UPDATE: Covance Posts In-Line Q3 Earnings

Covance (NYSE: CVD) reported in-line earnings for the third quarter.Laboratory Corp of America Holdings (NYSE: LH) announced its plans to acquire Covance for around $6.1 billion in cash and stock.The Princeton, New Jersey-based company reported quarterly earnings of $66 million, or $1.16 per share. Excluding non-recurring items, the company earned $0.98 per share.Its revenue rose to $671 million in the period, while net revenue climbed 3.4% to $627 million. However, analysts were estimating earnings of $0.98 per share.Net revenue for the Early Development segment rose 6.6% to $234.8 million, while revenue for the Late-Stage Development segment climbed 1.5% to $392.3 million.The company's adjusted net orders came in at $752 million. At September 30, 2014, backlog at was $6.82 billion, versus $6.92 billion at June 30, 2014 and $6.83 billion at September 30, 2013.At September 30, 2014, cash and cash equivalents were $705 million, versus cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $593 million at September 30, 2013.Joe Herring, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer said, "The significant strengthening of the US Dollar since June 30, 2014 is expected to dampen fourth quarter revenue by approximately $20 million and diluted earnings per share by approximately $0.05 versus our prior expectation. Using September 30 exchange rates, we expect fourth quarter revenue to be in the range of $625 million to $635 million and diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $0.95 to $0.98, which would bring full-year earnings per share to $3.78 to $3.81 (excluding gains on sale, costs associated with our restructuring activities, and asset impairment charges)."For the full year, Covance now projects earnings of $3.78 to $3.81 per share.Covance shares rose 0.72% to close at $79.90 on Friday.