Tecan Group Confirms 2023 Outlook Despite First-Half Earnings Decline

Shares in Tecan Group experienced a boost on Tuesday following confirmation of the Swiss laboratory-instruments supplier's 2023 outlook. Despite a decline in first-half earnings, some analysts still viewed the results positively.

At 0805 GMT, shares surged by 9.5% to CHF368.40.

Tecan Group recorded a net profit of 53.2 million Swiss francs ($60.6 million) in the six months ending June, compared to CHF65.66 million during the same period the previous year. Revenue also declined by 7.3% to CHF541.5 million.

However, when excluding the effects of lower Covid-19-related sales and reduced material cost pass-through, revenue actually grew by 6.8% in local currencies.

Tecan Group noted that orders decreased by nearly 11%, amounting to CHF536.58 million, as supply chains normalized and customers no longer needed to place advanced orders.

Despite this decline, Tecan Group affirmed its outlook for the year as well as its mid-term outlook.

On an underlying basis, first-half sales surpassed consensus expectations by 2.2%. While the decrease in orders may not initially be encouraging, it is worth noting that the result is in line with the company's historical book-to-bill average, according to Berenberg analyst Odysseas Manesiotis.

Manesiotis stated in a research note that Tecan Group's outlook for the year appears promising and added that "the results this morning should go some way to reassuring investors on the back of several downgrades from Tecan's peers."