Molecular Devices Reports Record Revenues and Earnings for First Quarter of 2005

Molecular Devices Reports Record Revenues and Earnings for First
Quarter of 2005 


SUNNYVALE, Calif., April 28  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Molecular Devices
Corporation (NASDAQ:MDCC) today announced record revenues and earnings for the
quarter ended March 31, 2005.

Revenues for the quarter were a record $39.1 million, or an increase of 43%
compared to the same period last year.  Operating income for the first quarter
of 2005 was $3.5 million, or an increase of 61% compared to the same period
last year.  Fully diluted earnings per share for the first quarter of 2005 were
$0.13, or an increase of 30% compared with the same period last year.

"We are encouraged by our first quarter results, as we saw organic growth in
both our life sciences and drug discovery product families," stated Joseph D.
Keegan, Ph.D., Molecular Devices' President and Chief Executive Officer. "In
life sciences, we continued to see strong demand for our SpectraMax(R) M5
bench-top reader, introduced in the fourth quarter of 2004, as well as the Meta
series of cellular imaging products.  In drug discovery, we saw excellent
growth in high-content cellular imaging and our FLIPR(R) family of products. In
addition, results in our high-throughput electrophysiology family significantly
exceeded our expectations as a result of strong demand for our recently
introduced IonWorks(R) Quattro(TM).  Finally, we continue to believe that our
life sciences and drug discovery markets will remain stable in the near-term."

The Company also established guidance for the second quarter of 2005 and
reaffirmed its guidance for the full year 2005.  For the second quarter of
2005, the Company anticipates revenues of $44 to $46 million and fully diluted
GAAP earnings per share of $0.21 to $0.23.  For the full year 2005, the Company
anticipates revenues of $180 to $190 million and fully diluted GAAP earnings
per share of $0.85 to $0.95.

Conference Call Information

An earnings announcement conference call is scheduled for Friday, April 29,
2005 at 8:00 a.m. PDT (11:00 a.m. EDT).  Interested parties can participate in
the call by dialing 800-289-0743 (domestic) or 913-981-5546 (international). 
Replay dial-in numbers are 888-203-1112 (domestic) and 719- 457-0820
(international), and the access code for the replay is 1554631.

Investors can also access a live web-cast of the call through a link posted on
the investor page on Molecular Devices' website
(http://www.moleculardevices.com/).  A replay of the web-cast will be available
at this location from April 29, 2005 to such time as the company reports its
financial results for the second quarter of 2005.

About Molecular Devices Corporation

Molecular Devices Corporation is a leading supplier of high-performance
bioanalytical measurement systems that accelerate and improve drug discovery
and other life sciences research.  The Company's systems and consumables enable
pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to leverage advances in genomics,
proteomics and parallel chemistry to facilitate the high-throughput and
cost-effective identification and evaluation of drug candidates.  The Company's
solutions are based on its advanced core technologies that integrate its
expertise in engineering, molecular and cell biology and chemistry. Molecular
Devices enables its customers to improve research productivity and
effectiveness, which ultimately accelerates the complex process of discovering
and developing new drugs.

This press release contains "forward-looking" statements, including statements
related to future revenues and earnings. Any statements contained in this press
release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be
forward-looking statements. Words such as "believes," "anticipates," "plans,"
"expects," "will," and similar expressions are intended to identify
forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could
cause the results of Molecular Devices Corporation to differ materially from
those indicated by these forward-looking statements, including, among others,
risks related to variations in the amount of time that it takes for the Company
to sell its products and collect accounts receivable, the timing of customer
orders and our dependence on orders that are shipped in the same quarter, which
give the Company limited visibility of future product shipments, risks related
to increased competition, risks associated with the Company's need to develop
new and enhanced products and other risks detailed from time to time in the
Company's SEC reports, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 2004.  Molecular Devices Corporation does not undertake any
obligation to update forward-looking statements.

                      MOLECULAR DEVICES CORPORATION
               CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
                 (in thousands, except per share amounts)

                                                    Three Months Ended
                                                         March 31,
                                                  2005              2004
                                                        (unaudited)

  REVENUES                                       $39,064           $27,337

  COST OF REVENUES                                15,046            10,242

  GROSS PROFIT                                    24,018            17,095

  OPERATING EXPENSES:
    Research and development                       6,226             4,017
    Selling, general and administrative           14,313            10,920

      Total operating expenses                    20,539            14,937

  INCOME FROM OPERATIONS                           3,479             2,158
  Interest and other income, net                      35                36

  INCOME BEFORE TAXES                              3,514             2,194
  Income tax provision                            (1,335)             (764)

  NET INCOME                                      $2,179            $1,430

  BASIC NET INCOME PER SHARE                       $0.13             $0.10

  DILUTED NET INCOME PER SHARE                     $0.13             $0.10

  SHARES USED IN COMPUTING BASIC NET INCOME
   PER SHARE                                      17,041            14,588

  SHARES USED IN COMPUTING DILUTED NET
   INCOME PER SHARE                               17,361            14,791


                      MOLECULAR DEVICES CORPORATION
                  CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
                              (in thousands)

                                                March 31,       December 31,
                                                  2005              2004
  ASSETS                                                (unaudited)
    Current assets:
      Cash and cash equivalents                   $8,326           $30,175
      Accounts receivable, net                    35,614            36,995
      Inventories, net                            26,298            25,785
      Deferred tax assets                          9,756             9,654
      Prepaids and other current assets            2,394             2,780
        Total current assets                      82,388           105,389

    Equipment and leasehold improvements, net     11,115            11,762
    Other assets                                 149,025           138,078
                                                $242,528          $255,229

  LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
    Current liabilities:
      Accounts payable                            $6,740            $7,085
      Accrued liabilities                         24,178            30,748
        Total current liabilities                 30,918            37,833

  Long-term liabilities:
    Other long-term liabilities                    1,374             1,452
    Deferred tax liabilities                       5,312             5,324
      Total long-term liabilities                  6,686             6,776

    Stockholders' equity                         204,924           210,620
                                                $242,528          $255,229


DATASOURCE: Molecular Devices Corporation



CONTACT:  Tim Harkness of Molecular Devices Corporation, [phone]



Web site:  http://www.moleculardevices.com/ 

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