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Bio-Rad Q4 revenues jump 27 percent
Bio-Rad Laboratories has announced financial results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2020. Fourth-quarter 2020 net sales were USD 789.8 million, an increase of 26.5 percent compared to USD 624.4 million reported for the fourth quarter of 2019. On a currency-neutral basis, quarterly sales increased 24.4 percent compared to the same period in 2019. Fourth-quarter gross margin was 58.3 percent compared to 52.9 percent during the fourth quarter in 2019. Fourth quarter sales included a USD 32.0 million damages award related to intellectual property litigation, covering the period between 2015–2018.
Life Science segment net sales for the fourth quarter were USD 428.5 million, an increase of 77.1 percent compared to the same period in 2019. On a currency-neutral basis, Life Science segment sales increased by 73.9 percent compared to the same quarter in 2019. Currency-neutral sales growth was primarily attributed to sales of our PCR product lines that experienced significant demand resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic as well as strong performance in the biopharma segment.
Clinical Diagnostics segment net sales for the fourth quarter were USD 359.6 million, a decrease of 5.1 percent compared to the same period in 2019. On a currency-neutral basis, net sales were down 6.6 percent versus the same quarter last year. The currency-neutral sales decrease was primarily driven by lower demand resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and was across most product lines and across all regions.
Net income for the fourth quarter of 2020 was USD 839.1 million, or USD 27.81 per share, on a diluted basis, versus USD 553.5 million, or USD 18.31 per share, on a diluted basis, during the same period in 2019. Net income for the fourth quarter of 2020 and 2019 was impacted by the recognition of changes in the fair market value of equity securities, primarily related to the holdings of our investment in Sartorius AG. The effective tax rate for the fourth quarter of 2020 was 22.2 percent, compared to 20.9 percent for the same period in 2019. The tax rates for the fourth quarter of 2020 and 2019 were affected by the large unrealized gain in equity securities. In addition, the 2019 tax rate included a tax benefit related to US Tax Reform regulatory guidance issued in the quarter.
Full year 2020 results. Net sales for the full year 2020 increased 10.1 percent to USD 2,545.6 million compared to USD 2,311.7 million for the same period in 2019. On a currency-neutral basis, net sales grew 10.3 percent. Full-year reported net sales for the Life Science segment were USD 1,231.8 million, an increase of 39.0 percent compared to 2019. On a currency-neutral basis, sales increased 38.6 percent versus 2019. Full-year reported net sales for the Clinical Diagnostics segment were USD 1,305.2 million, compared to 2019, or a decrease of 7.1 percent on a currency-neutral basis. Full-year gross margin was 56.5 percent, compared to 54.4 percent during the same period in 2019.
Net income for 2020 was USD 3,806.3 million, or USD 126.20 per share, on a fully diluted basis, compared to USD 1,758.7 million, or USD 58.27 per share, during the same period in 2019. As mentioned earlier, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted overall results for the year. On a non-GAAP basis, net income for 2020 was USD 317.2 million, or USD 10.52 per share, compared to USD 213.1 million, or USD 7.06 per share, during the same period in 2019.