Agilent reports in-line first quarter, says results hurt by US snowstorm

By Bageshri Banerjee

Feb 25 (Reuters) - Life sciences firm Agilent Technologies A.N on Wednesday reported first-quarter results that were largely in line with Wall Street estimates on stable demand for its medical tools and equipment used in lab research and diagnostic services.

U.S. life sciences and lab-equipment makers, which had struggled with uneven demand and tight biotech funding in recent years, are now seeing gradual improvements in conditions.

The company said its first-quarter performance was impacted due to a major U.S. snowstorm during the last week of the quarter.

The first-quarter results excluding the weather-related impact would have exceeded the midpoint of the company's guidance, CEO Padraig McDonnell said in a statement.

Agilent reported quarterly revenue of $1.80 billion, in line with estimates of $1.81 billion.

Sales in its life sciences and diagnostics segment were at $758 million, beating estimates of $693 million, while revenue from its CrossLab unit, which offers products and services for laboratory management, rose 7% to $361 million.

The laboratory equipment maker also raised the top end of its full-year revenue forecast to be between $7.3 billion and $7.5 billion, compared with its prior expectation of $7.3 billion to $7.4 billion.

Analysts on average were expecting revenue of $7.36 billion for fiscal 2026.

Its adjusted profit for the quarter ended March 31 was $1.36 per share, compared with the average analyst estimate of $1.37.