financial results

The firm said that sales growth was impacted by immigration headwinds, severe winter weather in the US, and unfavorable order timing in Asia.

The company said revenues in its diagnostics business unit rose 62 percent during the quarter.

Revenues fell as an increase in sales of test cartridges for its Unyvero molecular diagnostic instrument was offset by a decline in system and service sales.

The company said test volume rose 87 percent to 186,000 during the quarter.

Lifted by a strong flu season, Cobas Liat PCR placements reached 1,500 systems in the US. Globally, year-over-year sales for the point-of-care system grew 262 percent.

LabCorp also plans to introduce an in-home testing device sometime this quarter, company officials said.

Based on the strong first quarter results, the company raised its revenue and earnings guidance for the year.

The firm said total test volumes rose 55 percent during the quarter, and test volumes for its SelectMDx liquid biopsy test nearly tripled in Europe.

The company anticipates that the negative impact of PAMA will be offset by an estimated $180 million in tax savings due to tax reform.

The company's Diagnostics business was up 14 percent, while its Life Sciences business grew 13 percent. The firm also closed its $2 billion buy of IDT last week.