Charles River’s Q2 Buoyed by RMS Division, Recent Acquisitions

CRO Charles River Laboratories saw slight growth in Q2 thanks to its Research Models & Services (RMS) division and two recent acquisitions.

RMS segment sales were $180.5 million or a 5.5% gain in constant currency due primarily to the acquisitions of Accugenix and Vital River,” James Foster, chairman, president and CEO, said in the conference call, according to a transcript.

The company’s preclinical services segment also saw year-over-year growth of 3.1% in constant currency, which Foster commended and said was driven by large biopharmaceutical and mid-tier clients.

CRL’s operations in China may also see an uptick moving forward as demand “for high-quality research models in China is expanding” and as government stimulus, and academic and private investments grow, Foster said.

The company reaffirmed its expectations for the rest of the year but reduced its EPS guidance range and to reflect second quarter charges related to a government billing adjustment and debt refinancing costs, CFO Thomas Ackerman said in the call.

Foster also noted that CRL saw a “moderate impact on spending by our government and academic clients in the second quarter, which we believe may be due to sequestration.”

One government contract was cancelled and there were restrictions on filling open positions in some of our in-sourcing solutions contracts, he said, noting that the company is still “maintaining our estimate that the impact of sequestration in 2013 should be approximately $3 million.”