People volunteer for the Covid-19 surveillance test using Quest Diagnostics’ self-administered PCR test on July 12, 2020 in Livingston, Montana.
William Campbell | Getty Images
Quest Diagnostics said on Thursday that Covid-19’s continued high demand for tests helped boost the company’s record revenue and earnings in the fourth quarter and throughout 2020.
Although the coronavirus pandemic disrupted routine blood tests and molecular tests that cover much of the company’s business operations, Quest has steadily increased its ability last year to conduct Covid-19 tests.
This is Quest’s performance compared to what Wall Street expected, based on the average analyst estimates compiled by Refinitiv:
- Adjusted EPS: $ 4.48 vs expected $ 4.24.
- Revenue: $ 3 billion versus expected $ 2.93 billion.
The company posted net revenues of more than $ 3 billion in the quarter ended December 31, almost 56% over $ 1.93 billion during the same period in 2019. On an unadjusted basis, the company’s profits more than which doubled to $ 579 million from $ 253 million during the same time last year.
“In a year dominated by the pandemic, Quest brought critical tests of COVID-19 to our country and delivered record revenues, earnings and cash from operations for the fourth quarter and the whole of 2020,” said Quest President and CEO Steve Rusckowski in a statement.
Rusckowski announced that the company will increase its dividends by 10.7% to 62 cents per quarter and will authorize a $ 1 billion increase in its share buyback plan.
Quest and other major diagnostic laboratories were at the center of investigations during the summer, when demand for Covid-19 testing services increased dramatically amid a resurgence of infections in parts of the country, particularly the Sun Belt. In July , the company acknowledged that it took more than a week to roll back coronavirus test results for most patients, similarly to competitors like LabCorp.
Politicians put pressure on laboratories about what was causing the delay in recovery, while some public health experts demanded the need to study and launch new types of tests. Although some progress has been made in the development of new rapidly reversing antigen tests, molecular PCR tests, such as those processed by Quest laboratories, remain the gold standard in the country.
CEO Rusckowski noted that the company’s non-Covid businesses recovered during the summer and fall, with new daily cases falling in the United States, but the recovery was halted when the country approached winter and another increase in cases. .
“The declines in our base business recovered quickly during the summer and fall; however, the recovery stalled in late November and December due to the increase in COVID-19 infections across the country,” said Rusckowski. “The continued high demand for COVID-19 tests has boosted our performance during the second half of the year.”
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