(Reuters) – Agilent forecast its annual profit below analysts’ estimates on Monday, as a recovery is ongoing in the market for medical tools and equipment used in clinical studies, sending its shares down more than 2% after the bell.
Medical equipment makers such as Agilent are seeing soft demand from early-stage biotechs, as these smaller drug development companies remain cautious with investments even as recent rate cuts are expected to improve the funding environment for such clients.
The California-based company’s forecast is in contrast to its larger peer Thermo Fisher, which raised its annual profit target last month.
Agilent expects to earn an adjusted profit of $5.54 to $5.61 per share for fiscal 2025, below analysts’ average estimate of $5.66 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.
The company reported an adjusted profit per share of $1.46 for the fourth quarter, beating estimates of $1.41.
Its total quarterly sales of $1.70 billion were also above analysts’ expectation of $1.67 billion.
Earlier in the day, Agilent had also said it would separate its businesses into three segments — life sciences and diagnostics markets group, applied markets group and Agilent crosslab group — as it aims to “become a nimbler company”.
(Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
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