Caliper Life Sciences Inc. (NSDQ:CALP) said it expects to beat its own expectations for the fourth quarter’s top line, reporting preliminary revenues of $37.6 million for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2009.
The Hopkinton, Mass.-based lab equipment and services provider credited stronger-than-expected sales of its Ivis and LabChip instruments for the boon, along with license revenues from the deal it announced last week with Becton, Dickinson & Co. (NYSE:BDX). Caliper had predicted sales of between $33 million and $35 million for the quarter.
The agreement with BD settled a patent infringement beef with a recent BD acquisition by striking a deal to license its microfluidics technology to BD. Caliper agreed to license the patent portfolio to Franklin Lakes, N.J.-based BD for an undisclosed amount, thereby settling a lawsuit filed by HandyLab Inc. in the U.S. District Court for Eastern Michigan.
Caliper said the deal with BD closed a quarter earlier than expected. The company expects full-year sales for 2009 to top $130 million, or $119 million when sales of recently sold businesses like its Xenogen Biosciences Corp. subsidiary are excluded.
And Caliper said it will likely beat its guidance for full-year positive operating cash flow by a year. The company expects to report closing out 2009 with about $38 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities and outstanding short-term debt of roughly $15 million.