Investor Relations

• Sales of $292 Million
• GAAP Earnings per Share of $0.22 and Non-GAAP Earnings per Share of $0.49
• Reduces Sales and EPS Guidance for 2010

WILMINGTON, Mass., Aug 02, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE: CRL) today reported its results for the second quarter of 2010. For the quarter, net sales were $292.1 million, a decline of 5.2% from $308.2 million in the second quarter of 2009. Foreign currency translation reduced the sales growth rate by 0.1%. A modest sales increase in the Research Models and Services (RMS) segment was offset by lower sales for the Preclinical Services (PCS) segment.

On a GAAP basis, net income attributable to common shareholders for the second quarter of 2010 was $14.5 million, or $0.22 per diluted share, compared to net income of $34.2 million, or $0.52 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2009.

On a non-GAAP basis, net income was $32.1 million for the second quarter of 2010, compared to $43.1 million for the same period in 2009, a decrease of 25.5%. Second-quarter diluted earnings per share on a non-GAAP basis were $0.49, a decrease of 25.8% compared to $0.66 per share in the second quarter of 2009. Both the GAAP and non-GAAP results were impacted by lower sales volume and higher costs related to the Company's enterprise resource planning (ERP) initiative, offset in part by cost-savings actions implemented throughout 2009 and in the first quarter of 2010.

James C. Foster, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "We are disappointed that market demand for outsourced preclinical services did not rebound during the second quarter as we had previously expected. We continue to have extensive discussions with our biopharmaceutical clients, who maintain their intentions to build larger, strategic partnerships with us and increase the amount of outsourced activity. However, the timing of these decisions remains unclear and we do not believe that it is imminent. While our results provide reassurance that preclinical demand appears to have stabilized, positive indications such as the increased number of inquiries and improved June bookings are offset by their value, which is lower due to pricing. Therefore, we now expect PCS sales to be flat sequentially for the remainder of the year, and have tempered our RMS outlook to reflect lower sales of research models associated with preclinical studies. As a result, we have lowered our sales and EPS guidance for 2010."

Second-Quarter Segment Results

Research Models and Services (RMS)

Sales for the RMS segment were $167.1 million in the second quarter of 2010, an increase of 0.9% from $165.7 million in the second quarter of 2009. Foreign currency translation reduced the sales growth rate by 1.0%. Excluding the effect of foreign exchange, RMS sales improved by 1.9% as strong growth of In Vitro products and contributions from the Piedmont and Cerebricon acquisitions (May and August 2009, respectively) were partially offset by lower sales of large models. The sequential decline in RMS sales from the first quarter of 2010 was driven primarily by foreign exchange, particularly the weakening of the Euro, as well as the large models business.

In the second quarter of 2010, the RMS segment's GAAP operating margin was 28.3% compared to 30.7% for the second quarter of 2009. On a non-GAAP basis, the operating margin decreased to 29.1% from 31.9% in the second quarter of 2009. The margin decline was primarily attributable to lower sales volume of large models, as well as higher information technology and compensation costs.

Preclinical Services (PCS)

Second-quarter 2010 net sales for the PCS segment were $125.0 million, a decrease of 12.3% from $142.5 million in the second quarter of 2009. The PCS sales decline was due primarily to continued measured demand for our services from large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as well as stable but lower than historical prices. Significantly lower sales of our clinical Phase I services also contributed. The sales decline was partially offset by the positive effect of foreign currency translation, which increased the growth rate by 0.8%.

A greater proportion of short-term, less complex studies in the sales mix, lower sales of clinical Phase I services and the continued impact of lower prices, partially offset by cost-saving actions, resulted in lower operating margins for the PCS segment. The second-quarter 2010 GAAP operating margin declined to 3.8% from 11.5% in the second quarter of 2009. On a non-GAAP basis, the operating margin declined to 12.0% from 17.2% in the second quarter of 2009. The PCS operating margin did improve sequentially by 270 basis points on a non-GAAP basis and 400 basis points on a GAAP basis when compared to the first quarter of 2010, driven primarily by the Company's plan to suspend operations at its PCS Massachusetts facility and transition clients to other sites within the global PCS network.

Six-Month Results

For the first six months of 2010, net sales decreased by 3.3% to $589.4 million from $609.7 million in the same period in 2009. Foreign currency translation benefited net sales growth by 1.6%.

On a GAAP basis, net income attributable to common shareholders was $31.8 million, or $0.48 per diluted share, for the first half of 2010, compared to $59.6 million, or $0.91 per diluted share, for the same period in 2009.

On a non-GAAP basis, net income for the first six months of 2010 was $61.5 million, or $0.93 per diluted share, compared to $81.3 million, or $1.24 per diluted share, for the same period in 2009.

Research Models and Services (RMS)

For the first six months of 2010, RMS net sales were $339.3 million, an increase of 3.7% from first-half 2009 net sales of $327.2 million, with foreign currency translation contributing 1.0% to the increase. The RMS segment's GAAP operating margin was 28.7% in the first half of 2010, compared to 30.1% for the prior-year period. On a non-GAAP basis, the operating margin was 29.8% compared to 31.7% in the first six months of 2009.

Preclinical Services (PCS)

For the first six months of 2010, PCS net sales were $250.1 million, a decrease of 11.5% from first-half 2009 net sales of $282.5 million. Foreign currency translation benefited net sales growth by 2.4%. On a GAAP basis, the PCS segment operating margin was 1.8% in the first half of 2010, compared to 9.5% in the prior-year period. On a non-GAAP basis, the operating margin was 10.7% in the first half of 2010 compared to 16.4% for the same period in 2009.

Items Excluded from Non-GAAP Results

Items excluded from non-GAAP results in the second quarter of 2010 and 2009 were as follows:

(1) In the second quarter of 2009, these items were related primarily to costs associated with the Company's divestiture of its clinical Phase I business in Scotland on May 15, 2009.

Items excluded from non-GAAP results in the first half of 2010 and 2009 are as follows:

(1) In the first half of 2010, these items were related primarily to an asset impairment associated with the Company's planned disposition of its PCS facility in Arkansas. In the first half of 2009, these items were related primarily to an asset impairment charge and costs associated with the Company's divestiture of its clinical Phase I business in Scotland and additional miscellaneous expenses.

2010 Guidance

The Company is reducing its forward-looking guidance for 2010, which was originally provided on February 8, 2010. This guidance now assumes that PCS sales in the second half of 2010 will remain flat when compared to the first half of the year. RMS sales for the remaining two quarters of the year are expected to decline moderately from the second-quarter 2010 level, due largely to continued softness in demand for research models used in toxicology and normal seasonality. For the full year, RMS sales are expected to remain flat to slightly above the 2009 level. The sales guidance has also been updated to reflect negative movements in foreign currency translation, which is now expected to reduce sales growth by approximately 1.0% compared to 2009.

(1) These items are primarily related to an asset impairment in the first half of 2010 associated with the Company's planned disposition of its PCS facility in Arkansas.

(2) This item is an estimate of the advisory fees, breakup fee and related deal costs primarily associated with the proposed acquisition of WuXi PharmaTech (Cayman) Inc.

Webcast Rescheduled

Charles River Laboratories has rescheduled its live webcast to Monday, August 2, at 8:30 a.m. ET to discuss matters relating to this press release. To participate, please go to ir.criver.com and select the webcast link. You can also find the associated slide presentation and reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to comparable GAAP financial measures on the website.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release contains non-GAAP financial measures, such as non-GAAP earnings per diluted share, which exclude amortization of intangible assets and other charges related to our acquisitions, expenses associated with evaluating acquisitions (including costs related to the termination of the proposed acquisition of WuXi), charges and operating losses attributable to our businesses we plan to close or divest, severance costs associated with our 2009 and 2010 cost-saving actions, tax expense associated with the repatriation of cash into the United States, and the additional interest recorded as a result of the adoption in 2009 of an accounting standard related to our convertible debt accounting which increased interest and depreciation expense. We exclude these items from the non-GAAP financial measures because they are outside our normal operations. There are limitations in using non-GAAP financial measures, as they are not prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and may be different than non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies. In particular, we believe that the inclusion of supplementary non-GAAP financial measures in this press release helps investors to gain a meaningful understanding of our core operating results and future prospects without the effect of these often-one-time charges, and is consistent with how management measures and forecasts the Company's performance, especially when comparing such results to prior periods or forecasts. We believe that the financial impact of our acquisitions (and in certain cases, the evaluation of such acquisitions, whether or not ultimately consummated) is often large relative to our overall financial performance, which can adversely affect the comparability of our results on a period-to-period basis. In addition, certain activities, such as business acquisitions, happen infrequently and the underlying costs associated with such activities do not recur on a regular basis. Non-GAAP results also allow investors to compare the Company's operations against the financial results of other companies in the industry who similarly provide non-GAAP results. The non-GAAP financial measures included in this press release are not meant to be considered superior to or a substitute for results of operations prepared in accordance with GAAP. The Company intends to continue to assess the potential value of reporting non-GAAP results consistent with applicable rules and regulations. Reconciliations of the non-GAAP financial measures used in this press release to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are set forth in the text of this press release, and can also be found on the Company's website at ir.criver.com.

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This news release 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," "will," "may," "estimate," "plan," "outlook," and "project" and other similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These statements also include statements regarding our projected 2010 financial performance including sales and earnings; the future demand for drug discovery and development products and services (particularly in light of the challenging economic environment), our expectations regarding stock repurchases; the development and performance of our services and products; market and industry conditions including the outsourcing of these services and present spending trends by our customers; and Charles River's future performance as delineated in our forward-looking guidance, and particularly our expectations with respect to sales and foreign exchange impact. Forward-looking statements are based on Charles River's current expectations and beliefs, and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and that could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by the forward-looking statements. Those risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the ability to successfully integrate businesses we acquire; negative trends in research and development spending, negative trends in the level of outsourced services, or other cost reduction actions by our customers; the ability to convert backlog to sales; special interest groups; contaminations; industry trends; new displacement technologies; USDA and FDA regulations; changes in law; continued availability of products and supplies; loss of key personnel; interest rate and foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations; changes in tax regulation and laws; 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 Charles River's Annual Report on Form 10-K as filed on February 19, 2010, as well as other filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Because forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, actual results and events may differ materially from results and events currently expected by Charles River, and Charles River assumes no obligation and expressly disclaims any duty to update information contained in this news release except as required by law.

About Charles River

Accelerating Drug Development. Exactly. Charles River provides essential products and services to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, government agencies and leading academic institutions around the globe accelerate their research and drug development efforts. Our approximately 8,000 employees worldwide are focused on providing clients with exactly what they need to improve and expedite the discovery, development through first-in-human evaluation, and safe manufacture of new therapies for the patients who need them. To learn more about our unique portfolio and breadth of services, visit http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.criver.com%2F&esheet=6380811&lan=en-US&anchor=www.criver.com&index=1&md5=b49bfd912c470754509571aaa7aaef7a.

SOURCE: Charles River Laboratories International, Inc.

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc.
Investor Contact:
Susan E. Hardy, 781-222-6190
Corporate Vice President, Investor Relations
susan.hardy@crl.com
or
Media Contact:
Amy Cianciaruso, 781-222-6168
Director, Public Relations
amy.cianciaruso@crl.com