Waters announces acquisition, reports good earnings

Courtesy of Waters Corp. The Acquity QDA Detector from Milford-based Waters Corp.

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Waters Corp. announced strong earnings and the acquisition of virtually all the assets of a Hungarian technology company, the Milford company reported Tuesday.

The international laboratory instrument manufacturer said it has obtained patent applications, software, databases and expertise from Budapest-based MediMass Ltd. The purchase price hasn’t been publicly disclosed, according to a company spokesman.

Assets include the Rapid Evaporative Ionization Mass Spectrometry (REIMS), which is the enabling technology in a device called the “Intelligent Knife” that could potentially be used for real-time surgical diagnostics. No regulatory approvals have been sought on the device to date, Waters said.

“While showing promise across many applications, REIMS technology significantly strengthens Waters’ technology position within Health Sciences,” Rohit Khanna, Waters’ vice president of worldwide marketing and informatics, said in a statement.

Waters and MediMass have been working together for the past three years with Imperial College London to advance REIMS’ capabilities for health science applications, the company said.

Meanwhile, Waters beat both last year’s performance and analysts’ estimates for profit and sales in the second quarter.

The company reported non-GAAP earnings per share of $1.22 in its second quarter, which ended June 28. That’s up from $1.08 a year ago, and beat analysts’ estimates of $1.21.

Revenue also jumped to $481.8 million from $451.1 million a year ago, beating expectations of $476.1 million.

“Broad-based pharmaceutical demand and strong sales in the U.S. highlighted our organic revenue growth in the second quarter, Douglas Berthiaume, chairman, president and CEO, said in a statement. “In addition, stable operating margins contributed to double-digit growth in our adjusted earnings per share and solid cash generation.”