Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR) reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 24 cents in the first quarter of 2018, up 26.3% from the year-ago figure. Also, adjusted EPS beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a couple of cents.
On a reported basis, earnings came in at 17 cents a share, a 30.8% increase on a year-over-year basis.
Revenues in Detail
Bruker logged revenues of $431.7 million in the first quarter, up 12.2% year over year. Moreover, the top line surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $416 million.
Excluding a 7.7% positive effect from acquisitions and a 0.5% favorable impact from changes in foreign currency rates, Bruker reported year-over-year organic revenue growth of 4%.
Geographically, European revenues improved in high-single digits year over year in the reported quarter. North America revenues grew in mid-single digits. In Asia Pacific (APAC), the metric was down in low-single digits due to some shipment and acceptance delays related to BioSpin APAC customers.
Per management, the company registered organic revenue growth, driven by strength in NANO and BEST.
Bruker’s BioSpin Group revenues declined modestly below the first-quarter levels, excluding the impact of currency translation. Within BioSpin, NMR had a slow start to the year with some delayed system shipments and acceptances.
Revenues in the NANO group increased mid-single-digits at constant exchange rate, fueled by a strong uptick in industrial research markets.
CALID revenues were up high-single digits on an organic basis with a strong performance in the Daltonics mass-spec business.
Margin Trend
As a percentage of revenues, gross margin in the quarter under review expanded 36 basis points (bps) to 46.2%. Selling, general & administrative expenses increased 12.4% to $110.3 million. Research and development expenses rose 14.9% year over year to $43.2 million. Overall, adjusted operating margin improved 6 bps to 10.6%.
Financial Position
Bruker exited first-quarter 2018 with cash and cash equivalents plus short-term investments of $283.9 million, down from $439.2 million at the end of 2017. As of Mar 31, 2018, net cash used in operating activities was $43.8 million compared with $32.6 million in the year-ago period.
2018 Guidance
Bruker reiterated its guidance for 2018. For the full year, the company still expects revenue growth of approximately 7% including nearly 3% of organic revenue growth. The company projects a year-over-year expansion of 50-80 bps in adjusted operating margin.
For 2018, Bruker still anticipates adjusted EPS in the range of $1.34-$1.38, up 11-14% from the previous band. The Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.39 remains ahead of the company’s guidance.
Our Take
Bruker exited the first quarter on a solid note with strong year-over-year increase in revenues as well as earnings. Additionally, the improvement in gross and operating margin buoys optimism. The company’s strategic acquisition activity has also been encouraging. Further, we are upbeat about the company’s current focus on product development through higher R&D.
On the flip side, a competitive landscape and macroeconomic headwinds continue to pose challenges to the company.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
Bruker carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A few better-ranked stocks in the broader medical space having reported robust earnings figures this reporting cycle are Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) , Chemed Corp. (NYSE:CHE) and Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX) . While Intuitive Surgical sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Chemed and Baxter carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Intuitive Surgical reported first-quarter 2018 adjusted EPS of $2.44, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 22.6%. Revenues totaled $848 million, also surpassing the consensus estimate by 10.6%.
Chemed posted first-quarter 2018 adjusted EPS of $2.72, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.37. Revenues came in at $439.2 million, outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $420 million.
Baxter’s first-quarter 2018 adjusted EPS of 70 cents bettered the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 12.9%. Revenues of $2.68 billion also edged past the consensus mark of $2.62 billion.
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