Germany's Qiagen sees solid growth in 2020, 2021 and post-pandemic

By Zuzanna Szymanska

(Reuters) - U.S.-German genetics specialist Qiagen raised its 2020 and 2021 targets and said it expects continued growth after the COVID-19 pandemic thanks to the success of its focus on differentiated testing solutions in growing markets.

Qiagen's products include several types of ultra-rapid, portable and antigen-based coronavirus tests that have boosted its shares by 30% since the beginning of the pandemic, but it said it expects to keep growing sales even after a mass rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.

"We do not believe that vaccination kills testing," Chief Executive Thierry Bernard told a conference call on Tuesday.

Not only will the majority of the world's population be vaccinated around the summer of 2021, but there are many examples proving that a "test and treat" strategy is the right strategy for healthcare, Bernard said.

"Look at the flu, for example. We have had flu vaccines for many years, yet there are still at least 30 million PCR flu tests every year," the CEO said.

At the same time, Qiagen expects continued double-digit revenue growth potential for non-COVID-19 products until at least 2022, he added.

The company will continue diversified investments next year to create more long-term organic growth and improve earnings, Bernard said earlier in a statement.

Germany-listed shares in Qiagen were up 4.4%, their highest daily increase since the beginning of the pandemic, as the market closed on Tuesday.

In its third 2020 guidance hike since March, the group said it expected net sales to grow about 22% and adjusted earnings per share (EPS) to reach $2.13-$2.14 at constant exchange rates thanks to the success of its Life Sciences and Molecular Diagnostics units in expanding markets.

For 2021, it saw net sales growth of between 18% and 20% as well as adjusted EPS of $2.42-$2.46 at constant exchange rates.

(Reporting by Zuzanna Szymanska in Gdansk; Editing by Edmund Blair, Louise Heavens and Tom Brown)