Affymetrix (AFFX), a maker of equipment to decode complex genetic material, saw its shares plunge by nearly 25% on Wednesday after the company sharply cut its second-quarter guidance.
The company said in a statement it now expects sales revenue to be in a range of $71 million to $72 million compared with the company’s previous guidance of $80 million to $82 million. The original range was already below analysts’ estimates, who were looking for Affymetrix to earn $82.15 million in revenue.
Affymetrix cited delayed equipment purchase plans by research institutions, particularly in Europe, and a degradation in the value of the euro and British pound. The currency impact alone knocked $1 million off the company’s sales forecast.
“Instrument adoption was slower than anticipated, principally due to reduced foreign academic research spending,” said president and CEO, Kevin King, in a statement “In Europe, we believe our business was impacted by governmental actions taken to address high levels of debt and weakening currencies."
The company also said it does not plan to issue guidance for the remainder of the year because of the issues in Europe.
Shares of Affymetrix dropped $1.30, or 23.42%, to $4.25 a share.
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