bioMérieux on Thursday cut its full-year 2025 sales forecast after reporting a 25% decline in first-half net income, driven by a large impairment, even as sales and operating margins improved.
The French diagnostics company posted €2.04 billion in sales for the six months to June 30, up 7.5% from a year earlier, with organic growth of 9.4%.
Growth was led by molecular biology, which rose 18% on an organic basis, including a 13% increase in BIOFIRE panels and a 143% jump in SPOTFIRE.
Industrial applications climbed 10%, while microbiology edged up 3%. Immunoassays fell 9%, mainly because of weaker sales in China and lower demand for VIDAS PCT tests worldwide.
By region, North America rose 15% organically, supported by strong molecular biology and industrial applications.
Latin America gained 17%, while Europe, the Middle East and Africa advanced 4%. Asia-Pacific added 2%, but sales in China dropped sharply, weighing on microbiology and immunoassays.
Contributive operating income before non-recurring items increased 22% to €372 million, or 18.2% of sales, compared with 16.1% a year earlier.
Gross profit reached €1.17 billion, representing 57.1% of sales, up from 55.9%. EBITDA rose 17% to €495 million.
Operating income fell 27% to €209 million after a €146 million partial impairment of Reveal, a technology for antimicrobial susceptibility testing acquired in 2022.
Net income dropped to €161 million from €215 million, though the company said it would have risen 45% excluding the depreciation of Reveal.
Expenses in the half included €569 million in selling, general and administrative costs, equal to 27.8% of sales, and €249 million in research and development, or 12.2%.
Net financial income stood at €4 million, reversing a €5 million loss last year, while the effective tax rate was 24.7%.
Cash flow improved sharply, with free cash flow tripling to €170 million from €50 million.
Net debt rose to €126 million at June 30 from €41 million at year-end 2024, after acquisitions and a €106 million dividend payout, equal to €0.90 per share.
The company completed three acquisitions during the period: Norway’s SpinChip Diagnostics, Brazil’s Neoprospecta, and sequencing assets from U.S.-based Day Zero Diagnostics.
It also launched WATCHFIRE, a wastewater testing panel, and VETFIRE, a rapid equine respiratory disease test.
bioMérieux now expects organic sales growth of 6% to 7.5% this year, down from at least 7% previously.
Contributive operating income before non-recurring items is projected to grow 12% to 18%, compared with at least 10% earlier.
The company said it expects a negative currency impact of €25 million for the year, narrower than its prior estimate of €35 million to €40 million.
“With a strong increase in profitability in the first half of 2025, bioMérieux confirms the relevance of the GO∙28 plan in a complex economic and geopolitical environment,” chief executive Pierre Boulud said in a statement.
