VENLO, The Netherlands, June 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- QIAGEN N.V. , a leading provider of molecular diagnostics products and the world’s premier supplier of solutions for preanalytical sample preparation, today announced that Peer M. Schatz, Chief Executive Officer, will ring The NASDAQ Stock Market Opening Bell on June 29, 2006 at 9:30 EDT at the NASDAQ Market Site on Broadway in Times Square, New York City. The bell ringing commemorates QIAGEN’s 10th anniversary of listing on NASDAQ.
QIAGEN completed its Initial Public Offering on The NASDAQ National Market in New York on June 28, 1996. In the following decade, QIAGEN has experienced tremendous growth expanding from a supplier of tools for the isolation and preparation of nucleic acids into the world’s leading provider of technologies for biological sample processing and testing in life sciences and molecular diagnostics.
QIAGEN - Some Key Figures 1996 2006E[1] CAGR 1996-2006 Revenues in US$ millions 52.2 453-462 ~24% Earnings per share in US$ 0.04 0.52-0.56 ~30% Share price (IPO price) in US$ 1.50[2] 13.20[3] 24% Market capitalization in US$m 185.0 1982.6 27%
[1] Based on guidance provided by the company on May 9, 2006. Guidance was provided excluding acquisition and integration related charges as well as amortization of acquired IP and equity-based compensation.
[2] Adjusted to share splits: 07/16/1999 (2:1); 07/14/2000 (4:1)
[3] Share price as of June 26, 2006
“It is a great honour for us to commemorate the 10th anniversary of QIAGEN’s Initial Public Offering on NASDAQ in New York by being asked to ring the opening bell,” said Peer M. Schatz, QIAGEN’s Chief Executive Officer. “Our IPO on the NASDAQ, where more companies in biotechnology are listed than on any other exchange, marked the beginning of an era of rapid shareholder value creation at QIAGEN. The access to capital allowed us to grow our sales approximately 10-fold, our earnings per share approximately 14-fold and our share price almost 10-fold since our IPO. With NASDAQ as a partner, we are translating our vision as the leading provider of cutting-edge, standard-setting technologies for preanalytical sample preparation solutions and molecular testing into a true success story for our customers, our investors and our employees.”
Photos and a live webcast of this event will be available on QIAGEN’s web page at www.QIAGEN.com.
In addition, QIAGEN will host an Analyst and Investor Luncheon on the same day, starting at 11:30am EDT, to provide an update of the company’s success story and future opportunities. Alongside distinguished panelists from the industry and government, Michael McDonald, President of Global Health Initiatives and Coordinator of the National Disaster Risk Communication Initiative, will give a keynote speech titled “Preparing for and managing Pandemic Flu”. The panel members, leaders in the fields of molecular diagnostics and applied testing, including Scott Layne, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology, UCLA; Michael Lewinski, Ph.D., Director Infectious Diseases, Quest Diagnostics; Bruce Patterson, MD, Director, Associate Professor of Diagnostic Virology, Stanford University; Susan Hsu, Ph.D., Director of HLA/MDx for Penn-Jersey Region, American Red Cross; Maura Pieretti, Ph.D., Director, Molecular Diagnostics, Baycare Laboratories; Roy Swiger, Ph.D., Technical Division Director, Midwest Research Institute and Jack Ballantyne, Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of Central Florida will provide an update on their work, markets and products and discuss future developments in these sectors.
“We are very fortunate to have such a strong panel of thought leading customers celebrate the event and provide update outlooks on topics such as avian flu, HLA, and infectious disease molecular diagnostics,” Schatz added. “In the last ten years, biotechnology has disseminated beyond research laboratories into areas such as molecular diagnostics and applied molecular testing. Going forward, QIAGEN will significantly expand its market and technology leadership position in these fast growing sectors. Our technological expertise, unique know-how and tremendous sales and marketing power provide unmatched opportunities to leverage our preanalytical sample processing and testing solutions including sample collection, preparation, and assays into tomorrow’s markets. This vision is worth our hard work and is of great importance as we enable our customers to achieve outstanding success and breakthroughs in research, applied markets, drug development and molecular diagnostics. We thereby make improvements in life possible.”
A live webcast of this event will also be available on QIAGEN’s webpage (www.QIAGEN.com).
About QIAGEN:
QIAGEN N.V., a Netherlands holding company, is a leading provider of innovative technologies and products for pre-analytical sample preparation and molecular diagnostics solutions. QIAGEN has developed a comprehensive portfolio of more than 500 proprietary, consumable products and automated solutions for sample collection, and nucleic acid and protein handling, separation, and purification. QIAGEN also supplies diagnostic kits, tests, and assays for human and veterinary molecular diagnostics. The company’s products are sold to academic research markets, and to leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies; as well as to diagnostics laboratories. QIAGEN also provides purification and testing solutions to applied testing markets such as forensics, animal or food testing, and pharmaceutical process control.
QIAGEN employs more than 1,700 people worldwide. QIAGEN products are sold through a dedicated sales force and a global network of distributors in more than 40 countries.
Further information about QIAGEN can be found at www.qiagen.com
About NASDAQ
NASDAQ is the largest U.S. electronic stock market. With approximately 3,200 companies, it lists more companies and, on average, trades more shares per day than any other U.S. market. It is home to companies that are leaders across all areas of business, including technology, retail, communications, financial services, transportation, media and biotechnology. NASDAQ is the primary market for trading NASDAQ-listed stocks. For more information about NASDAQ, visit the NASDAQ Web site at www.nasdaq.com or the NASDAQ Newsroom at www.nasdaq.com/newsroom.
Certain of the statements contained in this news release may be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. To the extent that any of the statements contained herein relating to QIAGEN’s products, markets, strategy or operating results are forward-looking, such statements are based on current expectations that involve a number of uncertainties and risks. Such uncertainties and risks include, but are not limited to, risks associated with management of growth and international operations (including the effects of currency fluctuations and risks of dependency on logistics), variability of operating results, the commercial development of the applied testing markets, clinical research markets and proteomics markets, nucleic acid-based molecular diagnostics market, and genetic vaccination and gene therapy markets, competition, rapid or unexpected changes in technologies, fluctuations in demand for QIAGEN’s, products (including fluctuations due to the level and timing of customers’ funding, budgets, and other factors), difficulties in successfully adapting QIAGEN’s products to integrated solutions and producing such products, the ability of QIAGEN to identify and develop new products and to differentiate its products from competitors’ products, market acceptance of QIAGEN’s new products and the integration of acquisitions of technologies and businesses. For further information, refer to the discussions in reports that QIAGEN has filed with, or furnished to, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
QIAGEN N.V.
CONTACT: Peer M. Schatz, Chief Executive Officer, QIAGEN N.V.,+49-2103-29-11702, e-mail: peer.schatz@QIAGEN.com. Dr. Solveigh Maehler,Director Investor Relations, QIAGEN N.V., +49-2103-29-11710, e-mail:solveigh.maehler@QIAGEN.com
