Qiagen NV announced earnings results for the fourth quarter and full-year ended December 2011. For the quarter, the company reported net sales grew 17% (+17% at constant exchange rates, or CER) to $334.4 million from $286.0 million in the 2010 quarter. Total sales rose 17% CER, with organic growth contributing 11 percentage points and the contributions of Cellestis (as of August 29) and Ipsogen (as of July 12) providing six percentage points. Currency movements had no net impact on the reported sales growth. Operating income, which included a restructuring charge of $75 million, amounted to a loss of $19.6 million, compared to income of $50.8 million in the same period of 2010. Adjusted operating income, which excludes one-time items, equity-based compensation and the amortization of intangible assets, rose 16% to $95.6 million from $82.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2010. Adjusted operating income grew 16% to $95.6 million compared to the fourth quarter of 2010 as the adjusted operating income margin was steady at 29% of net sales. Net loss attributable to owners of the company was $0.4 million compared to net income of $36.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2010, while adjusted net income attributable to owners of the company rose 19% to $73.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2011 from $62.0 million in the year-earlier period. Diluted EPS were $0.00 (based on 236.7 million diluted shares) compared to $0.15 in the same period of 2010 (based on 239.4 million diluted shares). Adjusted diluted EPS were $0.31 compared to $0.26 in the same quarter of 2010. Results for the quarter included a restructuring charge of $75 million for a project announced in November to enhance productivity by streamlining the organization and freeing up resources for reallocation to strategic initiatives. For the full-year 2011, the company's net sales rose 8% to $1,169.7 million compared to $1,087.4 million in 2010. Total sales grew 4% at constant exchange rates, with organic sales and acquisitions each contributing two percentage points. Favorable currency movements added four percentage points in reported sales growth. Operating income in 2011 was $99.6 million, a 47% decline from $188.5 million in 2010, primarily due to the impact of a restructuring-related charge in the fourth quarter of 2011 as well as one-time charges related to the acquisitions of Cellestis and Ipsogen. Adjusted operating income, which excludes one-time items, equity-based compensation and the amortization of intangible assets, rose 4% to $319.6 million from $308.2 million in 2010. Net income attributable to owners of the company was $96.0 million in 2011, down 33% from $144.3 million in 2010, while adjusted net income attributable to owners of the company grew 5% to $234.4 million from $222.7 million in the prior year. Diluted EPS in 2011 declined to $0.40 (based on 239.1 million diluted shares) compared to $0.60 (based on 240.5 million diluted shares) in 2010, while adjusted diluted EPS rose to $0.98 in 2011 from $0.93 in 2010. For the first quarter 2012, the company is expecting a tax rate of about 26%. The company has set a goal to accelerate sales and adjusted earnings growth in 2012, building on the progress on strategic initiatives during 2011. For the full year of 2012, total net sales are expected to rise approximately 6% to 8% CER on a mix of organic growth and contributions from the Cellestis and Ipsogen acquisitions in 2011. Based on year-end 2011 foreign exchange rates, reported sales results are expected to be adversely affected by currency movements. Adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) are expected to rise to approximately $1.03 to $1.05. The adjusted tax rate is expected to be about $0.21 to $0.23, which compares to 24% in 2011. For 2012, the company had set a target of operating margin of about 27% to 28%.