Bio-Rad(BIO_B) - 2024 Q3 - Quarterly Report

Financial Performance - Net sales for Q3 2024 were $649.7 million, a 2.8% increase from$ 632.1 million in Q3 2023, with a 3.4% increase on a currency neutral basis [123]. - Net sales for the first nine months of 2024 were $1.90 billion, a decrease of 4.6% from$ 1.99 billion in the same period of 2023, with a 4.0% decrease on a currency neutral basis [135]. - Life Science segment sales for Q3 2024 were $260.9 million, a decrease of 1.0% year-over-year, with a 0.6% decrease on a currency neutral basis [124]. - Life Science segment sales for the first nine months of 2024 were$ 753.1 million, a decrease of 15.1% year-over-year, with a 14.8% decrease on a currency neutral basis [136]. - Clinical Diagnostics segment sales for Q3 2024 were $388.8 million, a 5.6% increase year-over-year, with a 6.4% increase on a currency neutral basis [125]. - Clinical Diagnostics segment sales for the first nine months of 2024 were$ 1.1 billion, an increase of 4.1% year-over-year, with a 4.8% increase on a currency neutral basis [137]. Expenses and Margins - Consolidated gross margin for Q3 2024 was 54.8%, up from 53.1% in Q3 2023, driven by cost control measures and product mix [126]. - R&D expense for Q3 2024 was $91.0 million, or 14.0% of sales, compared to$ 43.5 million, or 6.9% of sales in Q3 2023, primarily due to a one-time acquired in-process R&D expense [128]. - SG&A expense for the first nine months of 2024 was $610.0 million, or 32.1% of sales, down from$ 634.6 million, or 31.9% of sales in the same period of 2023 [141]. Cash Flow and Investments - Net cash provided by operations increased to $331.0 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, compared to$ 293.9 million for the same period in 2023 [152]. - Net cash used in investing activities rose to $129.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, from$ 52.0 million in 2023, primarily due to higher payments for acquired in-process research and development [153]. - Net cash used in financing activities decreased to $192.6 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, down from$ 225.0 million in 2023, mainly due to lower payments for treasury stock purchases [154]. - During the third quarter of 2024, the company repurchased 330,381 shares of Class A common stock for $97 million under the 2023 Share Repurchase Program, with$ 577.1 million remaining available for future repurchases [156]. Tax and Financial Position - Effective income tax rate for Q3 2024 was 24.2%, compared to 22.5% in Q3 2023, primarily affected by the geographical mix of earnings [134]. - As of September 30, 2024, the company had $1.63 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments, with approximately 16% held in foreign subsidiaries [150]. - The company had no outstanding borrowings under its$ 200.0 million unsecured Revolving Credit Agreement as of September 30, 2024 [148]. Operational Insights - The increase in operating cash flows was primarily due to lower cash paid to suppliers and employees, despite lower cash received from customers [152]. - The company regularly monitors the mix of domestic and foreign cash flows as part of its ongoing liquidity assessments [150]. - The company intends to repatriate certain foreign earnings as long as local laws do not restrict such actions and there are no substantial incremental costs [151]. - There have been no material changes in market risk disclosures from the previous annual report as of September 30, 2024 [168].