Labcorp announces 2022 Q4 and full-year results

Labcorp, a leading global life sciences company, today announced results for the fourth quarter and year ended Dec. 31, 2022, full-year 2023 guidance.

“We finished the year strong, with accelerated revenue growth in Diagnostics, continued strong underlying fundamentals in Drug Development and margin expansion,” said Adam Schechter, chairman and CEO of Labcorp. “In 2022, we also advanced our strategy with the announcement of the spin of our Clinical Development business, which will be named Fortrea, and acceleration of several hospital partnerships and acquisitions. Looking ahead, we will continue to harness science, innovation and technology to drive sustained financial performance and address the evolving needs of our customers.”

In the fourth quarter and throughout the year, Labcorp executed its strategic plan for long-term growth. Labcorp began the integration of the Ascension hospital system, adding nearly 5,000 employees and providing laboratory management services for nearly 100 hospitals across the system.

Additionally, the company has progressed the planned spin-off of its Clinical Development business, which is expected to be completed in mid-2023, subject to satisfaction of certain customary conditions. In early January 2023, Tom Pike was announced to lead the Clinical Development business and will become the chief executive officer and chairman of the Board of Fortrea upon completion of the spin-off.

On January 12, 2023, the company announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.72 per share of common stock, payable on March 13, 2023, to stockholders of record at the close of business on February 23, 2023. In addition, the Board of Directors has approved an additional $1.00 billion for share repurchases, bringing the total available authorization to approximately $1.53 billion.

Consolidated results
Fourth quarter results
Revenue for the quarter was $3.67 billion, a decrease of (9.4%) from $4.06 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021. The decrease was due to organic revenue of (9.4%) and foreign currency translation of (1.3%), partially offset by acquisitions of 1.3%. The (9.4%) decrease in organic revenue was driven by a (13.4%) decrease in Covid-19 PCR and antibody testing (Covid-19 Testing), partially offset by a 3.9% increase in the company’s organic Base Business. Base Business includes Labcorp’s operations except for Covid-19 Testing.

Operating income for the quarter was $90.7 million, or 2.5% of revenue, compared to $730.6 million, or 18.0%, in the fourth quarter of 2021. The company recorded impairment charges, amortization, restructuring charges, and special items, which together totaled $419.2 million in the quarter, compared to $171.5 million during the same period in 2021. Included in these numbers are goodwill and other asset impairment charges of $270.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, which primarily related to the Early Development business due to short-term labor and NHP supply constraints. Adjusted operating income (excluding impairment charges, amortization, restructuring charges, and special items) for the quarter was $509.9 million, or 13.9% of revenue, compared to $902.2 million, or 22.2%, in the fourth quarter of 2021. The decrease in operating income and margin was due to a reduction in Covid-19 Testing. LaunchPad savings and lower personnel expense were essentially offset by lower Covid-related demand and inflationary costs.

Net earnings for the quarter were $76.1 million compared to $553.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2021. Diluted EPS were $0.86 in the quarter compared to $5.75 during the same period in 2021. Adjusted EPS (excluding impairment charges, amortization, restructuring charges, and special items) were $4.14 in the quarter compared to $6.77 in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Operating cash flow for the quarter was $653.6 million compared to $697.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2021. The decrease in operating cash flow was due to lower Covid Testing earnings, partially offset by higher Base Business earnings. Capital expenditures totaled $117.9 million compared to $150.0 million a year ago. As a result, free cash flow (operating cash flow less capital expenditures) was $535.7 million compared to $547.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2021.

At the end of the quarter, the company’s cash balance and total debt were $0.4 billion and $5.3 billion, respectively. During the quarter, the company invested $150.4 million on acquisitions, paid out $63.6 million in dividends, and repurchased $300.0 million of stock representing approximately 1.4 million shares. At the end of the quarter, we had $532 million of share repurchase authorization remaining.

Full year results
Revenue was $14.88 billion, a decrease of (7.7%) from $16.12 billion in 2021. The decrease was due to organic revenue of (7.5%) and foreign currency translation of (1.0%), partially offset by acquisitions net of divestitures of 0.8%. The (7.5%) decrease in organic revenue was due to a (10.0%) decrease in Covid-19 Testing, partially offset by a 2.5% increase in the Company’s organic Base Business.

Operating income was $1.77 billion, or 11.9% of revenue, compared to $3.26 billion, or 20.2%, in 2021. The company recorded impairment charges, amortization, restructuring charges, and special items, which together totaled $775.2 million compared to $571.5 million during 2021. Adjusted operating income (excluding impairment charges, amortization, restructuring charges, and special items) was $2.55 billion, or 17.1% of revenue, compared to $3.83 billion, or 23.8%, in 2021. The decrease in operating income was primarily due to lower Covid-19 Testing and higher personnel costs, as well as goodwill and other asset impairment charges, partially offset by a recovery in the Base Business.

Net earnings were $1.28 billion compared to $2.38 billion in 2021. Diluted EPS were $13.97 compared to $24.39 in 2021. Adjusted EPS (excluding impairment charges, amortization, restructuring charges, and special items) were $19.94 compared to $28.52 in 2021.

Operating cash flow was $1.96 billion compared to $3.11 billion in 2021. The decrease in operating cash flow was primarily due to lower Covid Testing earnings. Capital expenditures totaled $481.9 million compared to $460.4 million in 2021. As a result, free cash flow (operating cash flow less capital expenditures) was $1.47 billion compared to $2.65 billion in 2021.

During the year the company repurchased $1.10 billion of stock representing approximately 4.7 million shares and invested $1.16 billion on acquisitions.

Fourth quarter segment results
The following segment results exclude impairment charges, amortization, restructuring charges, special items, and unallocated corporate expenses.

Diagnostics
Revenue for the quarter was $2.29 billion, a decrease of (12.8%) from $2.62 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021. The decrease was due to organic revenue of (14.3%) and foreign currency translation of (0.3%), partially offset by acquisitions of 1.7%. The (14.3%) decrease in organic revenue was due to a (20.7%) decrease in Covid-19 Testing, partially offset by a 6.4% increase in the Base Business. Total Base Business growth compared to the Base Business in the prior year was 10.6%, which includes the benefit from the Ascension lab management agreement of approximately 7% and the negative impact from weather and fewer revenue days of (1.2%).

Total volume (measured by requisitions) decreased by (11.8%) as organic volume decreased by (13.8%) and acquisition volume contributed 2.0%. Organic volume was impacted by a (14.3%) decrease in Covid-19 Testing, partially offset by a 0.5% increase in Base Business. Price/mix decreased by (1.0%) due to Covid-19 Testing of (6.4%), currency of (0.3%), and acquisitions of (0.2%), partially offset by Base Business of 5.9%. Base Business volume increased 3.0% compared to the Base Business last year, which includes the combined unfavorable impact from weather and fewer revenue days of approximately (1.2%). Price/mix was up 7.6% in the Base Business compared to the Base Business last year, which includes the benefit of the Ascension lab management agreement.

Adjusted operating income for the quarter was $387.0 million, or 16.9% of revenue, compared to $775.9 million, or 29.6%, in the fourth quarter of 2021. The decrease in adjusted operating income and margin was due to a reduction in Covid-19 Testing and the mix impact from Ascension. Excluding Covid-19 Testing and Ascension, operating income and margin were up due to the benefit of Base Business growth and LaunchPad savings, which were partially offset by higher personnel expense and other inflationary costs.

Drug development
Revenue for the quarter was $1.39 billion, a decrease of (4.1%) from $1.45 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021. The decrease was primarily due to foreign currency translation of (3.1%). The benefit of acquisitions of 0.4% was offset by a (1.5%) decrease in organic revenue, which was negatively impacted by approximately 5.0% due to reduced Covid-19 related work and the Ukraine/Russia crisis.

Adjusted operating income for the quarter was $208.5 million, or 15.0% of revenue, compared to $205.7 million, or 14.2%, in the fourth quarter of 2021. Adjusted operating income and margin increased due to LaunchPad savings and lower personnel costs, partially offset by lower Covid-related demand, the Ukraine/Russia crisis, and inflationary costs.

Net orders and net book-to-bill during the trailing twelve months were $7.28 billion and 1.27, respectively. Backlog at the end of the quarter was $16.30 billion, an increase of 8.9% compared to last year. The company expects approximately $4.85 billion of its backlog to convert into revenue in the next twelve months.

2023 guidance
The following guidance assumes foreign exchange rates effective as of Dec. 31, 2022, for the full year. Enterprise level guidance includes the estimated impact from currently anticipated capital allocation, including acquisitions, share repurchases and dividends. The guidance also assumes that the Clinical Development business will be with Labcorp for the full year. Upon completion of the planned spin-off, currently anticipated in mid-2023 (subject to satisfaction of certain customary conditions), we expect to provide updated guidance.
MB Bureau