Danaher Corp., a leading health-care and laboratory-supply company, has reported a decline in fourth-quarter sales and anticipates this trend to continue into the first quarter and the rest of the year. The decrease in demand for Covid-19 tests and treatments is the primary reason for this decline.
In the fourth quarter, ending on December 31, the company’s earnings were $1.08 billion, or $1.45 per share. This is a decrease from $2.21 billion, or $2.99 per share, in the same period the previous year. After adjusting for certain one-off items, Danaher achieved adjusted earnings from continuing operations of $2.09 per share, surpassing Wall Street’s average estimate of $1.91 per share.
While fourth-quarter sales dropped by 10% to $6.41 billion, they still exceeded analysts’ average estimate of $6.1 billion. However, when excluding all revenue generated from Covid-19 testing, vaccines, and therapy support products, Danaher reported a core revenue decline of 4.5%.
Danaher acknowledges that the overall demand for its Covid-19-related products is expected to steadily decline as the pandemic moves toward an endemic phase. This evolution in the status of the pandemic leads the company to anticipate a high-single percentage digit decrease in non-GAAP core revenue for the first quarter of this year.
Looking ahead to 2024, Danaher projects a low-single percentage digit decline in non-GAAP core revenue compared to the previous year.