Bio-Rad Laboratories Reports Third Quarter Financial Results

Bio-Rad Laboratories Reports Third Quarter Financial Results 


HERCULES, Calif., Nov. 6  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.
(Amex: BIO; BIO.b), a multinational manufacturer and distributor of life science
research products and clinical diagnostics, announced financial results for the
third quarter and nine-month period ended September 30, 2003. Net sales for the
quarter were $247.7 million, up about 10 percent, or approximately 4 percent on
a currency-neutral basis, compared to the $224.9 million reported for the same
quarter of 2002.  Net income for the quarter was $9.7 million.  Net income
included approximately $13.6 million (or $9.1 million net of taxes) of one-time
charges associated with the redemption of the Company's 11 5/8% Senior
Subordinated Notes due 2007 and refinancing of the Company's revolving credit
facility.

Year-to-date revenues grew by 13.5 percent to $737.2 million as compared to the
same period last year.  Normalizing for the impact of currency effects, growth
was 4.9 percent.  Year-to-date gross margin was 56.5 percent compared to 57.4
percent over the same period of 2002.  Earnings for the nine-month period were
$57.0 million, or $2.25 per share.

  Third Quarter Highlights

  -- Overall Company sales for the third quarter grew by 10.2 percent, or by
     4.1 percent on a currency-neutral basis.
  -- Third quarter basic earnings were $0.38 per share, or $0.37 per share
     on a diluted basis.
  -- Excluding one-time financing charges, basic earnings were $0.74 per
     share, or $0.71 per share on a diluted basis.
  -- During the quarter, the Company expensed $13.6 million, or $9.1 million
     net of taxes, of one-time costs associated with the refinancing of its
     long-term debt.
  -- Quarterly sales increased by 11.2 percent for the Life Science segment
     and by 9.3 percent for the Clinical Diagnostics segment compared to
     third quarter 2002 results.
  -- Year-to-date net income increased by 10.4 percent over the comparable
     period last year.



The Life Science segment's sales grew in the third quarter by 11.2 percent, or
by 5.4 percent on a currency-neutral basis, to $118.0 million as compared to the
same period of 2002.  The drivers of growth in this segment were the process
chromatography, imaging, nucleic acid amplification, and protein array product
categories.  Additionally, the Company was recently selected as the exclusive
supplier of BSE test kits in the United Kingdom.

The Clinical Diagnostics segment reported sales of $127.6 million for the
quarter, a 9.3 percent increase, or 3.0 percent excluding currency effects, as
compared to the same quarter last year.  This growth was due to solid
performance in several areas including quality controls, blood virus screening,
and diabetes monitoring.

"During the third quarter, Bio-Rad produced solid financial results, and
restructured its financing, positioning us well for the future." said Norman
Schwartz, President and Chief Executive Officer.  "We have a number of projects
that we are working on that will help us close out the year successfully."

The Company recently sold $225 million aggregate principal amount of 7.50%
Senior Subordinated Notes due 2013 in a private offering.  A portion of the net
proceeds from this offering were used to fund the early retirement of its 11
5/8% Senior Subordinated Notes due 2007.  In addition, Bio-Rad refinanced its
credit facility through a bank syndicate to provide for a new, five-year $150
million revolving facility.

Management will discuss these results in a conference call at 2:00 p.m. PT (5:00
p.m. ET) November 6, 2003. Interested parties can access the call by dialing
800-901-5213 (in the U.S.), or 617-786-2962 (international), access number
76710220. The live web cast can be accessed at http://www.bio-rad.com/. A replay
of the call will be available at 888-286-8010 (in the U.S.), or 617-801-6888
(international), access number 79834302, for seven days following the call and
the web cast can be accessed at http://www.bio-rad.com/ for 30 days.

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. is a multinational manufacturer and distributor of
life science research products and clinical diagnostics.  It is based in
Hercules, California, and serves more than 70,000 research and industry
customers worldwide through a network of more than 30 wholly owned subsidiary
offices.

Various statements made within this press release may constitute "forward-
looking statements" for purposes of the Securities and Exchange Commission's
"safe harbor" provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995 and Rule 3b-6 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The forward-
looking statements contained herein involve risks and uncertainties that could
cause results to differ materially from the Company's expectations.

                            Third Quarter 2003
               Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income

                  (In thousands, except per share data)
                               (UNAUDITED)


                           Three Months Ended         Nine Months Ended
                             September 30,              September 30,
                          2003          2002         2003          2002

  Net Sales             $247,704      $224,878     $737,180      $649,720
  Cost of Goods Sold     110,281        95,852      320,640       277,080
  Gross Profit           137,423       129,026      416,540       372,640

  Selling, General
   and Administrative
    Expense               80,356        73,415      236,541       208,637
  Product Research
   and Development
    Expense               23,774        19,988       67,893        60,035

  Interest Expense        17,887         6,861       26,234        18,397
  Foreign Exchange
   Losses, net             1,515         2,727        2,838         5,536
  Other (Income)
   Expense, net            (527)         (345)      (2,011)           617
  Income Before Taxes     14,418        26,380       85,045        79,418

  Provision for
   income taxes          (4,758)       (9,763)     (28,065)      (27,796)
  Net Income              $9,660       $16,617      $56,980       $51,622

  Basic earnings
   per share               $0.38         $0.66        $2.25         $2.06
  Weighted average
   common shares          25,468        25,160       25,380        25,064
  Diluted earnings
   per share               $0.37         $0.64        $2.17         $1.99
  Adjusted weighted
   average shares         26,429        26,071       26,292        25,992


                        Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.
                   Summary Consolidated Balance Sheets

                              (In thousands)
                               (UNAUDITED)


                                               September 30,   December 31,
                                                   2003            2002
  Current assets:
   Cash and cash equivalents                      $140,748        $27,733
   Accounts receivable, net                        217,674        209,282
   Inventories                                     189,189        166,372
   Other current assets                             78,129         62,409
     Total current assets                          625,740        465,796

  Net property, plant and equipment               $164,443       $142,235
  Goodwill, net                                     69,519         69,519
  Other assets                                      65,981         43,153
                                                  $925,683       $720,703


  Current liabilities:
   Notes payable, current maturities of
    long-term debt                                  $9,612         $7,486
   Accounts payable                                 60,516         50,233
   Accrued payroll and employee benefits            77,127         72,213
   Taxes payable                                    14,314         17,019
   Other current liabilities                        70,757         75,058
     Total current liabilities                     232,326        222,009

  Long-term debt, net of current maturities       $225,196       $105,768
  Deferred tax liabilities                           8,822          9,839
  Stockholders' equity                             459,339        383,087
                                                  $925,683       $720,703

   Certain items have been reclassified to conform to the current year
                              presentation.


DATASOURCE: Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.



CONTACT:  Christine Tsingos, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer,

or Ron Hutton, Treasurer, both of Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., [phone],

or 



Web site:  http://www.bio-rad.com/ 

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