Sartorius maintains strong growth momentum in third quarter

Sartorius has upgraded its 2012 earnings forecast once again, based on its strong performance during the first nine months of the year.

The company's sales revenue for the year to date – including the recently concluded third quarter – now comes to 639.4 million euros (514.28 million pounds), representing a year-on-year increase of 18.1 percent.

Contributing approximately six percentage points to this total was the Biohit liquid handling business, which was acquired at the end of 2011, while order intake rose by 15.8 percent during the nine months.

Also performing particularly strongly so far in 2012 is Sartorius' bioprocess solutions division, thanks to growing demand for single-use products such as specialty filters and aseptic bags and tanks, which are used in the production of biopharmaceuticals.

Moreover, the firm expanded its manufacturing capabilities with the opening of a new German facility for the production of bioreactors last month.

Sartorius now anticipates that its earnings for 2012 will increase by about 18 percent, while its sales growth estimates remain unchanged at around 11 percent on a constant currency basis.