IDEXX Laboratories Announces First Quarter Results

WESTBROOK, Maine, April 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (Nasdaq: IDXX), today reported that revenues for the first quarter of 2010 increased 14% to $268.5 million, from $236.5 million for the first quarter of 2009. Organic revenue growth, as defined below, was 9%. Earnings per diluted share ("EPS") for the quarter ended March 31, 2010 increased 28% to $0.55, compared to $0.43 for the same period in the prior year.

Organic revenue growth excludes the impact of changes in currency exchange rates, which contributed approximately 4% to revenue growth, and revenue from businesses acquired or divested subsequent to the beginning of the prior year period, which contributed less than 1% to revenue growth.

"Overall for the quarter, our revenue growth was solid and our strong earnings growth exceeded our expectations from January," stated Jonathan Ayers, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.  "Having generated high single-digit organic revenue growth in an economic environment that remains challenging is a testament to our success in continued technology innovation and strong commercial execution across our markets around the world.  Earnings were ahead of our projection in January, as we achieved operating efficiencies in our two largest lines of business, instruments and consumables and reference laboratories, and continued to tightly manage expenses."

"Capital placements in the first quarter were strong, led by sales of our Catalyst Dx® chemistry analyzer and our line of digital radiography systems.  We placed 484 Catalyst Dx instruments during the quarter and remain on track to place 2,400 for the year."

"Today, we also announced our plans to introduce ProCyte Dx™, a new hematology analyzer that will complement our Catalyst Dx in the higher test volume segment of the veterinary market.  ProCyte Dx is a compact bench-top analyzer that will provide a complete blood cell count with 24 different parameters in just two minutes. Together with Catalyst Dx, which provides results in eight minutes, ProCyte Dx will enable veterinarians to practice what we call "real-time care," which is about providing results from blood work easily and quickly during the pet owner's appointment, and thus delivering a higher standard of care, realizing valuable practice efficiencies, and improving pet owner satisfaction and compliance to the veterinarians' recommendations."

"With over three years of development and 18 months of field trials in clinical settings and universities, the ProCyte Dx analyzer has surpassed our performance expectations in terms of speed, accuracy and reliability. Our comprehensive hematology offering now covers all segments of the in-house hematology market, with ProCyte meeting the needs of our higher volume customers, LaserCyte® providing the same complete menu of tests for mid- to smaller-sized accounts, and VetAutoread™ providing a basic CBC for lower volume customers, especially in international markets. ProCyte Dx will be show-cased at the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) meeting in June. We expect to begin taking orders this quarter and to commence shipments in Q3, which is consistent with our 2010 financial guidance as provided in January."

"The momentum in our business, as evidenced by our Q1 results, and our strategy of continually introducing innovations to our markets, exemplified by our new ProCyte Dx hematology analyzer, lead us to maintain our revenue outlook and increase our earnings guidance for 2010, despite additional currency headwinds caused by the recent strengthening of the U.S. dollar."  

Revenue Performance

Please refer to the table below entitled "Revenues and Revenue Growth Analysis by Product and Service Categories" in conjunction with the following discussion.

Companion Animal Group. Companion Animal Group ("CAG") revenues for the first quarter of 2010 were $221.4 million compared to $193.7 million for the first quarter of 2009. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates and revenues from a business acquired in the second half of 2009 contributed approximately 4% and 1%, respectively, to revenue growth. Organic growth of 10% was primarily the result of increased sales volume of IDEXX VetLab® instruments and consumables and laboratory diagnostic and consulting services. Organic growth in laboratory diagnostic and consulting services revenues also resulted from higher unit sales prices on reference laboratory tests.

Water. Water segment revenues for the first quarter of 2010 were $17.9 million compared to $15.9 million for the first quarter of 2009. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates contributed approximately 5% to revenue growth. Organic revenue growth of 8% was the result of higher Colilert® sales volume, partly offset by lower sales prices due, in part, to higher relative sales in geographies where products are sold at lower unit sales prices.

Production Animal Segment. Production Animal Segment ("PAS") revenues for the first quarter of 2010 were $19.9 million compared to $18.3 million for the first quarter of 2009. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates contributed approximately 5% to revenue growth. Organic revenue growth of 5% was the result of higher sales volume of certain bovine tests, partly offset by lower average unit sales prices.

Additional Operating Results for the First Quarter

Gross profit for the first quarter of 2010 increased $17.9 million, or 14%, to $142.4 million from $124.4 million for the first quarter of 2009. As a percentage of total revenue, gross profit increased slightly to 53.0% due to the net result of several factors. The gross profit percentage was positively impacted by a reduction in overall spending on service and product manufacturing in our IDEXX VetLab® product line combined with a reduction in depreciation expense associated with certain IDEXX VetLab instruments that are under customer usage agreements. Productivity improvements and higher sales prices in our laboratory and consulting services business also contributed to the increase in gross profit percentage. These favorable effects were offset by the unfavorable impacts of the weaker U.S. dollar on foreign currency hedge contracts and foreign currency denominated expenses, net of the favorable impact on sales denominated in foreign currencies. Gross profit percentage also was unfavorably impacted by higher relative sales of lower margin instruments and reference laboratory services.

Research and development ("R&D") expense for the first quarter of 2010 was $16.7 million, or 6.2% of revenue, compared to $15.9 million, or 6.7% of revenue for the first quarter of 2009.

Selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") expense for the first quarter of 2010 was $77.2 million, or 28.8% of revenue, compared to $70.1 million, or 29.6% of revenue, for the first quarter of 2009. The increase in SG&A expense resulted primarily from higher personnel costs in selling, customer support and administrative functions, and the unfavorable impact of exchange rate changes on foreign currency denominated expenses.

Supplementary Analysis of Results

The accompanying financial tables provide more information concerning our revenue and other operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2010.

Outlook for 2010

The Company provides the following updated guidance for the full year of 2010. This guidance reflects an assumption that the value of the U.S. dollar relative to other currencies will remain at its current level for the balance of 2010. Fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates from current levels could have a significant positive or negative impact on our actual results of operations in 2010.

    --  Revenues are expected to be $1.1 to $1.115 billion, which represents
        reported revenue growth of 7% to 8% and organic revenue growth of 6% to
        7%. While reported revenue growth is unchanged from previous guidance
        provided in January 2010, a slight increase in organic revenue growth is
        offset by a decrease in the expected benefit provided by foreign
        currency exchange rate changes.
    --  EPS are expected to be $2.23 to $2.28, an increase from our previous
        guidance of $2.20 to $2.25.
    --  Free cash flow is expected to be approximately 110% of net income,
        consistent with our previous guidance.


Conference Call and Webcast Information

IDEXX Laboratories will be hosting a conference call today at 9:00 a.m. (eastern) to discuss its first quarter results. To participate in the conference call, dial 1-612-332-7514 or 1-800-553-0288 and reference confirmation code 154161. An audio replay will be available through April 30, 2010 by dialing 1-320-365-3844 and referencing replay code 154161.

The call will also be available via live or archived Webcast on the IDEXX Laboratories' web site at www.idexx.com.

Annual Meeting

IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. today announced that it will host a simultaneous Webcast of its Annual Meeting of Stockholders, to be held on Wednesday, May 5, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. (eastern) at the Portland Marriott at Sable Oaks in South Portland, Maine.

Chairman and CEO, Jonathan Ayers will chair the meeting. Investors may listen to the Annual Meeting and view a presentation live via a link on the Company's web site, www.idexx.com. An archived edition of the meeting will be available after 1:00 p.m. (eastern) on that day via the same link.

About IDEXX Laboratories

IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. is a leader in pet healthcare innovation, serving practicing veterinarians around the world with a broad range of diagnostic and information technology-based products and services. IDEXX products enhance the ability of veterinarians to provide advanced medical care, improve staff efficiency and to build more economically successful practices. IDEXX is also a worldwide leader in providing diagnostic tests and information for the production animal industry and tests for the quality and safety of water and milk. Headquartered in Maine, IDEXX Laboratories employs more than 4,800 people and offers products to customers in over 100 countries.

Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains statements about the Company's business prospects and estimates of the Company's financial results for future periods that are forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's expectations of future events as of the date of this press release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information or future events or developments. Actual results could differ materially from management's expectations. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include the following: the Company's ability to develop, manufacture, introduce and market new products and enhancements to existing products; the Company's ability to achieve economies of scale in its worldwide network of laboratories; the impact of a weak economy on demand for the Company's products and services; the effectiveness of the Company's sales and marketing activities; the Company's ability to identify acquisition opportunities, complete acquisitions and integrate acquired businesses; disruptions, shortages or pricing changes that affect the Company's purchases of products and materials from third parties, including from sole source suppliers; the Company's ability to manufacture complex biologic products; the impact of changes and disruptions in financial and currency markets; the effect of government regulation on the Company's business, including government decisions about whether and when to approve the Company's products and decisions regarding labeling, manufacturing and marketing products; the Company's ability to obtain patent and other intellectual property protection for its products, successfully enforce its intellectual property rights and defend itself against third party claims against the Company; the impact of distributor purchasing decisions on sales of the Company's products that are sold through distribution; the impact of competition, technological change, and veterinary hospital consolidation on the markets for the Company's products; changes or trends in veterinary medicine that affect the rate of use of the Company's products and services by veterinarians; the impact of the Company's inexperience in the human point-of-care market; the effects of operations outside the U.S., including  from currency fluctuations, different regulatory, political and economic conditions, and different market conditions; the effects of interruptions to the Company's operations due to natural disasters or system failures; the loss of key employees; class action litigation due to stock price volatility; the effect on the Company's stock price if quarterly or annual operations results do not meet expectation of market analysts or investors in future periods; and potential exposures related to our worldwide provision for income taxes. A further description of these and other factors can be found in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009, in the section captioned "Risk Factors."


IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statement of Operations

Amounts in thousands except per share data (Unaudited)



                                                        Three Months Ended

                                                        March 31, March 31,

                                                        2010      2009

Revenue:     Revenue                                    $ 268,525 $ 236,455

Expenses and

Income:      Cost of revenue                            126,164   112,022

             Gross profit                               142,361   124,433

             Sales and marketing                        44,416    40,985

             General and administrative                 32,808    29,068

             Research and development                   16,709    15,939

             Income from operations                     48,428    38,441

             Interest expense, net                      312       396

             Income before provision for income taxes   48,116    38,045

             Provision for income taxes                 15,088    11,974

Net Income:  Net income                                 $ 33,028  $ 26,071

             Less: Net income attributable to
             noncontrolling interest                    2         -

             Net income attributable to IDEXX
             Laboratories, Inc. stockholders            $ 33,026  $ 26,071

             Earnings per share: Basic                  $ 0.57    $ 0.44

             Earnings per share: Diluted                $ 0.55    $ 0.43

             Shares outstanding: Basic                  58,033    59,172

             Shares outstanding: Diluted                60,029    60,606








IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Key Operating Information (Unaudited)

                                                       Three Months Ended

                                                       March 31, March 31,

                                                       2010      2009

Key Operating Gross profit                             53.0%     52.6%

Ratios(as a   Sales, marketing, general and

percentage of administrative expense                   28.8%     29.6%

revenue):     Research and development expense         6.2%      6.7%

              Income from operations(1)                18.0%     16.3%





International International revenue (in thousands)     $ 108,659 $ 90,412

Revenue:      International revenue as percentage of

              total revenue                            40.5%     38.2%

(1) The sum of individual items may not equal the total due to rounding.






IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Segment Information

Amounts in thousands (Unaudited)



                              Three Months Ended

                              March 31, March 31,

                              2010      2009

Revenue:         CAG          $ 221,417 $ 193,692

                 Water        17,864    15,851

                 PAS          19,941    18,266

                 Other        9,303     8,646

                 Total        268,525   $ 236,455



Gross Profit:    CAG          $ 113,330 $ 96,442

                 Water        11,214    11,156

                 PAS          13,474    13,108

                 Other        4,153     3,548

                 Unallocated  190       179

                 Total        $ 142,361 $ 124,433



Income from

Operations:      CAG          $ 39,767  $ 29,079

                 Water        7,123     7,312

                 PAS          4,734     4,950

                 Other        260       129

                 Unallocated  (3,456)   (3,029)

                 Total        $ 48,428  $ 38,441



Gross Profit

(as a percentage

of revenue):     CAG          51.2%     49.8%

                 Water        62.8%     70.4%

                 PAS          67.6%     71.8%

                 Other        44.6%     41.0%



Income from

Operations

(as a percentage

of revenue):     CAG          18.0%     15.0%

                 Water        39.9%     46.1%

                 PAS          23.7%     27.1%

                 Other        2.8%      1.5%







IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Revenues and Revenue Growth Analysis by Product and Service Categories

Amounts in thousands (Unaudited)

Three Months Ended

                                                                               Percentage
                                                    Percentage  Percentage     Change Net of
                                                    Change      Change from    Acquisitions/
                     March                          from        Acquisitions/  Divestitures
Net     March 31,    31,      Dollar    Percentage  Currency    Divestitures   and Currency
Revenue 2010         2009     Change    Change      (1)         (2)            Effect (3)



CAG     $ 221,417  $ 193,692  $ 27,725  14.3 %      3.6 %       0.8 %          9.9 %

Water     17,864     15,851     2,013   12.7 %      5.2 %       -              7.5 %

PAS       19,941     18,266     1,675   9.2  %      4.7 %       -              4.5 %

Other     9,303      8,646      657     7.6  %      1.5 %       -              6.1 %

Total   $ 268,525  $ 236,455  $ 32,070  13.6 %      3.8 %       0.6 %          9.2 %













Three Months Ended

                                                                                      Percentage

                                                                                      Change Net of
                                                           Percentage  Percentage
                                                                                      Acquisitions/
                                                           Change      Change from    Divestitures
                                                           from
                            March    Dollar    Percentage              Acquisitions/  and Currency
Net CAG        March 31,    31,                            Currency    Divestitures
Revenue        2010         2009     Change    Change      (1)         (2)            Effect(3)



Instruments
and
consumables    $ 83,382   $ 72,235   $ 11,147  15.4   %    3.8 %       -              11.6 %

Rapid assay
products         39,443     37,677     1,766   4.7    %    1.3 %       -              3.4  %

Laboratory
diagnostic and
consulting
services         79,840     68,692     11,148  16.2   %    5.1 %       2.1    %       9.0  %

Practice
information
systems and
digital
radiography      18,752     15,034     3,718   24.7   %    1.9 %       0.6    %       22.2 %

Pharmaceutical
products         -          54         (54)    (100.0 %)   -           (100.0 %)      -

Net CAG
revenue        $ 221,417  $ 193,692  $ 27,725  14.3   %    3.6 %       0.8    %       9.9  %



(1) Represents the percentage change in revenue attributed to the effect of changes in currency
rates from the three months ended March 31, 2009 compared to the three months ended March 31, 2010.



(2) Represents the percentage change in revenue during the three months ended March 31, 2010
compared to the three months ended March 31, 2009 attributed to incremental revenues from
businesses acquired or revenues lost from businesses divested or discontinued subsequent to
December 31, 2008.



(3) Organic Growth








IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Balance Sheet

Amounts in thousands (Unaudited)

                                                         March 31, December 31,

                                                         2010      2009

Assets:         Current Assets:

                Cash and cash equivalents                $ 106,354 $ 106,728

                Accounts receivable, net                 130,519   115,107

                Inventories, net                         122,384   110,425

                Other current assets                     39,112    44,078

                Total current assets                     398,369   376,338

                Property and equipment,
                at cost                                  349,875   346,592

                Less: accumulated
                depreciation                             152,812   146,646

                Property and equipment,
                net                                      197,063   199,946

                Other long-term assets,
                net                                      228,852   232,243

                Total assets                             $ 824,284 $ 808,527

Liabilities and

Stockholders'

Equity:         Current Liabilities:

                Accounts payable                         $ 24,104  $ 19,133

                Accrued liabilities                      94,616    104,959

                Debt                                     158,213   119,603

                Deferred revenue                         12,234    12,610

                Total current liabilities                289,167   256,305

                Long-term debt, net of
                current portion                          4,070     4,281

                Other long-term
                liabilities                              33,915    33,362

                Total long-term
                liabilities                              37,985    37,643



                Total IDEXX Laboratories, Inc.
                stockholders' equity                     497,120   514,569

                Noncontrolling interest                  12        10

                Total stockholders' equity               497,132   514,579

                Total liabilities and
                stockholders' equity                     $ 824,284 $ 808,527












IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Key Balance Sheet Information (Unaudited)



                              March 31,  Dec. 31, Sept. 30,  June 30, March 31,

                              2010       2009     2009       2009     2009

Key

              Days sales
Balance Sheet outstanding     41.7       38.9     41.2       40.2     43.8

Information:  Inventory turns 2.0        1.9      1.8        1.8      1.8










IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

Amounts in thousands (Unaudited)



                                                            Three Months Ended

                                                            March 31, March 31,

                                                            2010      2009

Operating: Cash Flows from Operating Activities:

           Net income                                       $ 33,028  $ 26,071

           Non-cash charges                                 13,619    17,427

           Changes in current assets and liabilities        (27,442)  (30,874)

           Net cash provided by operating activities        $ 19,205  $ 12,624

Investing: Cash Flows from Investing Activities:

           Purchase of property and equipment               (7,789)   (9,114)

           Proceeds from disposition of pharmaceutical
           product lines                                    -         1,377

           Proceeds from sale of property and equipment     27        1,046

           Acquisition of equipment leased to customers     (684)     (188)

           Acquisitions of intangible assets                (144)     -

           Net cash used by investing activities            $ (8,590) $ (6,879)

Financing: Cash Flows from Financing Activities:

           Borrowings on revolving credit facilities, net   38,523    15,019

           Payment of other notes payable                   (200)     (190)

           Purchase of treasury stock                       (57,728)  (14,986)

           Proceeds from the exercise of stock options and
           employee stock purchase plans                    6,483     3,281

           Tax benefit from exercise of stock options and
           vesting of restricted stock units                3,318     161

           Net cash (used) provided by financing activities $ (9,604) $ 3,285

           Net effect of changes in exchange rates on cash  (1,385)   (1,603)

           Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash
           equivalents                                      (374)     7,427

           Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period   106,728   78,868

           Cash and cash equivalents, end of period         $ 106,354 $ 86,295










IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Free Cash Flow

Amounts in thousands (Unaudited)

                                                            Three Months Ended

                                                            March 31, March 31,

                                                            2010      2009

Free Cash

Flow:     Net cash provided by operating activities         $ 19,205  $ 12,624

          Financing cash flows attributable to tax benefits
          from exercise of stock options and vesting of
          restricted stock units                            3,318     161

          Purchase of property and equipment                (7,789)   (9,114)

          Acquisition of equipment leased to customers      (684)     (188)

          Free cash flow                                    $ 14,050  $ 3,483



Free cash flow indicates the cash generated from operations and tax benefits
attributable to stock option exercises, reduced by investments in fixed assets.
We feel free cash flow is a useful measure because it indicates the cash the
operations of the business are generating after appropriate reinvestment for
recurring investments in fixed assets that are required to operate the
business. We believe this is a common financial measure useful to further
evaluate the results of operations.








IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Common Stock Repurchases

Amounts in thousands except per share data (Unaudited)

                                                       Three Months Ended

                                                       March 31, March 31,

                                                       2010      2009

 Share repurchases during the period                   1,092     468

 Average price paid per share                          $ 52.88   $ 32.05



 Shares remaining under repurchase authorization as of
 March 31, 2010:                                       5,202



 Share repurchases does not include shares surrendered by employees in
 payment for the minimum required withholding taxes due on the exercise of
 stock options, the vesting of restricted stock units and the settlement
 of deferred stock units, and in payment for the exercise price of stock
 options.







Contact: Merilee Raines, Chief Financial Officer, 1-207-556-8155

SOURCE IDEXX Laboratories, Inc.