How the Wheels Came Off Meridian Bioscience's Bus

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Meridian Bioscience (NAS: VIVO) reported earnings on Jan. 25. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q1), Meridian Bioscience missed on revenues and whiffed on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue grew and earnings per share grew.

Gross margins shrank, operating margins increased, and net margins improved.

Revenue details
Meridian Bioscience booked revenue of $40 million. The nine analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ wanted to see revenue of $43 million. Sales were 8.1% higher than the prior-year quarter's $37 million.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions.

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.17. The 10 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.19 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.16 for Q1 were 6.7% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.15 per share.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Figures may be non-GAAP to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 61.4%, 290 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 25.5%, 20 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 16.3%, 10 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $46 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.21.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $184 million. The average EPS estimate is $0.85.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 463 members out of 474 rating the stock outperform, and 11 members rating it underperform. Among 131 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 130 give Meridian Bioscience a green thumbs-up, and one gives it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Meridian Bioscience is outperform, with an average price target of $21.11.

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At the time thisarticle was published Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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