
Quidel Pre-Releases 3Q23 Revenue; Strong Respiratory Revenue a Positive Read-Through for Other COVID-19 Test Manufacturers
QuidelOrtho Corporation (Nasdaq: QDEL), has announced preliminary unaudited revenue results for the fiscal third quarter ending October 1, 2023. The company stated that is expecting 3Q23 total revenues ranging from $738 million to $744 million. This compares to current consensus forecasts of $655.3 million. The company attributed the strength in the quarter to the early start of this year’s respiratory virus season. Looking at the CDC influenza report, there has not yet been an abnormal tick up in influenza-like-illness rates, however COVID-19 activity in terms of test positivity rates and hospitalizations surged throughout August. This could be a positive read through for 3Q23 results for other notable COVID-19 test manufacturers such as Abbott, Roche, Danaher, QIAGEN, and others. The company is expecting respiratory revenue of $181 to $184 million in the third quarter. This compares with $89 million in respiratory revenue reported in the company’s Q223 financial results and $171 million in the third quarter last year. Non-respiratory revenue is expected to be $557 to $560 million, declining sequentially from $576 million in the 2Q23 and $613 million in the third quarter of last year.
Douglas Bryant, President and Chief Executive Officer of QuidelOrtho, emphasized that the strong performance during the third quarter can be attributed to the heightened demand generated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, as well as new variants of the virus across the Northern Hemisphere. The company’s retail and point-of-care offerings have been pivotal in responding to this demand. QuidelOrtho noted in its last quarter earnings call that they now expect 93% of their respiratory revenue to come from the professional market where government testing contracts represented a large component in the past.
The company also announced that it is maintaining its fiscal year 2023 financial guidance despite the revenue beat. The guidance calls for total revenues of $2.88 billion to $3.08 billion. Non-respiratory revenue is anticipated to range from $2.27 billion to $2.31 billion and respiratory revenue is anticipated to range from $610 million to $775 million. The mid-range of the full year guidance for non-respiratory revenue and 3Q23 pre-release ranges implies non-respiratory revenue of $567 million in the fourth quarter, slightly up from 3Q23 levels. The mid-range of the full year guidance for respiratory revenue and the mid-range of the 3Q23 pre-release ranges implies 4Q23 respiratory revenue of $155.4 million, which could appear somewhat conservative given typical strong seasonality for both flu and COVID-19 in the fourth quarter.