Neogen Corporation revenues for the first quarter of its 2017 fiscal year, which ended August 31, were $83,645,000.
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This a 12% increase compared to revenues of $74,860,000 in the first quarter of last year.
First quarter net income increased 6% to $9,881,000, or $0.26 per share, from the previous year’s first quarter income of $9,323,000, or $0.25 a share. The revenues and net income represent first quarter records for the 34-year-old company.
The first quarter was the 98th of the past 103 quarters that Neogen reported revenue increases compared with the previous year — including all consecutive quarters in the last 11 years.
Neogen’s gross margin was 48.4% of sales in its first quarter of the current year, compared to the 50.5% recorded in the company’s first quarter of its last fiscal year.
Factors contributing to the decline in gross margin included adverse currency translations, incremental revenue from acquisitions that have gross margins lower than the company’s historical average, and the loss of significant sales of a small animal supplement with a high margin that was removed from the market.
Operating expenses increased 12% compared with the prior year quarter; $1.2 million of the increase relates to recent acquisitions. Operating income for the quarter was $14,742,000, or 17.6% of sales, compared to $14,895,000, or 19.9%, a year ago.
Revenues for the company’s Food Safety segment increased 13% during the first quarter compared to the prior year’s first three months, aided in part by the acquisitions of Lab M, bought in August 2015, and Deoxi, purchased in April 2016.
Sales of Neogen’s rapid tests for food allergens, such as gluten and peanuts, increased 17% in the quarter compared to the prior year.
This growth was aided by increased global regulatory efforts and consumer demand to ensure products represented as being free of food allergens are correctly labeled. Overall organic growth for the Food Safety segment was 9% for the quarter.
In addition to the 55% improvement in sales of the company’s BioLumix and Soleris test systems, which rapidly detect microorganisms, such as yeast and mold, in food, nutraceuticals and other consumer items, the company’s sales of its environmental sanitation testing products, which includes its AccuPoint® Advanced ATP Sanitation Monitoring System, increased 9% in the current quarter when compared to the prior year.
AccuPoint Advanced recently received approval from the influential AOAC Research Institute — the only AOAC approval for an ATP sanitation monitoring system. This approval should provide Neogen with a competitive advantage over similar systems on the market.
The company’s international operations continued to grow, despite the adverse currency translations mentioned earlier. Revenues from Neogen’s Scotland-based subsidiary increased 24%, Mexico-based Neogen Latinoamerica’s sales increased 28%, Neogen do Brasil’s revenues increased 43%, and Neogen China’s sales increased 21%, all in U.S. dollars.
Neogen’s Animal Safety segment reported a revenue increase of 10% due to acquisitions within the previous 12 months.
Sales of the company’s small animal supplements decreased in the first quarter of the current year when compared to the same period last year, due entirely to the removal of its thyroid replacement product from the market.
Sales of Neogen’s rodenticides increased approximately 17% in the current quarter compared to the prior year, and the company’s sales of rapid tests to detect drug residues in forensic samples increased 38% compared to the prior year quarter, due mainly to new business in Brazil.
Revenues from Neogen’s worldwide animal genomics business increased 21% in the first quarter of fiscal 2017 compared to the prior year. This growth was the result of increased market share in the cattle, pig, and poultry markets.
The increased processing capability gained through recent expansion of the company’s DNA testing facilities in Scotland also aided the growth. ■
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