Tuesday, analytical instrument maker Waters Corp. (WAT) said its second quarter profit declined from last year and fell short of market estimate by a penny, as sales dipped from the year ago quarter impacted also by adverse foreign currency translation.
The Milford, Massachusetts-based Waters posted second-quarter net income of $69.91 million or $0.72 per share, down from $83.15 million or $0.82 per share in the same quarter last year.
On a non-GAAP basis, net income was $0.78 per share, up 3% from $0.76 per share in the comparable quarter last year. On average, 11 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report $0.79 per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude the special items.
Sales for the quarter was down 9% at $362.84 million, compared to $398.77 million previous year quarter. Revenues came in below Street estimate of $365.78 million for the quarter.
Waters noted that sales for the quarter included an adverse foreign currency translation impact of approximately 5%.
Commenting on the quarter, Douglas Berthiaume, chairman, president and chief executive officer said, "Our financial results in the quarter were in line with our expectations and sales to our major end markets in the quarter indicated a continuation of the general demand trends that we reported in April 2009. Our efforts throughout the quarter to focus on improved operational efficiency allowed us to generate non-GAAP E.P.S. growth in this challenging business environment."
For the first half, Waters net income was $143.25 million or $1.47 per share, down from $151.62 million or $1.49 per share in the corresponding period a year ago. On a non-GAAP basis, earnings grew 5% to $1.52 per share from $1.45 per share last year.
Six-month sales dipped 10% to $695.89 million from $770.48 million in the comparable period of 2008. Foreign currency translation contributed negatively to sales growth during the first half of 2009 and reduced sales by 5%.
WAT is trading at $49.72, down $2.72 or 5.19%, on a volume of about 1.13 million shares.
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