The Story behind Roche Holding's Valuation—and What's Driving It
Roche’s diagnostic unit
In 2015, Roche Holding’s (RHHBY) diagnostics sales grew by 6%, reaching 10.8 billion swiss francs, or about $10.9 billion. Major growth was seen in Asia-Pacific, at ~15%. The diagnostics division consists of professional diagnostics, diabetes care, molecular diagnostics, and tissue diagnostics businesses, and top-selling products under the segment include cobas e 602, Accu-Chek Aviva Connect, cobas c 502, Ventana HE 600, and cobas 8800.
In diagnostic space, Roche Holding (RHHBY) competes with Abbott Laboratories (ABT), Bio-Rad Laboratories (BIO), and Becton Dickinson (BDX ). Abbott’s diagnostics products include immunoassay and clinical chemistry systems, assays for drug testing, therapeutic drug monitoring, and products for detection of diseases like hepatitis and HIV. Becton deals primarily with microbiology and molecular diagnostics.
Diagnostics growth was driven by professional diagnostics, which reported an 8% growth in the sales. Molecular diagnostics reported a robust 10% growth, and tissue diagnosis sales jumped by 12% in 2015. Diabetes care products sales declined by 3%, following challenging market conditions in the US.
Professional diagnostics
Immunodiagnostics forms a major part of professional diagnostics. For the past 15 years, growth in the immunodiagnostics division has been in double digits. To meet the increasing demands of the company, manufacturing capacity expanded in 2015. With the new reagent plant in China, there will likely be continued growth momentum for the business.
Performance of other units
In 2015, the company received approval for the cobas 6800 and cobas 8800 systems along with the cobas HBV, cobas HCV, and cobas HIV viral load tests from the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration).
The company has fully automated crucial systems under its molecular division. Under tissue diagnostics, the company has launched a fully automated tissue staining system, Ventana HE 600, globally. The system offers exceptional staining quality and avoids cross-contamination. In 2016, Roche plans to launch Accu-Chek Guide and Accu-Chek Insight CGM under its diabetes care segment.
To avoid ups and downs in stock prices, you might opt for the Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund (VT). Roche accounts for 0.45% of VEU’s total holdings.
Browse this series on Market Realist: