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lumina Inc (ILMN) reported after the close of the market on Thursday that its second-quarter revenues grew 78% Y/Y to $1.13 billion, beating the consensus of $1.01 billion, driven by strength in its core sequencing business.

Illumina tallied $972 million in product revenue, up 84%, and $154 million in service and other revenue, up 45%.

"Illumina's record Q2 revenue exceeded expectations across all regions," Illumina CEO Francis DeSouza said in a statement. "This demonstrates the strength of our business led by clinical applications, including oncology and genetic disease testing, as well as research. Additionally, we are proud of the critical role that [next-generation sequencing] plays in identifying and monitoring COVID-19 variants to inform strategies to combat the pandemic."

The adjusted gross margin improved from 68.6% to 71.8%.

Illumina posted Q2 adjusted EPS was $1.87, compared to $0.62 posted a year ago, beating analysts consensus estimate for EPS of $1.35.

Illumina's R&D expenses grew 30% to $202 million, while its SG&A expenses more than doubled to $413 million.

It finished the quarter with $4.20 billion in cash and cash equivalents and $90 million in short-term investments.

FY21 Guidance: Illumina raised its full-year 2021 guidance again "as a result of the enduring strength of the core business," DeSouza said. 

It expects sales growth of 32% - 34% Y/Y, expects EPS of $4.69 - $4.89, and adjusted EPS of $6.30 to $6.50 (consensus $6.02). 

The guidance excludes any potential impact of consolidating the financial results of Grail, which Illumina still intends to buy.

Price Action: ILMN shares closed at $515.68 on Thursday.