(News Bulletin 247) – The laboratory specializing in food and pharmaceutical testing published disappointing growth for the third quarter.

Former stock market star of the pandemic, to the point that the group joined the CAC 40 in September 2021, when its shares were at their stock market zeniths, Eurofins then experienced more difficult periods.

In 2022 (-38.36%), 2023 (-12.05%) and 2024 (-16.40%), the specialist in food and pharmaceutical analyzes suffered, each time appearing among the biggest declines in the CAC 40.

The company has struggled to navigate the post-Covid shift, lowering its annual forecasts several times. In addition, Eurofins found itself in 2024 in the sights of Muddy Waters, who accused the group of being “cut out for embezzlement”. Comments that society has firmly (and repeatedly) rejected.

A priori with a certain effectiveness, since it has been about a year since the short seller has not appeared.

This Tuesday, October 21, the resident of the CAC 40 is struggling again on the stock market, after having published growth lower than expectations for the third quarter.

Eurofins shares fell by 6.5% at the start of the afternoon, showing the biggest drop in the Parisian index.

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Biopharma, the big black spot

Over the period from July to the end of September, Eurofins generated revenues of 1.8 billion euros, reflecting like-for-like growth of 4.1% year-on-year.

This progression turns out to be lower than the consensus (the average forecast of analysts) which expected an increase of 4.4% according to Jefferies.

In fact, the different segments of the group experienced relatively robust activity. The “life” segment (environmental, food and agronomic tests) recorded growth of 7.2% on a comparable basis, for example.

Notable exception: the “biopharma” segment (biopharmaceutical and genomic tests which measure the effect of the properties of a drug or the functioning of an organism).

This activity saw its revenues stagnate (+0.4%) over the quarter, showing a deceleration compared to the second quarter (+1.5%), notes Jefferies.

For Oddo BHF, this is the main disappointment of the publication. “If the dynamics remain correct in most divisions, the persistent weakness of biopharma continues to weigh on the growth profile and could provoke a negative reaction from the market today,” notes the broker in a note published before the market opened.

Eurofins has confirmed its objectives for 2025, namely mid-single digit like-for-like growth (between 4 and 6%), an increased gross operating margin rate year-on-year and an improvement in its cash generation.