Agilent Technologies reports continued growth in fourth quarter

Agilent Technologies has expressed satisfaction with its business development progress in the fourth quarter of its 2009-10 fiscal year, which ended on October 31st 2010.

The science company generated revenues of $1.6 billion (987.1 million pounds) during the quarter, up by 35 percent year-on-year thanks in part to Agilent's recent integration of Varian.

Its chemical analysis and life science divisions expanded by 73 percent and 35 percent respectively, with demand from pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms on the rise, while growth was seen across all of Agilent's major regions.

Bill Sullivan, Agilent's president and chief executive officer, said the fourth quarter marked a "milestone in the company's history" following the completion of its transformative initiatives over the last year.

He added: "We are starting the new fiscal year with an industry-leading product portfolio and expect to continue the momentum with strong organic growth and great market opportunities."

Last week, the company announced plans to collaborate with Harvard University's Wyss Institute on new research into biologically-inspired engineering.