WESTBROOK, Maine, April 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ: IDXX), today reported that revenues for the first quarter of 2012 increased 10% to $322.7 million, from $292.7 million for the first quarter of 2011. Organic revenue growth[1] was ­10%. Earnings per diluted share ("EPS") for the quarter ended March 31, 2012 increased 16% to $0.72, compared to $0.62 for the same period in the prior year.

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In addition to discussing first quarter financial and business performance, management will provide an update on the U.S. Federal Trade Commission investigation on the quarterly conference call scheduled for 9:00 a.m. (eastern) today.

"I am pleased with our first quarter results," stated Jonathan Ayers, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Our 10% organic growth in the first quarter, in an economic environment that remains challenging, demonstrates the success of our strategy to bring innovative products and services to our veterinary and other customers, as well as strong commercial execution in markets around the world."

"Our pace of innovation continues in the second quarter as we look forward to launching new products to expand the diagnostic capability of veterinarians. Our SNAP^® 4Dx^® Plus Test, recently approved by the USDA[2], expands the value of vector-borne disease screening with the ability to test for two additional pathogens. Our test to detect levels of Phenobarbitol, a standard therapy used to control seizures in dogs, represents a valuable expansion of the menu of our Catalyst Dx^® chemistry analyzer."

Revenue Performance

Please refer to the table below entitled "Revenues and Revenue Growth Analysis by Product and Service Categories" in conjunction with the following discussion.

Companion Animal Group. Companion Animal Group ("CAG") revenues for the first quarter of 2012 were $268.1 million compared to $240.6 million for the first quarter of 2011. Organic growth of 10% was due primarily to growth in our reference laboratory diagnostic and consulting services business and in our instrument and consumables business. In our reference laboratory diagnostic and consulting services business, revenues increased due to higher sales volumes driven primarily by the acquisition of new customers due, in part, to geographic expansion. The revenue increase in our instruments and consumables business was largely the result of higher sales volumes of our Catalyst Dx^® and ProCyte Dx^® instruments and related consumables. Revenue from acquisitions contributed 2% to revenue growth and changes in foreign currency exchange rates reduced revenue growth by less than 1%.

Water. Water revenues for the first quarter of 2012 were $19.6 million compared to $19.0 million for the first quarter of 2011. Organic revenue growth of 4% was due primarily to higher Colilert^® product sales volumes driven by new account acquisitions. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates reduced revenue growth by less than 1%.

Livestock and Poultry Diagnostics. Livestock and Poultry Diagnostics ("LPD") revenues for the first quarter of 2012 were $22.2 million compared to $23.9 million for the first quarter of 2011. The 6% decline in organic revenue was due, in part, to lower sales of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy ("BSE" or otherwise commonly referred to as mad cow disease) tests resulting from changes in European Union BSE testing requirements. Effective July 1, 2011, the age at which healthy cattle to be slaughtered are required to be tested for BSE in the European Union was increased from 48 to 72 months, which is reducing the population of cattle tested for this disease. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates reduced revenue growth by 2%.

Additional Operating Results for the First Quarter

Gross profit for the first quarter of 2012 increased $19.8 million, or 13%, to $174.8 million from $154.9 million for the first quarter of 2011. As a percentage of total revenue, gross profit increased to 54% from 53%. The increase in the gross profit percentage was due primarily to lower overall manufacturing costs and the favorable impact of currency as hedging gains more than offset the net unfavorable impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates.

Selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") expense for the first quarter of 2012 was $93.8 million, or 29% of revenue, compared to $83.6 million, or 29% of revenue, for the first quarter of 2011. The increase in SG&A expense was due primarily to increased personnel-related costs and higher costs attributable to investments in information technology. Research and development ("R&D") expense for the first quarter of 2012 was $20.6 million, or 6% of revenue, compared to $17.8 million, or 6% of revenue for the first quarter of 2011. The increase in R&D expense resulted primarily from higher external consulting and development costs and increased personnel-related costs.

Supplementary Analysis of Results

The accompanying financial tables provide more information concerning our revenue and other operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2012.

Outlook for 2012

The Company provides the following updated guidance for the full year of 2012. This guidance reflects an assumption that the value of the U.S. dollar relative to other currencies will remain at our current assumptions of the euro at $1.30, the British pound at $1.57 and the Canadian dollar at $1.00 for the balance of 2012. Based on these assumptions, a 1% strengthening of the U.S. dollar would decrease revenue by approximately $4.5 million and operating profit by approximately $0.8 million on an annual basis. Fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates from current assumptions could have a significant positive or negative impact on our actual results of operations for 2012.

• Revenues are expected to be $1.31 to $1.32 billion, which represents both reported and organic revenue growth of 8 to 9%. The increase in reported revenue growth compared to our previous guidance is due primarily to favorable changes in foreign currency exchange rates, reflecting a weakening of the U.S. dollar relative to other currencies since the date of our previous guidance.
• EPS are expected to be $3.07 to $3.12, compared to our previous guidance of $3.04 to $3.10. The increase in guidance reflects the favorable impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates. The modest tightening of our range toward the high end reflects an additional penny from business performance.
• Free cash flow is expected to be 110% of net income.[3]
• Capital expenditures are expected to be approximately $60 million.

Conference Call and Webcast Information

IDEXX Laboratories will be hosting a conference call today at 9:00 a.m. (eastern) to discuss its first quarter results and management's outlook, and will also provide an update on the U.S. Federal Trade Commission investigation. To participate in the conference call, dial 1-612-288-0340 or 1-800-230-1096 and reference confirmation code 243564. An audio replay will be available through April 27, 2012 by dialing 1-320-365-3844 and referencing replay code 243564.

The call will also be available via live or archived webcast on the IDEXX Laboratories' web site at http://www.idexx.com.

Annual Meeting

IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. today announced that it will host a simultaneous webcast of its Annual Meeting of Stockholders, to be held on Wednesday, May 9, 2012, at 10:00 a.m. (eastern) at IDEXX Laboratories, One IDEXX Drive, Westbrook, Maine.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Jonathan Ayers will chair the meeting. Investors may listen to live audio of the Annual Meeting and view a presentation via a link on the Company's web site, http://www.idexx.com. An archived edition of the meeting will be available after 1:00 p.m. (eastern) on that day via the same link.

About IDEXX Laboratories, Inc.

IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. is a leader in pet healthcare innovation, serving practicing veterinarians around the world with a broad range of diagnostic and information technology-based products and services. IDEXX products enhance the ability of veterinarians to provide advanced medical care, improve staff efficiency and build more economically successful practices. IDEXX is also a worldwide leader in providing diagnostic tests and information for livestock and poultry and tests for the quality and safety of water and milk. Headquartered in Maine, IDEXX Laboratories employs more than 5,000 people and offers products to customers in over 100 countries.

Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains statements about the Company's business prospects and estimates of the Company's financial results for future periods that are forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "expects," "may," "anticipates," "intends," "would," "will," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "should," and similar words and expressions. These statements are based on management's expectations of future events as of the date of this press release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information or future events or developments. Actual results could differ materially from management's expectations. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include the following: the Company's ability to develop, manufacture, introduce and market new products and enhancements to existing products; the Company's ability to achieve cost improvements in its worldwide network of laboratories and in the manufacture of in-clinic instruments;the Company's ability to identify acquisition opportunities, complete acquisitions and integrate acquired businesses; disruptions, shortages or pricing changes that affect the Company's purchases of products and materials from third parties, including from sole source suppliers; the Company's ability to manufacture complex biologic products; the impact of a weak economy on demand for the Company's products and services; the effectiveness of the Company's sales and marketing activities; the effect of government regulation on the Company's business, including government decisions about whether and when to approve the Company's products and decisions regarding labeling, manufacturing and marketing products; the impact of the resolution of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission investigation into our marketing and sales practices; the Company's ability to obtain patent and other intellectual property protection for its products, successfully enforce its intellectual property rights and defend itself against third party claims against the Company; the impact of distributor purchasing decisions on sales of the Company's products that are sold through distribution; the impact of competition, technological change, and veterinary hospital consolidation on the markets for the Company's products; changes or trends in veterinary medicine that affect the rate of use of the Company's products and services by veterinarians; the impact of the Company's inexperience and small scale in the human point-of-care market; the effects of operations outside the U.S., including from currency fluctuations, different regulatory, political and economic conditions, and different market conditions; the effects of interruptions to the Company's operations due to natural disasters or system failures; the impact of any class action litigation due to stock price volatility; the effect on the Company's stock price if quarterly or annual operations results do not meet expectations of market analysts or investors in future periods; and potential exposures related to our worldwide provision for income taxes and the potential loss of tax incentives. A further description of these and other factors can be found in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011,in the section captioned "Risk Factors."

[1] Organic revenue growth for the first quarter of 2012 excludes revenue from business acquisitions, which contributed 1% to revenue growth, and the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates, which reduced revenue growth by less than 1%.

[2] U.S. Department of Agriculture

[3] Free cash flow is a non-U.S. GAAP measure. We calculate free cash flow as cash generated from operations, excluding our royalty prepayment in the first quarter of 2012, and tax benefits attributable to share-based compensation arrangements, reduced by our investments in fixed assets. We feel free cash flow is a useful measure because it indicates the cash the operations of the business are generating after appropriate reinvestment for recurring investments in fixed assets that are required to operate the business. We believe this is a common financial measure useful to further evaluate the results of operations. Refer to our reconciliation above for our calculation of free cash flow. With respect to this particular forward-looking projection, the Company is unable to provide a quantitative reconciliation at this time as the inputs to the measurement are difficult to predict and estimate and are primarily dependent on future events.

Contact: Merilee Raines, Chief Financial Officer, 1-207-556-8155