Illumina Q2 Profit Tops View, Revenues Misses; Shares Fall

(RTTNews) - Illumina Inc. (ILMN) Tuesday reported a surge in profit for the second quarter, as revenues jumped 21 percent and margins improved, topping Wall Street estimates.

Looking ahead, the company lifted its earnings outlook for the full year 2015. However, the shares of the biotechnology company slipped 8 percent in extended trade as revenues fell short of expectations.

San Diego, California-based Illumina's second-quarter profit rose to $102.2 million or $0.69 per share from $46.6 million or $0.31 per share last year.

Excluding items, adjusted earnings for the quarter rose to $0.80 per share from $0.57 per share a year ago. On average, 24 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings of $0.77 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Illumina's revenues for the quarter grew 21 percent to $539.4 million from $447.6 million a year ago. Twenty-two analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $541.8 million for the quarter.

Gross margin, or gross profit as a percentage of sales, improved significantly to 69.8 percent from 67.1 percent, while operating margin rose to 28.2 percent from 22.4 percent a year ago.

Moving ahead, the company lifted its full-year adjusted earnings outlook to a range of $3.39 to $3.45 per share from its prior outlook of $3.36 to $3.42 per share. Illumina continues to expect a revenue growth of about 20 percent. Analysts currently expect earnings of $3.44 per share and revenues to grow 21.5 percent in 2015.

ILMN closed Tuesday's trading at $237.54, down $2.48 or 1.03%, on the Nasdaq. The stock further dropped $21.04 or 8.86% in after-hours trade.