Charles River Laboratories Announces Third-Quarter 2024 Results

– Third-Quarter Revenue of $1.01 Billion –

– Third-Quarter GAAP Earnings per Share of $1.33 and Non-GAAP Earnings per Share of $2.59 –

– Updates 2024 Guidance –

WILMINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE: CRL) today reported its results for the third quarter of 2024. For the quarter, revenue was $1.01 billion, a decrease of 1.6% from $1.03 billion in the third quarter of 2023.

The impact of foreign currency translation benefited reported revenue by 0.4%, and an acquisition contributed 0.9% to consolidated third-quarter revenue. A divestiture of a small Safety Assessment site reduced reported revenue by 0.2%. Excluding the effect of these items, revenue declined 2.7% on an organic basis. On a segment basis, organic revenue growth in the Manufacturing Solutions (Manufacturing) and Research Models and Services (RMS) segments were more than offset by lower revenue in the Discovery and Safety Assessment (DSA) segment.

In the third quarter of 2024, the GAAP operating margin decreased to 11.6% from 14.8% in the third quarter of 2023. This GAAP decrease was primarily driven by costs associated with the Company’s restructuring initiatives. On a non-GAAP basis, the operating margin improved in all three segments; however, the improvements were more than offset by higher unallocated corporate costs, which resulted in the third-quarter operating margin decreasing to 19.9% from 20.5%.

On a GAAP basis, third-quarter net income attributable to common shareholders was $68.7 million, a decrease of 21.4% from $87.4 million for the same period in 2023. Third-quarter diluted earnings per share on a GAAP basis were $1.33, a decrease of 21.3% from $1.69 for the third quarter of 2023. The GAAP net income and earnings per share decreases were driven primarily by lower revenue and operating income, which included higher costs associated with the Company’s restructuring initiatives. On a non-GAAP basis, net income was $133.7 million for the third quarter of 2024, a decrease of 4.8% from $140.5 million for the same period in 2023. Third-quarter diluted earnings per share on a non-GAAP basis were $2.59, a decrease of 4.8% from $2.72 per share for the third quarter of 2023. The decreases in non-GAAP net income and earnings per share were driven primarily by lower revenue and operating income.

James C. Foster, Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “Forward-looking demand indicators were relatively stable in the third quarter, contributing to third-quarter financial performance which exceeded our prior outlook. We are continuing to navigate through a challenging period as global biopharmaceutical clients reduce spending in conjunction with major restructuring and pipeline reprioritization activities, but overall demand trends do not appear to have deteriorated further. In addition, biotech funding has improved in 2024, and demand appears to be demonstrating early signs of stabilization. These factors resulted in a slight, sequential improvement in net book-to-bill and the cancellation rate in the Safety Assessment business.”

“We remain laser focused during this period on our strategy, which includes aggressively managing our cost structure, enhancing our clients’ experiences to gain additional share, and protecting shareholder value. We will continue to distinguish ourselves through our exceptional science and preclinical focus, in order to extend our leading position as our clients’ preferred, global, non-clinical drug development partner. We expect to emerge from this period as a stronger, leaner, and more profitable company, and an even more responsive partner for our clients,” Mr. Foster concluded.

Third-Quarter Segment Results

Research Models and Services (RMS)

Revenue for the RMS segment was $197.8 million in the third quarter of 2024, an increase of 5.9% from $186.8 million in the third quarter of 2023. The Noveprim acquisition in November 2023 contributed 4.9% to third-quarter RMS reported revenue, and the impact of foreign currency translation increased revenue by 0.4%. Organic revenue increased by 0.6%, due primarily to higher sales of small research models in all geographic regions, principally driven by higher pricing. This was largely offset by a revenue decline for research model services, particularly in the Insourcing Solutions business.

In the third quarter of 2024, the RMS segment’s GAAP operating margin decreased to 13.9% from 15.2% in the third quarter of 2023. The GAAP operating margin decline was driven primarily by higher amortization expense related to the Noveprim acquisition coupled with higher costs associated with the Company’s restructuring initiatives, including severance and site consolidation costs. On a non-GAAP basis, the operating margin increased to 21.0% from 18.9%. The non-GAAP operating margin increase was primarily driven by higher pricing for small research models, a favorable revenue mix related to the Noveprim acquisition, and the benefit of cost savings associated with the Company’s restructuring initiatives.

Discovery and Safety Assessment (DSA)

Revenue for the DSA segment was $615.1 million in the third quarter of 2024, a decrease of 7.4% from $664.0 million in the third quarter of 2023. The divestiture of a small Safety Assessment site reduced reported revenue by 0.3% and the impact of foreign currency translation increased DSA revenue by 0.3%. Organic revenue decreased by 7.4%, driven primarily by lower sales volume in both the Discovery Services and Safety Assessment businesses.

In the third quarter of 2024, the DSA segment’s GAAP operating margin decreased to 20.6% from 22.1% in the third quarter of 2023 primarily driven by lower revenue and higher severance costs related to restructuring initiatives. On a non-GAAP basis, the operating margin increased to 27.4% from 27.2% in the third quarter of 2023. The non-GAAP operating margin increase was primarily driven by the benefit of cost savings associated with restructuring initiatives.

Manufacturing Solutions (Manufacturing)

Revenue for the Manufacturing segment was $196.9 million in the third quarter of 2024, an increase of 12.0% from $175.7 million in the third quarter of 2023. The impact of foreign currency translation increased Manufacturing revenue by 0.2%. Organic revenue growth of 11.8% reflected higher revenue across each of the segment’s businesses.

In the third quarter of 2024, the Manufacturing segment’s GAAP operating margin increased to 20.4% from 15.0% in the third quarter of 2023, and on a non-GAAP basis, the operating margin increased to 28.7%, from 24.5% in the third quarter of 2023. The GAAP and non-GAAP operating margin increases were driven primarily by improved operating leverage from higher revenue in each of segment’s businesses, as well as the benefit of cost savings associated with restructuring initiatives.

Stock Repurchase Update

On August 2, 2024, the Company’s Board of Directors approved a new stock repurchase authorization of $1.0 billion. Following the new authorization, the Company repurchased 500,000 shares during the third quarter of 2024 for a total of $100.7 million. As of September 28, 2024, the Company has $899.3 million remaining on its $1.0 billion stock repurchase authorization.

Updates 2024 Guidance

The Company is updating its financial guidance for 2024, which was previously revised on August 7, 2024. Revenue and non-GAAP earnings per share guidance have been narrowed and slightly raised from the midpoint of the previous ranges to principally reflect the third-quarter financial performance, which exceeded the Company’s prior outlook. In addition, GAAP earnings per share guidance has been reduced due primarily to increased charges related to the Company’s additional restructuring actions.

The Company’s 2024 guidance for revenue growth and earnings per share is as follows:

Webcast

Charles River has scheduled a live webcast on Wednesday, November 6^th, at 9:30 a.m. ET to discuss matters relating to this press release. To participate, please go to ir.criver.com and select the webcast link. You can also find the associated slide presentation and reconciliations of GAAP financial measures to non-GAAP financial measures on the website.

Non-GAAP Reconciliations

The Company reports non-GAAP results in this press release, which exclude often-one-time charges and other items that are outside of normal operations. A reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP results is provided in the schedules at the end of this press release.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release contains non-GAAP financial measures, such as non-GAAP earnings per diluted share, non-GAAP operating income, non-GAAP operating margin, and non-GAAP net income. Non-GAAP financial measures exclude, but are not limited to, the amortization of intangible assets and the purchase accounting step-up adjustment on inventory and certain long term biological assets, and other charges and adjustments related to our acquisitions and divestitures, including incremental dividends attributable to Noveprim noncontrolling interest holders and the gain on our sale of our Avian Vaccine business; expenses associated with evaluating and integrating acquisitions and divestitures, including advisory fees and certain other transaction-related costs, as well as fair value adjustments associated with contingent consideration; charges, gains, and losses attributable to businesses or properties we plan to close, consolidate, or divest; severance and other costs associated with our restructuring initiatives; the write-off of deferred financing costs and fees related to debt financing; investment gains or losses associated with our venture capital and other strategic equity investments; certain legal costs in our Microbial Solutions business related to environmental litigation and in our Safety Assessment business related to U.S. government investigations into the NHP supply chain; tax effect of all of the aforementioned matters; and adjustments related to the recognition of deferred tax assets expected to be utilized as a result of changes to the our international financing structure and the revaluation of deferred tax liabilities as a result of foreign tax legislation. This press release also refers to our revenue on both a GAAP and non-GAAP basis: on a non-GAAP basis, we define “organic revenue growth,” which we define as reported revenue growth adjusted for foreign currency translation, acquisitions, and divestitures. We exclude these items from the non-GAAP financial measures because they are outside our normal operations. There are limitations in using non-GAAP financial measures, as they are not presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and may be different than non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies. In particular, we believe that the inclusion of supplementary non-GAAP financial measures in this press release helps investors to gain a meaningful understanding of our core operating results and future prospects without the effect of these often-one-time charges, and is consistent with how management measures and forecasts the Company’s performance, especially when comparing such results to prior periods or forecasts. We believe that the financial impact of our acquisitions and divestitures (and in certain cases, the evaluation of such acquisitions and divestitures, whether or not ultimately consummated) is often large relative to our overall financial performance, which can adversely affect the comparability of our results on a period-to-period basis. In addition, certain activities and their underlying associated costs, such as business acquisitions, generally occur periodically but on an unpredictable basis. We calculate non-GAAP integration costs to include third-party integration costs incurred post-acquisition. Presenting revenue on an organic basis allows investors to measure our revenue growth exclusive of acquisitions, divestitures, and foreign currency exchange fluctuations more clearly. Non-GAAP results also allow investors to compare the Company’s operations against the financial results of other companies in the industry who similarly provide non-GAAP results. The non-GAAP financial measures included in this press release are not meant to be considered superior to or a substitute for results of operations presented in accordance with GAAP. The Company intends to continue to assess the potential value of reporting non-GAAP results consistent with applicable rules and regulations. Reconciliations of the non-GAAP financial measures used in this press release to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are set forth in this press release, and can also be found on the Company’s website at ir.criver.com.

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “will,” “would,” “may,” “estimate,” “plan,” “outlook,” and “project,” and other similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These statements also include statements regarding Charles River’s expectations regarding the availability of Cambodia-sourced NHPs; the impact of the investigations by the U.S. government into the Cambodia NHP supply chain, including but not limited to Charles River’s ability to cooperate fully with the U.S. government; Charles River’s ability to effectively manage any Cambodia NHP supply impact; the projected future financial performance of Charles River and our specific businesses, including our expectations with respect to the impact of NHP supply constraints and our ability to gain market share; earnings per share; operating margin; client demand, particularly the future demand for drug discovery and development products and services, including our expectations for future revenue trends; our expectations with respect to pricing of our products and services; our expectations with respect to future tax rates and the impact of such tax rates on our business; our expectations with respect to the impact of acquisitions and divestitures completed in 2021, 2022, and 2023, including the Noveprim acquisition, on the Company, our service offerings, client perception, strategic relationships, revenue, revenue growth rates, revenue growth drivers, and earnings; the development and performance of our services and products, including our investments in our portfolio; market and industry conditions including the outsourcing of services and identification of spending trends by our clients and funding available to them; ability to gain market share and capitalize on business opportunities; the impact of our restructuring initiatives, including annualized savings; the impact of our stock repurchase authorization; and Charles River’s future performance, including as delineated in our forward-looking guidance, and particularly our expectations with respect to revenue, the impact of foreign exchange, interest rates, enhanced efficiency initiatives. Forward-looking statements are based on Charles River’s current expectations and beliefs, and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and that could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by the forward-looking statements. Those risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: NHP supply constraints and the investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice, including the impact on our projected future financial performance, the timing of the resumption of Cambodia NHP imports into the U.S., our ability to manage supply impact, and potential study delays in our Safety Assessment business attributable to NHP supply constraints; changes and uncertainties in the global economy and financial markets; the ability to successfully integrate businesses we acquire, including Noveprim; the timing and magnitude of our share repurchases; negative trends in research and development spending, negative trends in the level of outsourced services, or other cost reduction actions by our clients; the ability to convert backlog to revenue; special interest groups; contaminations; industry trends; new displacement technologies; USDA and FDA regulations; changes in law; continued availability of products and supplies; loss of key personnel; interest rate and foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations; changes in tax regulation and laws; changes in generally accepted accounting principles; disruptions in the global economy caused by geopolitical conflicts; and any changes in business, political, or economic conditions due to the threat of future terrorist activity in the U.S. and other parts of the world, and related U.S. military action overseas. A further description of these risks, uncertainties, and other matters can be found in the Risk Factors detailed in Charles River’s Annual Report on Form 10-K as filed on February 14, 2024, as well as other filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Because forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, actual results and events may differ materially from results and events currently expected by Charles River, and Charles River assumes no obligation and expressly disclaims any duty to update information contained in this press release except as required by law.

About Charles River

Charles River provides essential products and services to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, government agencies and leading academic institutions around the globe accelerate their research and drug development efforts. Our dedicated employees are focused on providing clients with exactly what they need to improve and expedite the discovery, early-stage development and safe manufacture of new therapies for the patients who need them. To learn more about our unique portfolio and breadth of services, visit www.criver.com.

Contacts

Investor Contact:
Todd Spencer
Corporate Vice President,
Investor Relations
781.222.6455
todd.spencer@crl.com

Media Contact:
Amy Cianciaruso
Corporate Vice President,
Chief Communications Officer
781.222.6168
amy.cianciaruso@crl.com

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