Techne Corporation Releases Unaudited Third Quarter Results for Fiscal...( MINNEAPOLIS April 28 /- Techne Corpor...)

MINNEAPOLIS, April 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Techne Corporation's (Nasdaq: TECH) consolidated net earnings for the quarter ended March 31, 2009 decreased 6.6% to $27.6 million or $.74 per diluted share compared with $29.6 million or $.76 per diluted share for the quarter ended March 31, 2008. For the nine months ended March 31, 2009, Techne's consolidated net earnings increased 4.7% to $79.9 million or $2.10 per diluted share compared with $76.3 million or $1.94 per diluted share for the nine months ended March 31, 2008. Net earnings as a percentage of net sales was 40.1% for the nine months ended March 31, 2009 as compared to 40.2% in the first nine months of last year.

Foreign currency fluctuations and general economic conditions continued to have a negative impact on consolidated net sales and earnings in the quarter ended March 31, 2009. The change in exchange rates used to convert foreign currencies (primarily British pound sterling and euros) to U.S. dollars reduced net earnings by $1.5 million ($.04 per diluted share) for the quarter and $3.3 million ($.09 per diluted share) for the nine months ended March 31, 2009, as compared to the same periods in last fiscal year.

Consolidated net sales for the quarter and nine months ended March 31, 2009 were $67.9 million and $199.1 million, respectively. This was a 2.4% decrease and a 5.0% increase from the quarter and nine months ended March 31, 2008, respectively. Consolidated net sales were negatively affected by the strength of the U.S. dollar as compared to foreign currencies. Excluding the effect of changes in foreign currency exchange rates, consolidated net sales increased 2.9% and 8.3% for the quarter and nine months ended March 31, 2009, respectively, from the comparable prior year periods.

Biotechnology net sales, which include sales by R&D Systems
'/>"/>