Charles River beats quarterly estimates on steady demand for drug development services

May 7 (Reuters) – Contract drug developer Charles River Laboratories on Thursday beat Wall Street expectations for first-quarter results, helped by improved demand for its drug discovery and development services.

Here are more details:

• Charles River’s positive results point to a gradual rebound for contract research organizations, as biotech and pharma clients begin to reengage in drug discovery and safety testing after an extended spell of cautious spending.

• Biotech firms hire contract research organizations, or CROs, to run parts of clinical trials, such as patient recruitment, data collection and regulatory compliance.

• “We are pleased to deliver on our first-quarter financial targets, and remain well positioned to generate improving results over the course of the year,” CEO Birgit Girshick said.

• On an adjusted basis, Charles River reported profit of $2.06 per share for the quarter ended March 28, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $1.94 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.

• Quarterly revenue came in at $995.8 million, surpassing analysts’ average estimate of $977.5 million.

• Revenue at its discovery and safety assessment segment rose 0.7% to $596.9 million in the first quarter.

• The company reaffirmed its full-year adjusted profit forecast of $10.80 to $11.30 per share.

• Earlier this week, its peer IQVIA Holdings also reported better-than-expected quarterly results, buoyed by strong demand for its clinical research and technology services used by pharmaceutical clients.

(Reporting by Kamal Choudhury in Bengaluru; Editing by Diti Pujara)