Bio-Reference Laboratories, Inc. Announces 24% Increase in Quarterly Revenues, Best Ever Revenues and Earnings.

ELMWOOD PARK, N.J. -- Pre-tax net income increased 23% for the 3rd Quarter and 63% for the nine months ended 7/31/2004 while EPS was $.18 for the 3rd Quarter and $.41 for the fiscal year to date

Bio-Reference Laboratories, Inc. (NASDAQ: BRLI) (Dollars in Thousands Except Per Share Data or where otherwise noted) released its third quarter, fiscal year 2004 earnings today for the three months ending July 31. The Company announced net revenues of $35,843, an increase of 24% over the net revenues of $28,920 posted in the prior year third quarter. Net income after taxes of $1,369 was $2,325 resulting in earnings per share (EPS) on a fully diluted basis of $.18 as compared to $.18 in the prior year quarter when the Company paid $700 in taxes. The Company reported gross profit on revenues for the current quarter of $18,272, resulting in a margin for gross profit on revenues of 51% compared to the prior year $14,578 which resulted in a margin of 50%. Net income before taxes increased 23% to a best ever $3,694 in the current quarter over pre-tax net income of $3,001 in the same quarter of the prior year.

The record revenues were based on a patient count for the current quarter of nearly 644 thousand, an improvement of 18% over the prior year, same quarter patient count of approximately 547 thousand. Revenue per patient for the current quarter was $55.13 per patient, an increase of nearly 5% over the same quarter prior fiscal year revenue per patient of $52.63. The Company noted that esoteric testing rose to 34% of revenues compared to the 28% recorded in the third quarter of the prior fiscal year. During the third quarter of the current fiscal year, the Company repurchased a total of 30,000 shares of its common stock pursuant to the 500,000 share Stock Buy Back announced on March 6, 2003 and pursuant which the Company has repurchased 259,700 shares to date.

Nine month revenues increased to $98,440, an increase of more than 25% over the same period revenues of $78,630 in the prior fiscal year. Net income before taxes for the first nine months of the current year was $8,538, an increase of 63% over the prior year same period net income before taxes of $5,239. On a fully taxed basis, net income in the first nine months of the current fiscal year was $5,203, or $.41 EPS per fully diluted share, an increase of nearly 21% over the prior year same period net income of $4,293, and $.34 EPS per fully diluted share for the nine month period. The Company reported gross profit on revenues for the current nine month period of $48,724, resulting in a margin for gross profit on revenues of nearly 50% compared to the prior year same period of $37,391 which resulted in a margin of 48%.

Marc D. Grodman M.D., President noted, "We have continued to sustain significant growth in all aspects of our business operations. Our routine testing business has grown at the fastest pace recorded by the Company in the past several years; esoteric testing has grown at an even faster pace and now represents 34% of our revenues. We added two more states to our prison healthcare business and our subsidiary businesses have begun to contribute to our net revenues. Our GenPath Division, our focused oncology laboratory, has been the main contributor to our strong growth in esoteric testing and is primarily responsible for the 5% expansion in our revenue per patient. We have achieved these record numbers because we have been careful in our planning and we have capitalized on the opportunities that have been present in our markets. Our sales and marketing efforts have provided day to day gains in the regional physician office business where we have great success at gaining market share from our national competitors. Our national presence in oncology and correctional healthcare has substantially expanded our geographic footprint and has enabled us to increase business by expanding into new marketing areas."

Dr. Grodman continued, "While we have continued to chip away at our costs of operations on a daily basis, we have chosen to pay the higher cost of growth, especially in sales and marketing, in order to be opportunistic in an expanding market. That cost has enabled us to upgrade our technology and professional staffs in oncology that we believe are now second to none; that cost has enabled us to diversify further into other expanding areas of the clinical laboratory business that will assure our continued growth into the foreseeable future; and that cost has enabled us to expand our facilities so that we can easily accommodate our continued growth well into the future. We have firmly established ourselves in the oncology markets and we are now looking to take advantage of a similar growth opportunity in the area of anatomic pathology. These two areas have seen major marketing shifts in the last 12 to 24 months and we have positioned ourselves to take advantage of these market shifts. During the third quarter we announced that we had acquired a cancer genetics laboratory; while this acquisition did not represent a significant increase in our revenue base, the acquisition clearly signaled that we have closed the loop on our ability to fully service the hematological malignancy market. This has greatly enhanced our capability on the one hand, but more importantly it has enhanced our professional and technical level of expertise in a vital area of cancer clinical testing. We will continue to seek opportunities to improve our capacity and technology; and we will continue to put all fiscally responsible resources into sustaining our unprecedented growth and expansion."

The Company's third quarter earnings conference call is scheduled for today at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. The live audio Web cast will be available at the Company's corporate Web site, www.bioreference.com and through www.streetevents.com. To listen to the call please go to either Web site ten minutes before the conference call is scheduled to begin. You will need to register as well as download and install any necessary audio software. The Web cast will be archived, on both Web sites, for 30 days following the call.

About Bio-Reference Laboratories, Inc.

The Company is the largest independent regional clinical laboratory operating in the Northeast with major market positions in physician offices, nursing homes and clinics. The Company also maintains specialized focused market offerings that are national in scope. These include GenPath, its cancer and genomics laboratory, and an expanding correctional health program. PSIMedica, a business unit of the Company, is a clinical knowledge management (CKM) organization offering an array of information solutions for reducing healthcare costs and improving quality performance based on claims data, enrollment data, prescription data and laboratory data. The Company also provides a comprehensive connectivity solution to physicians and laboratories nationwide through CareEvolve, its web based healthcare portal.

Bio-Reference Laboratories, Inc.
                 Consolidated Statements of Operations
             (Dollars In Thousands Except Per Share Data)
                              (Unaudited)
                       Three Months Ended         Nine Months Ended
                           July 31,                 July 31,
                              2004      2003        2004        2003

Net Revenues                 $35,843    $28,920    $98,440    $78,630
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Cost of Sales                 17,571     14,342     49,716     41,239
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Gross Profit on Revenues     $18,272    $14,578    $48,724    $37,391
----------------------------------------------------------------------
General and
Administrative                14,431     11,420     39,743     31,610
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating Income              $3,841     $3,158     $8,981     $5,781
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Expense, Net               147        157        443        542
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Income Before Taxes           $3,694     $3,001     $8,538     $5,239
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Taxes                          1,369        700      3,335        946
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Net Income                    $2,325     $2,301     $5,203     $4,293
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Income Per Share                $.19       $.20       $.44       $.37
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of Shares          12,227,482 11,423,483 11,890,065 11,502,016
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Income Per Share
(Diluted)                       $.18       $.18       $.41       $.34
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of Shares
(Diluted)                 12,863,026 12,709,076 12,556,494 12,748,984
----------------------------------------------------------------------

                   Bio-Reference Laboratories, Inc.
                      Consolidated Balance Sheets
             (Dollars In Thousands Except Per Share Data)
                              (Unaudited)
                                                July 31,   October 31,
                                                 2004          2003

Cash & Cash Equivalents                           $6,721      $3,966
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Accounts Receivable (Net)                         38,396      32,913
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Plant, Property & Equipment (Net)                  7,122       4,763
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Intangible Assets (Net)                           10,706       8,142
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Assets                                       3,319       3,435
----------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                 $66,264     $53,219
----------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Accounts Payable                                  $9,512      $7,900
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Notes Payable                                     11,695       8,718
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Long-Term Debt                                     3,485       2,202
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Liabilities                                  4,520       4,441
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Shareholder's Equity                              37,052      29,958
----------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                 $66,264     $53,219
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Statements included in this release that are not historical in nature, are intended to be, and are hereby identified as "forward-looking statements". Statements looking forward in time are included in this release pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause the Company's actual results in future periods to be materially different from any future performance suggested herein.

www.bioreference.com