Charles River Laboratories International Reports Operating Results (10-Q)

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Nov 04, 2009
Charles River Laboratories International (CRL, Financial) filed Quarterly Report for the period ended 2009-09-26.

Charles River Laboratories is a leading provider of critical research tools and integrated support services that enable innovative and efficient drug discovery and development. Charles River is the global leader inproviding the animal research models required in research and development for new drugs devices and therapies and has been in this business for more than 50 years. Charles River Laboratories International has a market cap of $2.44 billion; its shares were traded at around $37.1 with a P/E ratio of 14.3 and P/S ratio of 1.8. Charles River Laboratories International had an annual average earning growth of 6.4% over the past 5 years.

Highlight of Business Operations:

Our net income attributable to common shareholders was $37.3 million for the three months ended September 26, 2009, compared to $45.5 million for the three months ended September 27, 2008. Diluted earnings per share for the third quarter of 2009 were $0.57, compared to $0.64 for the third quarter of 2008.

Operating income for the nine months ended September 26, 2009 was $135.0 million compared to $201.0 million for the nine months ended September 27, 2008, a decrease of 32.8%. Our operating margin was 14.9% for the nine months ended September 26, 2009 compared to 19.5% for the prior year. Net income attributable to common shareholders was $96.9 million for the nine months ended September 26, 2009 compared to $138.7 million for the nine months ended September 27, 2008. Diluted earnings per share from continuing operations for nine months of 2009 were $1.47 compared to $1.96 for 2008.

Amortization of Other Intangibles. Amortization of other intangibles for the nine months ended September 26, 2009 was $21.4 million, a decrease of $1.4 million, from $22.8 million for the nine months ended September 27, 2008.

As of September 26, 2009, we had $23.1 million in marketable securities with $7.0 million in time deposits and $16.1 million in auction rate securities rated AAA by a major credit rating agency. Our auction rate securities are guaranteed by U.S. federal agencies. The current overall credit concerns in the capital markets as well as the failed auction status of these securities have impacted our ability to liquidate these investments. If the auctions for the securities we own continue to fail, the investment may not be readily convertible to cash until a future auction of these investments is successful. Based on our ability to access our cash and other short-term investments, our expected operating cash flows, and other sources of cash, we do not anticipate the current lack of liquidity on these investments will affect our ability to operate our business as usual. During the third quarter of 2009, we received a partial call on one of our auction rate securities at par value. As a result, we received $3.7 million.

Net cash used in investing activities for the nine months ending September 26, 2009 and September 27, 2008 was $147.2 million and $177.3 million, respectively. Our capital expenditures for nine months of 2009 were $63.5 million, of which $22.8 million was related to RMS and $40.7 million to PCS. For 2009, we project capital expenditures to be in the range of $80-$90 million. We anticipate that future capital expenditures will be funded by operating activities and existing credit facilities. We paid $83.6 million for acquisitions during 2009, primarily related to our purchase of Piedmont Research Center and Systems Pathology Company, LLC (SPC).

Net cash used in financing activities for the nine months ending September 26, 2009 and September 27, 2008 was $72.7 million and $26.2 million, respectively. During nine months of 2009, we purchased $45.8 million of treasury stock and repaid debt of $45.5 million.

Read the The complete ReportCRL is in the portfolios of Robert Olstein of Olstein Financial Alert Fund, Ron Baron of Baron Funds, Richard Pzena of Pzena Investment Management LLC, PRIMECAP Management.