertainty as U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade policies push up costs and upends supply chains.

Waters supplies lab equipment and technology across the world, with the majority of its revenue coming from biopharma clients who use its tools for research and drug development.

The company in July entered a deal to buy a bioscience and diagnostics unit spun off from medtech provider Becton Dickinson, expanding its scale in clinical and diagnostic applications.

CEO Udit Batra said Waters is modeling high-single-digit growth for the fourth quarter – “a bit of a slowdown” from the previous three quarters.

Waters has narrowed its forecast for full-year constant currency sales growth to a range of 6.7% to 7.3%, compared with its previous range of 5.5% to 7.5%.

It reported third-quarter adjusted profit per share of $3.4, above analysts’ average estimate of $3.2, according to data compiled by LSEG.

“We expect the beat in the core business will be received positively by investors,” Leerink Partners analyst Puneet Souda said.

Waters’ quarterly revenue rose 8% to $800 million, compared with estimates of $781 million.

It forecasts fourth-quarter adjusted profit per share in the range of $4.45 to $4.55, compared with estimates of $4.59.

(Reporting by Siddhi Mahatole in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)