Sigma-Aldrich (Nasdaq: SIAL) Reports 16.7% Gain in Q2 2008 Diluted EPS. Q2 2008 Sales Rise 14.4%. 2008 Diluted EPS Forecast Raised $.05 to $2...( ST. LOUIS July 22 /- HIGHLIGH...)

ST. LOUIS, July 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --

HIGHLIGHTS:

2008 Results (all percentage comparisons are to comparable periods in 2007):
-- Q2 2008 Sales Set New Quarterly Record: Q2 2008 sales reached another

new quarterly high of $580.7 million, an increase of 14.4%. All four

business units reported double-digit growth for the third successive

quarter. Organic sales growth of 7.1% confirmed earlier expectations

regarding the roughly one percentage point impact of the Easter

holidays from Q1 to Q2 sales growth. Currency added another

7.3 percentage points to growth. Quarterly comparisons and a

reconciliation of reported to adjusted sales growth can be found in the

Supplemental Financial Information, Sales Growth by Business Unit

table.

-- Operating And Pretax Margins Continued Strong as Pretax Income Growth

Exceeds Sales Growth: Q2 2008 operating and pretax income margins were

23.1% and 22.6%, respectively, an improvement over the Q2 2007 level.

Pretax income increased 19.4% in Q2 2008.

-- Double-Digit EPS Growth Despite Higher Tax Rates: Q2 2008 diluted EPS

increased 16.7% to $.70, including $.08 from favorable currency rates

offset by $.03 from a higher tax rate. A previously communicated

reduction in tax benefits resulted in an effective tax rate of 30.8% in

Q2 2008 compared to 27.5% for Q2 2007. An explanation of the tax rate

difference and a reconciliation of currency adjusted proforma to

reported diluted EPS for the quarter can be found on in the Outlook

section and the Supplemental Financial Information, Reconciliation of

Proforma to Reported Net Income table.

-- Significant Increase In Cash Flow From Operations: Cash flow from

operations for the first six months of 2008 improved by 36.8% to

$222.0 milli
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