Qiagen NV has spent about $2 billion on acquisitions since 2004. The firm is prepared for more takeovers as it seeks additional gene-based tools to predict disease. Roland Sackers, Chief Financial Officer of the firm said that Qiagen s almost $1 billion in available funds and is in talks that may lead to another purchase in 2009. He added that the company may also spend $200 million to $500 million on deals next year, buying more companies than in 2009 as prices decline. He also said, “Now is a good time because we have seen that prices in areas we are looking for such as molecular diagnostics and applied testing have become more attractive than 12 to 18 months ago. Prices in the private sector normally take time to adjust to public levels.” Qiagen is seeking to expand in areas such as South America and Asia. Qiagen is also benefiting from drug makers investing in the region, and an increased focus on public health care is bolstering demand for the Dutch company’s products, he said. He also said, “It’s a very good target for us, and India is clearly one of the areas where we would like to get a stronger focus.”

Qiagen NV raised its 2009 earnings outlook. Revenue in 2009 is seen at the upper end of the range of USD 930 million to USD 970 million. In constant currency, revenue is expected to come in at well above USD 1 billion. For the fourth quarter, the company projected EPS of between USD 0.21 and USD 0.22 and revenue of USD 250 million to USD 260 million.

Qiagen NV reported unaudited consolidated earnings results for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2009. For the quarter, the company reported net income attributable to company was $37,690,000 or $0.18 diluted earnings per share on net sales of $259,659,000 compared to net income attributable to company of $20,791,000 or $0.10 diluted earnings per share on net sales of $230,800,000 for the same period a year ago. Income from operations was $53,354,000 and income before provision for income taxes and non-controlling interest was $49,319,000 compared to income from operations of $38,178,000 and income before provision for income taxes and non-controlling interest of $27,846,000 for the same period a year ago. Adjusted diluted earnings per share increased 24% to $0.26 in the third quarter 2009 from $0.21 in 2008. For nine months, the company reported net income attributable to company was $93,303,000 or $0.45 diluted earnings per share on net sales of $720,748,000 compared to net income attributable to company of $64,350,000 or $0.31 diluted earnings per share on net sales of $655,794,000 for the same period a year ago. Income from operations was $137,265,000 and income before provision for income taxes and non-controlling interest was $122,919,000 compared to income from operations of $105,226,000 and income before provision for income taxes and non-controlling interest of $83,113,000 for the same period a year ago. Adjusted diluted earnings per share in the nine months ended September 30, 2009 increased 19% to $0.69 per share from $0.58 per share in the same period of 2008. The company is increasing its expectations for adjusted diluted earnings per share for the fiscal year 2009 from the previous range of $0.86 to $0.90 (based on a weighted average number of fully diluted shares outstanding of approximately 214 million following the equity offering in September 2009) to now between $0.88 and $0.90 based on foreign currency exchange rates as of January 31, 2009.