On February 4, 2020 Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ:TECH) reported its financial results for the second quarter ended December 31, 2019 (Press release, Bio-Techne, FEB 4, 2020, View Source [SID1234553836]).

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Second Quarter FY2020 Snapshot

Second quarter organic revenue increased by 6% (6% reported) to $184.9 million and 9% (9% reported) in the first half of fiscal 2020 to $368.2 million.

GAAP EPS was $3.02 versus $0.45 one year ago resulting from a gain of approximately $121 million on our ChemoCentryx investment. Delivered adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.08, an increase of 2% despite foreign currency exchange headwinds negatively impacting results by $0.08 or 8% in the second quarter.

Adjusted Operating Margin increased to 33.4% in the second quarter of fiscal 2020 compared to 32.5% in the second quarter of fiscal 2019.

Diagnostics and Genomics delivered organic growth of 12% in the second quarter and 14% in the first half of fiscal 2020.

As of December 1, 2019, applicable Medicare beneficiaries are now covered for the ExoDx Prostate Test.

The Company formed a new joint venture focused on providing scalable manufacturing technologies and processes needed to develop and commercialize new cell and gene therapies.

Delivered record Operating Cash Flow in the quarter and paid down $103 million of debt.
The Company’s financial statements are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (GAAP). Adjusted EPS, adjusted earnings, adjusted gross margin, adjusted operating income, and adjusted operating margin are non-GAAP measures that exclude certain items detailed later in this press release under the heading "Use of non-GAAP Adjusted Financial Measures." A reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP financial measures is included in this press release.

"Q2 was a solid quarter of 6% organic growth, especially considering some one-time headwinds we had over last year," said Chuck Kummeth, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bio-Techne. "Our core retail reagents remained strong with double-digit growth in most product categories, while our Genomics’ ACD business continued growing at over 20% in Q2. As expected, China continued its trend of above 20% growth while Europe was soft year over year, especially with instrument sales. However, early in Q3, we are starting to see instrument order rates in Europe accelerate to growth rates that we are more accustomed to experiencing."

Kummeth added, "Overall, I am pleased with the team’s performance in the first half of the fiscal year. I am also encouraged by the strength in our end-markets and our excellent competitive position and look forward to executing even better in the second half of the fiscal year."

Second Quarter Fiscal 2020

Revenue

Net sales for the second quarter increased 6% to $184.9 million. Organic growth was 6% compared to the prior year, with foreign currency exchange having an unfavorable impact of 1% and acquisitions contributing 1% to revenue growth.

GAAP Earnings Results

GAAP EPS increase to $3.02 per diluted share, versus $0.45 in the same quarter last year. GAAP EPS was favorably impacted by a gain of approximately $121 million on our ChemoCentryx investment. GAAP operating income for the second quarter of fiscal 2020 increased 10% to $37.0 million, compared to $33.6 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2019. GAAP operating margin was 20.0%, compared to 19.3% in the second quarter of fiscal 2019. GAAP operating margin compared to prior year was positively impacted by volume leverage on sales growth.

Non-GAAP Earnings Results

Adjusted EPS increased to $1.08 per diluted share, versus $1.06 in the same quarter last year, an increase of 2%. Adjusted EPS increased due to revenue growth in the quarter, which was partially offset by foreign currency headwinds. Adjusted operating income for the second quarter of fiscal 2020 increased 9% compared to the second quarter of fiscal 2019. Adjusted operating margin was 33.4%, compared to 32.5% in the second quarter of fiscal 2019. Adjusted operating margin compared to the prior year was favorably impacted by volume leverage on sales growth.

Segment Results

Management uses adjusted operating results to monitor and evaluate performance of the Company’s business segments, as highlighted below. Since these results are used for this purpose, they are also considered to be prepared in accordance with GAAP.

Protein Sciences Segment

The Company’s Protein Sciences segment is one of the world’s leading suppliers of specialized proteins such as cytokines and growth factors, immunoassays, antibodies and reagents, to the biotechnology community. Additionally, the segment provides an array of platforms useful in various areas of protein analysis. Protein Sciences segment’s second quarter fiscal 2020 net sales were $141.5 million, an increase of 4% from $135.5 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2019. Organic growth for the segment was 4%, with foreign currency exchange having an unfavorable impact of 1% on revenue growth and acquisitions contributing 1% to revenue growth. Protein Sciences segment’s operating margin was 43.0% in the second quarter of fiscal 2020 compared to 43.5% in the second quarter of fiscal 2019. The segment’s operating margin compared to the prior year was negatively impacted by the acquisition of B-Mogen in Q4 of FY19 and unfavorable foreign exchange.

Diagnostics and Genomics Segment

The Company’s Diagnostics and Genomics segment provides blood chemistry and blood gas quality controls, hematology instrument controls, immunoassays and other bulk and custom reagents for the in vitro diagnostic market. The Diagnostics and Genomics segment also develops and provides in situ hybridization products as well as exosome-based diagnostics for various pathologies, including prostate cancer. The Diagnostics and Genomics segment’s second quarter fiscal 2020 net sales were $43.8 million compared to $39.3 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2019. Organic growth for the segment was 12%, with foreign currency exchange having an immaterial impact on revenue. The Diagnostics and Genomics segment’s operating margin was 2.2% in the second quarter of fiscal 2020 compared to -2.7% in the second quarter of fiscal 2019. The segment’s operating margin was favorably impacted by volume leverage.

Conference Call

Bio-Techne will host an earnings conference call today, February 4, 2020 at 8:00 a.m. CST. To listen, please dial 1-800-289-0438 or 1-323-794-2423 for international callers, and reference conference ID 2359733. A recorded rebroadcast will be available for interested parties unable to participate in the live conference call by going to:
View Source

The replay will be available from 11:00 a.m. CDT on Tuesday, February 4, 2020 until 11:00 p.m. CDT on Wednesday, March 4, 2020.

Use of non-GAAP Adjusted Financial Measures:

This press release contains financial measures that have not been calculated in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. (GAAP). These non-GAAP measures include:

Organic growth
Adjusted diluted earnings per share
Adjusted net earnings
Adjusted gross margin
Adjusted operating income
Adjusted operating margin
We provide these measures as additional information regarding our operating results. We use these non-GAAP measures internally to evaluate our performance and in making financial and operational decisions, including with respect to incentive compensation. We believe that our presentation of these measures provides investors with greater transparency with respect to our results of operations and that these measures are useful for period-to-period comparison of results.

Our non-GAAP financial measure of organic growth represents revenue growth excluding revenue from acquisitions within the preceding 12 months as well as the impact of foreign currency. Excluding these measures provides more useful period-to-period comparison of revenue results as it excludes the impact of foreign currency exchange rates, which can vary significantly from period to period, and revenue from acquisitions that would not be included in the comparable prior period.

Our non-GAAP financial measures for adjusted gross margin, adjusted operating margin, and adjusted net earnings, in total and on a per share basis, exclude the costs recognized upon the sale of acquired inventory, amortization of acquisition intangibles, acquisition related expenses inclusive of the changes in fair value of contingent consideration, and other non-recurring assessments. The Company excludes amortization of purchased intangible assets, purchase accounting adjustments, including costs recognized upon the sale of acquired inventory and acquisition-related expenses inclusive of the changes in fair value contingent consideration, and other non-recurring assessments from this measure because they occur as a result of specific events, and are not reflective of our internal investments, the costs of developing, producing, supporting and selling our products, and the other ongoing costs to support our operating structure. Additionally, these amounts can vary significantly from period to period based on current activity.

The Company’s non-GAAP adjusted operating margin and adjusted net earnings, in total and on a per share basis, also excludes stock-based compensation expense, which is inclusive of the employer portion of payroll taxes on those stock awards, restructuring, impairments of equity method investments, gain and losses from investments, and certain adjustments to income tax expense. Stock-based compensation is excluded from non-GAAP adjusted net earnings because of the nature of this charge, specifically the varying available valuation methodologies, subjective assumptions, variety of award types, and unpredictability of amount and timing of employer related tax obligations. Impairments of equity investments are excluded as they are not part of our day-to-day operating decisions. Additionally, gains and losses from other investments that are either isolated or cannot be expected to occur again with any predictability are excluded. Costs related to restructuring activities, including reducing overhead and consolidating facilities, are excluded because we believe they are not indicative of our normal operating costs. The Company independently calculates a non-GAAP adjusted tax rate to be applied to the identified non-GAAP adjustments considering the impact of discrete items on these adjustments and the jurisdictional mix of the adjustments. In addition, the tax impact of other discrete and non-recurring charges which impact our reported GAAP tax rate are adjusted from net earnings. We believe these tax items can significantly affect the period-over-period assessment of operating results and not necessarily reflect costs and/or income associated with historical trends and future results.