Aug 6 – IDEXX Laboratories lowered its annual revenue forecast on Tuesday as the animal health diagnostic equipment maker sees fewer pet owners visiting veterinary clinics.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
Inflationary pressures have made pet owners more cautious about visiting the doctor while staffing challenges at veterinary clinics have also weighed down on a recovery in the sector.
KEY QUOTE
The veterinary visit trend recovery continues to be a matter of “when” versus “if”, said J.P. Morgan analyst Chris Schott.
CONTEXT
Veterinary clinics are yet to recover completely after having faced disruptions in the recent past caused by the pandemic-led lockdowns and staffing shortages due to COVID protocols. BY THE NUMBERS IDEXX sees revenue for the full year to be between $3.89 billion and $3.95 billion, lower than previous expectations of $3.90 billion and $3.97 billion.
Westbrook, Maine-based IDEXX also trimmed its annual profit per share outlook to be between $10.31 and $10.59 per share, from previously expected range of $10.82 and $11.20.
It sees a $0.56 per share impact from litigation expenses.
Analysts on average estimate annual revenue of $3.94 billion and a profit of $11.05 per share, according to LSEG data.
Sales at its companion animal group unit, which offers diagnostics for pets and IT services to veterinary clinics, rose about 7% to $922.3 million in the quarter ended June 30.
The company’s net profit was $203.30 million, or $2.44 per share, compared with $224.24 million, réparation de téléphone et informatique or $2.67 per share, a year earlier.
(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)