PerkinElmer Inc. and VWR International LLC are joining forces to create a joint service offering aimed at helping life science researchers stock and maintain their lab equipment.

PerkinElmer Inc. (NYSE:PKI) and VWR International LLC are joining forces to offer a new service aimed at helping life science researchers stock and maintain their lab equipment. The Waltham, Mass.-based diagnostics and lab equipment maker said its OneSource operation, part of its analytical sciences and lab services division, will work with West Chester, Pa.-based VWR on the joint service offering. It will provide "multi-vendor maintenance and qualification service" for a wide range of lab supplies and equipment, ranging from the pipettes and pH meters sold by VWR to the sophisticated analytical instruments PerkinElmer makes.

PerkinElmer Analytical Sciences & Laboratory Services president Dusty Tenney said the deal creates "a service solution that addresses a wide range of laboratory equipment for optimum cost-savings, service model simplification and lab productivity." Third-quarter earnings slumped at PerkinElmer, with slower sales and restructuring costs catching much of the blame for the decline.

Overall sales fell 9 percent to $437.1 million during the three months ended Sept. 30, 2009, down from $478.8 million in Q3 2008. Net income was $13.6 million, or 14 cents per share, off $38.3 million from the $51.9 million, 35 cents-per-share profit reported for the third quarter of 2008.

Absent special charges, the Waltham, Mass.-based life sciences firm earned 30 cents a share, also down from $0.34 in adjusted profits in 2008, but ahead of company projections and Wall Street estimates for the quarter by at least three cents.

Source: MassDevice.com