Waters Sales Fall Slightly

Waters Corp. of Milford reported a 1-percent drop in its third-quarter sales, although it also reported a slight uptick in earnings per share, the company announced.

Waters, which makes software and provides services for scientists, said foreign currency translation of accounting figures reduced sales growth 3 percent. In its most recent quarterly report in July, Waters cited the same reason as a drag on sales, even though they grew 1 percent in the second quarter.

Sales for the quarter, which ended Sept. 30, totaled $450 million, down from $455 million in the third quarter of 2011. For the first nine months of the year, sales are slightly trailing last year, at $1.32 million versus $1.33 million in 2011.

Net income is also down for both the quarter and since the beginning of the year, although earnings per share for the quarter rose 2 cents to $1.12; year to date, it's up a penny to $3.19. Profit for the quarter totaled $99.1 million, down from $101.3 million in the third quarter of 2011. Year to date, profits totaled $285.5 million, down from $295.8 million last year.

"Stable pharmaceutical demand and strong sales in Asia allowed us to organically grow our revenue in the third quarter, despite challenging market conditions," said Douglas Berthiaume, the company's chairman, president and CEO. "At the same time, tight expense control, disciplined product pricing and a continuation of our share repurchase program resulted in adjusted earnings per share growth at a rate faster than sales."

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