IDEXX Laboratories Inc. (NSDQ:IDXX) expanded its stock buyback plan by 4 million shares, taking the total number it could repurchase to nearly 6.3 million.
The Westbrook, Maine-based veterinary diagnostics maker said its board of directors upped the repurchasing plan, which had about 2.3 million shares remaining as of Dec. 31, 2009, and that it can make buybacks of its own stock in the open market or through negotiated private deals.
IDEXX posted fourth-quarter sales of $270.3 million for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2009, up 11.1 percent compared with $243.3 million during the same period last year. Net income rose 31.4 percent to $31 million, compared with $23.6 million during Q4 2008.
The company’s shares were trading at $51.15 as of about 12:30 Feb. 11, up 1.5 percent on the day.