Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR) Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Mark Munch: Yes. Sure. Yes. The types of things we are doing, I will characterize that. And first of all, we are kind of accelerating. They were already doing some integration, but we are really accelerating on a faster pace because in terms of our M&A expertise, we are pretty good at that. And so – and then one of the things we are doing is getting over to Bruker management process to kind of crystallize and sharpen the strategy that they have, and that’s kind of helpful. In terms of highlighting then where to focus, where not the focus is then in terms of costs, certainly, headcount, personnel costs, also overhead, we have streamlined a lot of the overhead structure. There is some consolidation also going on in terms of sites as well as they were carrying a fair amount of depreciation expense kind of unnecessarily in the business serving.

So, there is just a number of items across many fronts where we are kind of operationally optimizing and cost optimizing the business and then doing it pretty rapidly.

Frank Laukien: Mark is fantastic at that, and of course, also drove the acquisition, so very strategic, but also very good at integration. Of course, the number of jobs affected will be, I mean well over 100, unfortunately. And we are taking tens of millions of costs out on an annualized basis during that integration process. Stay tuned for a bit more detail on that when we give guidance in early February. Jack, did that hit the points, or was there something else we…

Mark Munch: And maybe one more follow-up here for the Q&A, Jack. Thanks.

Jack Meehan: Okay. The rollout of timsTOF Ultra might have impacted life science mass spec sales in the quarter. You didn’t call it out within CALID. Just was wondering if the initial rollout could have actually had a short-term dampening effect as customers kind of reevaluated what they are buying?

Frank Laukien: Yes, that’s true. So, the Astral is more competitive than the previous Orbitrap. So, a lot of people are taking a look and that previously would have just ordered. They are now taking while there is an Ultra from Bruker and there is an Astral, and they both came out at the same time. So, people are taking a look. We are doing more detailed demos as people really try to drill down into that. Still have a lot of pipeline and orders that are coming through, but people are taking a closer look. And the high-end proteomics mass spec market with the Astral introduction and the Ultra introduction has become more competitive.

Jack Meehan: Thank you.

Justin Ward: So, I think operator, actually, maybe we will take questions, I think from one more caller.

Operator: Absolutely. The final question comes from the line of Dan Arias with Stifel. Your line is now open.

Dan Arias: Hey. Good morning guys. Thanks for squeezing me in here. Frank, maybe just a follow-up on the instrument portfolio, you guys have a fairly wide range of price points there. I am curious whether as you have watched demand evolve, you have noticed any break points or thresholds within certain customer groups or end markets, just when it comes to being above or below a certain level, seeming to draw less friction or more friction on orders, the trend emerge there at all?

Frank Laukien: Can you give me an example? Dan, I want to make sure I understand the question.

Dan Arias: Well, I am just thinking about the different product lines that you have and the price points that are attached to them and whether or not you are seeing some – whether price sensitivity the order book has evolved has gotten lower, or whether you are seeing certain customers just draw out their timelines, depending on where the ASP happens to fall, basically price sensitivity in the instrument market for you guys.