|
|
Harvard Bioscience, Inc.
(HBIO) |
|
|
CEOCFO CEOCFO Monthly Analyst |
This is a printer friendly page! Harvard
Bioscience’s focus on the bottleneck and drug discovery is leading to above average
growth in revenues and above average margins Harvard
Bioscience, Inc. (NASD: HBIO) is a global developer, manufacturer and marketer of a broad
range of specialized products, primarily scientific instruments, used to accelerate drug
discovery research at pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, universities and
government laboratories worldwide. Mr. David Green, president of Harvard Bioscience comments on the
company’s focus and success, “We have deliberately built
our portfolio of products, whether it is through internal development or whether it is
through acquisition, to focus on the bottleneck and drug discovery because we believe that
is how we get above average growth in revenues and above average margins. I think our
track record supports the validity of that strategy. Over the last five years, we have
seen revenues grow at a compound annual growth rate of 38%, and we have seen pro forma
earnings per-share, over the last five years, grow at a rate of 23%. I think that strategy
is validated by the strong performance of the company.” Acquisitions are an important part of Harvard
Bioscience’s strategy, “We
have been a very acquisitive company over the last five years and we expect to remain that
way; it is a core part of our strategy and not an add-on. We expect to be acquiring more
companies and product lines as we go forth because there is still significant leverage
opportunities in the large fixed cost areas of managing a field sales force and even in
managing catalog and websites. I foresee further acquisitions and because of the decline
in the public stock markets over the last couple of years the pricing of acquisitions has
come down substantially. Many companies that might have gone public two or three years ago
have no hope of going public today, therefore, they are much more interested in partnering
up with a company such as us. We typically are working on half-a-dozen or a dozen
potential acquisitions at any point in time. Right now, I think the opportunities for
acquisitions have probably never been better,” Mr. Green
explained. When asked what sets Harvard
Bioscience apart from other companies in their industry, Mr. Green
replied, “One of
the things that distinguishes our company from other small public companies in the tools
for drug discovery space is that we do have a broad product line; most of the other
companies have a single product and a single technology. We have made a very conscious
business decision to pursue a broad product line because this industry is characterized by
very rapid technological change. We think it is very high-risk as a business to be
dependent on a single technology because technology moves rapidly and the applications
that drug discovery scientists are working on move rapidly.” Addressing
potential investors and shareholders, Mr. Green comments, “I think the key thing to focus on from an investor point of view is
that we are in a growth market, and there aren’t very many growth markets around
these days. We are a profitable company, and always have been. I think our financial
performance speaks for itself; five years revenue growth at 38% and five-year pro forma
eps growth at 23%. I think simply recognizing those facts, which may be buried in long
documents like a 10-k filing, is the right thing to be focusing on.” HBIO
sells its products to thousands of researchers in over 100 countries through its direct
sales force, its 1000 page catalog (and various other specialty catalogs), and through its
distributors, including Amersham Biosciences and PerkinElmer. HBIO has sales and
manufacturing operations in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria and
Belgium with sales facilities in Japan, France and Canada.
To
find out more about: Harvard Bioscience, Inc.
you may order the complete text of our
interview. To
receive a copy of this highly informative interview, left click here: Contact & Ordering |
