CINCINNATI, Ohio — Demand for swine flu tests and a new test for food-borne bacteria drove Meridian Bioscience Inc. sales and profits to record levels in its third fiscal quarter.
Meridian Bioscience is a life sciences company that makes diagnostic test kits and testing supplies for laboratories. Rapid tests for use during the swine flu pandemic helped boost sales of U.S. diagnostic testing products by 28 percent in the quarter ended June 30 from the year-ago quarter, said John Kraeutler, Meridian’s chief executive, in a written statement.
Sales of a new Campylobacter test kit also contributed to the growth. Campylobacter is a food-borne bacteria for which clinical labs screen on a daily basis.
Overall, Meridian sales grew 3 percent to $105.8 million in the recent quarter from a year ago. Net income grew 10 percent to $8.5 million or 21 cents a diluted share, from the year-ago quarter.
For the nine-months ended June 30, sales were $69.7 million, up 7 percent from the same period a year ago. Net income rose 6 percent to $23.8 million, or 58 cents a diluted share, in that time.
Meridian repeated its earnings guidance of sales in the range of $140 million to $144 million, and per-share diluted earnings of between 77 cents and 81 cents, for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30. “The balance of (fiscal year) 2009 is expected to be strong, even without considering unforeseen upsides from a more robust influenza preseason,” Kraeutler said. “Our guidance for (fiscal year) 2010 will be issued in September.”
William Motto, executive chairman, said strong sales of upper respiratory diagnostic tests helped his company’s third fiscal quarter. Meridian usually benefits from strong flu test sales during its second fiscal quarter, but not this year. “Achieving record sales and earnings for the third quarter and nine months ended June 30, 2009 was a meaningful accomplishment, especially considering generally unfavorable economic conditions,” Motto said.
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Also Thursday, Meridian appointed James Anderson, president and chief executive officer of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, to its board of directors. Meridian Bioscience shares were down 2.3 percent to $22.38 in mid-afternoon trading on the NASDAQ Stock Market.