DHR Danaher Corporation

By Will Feuer

Danaher posted lower sales in the second quarter as waning demand for Covid-19 products weighed on results.

The health-care and laboratory-supply company posted a profit of $1.11 billion, or $1.49 a share, compared with $1.68 billion, or $2.25 a share, a year earlier.

Stripping out one-time items, including amortization of acquisition-related assets, adjusted earnings came to $2.05 a share. Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting adjusted earnings of $2.01 a share.

Sales fell 7.5% to $7.16 billion, topping analyst expectations of $7.12 billion, according to FactSet. The company said adjusted core sales, which strips out the effects of currency fluctuations, fell by 7%, mostly due to lower Covid-related sales.

Stripping out sales of Covid-19-relaed tests, vaccines and therapeutics as well as currency fluctuations, sales would have risen 2%, Danaher said.

Danaher's life-sciences division grew quarterly sales by 5.5% from a year earlier, while environmental and applied solutions sales rose 2%. Diagnostics sales fell 13%, while biotechnology sales slipped 17%.

Operating cash flow came to $1.93 billion, below the $2.04 billion expected by analysts, according to FactSet.

Write to Will Feuer at Will.Feuer@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 25, 2023 06:34 ET (10:34 GMT)

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