PHILADELPHIA, May 5/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- eResearchTechnology, Inc. (eRT), , a leading provider of centralized ECG and eClinical technology, ePRO and other services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and related industries, announced today results for the quarter ended March 31, 2008.
“We are extremely pleased with the first quarter results where we saw record quarterly revenue, transactions, bookings and backlog for eRT,” commented Dr. Michael McKelvey, President and CEO of eRT. “We continue to execute very well on our projects. The integration of the CCSS acquisition is proceeding on schedule, and we are meeting with clients to begin the transition process of individual studies. Our services revenue grew by 80.9%, driven by outstanding growth in our core cardiac safety business. Bookings were strong across all phases, but especially in Phase I and Phase III studies. The quarter again demonstrated the leverage in our business model as evidenced by expanding gross margins and net income growth.”
The Company reported revenues of $33.7 million for the first quarter of 2008, an increase of 59.7% from $21.1 million in the first quarter of 2007. Net income was $5.7 million for the first quarter of 2008, an increase of 155.6% from $2.2 million for the first quarter of 2007. Diluted net income per share was $0.11 for the first quarter of 2008, up $0.07 from the $0.04 in the first quarter of 2007.
eRT ended the quarter with $48.9 million in cash, cash equivalents and investments, an increase of $2.0 million from $46.9 million at December 31, 2007. Operations generated $7.6 million, which was partially offset by payments to Covance under the terms of the CCSS acquisition.
“Our pipeline of new opportunities is strong, reflecting the continued emphasis on cardiac safety and eRT’s reputation for quality, medical and scientific leadership, project execution and technology innovation,” continued Dr. McKelvey. “The pricing environment continues to be stable. The Exclusive Marketing Agreement with Covance is adding to our pipeline, as are our continued strong relationships with other key partnerships with CROs and Phase I units. While there are many areas in which we will continue to work to improve, the first quarter was an excellent start and bodes well for the remainder of 2008.”
2008 Guidance
The Company issued guidance for the second quarter of 2008 and for the full year 2008. eRT expects to report revenues of between $34.0 million and $36.0 million and diluted net income per share of between $0.10 to $0.12 for the second quarter ending June 30, 2008. For the full year 2008, the Company is increasing its guidance for revenue to between $133.0 million and $140.0 million and diluted net income per share to between $0.44 to $0.49; previously issued guidance for revenue was between $130.0 million and $137.0 million and for diluted net income per share was between $0.42 to $0.46.
Dr. McKelvey and Richard Baron, the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, will hold a conference call to discuss these results. The conference call will take place at 5:00 p.m. EDT on May 5, 2008. Interested participants should call 800-322-5044 when calling within the United States or 617-614-4927 when calling internationally. Please use pass code 13961971. There will be a playback available until May 12, 2008. To listen to the playback, please call 888-286-8010 when calling within the United States or 617-801-6888 when calling internationally. Please use pass code 12540628 for the replay.
This call is being webcast by Thomson Financial and can be accessed at eRT’s web site at www.eRT.com . The webcast may also be accessed at Thomson’s Institutional Investor website at http://phx.corporate-ir.net/playerlink.zhtml?c=119164&s=wm&e=1829106 . The webcast can be accessed until May 5, 2009 on either site.
About eResearchTechnology, Inc.
Based in Philadelphia, PA, eResearchTechnology, Inc. (http://www.eRT.com ) is a provider of technology and services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries on a global basis. The Company is a market leader in providing centralized core-diagnostic electrocardiographic (ECG) technology and services to evaluate cardiac safety in clinical development. The Company is also a leader in providing technology and services to streamline the clinical trials process by enabling its customers to automate the collection, analysis, and distribution of clinical data in all phases of clinical development.
Statements included in this release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements, including, but not limited to, 2008 financial guidance, involve a number of risks and uncertainties such as the Company’s ability to obtain new contracts and accurately estimate net revenues due to uncertain regulatory guidance, variability in size, scope and duration of projects, and internal issues at the sponsoring client, integration of acquisitions, competitive factors, technological development, and market demand. As a result, actual results may differ materially from any financial outlooks stated herein. Further information on potential factors that could affect the Company’s financial results can be found in the Company’s Reports on Form 10-K and 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
CONTACT: Richard Baron of eResearchTechnology, Inc., +1-215-282-5566;
Robert East of Westwicke Partners, LLC, +1-410-321-9652
Web site: http://www.ert.com/
