The company recorded a 5 per cent increase in full year revenue to from $1.47bn (€1.14bn) in 2005 to $1.55bn in 2006. Fourth quarter revenues increased 10 per cent in 2006 to $427m compared with the same period of $387m in 2005.
Fourth quarter revenue growth was led by the company's life and analytical sciences division, which reported a 12 per cent increase in profit to $320.6m, driven primarily by its genetic screening, environmental and service businesses.
However, the division's total growth for 2006 was 6 per cent with sales of $1.1bn accounting for 74 per cent of total revenues. R&D spending increased by 14 per cent in 2006 reaching $0.1bn, and accounting for 6.5 per cent of total revenue.
"Our strong Q4 results reflect the increased growth momentum we are generating through R&D and capital investments in our key growth platforms. We also announced eight acquisitions during the year that will help fuel our long-term growth," said Gregory Summe, PerkinElmer CEO.
"We expect to carry this momentum into 2007, bringing an increased number of new products to market while continuing to deliver strong financial results."
A dramatic 29 per cent increase in the fourth quarter R&D spending ate into the quarterly profit margin, which decreased slightly to 12.2 per cent in 2006 from 12.8 per cent in 2005. However, the firm still managed to increase its quarterly operating profit slightly, reaching $52m, an increase of 6 per cent over the same period last year.
The yearly profit increased 9 per cent to $153m, helping the yearly profit margin increase to 9.9 per cent in 2006 compared with 9.5 per cent in 2005.