Harvard Bioscience (HBIO) Reports Fourth Quarter And Full-Year 2024 Financial Earnings Results

Harvard Bioscience, Inc. (HBIO) today announced its financial results for the latest quarter. The company reported a quarterly revenue of $24.56 million, surpassing the revenue estimate of $24.15 million and marking a positive revenue beat. However, the company posted an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.00, missing the EPS estimate of $0.05. Despite the earnings miss, the revenue growth highlights the company’s strong sales performance during the period.

Key Highlights:

• Harvard Bioscience reported a decline in revenues for both the fourth quarter and full year of 2024 compared to 2023, with fourth-quarter revenues at $24.6 million and full-year revenues at $94.1 million.
• The company experienced a net income of $18 thousand in Q4 2024, a significant improvement from a loss of $1.8 million in Q4 2023.
• Gross margin slightly decreased to 57.1% in Q4 2024 from 58.0% in Q4 2023, attributed to lower absorption of fixed manufacturing costs and foreign exchange impacts.
• The company highlighted strong market reception for new products, particularly the SoHo™ telemetry systems and MeshMEA™ organoid systems.
• Harvard Bioscience anticipates Q1 2025 revenues between $19 million and $21 million, with a gross margin in the range of 56% to 58%.

Summary:

Harvard Bioscience, Inc. reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2024, showing a decline in revenues due to a challenging market environment and reduced spending by key customer segments such as contract research organizations and academic institutions. The company achieved a net income of $18 thousand in the fourth quarter, a notable improvement from the previous year’s loss, despite a decrease in gross margin to 57.1%. CEO Jim Green noted the sequential strengthening in pre-clinical revenues across all regions, although cellular and molecular technology revenues were slightly down due to reduced purchasing by US academic customers. Green emphasized the positive reception of new products, including the SoHo™ telemetry systems and MeshMEA™ organoid systems, which are gaining traction among academic institutions and biopharma customers.

Looking ahead, Harvard Bioscience provided guidance for the first quarter of 2025, expecting revenues between $19 million and $21 million, with gross margins anticipated to be between 56% and 58%. The company remains focused on managing costs to improve operating and financial performance amid market uncertainties. Green expressed optimism about the company’s product innovations and their potential to drive future growth, despite the current challenges in the market.

Harvard Bioscience, Inc. (HBIO) has experienced a dramatic decline in its stock price, with a staggering 82.52% drop over the past year. The downward trend is consistent across shorter time frames, with a 73.07% decrease over six months and a 67.16% fall over three months, indicating persistent negative sentiment among investors. The company’s financial metrics paint a concerning picture, with a negative price-to-earnings ratio of -2.49, suggesting that the company is currently unprofitable. The earnings per share (EPS) two-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is a dismal -75%, reflecting significant challenges in generating earnings. Additionally, the revenue two-year CAGR is -8.98%, highlighting a decline in sales performance. The return on invested capital is also negative at -11.03%, indicating inefficiencies in utilizing capital to generate returns. With a net profit margin of -15.03%, Harvard Bioscience is struggling to convert revenue into profit, further exacerbating investor concerns.

Harvard Bioscience, Inc. develops, manufactures, and sells technologies, products, and services that enables fundamental research, discovery, and pre-clinical testing for drug development in the United States and internationally. The company offers cellular and molecular technology instruments, such as syringe and peristaltic pump products, as well as a range of instruments and accessories for tissue and organ-based lab research, including surgical products, infusion systems, and behavior research systems; and spectrophotometers, microplate readers, amino acid analyzers, gel electrophoresis equipment, and electroporation and electrofusion instruments. It also engages in the development and manufacture of precision scientific measuring instrumentation and equipment, which cover data acquisition systems with custom amplifier configurations for cellular analysis, micro electrode array solutions for in vivo recordings, and vitro-systems for extracellular recordings; and offers preclinical products. The company markets its products through sales organizations, websites, catalogs, and distributors to research scientists in pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, universities, hospitals, and government laboratories, as well as to contract research organizations, academic labs, and government researchers. It primarily sells its products under Harvard Apparatus, DSI, Ponemah, Buxco, Biochrom, BTX, and MCS brand names. The company was founded in 1901 and is headquartered in Holliston, Massachusetts.