To briefly review our operating results for the quarter, Q2 sales declined 12%, and adjusted earnings per share declined 2%.
Exiting the second quarter, we are on track to achieve our $100 million cost savings plan for the year relative to our prior internal forecast.
In the second quarter, we recorded net sales of $520 million, a decrease of approximately 12% in constant currency.
Currency translation decreased sales growth by approximately 1% resulting in a sales decline of 13% as reported.
In the quarter, sales into our pharmaceutical market declined 10%, sales into our industrial market declined 13% while academic and governmental markets declined 21%.
Looking at our product line growth, our recurring revenue, which represents the combination of precision chemistry products and service revenue declined 3% in the quarter while instrument sales declined 23%.
Chemistry revenues were down 4% in the quarter, driven mostly by weakness in academic and governmental.
On the service side of our business, revenues were down 2% as mid single digit growth in service contract revenues were offset by a decline in on-demand service revenues and spare parts.
Breaking second quarter product sales down further, sales related to Waters branded products and services declined 12%, while sales of TA-branded products and services declined 20%.
Combined, LC and LCMS instrument platform sales declined 24% and TA's instrumentation system sales declined 20%.
Looking at our growth rates in the second quarter geographically, and on a constant currency basis, sales in Asia declined 12% with China down 20%.
Sales in Americas declined 15%, including a 14% decline in the US and European sales were down 9%.
We are on track to achieve cost savings of approximately $100 million for the year relative to our prior pre-COVID internal plan.
We achieved about 60% of our planned annual savings in the first half of the year, which was better than expected, as we focused on aligning our operations and investments with our growth challenge in the second quarter.
We anticipate the remaining 40% of our cost savings to be achieved in the second half of the year.
Returning to our second quarter's non-GAAP financial performance, gross margin for the quarter was 59% compared to 58.4% in the second quarter of 2019, primarily as a result of our cost savings actions.
Moving down the second quarter P&L, operating expenses decreased by approximately 13% on a constant currency basis, and foreign currency translation decreased operating expense growth by approximately 1% on a reported basis.
In the quarter, our effective operating tax rate was 15.4% compared to 15.7% in the prior year.
Net interest expense was $9 million, an increase of about $3 million as anticipated.
Our average share count came in at 62.2 million shares, a share count reduction of approximately 11% or about 7 million shares lower than in the second quarter of last year as a result of shares repurchased through the end of the first quarter of 2020, subsequent to which we paused the share repurchase program.
Our non-GAAP earnings per fully diluted share for the second quarter decreased to $2.10 in comparison to $2.14 last year.
On a GAAP basis, our earnings per fully diluted share decreased to $1.98 compared to $2.08 last year.
In the second quarter of 2020, our free cash flow came in at $175 million after funding $46 million of capital expenditures.
Excluded from free cash flow was $23 million related to the investment in our Taunton precision chemistry operation.
In the second quarter, this resulted in $0.34 of each dollar of sales converted into free cash flow, and $0.30 year to date.
Turning to working capital, accounts receivable days sales outstanding came in at 87 days this quarter, up 8 days compared to the second quarter of last year and inventories decreased by $8 million in comparison to the prior year quarter, reflecting revised production schedules.
We ended the quarter with cash and short-term investments of $356 million and debt of $1.7 billion on our balance sheet at the end of the quarter.
This resulted in a net debt position of $1.3 billion, and a net debt to EBITDA ratio of about 1.8 times at the end of the second quarter.
We also have $1 billion available on our bank revolver for a total available liquidity of $1.4 billion at the end of the second quarter.
In terms of returning capital to shareholders, while our future capital structure target of approximately 2.5 times net debt to EBITDA remains unchanged, our near-term focus is maintaining financial flexibility and preserving liquidity.
Due to the timing of our cost actions, as discussed earlier, we expect full-year operating expense growth in the range of negative 1% to positive 1% year-over-year in constant currency.
For the full year at current rates, currency translation is expected to decrease sales growth by about one percentage point and to negatively impact earnings per share by about 3 percentage points.
For the full year, net interest expense is expected to be in the range of $40 million to $42 million primarily due to lower interest rates.

Summary:
In the second quarter, we recorded net sales of $520 million, a decrease of approximately 12% in constant currency.
Our non-GAAP earnings per fully diluted share for the second quarter decreased to $2.10 in comparison to $2.14 last year.
On a GAAP basis, our earnings per fully diluted share decreased to $1.98 compared to $2.08 last year.