(Reuters) – IDEXX Laboratories trimmed its annual revenue forecast for the third time on Thursday, as the animal health diagnostic equipment maker sees fewer visits to veterinary clinics from pet owners.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
IDEXX Labs’ earnings come at a time when the animal health sector experiencing a slowdown in pet clinic visits due to inflationary pressures, alongside persistent staffing challenges at veterinary clinics.
KEY QUOTE
“We continue to see veterinary visit trend recovery as a matter of when versus if and expect visits to return to the historical 2-3% growth over the next few years”, said J.P. Morgan analyst Chris Schott in a note.
CONTEXT
Veterinary clinics continue to struggle after having faced disruptions in the recent past, mainly caused by staffing shortages over the past couple of years, as well as inflationary pressures making pet owners cautious of spending.
This is the third time the company has trimmed its full-year forecast in the year, hurt by slower-than-expected growth in veterinary clinic visits.
BY THE NUMBERS
The Westbrook, Maine-based company now expects full-year revenue between $3.87 billion and $3.89 billion, down $38 million at the midpoint from its previous forecast.
IDEXX also narrowed its annual profit outlook to $10.37-$10.53 per share from the previously expected range of $10.31 and $10.59 per share.
Analysts on average expected annual revenue of $3.92 billion and earnings per share of $10.56, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Sales for its companion animal group unit, its biggest unit which offers diagnostics for pets and IT services to veterinary clinics, rose about 6% to $892 million in the quarter ended September 30.
The company reported total quarterly revenues of $976 million, up 7% year-over-year but below LSEG estimates of $979.2 million.
Earnings per share for the quarter reached $2.80, compared to $2.53 a year ago.
(Reporting by Unnamalai L in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
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