(Reuters) -Diagnostics company Qiagen on Tuesday projected 2022 profit above market estimates, signaling that a rebound in its non-COVID businesses would offset a drop in coronavirus testing demand.
Share of the company rose nearly 6% in extended trading as it also surpassed analysts’ estimates for fourth-quarter sales.
Demand has picked up for Qiagen’s regular diagnostic tests and the services it provides to pharmaceutical and laboratory customers in the past few quarters after surging COVID-19 cases and accompanying curbs pressured sales earlier in the pandemic.
That has helped cut the company’s dependence on its ultra-rapid, portable and PCR coronavirus tests, whose sales have been difficult to predict due to the volatility in infections.
Qiagen said on Tuesday it expected a significant decline in COVID-19 product sales this year, following similar commentary from clinical laboratory Quest Diagnostics and a cautious forecast from rival test maker Abbott Labs.
In the last three months of 2021, sales of its non-COVID product rose 10% to $400 million at constant exchange rates. Sales of its QuantiFERON tuberculosis test rose 29% to $74 million.
“Going into 2022, we are optimistic about opportunities in the research environment … as well as robust trends in regular clinical testing for molecular diagnostics,” Chief Executive Officer Thierry Bernard said.
Qiagen expects double-digit growth in the non-COVID product category this year on a currency-adjusted basis.
It projected 2022 net sales of at least $2.07 billion and adjusted earnings per share of at least $2.05 at constant exchange rates.
Analysts on average were expecting sales of $2.05 billion and profit of $2.03 per share, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
(Reporting by Amruta Khandekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni)
