Wall Street Transcript Interview with Charles R. Kummeth, the President and CEO of Bio-Techne (TECH)
67 WALL STREET, New York - August 1, 2014 - The Wall Street Transcript has just published its Medical Devices Report offering a timely review of the sector to serious investors and industry executives. This special feature contains expert industry commentary through in-depth interviews with public company CEOs and Equity Analysts. The full issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online.
Topics covered: Orthopedics and Cardiovascular Medical Devices - Medical Device Innovation and Consolidation Trends - Affordable Care Act - Aging U.S. Population - Medical Technology Innovation - Medical Equipment Growth Opportunities - Efficient Patient Treatment - Bifurcation in Medical Devices
Companies include: Techne Corp. (TECH) and many more.
In the following excerpt from the Medical Devices Report, the President and CEO of Bio-Techne (TECH) discusses company strategy and the outlook for this vital industry:
TWST: I see that a large percentage of your sales come from outside the U.S. Is this a purposeful strategy to diversify across the world?
Mr. Kummeth: Well, no, in that Europe is a big place for research as well. Research is done everywhere in the world, but the source of funding for this research differs. Roughly 28% of our sales are in Europe. It is definitely a strategy to try and build out China and Asia. I have a substantial background in Asia. I've built three factories in China. I've been going to China for 20 years every quarter and did a lot of businesses there for 3M as well as Thermo Fisher. And so that's definitely an area that's historically been underserved. When I joined, roughly 4% of the company's revenue came from China. We're now at roughly 6%, so the base is growing. We have roughly 15% of revenues in Asia Pac or the Pac Rim. So it's a mix that we don't try and change too drastically because obviously everybody knows there's a lot of health-care-related funding in Asia and China, particularly now.
TWST: Where do you expect the growth to come from in the company over the next year?
Mr. Kummeth: Over the next year, well, there's a lot of coverage. We've added sales people in the U.S. We've added a lot of sales people in China. I would say the most growth will be from Asia. The highest percentage will be China; it will be up nearly 30% growth by the end of this year and going forward. We have benefited from the rising tide in Europe, and things are looking optimistic in Europe at the moment, and there we expect a little more growth in Europe than has been typically observed.
In the U.S., like everyone else in our market, there are still difficult times ahead in this sector. Research dollars are still under pressure because of the funding cuts by the NIH. So probably the most growth will be in Asia, and then second, probably by entering different market segments via the acquisitions we recently announced - such as ProteinSimple and Novus Biologicals.
TWST: Bio-Techne appears to be growing through acquisition, as seen in the June acquisition of ProteinSimple. Can you describe if this is your acquisition strategy in general, and are you concerned the company has been growing in too many directions too quickly?
For more of this interview and many others visit the Wall Street Transcript - a unique service for investors and industry researchers - providing fresh commentary and insight through verbatim interviews with CEOs, portfolio managers and research analysts. This special issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online.
