COVID testing revenue drops 75% at Hologic, as company makes up ground elsewhere

Photo | Grant Welker Hologic's Marlborough headquarters

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By Isabel Tehan

Marlborough medical technology firm Hologic Inc. reported a 74.6% revenue decrease for its COVID-19 related diagnostics testing in its third quarter as compared to last year, indicating a significant drop-off in demand for COVID testing as the federal public health emergency ended on May 11.

When Hologic developed a U.S. Food and Drug Administration-authorized COVID testing systems in 2020, it was a departure from its typical specialization in women’s health products. At the end of 2020, Hologic’s revenues were up 90% from the previous year.

Now, for the three months ended July 31, Hologic’s COVID assay revenue was $28.7 million, a drop from the $172.9 million it made from the COVID testing products in its third quarter 2022, according to a Monday press release from Hologic accompanying its earnings statement.

Overall, the company reported a revenue of $984.4 million for the third quarter, a 1.8% decrease compared to the same period last year. The company continues to attribute the reduction in revenue to a drop-off in COVID testing.

Hologic reported a net loss of $40.5 million for the quarter, compared to profits of $228.4 million in the third quarter 2022.

Excluding COVID revenue, the total organic revenue at Hologic grew 18.1% year-over-year.

Diagnostics revenue decreased 21.5%, though excluding COVID-19 related testing, it grew 11.8%.

Breast health revenue increased 27.4% year-over-year, indicating strong performance in the company’s standard realm. Breast imaging revenue was $286.1 million in the third quarter of 2023, compared to $212.2 million during the same quarter last year.

"Our results once again highlight that Hologic’s transformation and post-pandemic performance is durable. Our business is operating from a position of strength, with all of our franchises growing double-digits in the period excluding COVID. As we close out fiscal 2023 and look forward to fiscal 2024, it’s clear we are poised for success and built for the long term," Steve MacMillan, Hologic’s chairman, president and CEO, said in the press release.

Hologic’s stock price was $77.50 at market close on Monday after the report came out, but fell 5.7% to $73.10 per share on the NASDAQ at market open on Tuesday. The market as a whole was down slightly by 0.24% on the S&P 500. Hologic’s stock price sat at $75.99 per share on early Wednesday afternoon.