Bio-Techne misses revenue estimates on biotech funding crunch
Aug 8 (Reuters) - Bio-Techne Corp reported fourth-quarter revenue below Wall Street expectations on Tuesday, hit by weak demand for biopharma services including tools and compounds used to make therapeutics and vaccines.
Rising interest rates have squeezed funding for drug development programs among small biotech firms, especially in China, weighing on demand for contract research services for over an year.
The funding crunch has been exacerbated by the collapse of U.S. lender Silicon Valley Bank, a key investment banker in the biotech sector.
Sales at the protein science unit, Bio-Techne Corp biggest, was $223 million compared to Refinitiv estimates of $230.9 million. The unit makes compounds used by biotech and pharmaceutical companies for development of treatments, including cell therapies and gene therapies.
Danaher Corp and Thermo Fisher Scientific last month cut their full-year profit forecasts, hit by weak demand for its biopharma services including tools and compounds used to make therapeutics and vaccines.
Sales at the diagnostics and genomics unit – which makes clinical instruments, reagents, and other critical care products used to diagnose diseases – rose 10% to $79 million during the quarter.
Bio-Techne's revenue came in at $301.3 million for the quarter ended June 30, missing analysts' estimates of $307.3 mln, according to Refinitiv data.
Excluding one-off items, the company earned 55 cents per share during the reported quarter in line with analysts' estimates. (Reporting by Khushi Mandowara and Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
