LabCorp 2Q profit falls 19 percent on charges

BURLINGTON, N.C. - Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings, a clinical lab services company, said Thursday its second-quarter profit fell 19 percent on the costs of closing facilities and increasing its debt provisions. LabCorp's profit decreased to $104.2 million, or 92 cents per share, compared with $128.7 million, or $1.05 per share, in the second quarter of 2007. The results included $35.9 million in one-time charges, which cut its net income by 32 cents per share. Revenue rose 10 percent to $1.15 billion, as testing volume increased 9 percent, and prices rose 1 percent. On average, analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected LabCorp to report a profit of $1.24 per share on $1.16 billion in revenue. Analyst estimates normally exclude one-time items. The company said it took a charge of $16 million to eliminate redundant... [read full story]