(Reuters) -Contract drug developer Charles River Laboratories on Wednesday raised its annual profit forecast after posting strong third-quarter results, helped by stabilized demand for its drug discovery and development services from biotech clients.
“Demand for our extensive portfolio of early-stage research and manufacturing products and services remains stable,” said CEO James Foster.
“We believe that positive signals are beginning to emerge which indicate that the industry may be on a path towards recovery; however, sustained improvement in our business will take time,” he added.
Contract research firms have witnessed reduced spending from biotech clients in the past two years. The funding crunch, which was expected to improve this year, could be prolonged due to policy uncertainty from the Trump administration.
The Massachusetts-based company raised its 2025 adjusted profit forecast to a range of $10.10 to $10.30 per share, from its previous view of $9.90 to $10.30 per share.
Charles River now expects full-year revenue to decline between 0.5% and 1.5%, compared with its previous forecast of a decline of 0.5% to 2.5%.
The company reported revenue of $1 billion for the quarter ended September 27, surpassing analysts’ average estimate of $990.8 million, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Charles River, which also has a contract manufacturing business, reported a quarterly profit of $2.43 per share on an adjusted basis, compared with estimates of $2.34 per share.
(Reporting by Puyaan Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
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