Danaher Corp (NYSE:DHR) stock fell 1.96% (As on April 24, 11:17:15 AM UTC-4, Source: Google Finance) after the company reported a solid start to 2024 with first-quarter earnings surpassing analyst expectations, although revenues showed a slight decline from the previous year. Operating profit also saw a reduction from $1.517 billion to $1.312 billion year-over-year. Despite these declines, the company managed to maintain a strong earnings profile, primarily due to effective cost management and innovation in its product offerings. Exiting the first quarter, DHR had cash and equivalents of $7 billion compared with about $5.9 billion in 2023 end. Long-term debt was $16.4 billion at the end of the reported quarter compared with $16.7 billion at the end of December 2023.
DHR in the first quarter of FY 24 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of $1.92, beating the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of $1.72, according to Zacks Investment Research. The company had reported 2.5 percent decline in the adjusted revenue growth to $5.8 billion in the first quarter of FY 24, beating the analysts’ estimates for revenue of $5.64 billion. The income statement reveals a decrease in gross profit from $3.662 billion in Q1 2023 to $3.487 billion in Q1 2024. In the first quarter, Danaher’s cost of sales increased 1% year over year to $2.3 billion. Gross profit of $3.5 billion fell 4.8% year over year.
Moreover, Revenues from the Life Sciences segment totaled $1.7 billion, up 2% year over year. The company expected the Life Sciences segment’s revenues to be $1.6 billion. Core sales dipped 3% year over year. Acquisitions/divestitures led to a 6% increase in sales. Operating profit was $235 million for the quarter, down 26.8% year over year. Revenues from the Diagnostics segment totaled $2.5 billion, up 6.5% year over year. The estimate for revenues in the quarter was $2.4 billion. Core sales increased 7.5% year over year. Foreign currency had a positive impact of 1%. Operating profit was $830 million for the quarter, up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. Revenues from the Biotechnology segment totaled $1.52 billion, down 18% year over year. The estimate for the quarter was $1.54 billion. Core sales dropped 17% for the segment. Operating profit was $325 million for the quarter, down 45.5% year over year.
Looking forward, Danaher anticipates a mid-single-digit decline in non-GAAP core revenue for the second quarter of 2024 compared to the same period last year. For the full year, the company expects a low-single-digit decrease in non-GAAP core revenue YoY.