(Reuters) -Lab equipment maker Waters raised the lower end of its annual profit forecast on Monday after reporting better-than-expected second-quarter results on improved demand from biotech clients for its tools used in drug development and research.
Shares of the Milford, Massachusetts-based company were up 3.7% premarket in low trading volumes.
The company supplies lab equipment and technology across the world, with the majority of its revenue coming from biopharma clients who use its tools for
research and drug development.
Last month, larger peer Thermo Fisher also raised the lower end of its annual profit forecast on strong demand for its products used in drug development.
Waters forecast annual adjusted profit per share in the range of $12.95 to $13.05, compared with previously projected adjusted profit between $12.75 and $13.05.
CEO Udit Batra said the forecast raise was partly driven by "strong execution against our commercial growth initiatives, rapid uptake of our new products, and contribution from incremental growth vectors such as GLP-1s, PFAS and generics."
Last month, Waters entered a deal to buy a bioscience and diagnostics unit spun off from medtech provider Becton Dickinson, expanding its scale in clinical and diagnostic applications.
Batra said the combination will also help extend the company's reach into resilient, high-volume end markets.
Waters expects third-quarter adjusted profit per share in the range of $3.15 to $3.25, compared with analysts' average expectations of $3.23, according to data compiled by LSEG.
The company reported second-quarter adjusted profit per share of $2.95, compared with analysts' estimates of $2.94.
Its second-quarter revenue rose 9% to $771.3 million, compared with analysts' estimate of $748.7 million.
(Reporting by Siddhi Mahatole in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
