Investor Relations

WILMINGTON, Mass., Mar 17, 2003 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Charles River Laboratories' (NYSE:CRL) Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer James C. Foster and Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Thomas F. Ackerman will present on Tuesday, March 18, at the S.G Cowen 23rd Annual Health Care Conference in Boston. In conjunction with that presentation, and in keeping with the requirements of SEC Regulation FD, Charles River confirmed today that for the first quarter of 2003, earnings are expected to be in the range of $0.39 to $0.41 per fully-diluted share based on expected net sales growth of approximately 13% to 14%.

The Company's presentation will take place at 10:15 a.m. and again at 11:15 a.m. Eastern time. A live webcast of the presentation will be available through a link that will be posted on the Investor Relations section of the Charles River Laboratories website, http://ir.criver.com. A webcast replay will be accessible through the Investor Relations section of the Company's website approximately three hours following the presentation and will remain available until Tuesday, March 25, 2003. The associated slide presentation will be available for downloading during that time.

Charles River Laboratories, based in Wilmington, Massachusetts, is a leading provider of critical research tools and integrated support services that enable innovative and efficient drug discovery and development. The Company is the global leader in providing the animal research models required in research and development for new drugs, devices and therapies. The Company also offers a broad and growing portfolio of biomedical products and services that enable customers to reduce cost, increase speed, and enhance productivity and effectiveness in drug discovery and development. Charles River's customer base spans over 50 countries, and includes all of the major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as well as many leading hospitals and academic institutions. The Company operates 82 facilities in 16 countries worldwide.

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements. This document includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "believe," "expect," "estimate," "plan," and "project" and other similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These statements are based on management's current expectations, and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by the forward-looking statements, and the company expressly does not undertake any duty to update forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this document. Those risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: acquisition integration risks; special interest groups; contaminations; industry trends; new displacement technologies; outsourcing trends; USDA and FDA regulation; changes in law; continued availability of products and supplies; loss of key personnel; interest rate and foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations; changes in generally accepted accounting principles; and any changes in business, political, or economic conditions due to the threat of future terrorist activity in the U.S. and other parts of the world, and related U.S. military action overseas. A further description of these risks, uncertainties, and other matters can be found in the Risk Factors detailed in the Company's registration statement on Form S-3 as filed on April 9, 2002, with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

CONTACT:
Charles River Laboratories
Investor Relations Contact :
Susan E. Hardy, 978/658-6000, ext. 1616

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