Covance Posts 2Q04 Results

Covance Posts 2Q04 Results

PRINCETON, N.J.Covance Inc.(NYSE:CVD) reported earnings of $0.36 per diluted share for its second fiscalquarter ended June 30, 2004 (2Q04), representing 24.1 percent growth over thesame period in 2003 (2Q03).

Net revenues for 2Q04 increased 7.3 percent to $251 million,compared to $233.8 million in 2Q03. Expenses for 2Q04 increased 5.5 percent to$217 million compared to $205.7 million in 2Q03. Net income for the secondquarter increased 27.6 percent to $23.3 million or $0.36 per diluted share, from$18.3 million or $0.29 per diluted share for 2Q03.

During the second quarter the employees of Covancecontinued their strong focus on operational and service excellence for clients,said Chris Kuebler, chairman and chief executive officer. This led to a 50basis point sequential increase in operating margin to 13.6 percent and earningsof $0.36 per share. We were also very pleased to achieve strong order flow inthe quarter, driving backlog to a record of $1.26 billion, a year over yearincrease of more than 17 percent. The continued strength in orders andproductivity advancements across the organization lead us to raise our 2004earnings target from at least $1.47 per share to at least $1.51 per share.

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