Agilent Technologies reports ‘excellent’ second quarter results

Agilent Technologies has reported its financial results for the second quarter of the current fiscal year, during which it saw a continuation of its strong recent growth.

The company's reported revenue for the quarter came to $1.68 billion (1.04 billion pounds), up by 32 percent on the year-ago period, with this figure standing at 21 percent even when factoring out recent acquisitions and divestures.

Sales of electronic measurement, chemical analysis and life science products all saw double-digit increases, with president and chief executive officer Bill Sullivan stating that the quarter has been typified by strong demand.

As a result, the company now expects to achieve revenue of between $6.55 billion and $6.6 billion for the year as a whole.

"The continued strength of Agilent's portfolio, our presence in the right growth markets and our sustained customer loyalty are all indicators of continued success moving forward," Mr Sullivan said.

This comes after Agilent was named company of the year by industry publication Instrument Business Outlook earlier in 2011.