IDEXX Laboratories Announces First Quart...( WESTBROOK Maine April 25 /- IDEXX...)

WESTBROOK, Maine, April 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (Nasdaq: IDXX), today reported that revenue for the first quarter of 2008 increased 18% to $249.1 million from $211.2 million for the first quarter of 2007. Diluted earnings per share ("EPS") for the quarter ended March 31, 2008 were $0.43, compared to $0.32, for the same period in the prior year. Non-GAAP adjusted diluted EPS for the first quarter grew 21% to $0.41 from $0.34 for the first quarter of 2007.

"Our first quarter results demonstrated the robustness of our diversified, global business model. We continued to generate strong revenue growth across our portfolio despite a weakening economy in the U.S.," said Jonathan W. Ayers, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Our 17% revenue growth in the Companion Animal Group was driven by 11% organic revenue growth, acquisitions that strengthened our core businesses, and the benefit of currency translation on international sales. We achieved double digit organic revenue growth, despite a comparison to an unusually strong first quarter in 2007, when our business saw a surge in revenue resulting from the pet food recall in North America. Overall, I was very pleased that the company was able to continue to perform well on both the top line and bottom line.

"In addition to this strong current quarter financial performance, IDEXX achieved important milestones on our innovation agenda. We began shipping our two next-generation point-of-care veterinary instruments, Catalyst Dx(TM) and SNAPshot Dx(TM), at the end of the quarter. These two additions to the IDEXX VetLab Suite strengthen an already strong in-house laboratory offering. We are on track with our disciplined ramp objectives and expect to place 1,
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