8-K

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report: July 27, 2005
(Date of earliest event reported)

eResearchTechnology, Inc.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware	0-29100	22-3264604
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)	(Commission File Number)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

30 South 17th Street, Philadelphia, PA	19103
(Address of principal executive offices)	(Zip Code)

215-972-0420

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

	Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
	Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Item 2.02     RESULTS OF OPERATIONS AND FINANCIAL CONDITION

On July 27, 2005, eResearchTechnology, Inc. issued a press release reporting its results of operations for the quarter and six months ended June 30, 2005 and providing financial guidance for the third quarter and fiscal 2005. A copy of that press release is filed herewith as Exhibit 99.1 and incorporated by reference herein.

Item 9.01     FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS

(c)  Exhibits

     99.1      Press Release dated July 27, 2005 of eResearchTechnology, Inc.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

	eResearchTechnology, Inc.
	(Registrant)
Date: July 27, 2005	By: /s/ Bruce Johnson
	Bruce Johnson
	Chief Financial Officer

EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit No.	Exhibit
99.1	Press Release dated July 27, 2005 of eResearchTechnology, Inc.

EX-99

EXHIBIT 99.1

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Bruce Johnson	Matt Hayden
eResearchTechnology, Inc.	Hayden Communications
215-282-5580	858-704-5065

eResearchTechnology Reports Second Quarter Results

Reports Revenue of $17.6 Million and Earnings per Share of $0.04

PHILADELPHIA, PA July 27, 2005/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ – eResearchTechnology, Inc. (Nasdaq: ERES) (“eRT” or “the company”), a leading provider of technology and services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries, announced today results for the quarter ended June 30, 2005.

The company reported revenues of $17.6 million for the second quarter, compared to $28.2 million in revenue reported for the second quarter of 2004. eRT reported net income for the second quarter of 2005 of $2.0 million, or $0.04 per diluted share, versus net income of $8.1 million, or $0.15 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2004

For the six months ended June 30, 2005, the company reported revenues of $40.5 million, compared to $54.3 million in revenues for the six months ended June 30, 2004. eRT reported net income of $6.0 million, or $0.11 per diluted share for the six months ended June 30, 2005, compared to net income of $15.4 million, or $0.28 per diluted share for the six months ended June 30, 2004.

The company signed $25.6 million in new contracts and work orders in the second quarter of 2005, including $7.5 million for new Thorough Phase I ECG study agreements. eRT ended the quarter with $73.9 million in cash equivalents and short-term investments, an increase from $70.8 million at the end of the first quarter of 2005. During the second quarter of 2005, eRT purchased 200,000 shares of its common stock at a cost of $2.2 million.

“This quarter represents a potential turning point for the company as the global regulatory agreement to move ICH E14 ECG guidance to implementation as of May 12, 2005, solidifies the importance of cardiac safety evaluation in clinical trials, and serves to establish the standards by which such evaluation should be conducted particularly with respect to Thorough QTc studies,” commented Joseph Esposito, President and CEO of eRT. “We expect to see accelerated growth through the balance of 2005 into 2006 commensurate with the increase in demand expected as a result of the E14 requirements.”

2005 Guidance

The company issued the following update to guidance for 2005: For the third quarter of 2005, the company expects to report revenues of between $21 and $24 million and net income of $0.06 to $0.09 per diluted share. For the full year 2005, the company expects to report revenue of between $90 and $95 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.30 to $0.35.

Mr. Esposito and Bruce Johnson, the company’s Chief Financial Officer, will hold a conference call to discuss these results. The conference call will take place at 4:45 p.m. EDT on July 27, 2005. Interested participants should call 888-874-9713 when calling within the United States or 973-935-8506 when calling internationally. There will be a playback available until August 27, 2005. To listen to the playback, please call 877-519-4471 when calling within the United States or 973-341-3080 when calling internationally. Please use pass code 6267293 for the replay.

This call is being webcast by ViaVid Broadcasting and can be accessed at eRT’s web site at www.eRT.com. The webcast may also be accessed at ViaVid’s website at http://viavid.net/dce.aspx?sid=00002719. The webcast can be accessed until August 27, 2005 on either site.

Based in Philadelphia, PA, eResearchTechnology, Inc. (www.eRT.com) is a provider of technology and services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries on a global basis. The company is a market leader in providing centralized core-diagnostic electrocardiographic (ECG) technology and services to evaluate cardiac safety in clinical development. The company is also a leader in providing technology and services to streamline the clinical trials process by enabling its customers to automate the collection, analysis, and distribution of clinical data in all phases of clinical development.

Statements included in this release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements, including, but not limited to, 2005 financial guidance, and the impact of regulatory guidance, involve a number of risks and uncertainties such as the company’s ability to obtain new contracts and accurately estimate net revenues due to uncertain regulatory guidance, variability in size, scope and duration of projects, and internal issues at the sponsoring client, competitive factors, technological development, and market demand. As a result, actual results may differ materially from any financial outlooks stated herein. Further information on potential factors that could affect the company’s financial results can be found in the company’s Reports on Form 10-K and 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

eResearchTechnology, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Statements of Operations
(in thousands, except per share amounts)
(unaudited)

		Three Months Ended June 30,				Six Months Ended June 30,
			2004		2005		2004		2005
Net revenues:
	Licenses	$	2,670	$	1,746	$	5,123	$	3,409
	Services		20,308		11,245		38,318		27,147
	Site support		5,186		4,586		10,815		9,935
Total net revenues			28,164		17,577		54,256		40,491
Costs of revenues:
	Cost of licenses		231		104		353		237
	Cost of services		6,081		5,576		12,066		12,066
	Cost of site support		2,582		3,148		4,945		6,331
Total costs of revenues			8,894		8,828		17,364		18,634
Gross margin			19,270		8,749		36,892		21,857
Operating expenses:
	Selling and marketing		2,364		2,107		4,817		4,445
	General and administrative		2,350		2,639		4,500		5,535
	Research and development		1,042		903		2,015		1,894
Total operating expenses			5,756		5,649		11,332		11,874
Operating income			13,514		3,100		25,560		9,983
Other income, net			84		170		192		165
Income before income taxes			13,598		3,270		25,752		10,148
Income tax provision			5,466		1,304		10,352		4,110
Net income		$	8,132	$	1,966	$	15,400	$	6,038
Basic net income per share		$	0.16	$	0.04	$	0.30	$	0.12
Diluted net income per share		$	0.15	$	0.04	$	0.28	$	0.11
Shares used to calculate basic net
	income per share		51,579		50,388		51,256		50,379
Shares used to calculate diluted net
	income per share		55,571		53,133		55,488		53,229

eResearchTechnology, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(in thousands, except share and per share amounts)

				December 31, 2004			June 30, 2005
ASSETS							(unaudited)
Current assets:
	Cash and cash equivalents		$	45,806		$	40,661
	Short-term investments			22,942			33,217
	Accounts receivable, net			14,798			11,055
	Prepaid expenses and other			3,522			6,872
	Deferred income taxes			323			323
		Total current assets		87,391			92,128
Property and equipment, net				25,204			25,882
Goodwill				1,212			1,212
Other assets				782			485
Deferred income taxes				1,936			962
			$	116,525		$	120,669
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Current liabilities:
	Accounts payable		$	2,455		$	3,000
	Accrued expenses			4,318			4,162
	Income taxes payable			2,147			687
	Current portion of capital lease obligations			233			141
	Deferred revenues			20,325			20,742
		Total current liabilities		29,478			28,732
Capital lease obligations, excluding current portion				193			124
Stockholders’ equity:
	Preferred stock-$10.00 par value, 500,000 shares authorized, none issued and outstanding			—			—
	Common stock-$.01 par value, 175,000,000 shares authorized, 56,396,696 and 56,619,865 shares issued, respectively			564			566
	Additional paid-in capital			69,694			71,402
	Accumulated other comprehensive income			1,601			1,055
	Retained earnings			46,550			52,588
	Treasury stock, 6,067,519 and 6,267,519 shares at cost			(31,555	)		(33,798	)
		Total stockholders’ equity		86,854			91,813
			$	116,525		$	120,669

eResearchTechnology, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(in thousands)
(unaudited)

							Six Months Ended June 30,
							2004			2005
Operating activities:
	Net income					$	15,400		$	6,038
	Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash
		provided by operating activities:
			Depreciation and amortization				4,143			5,209
			Cost of sale of equipment				—			281
			Provision for uncollectable accounts				84			89
			Stock option income tax benefits				9,954			993
			Investment impairment charge				—			284
			Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
				Accounts receivable			(3,716	)		3,552
				Prepaid expenses and other			(1,577	)		(3,026	)
				Accounts payable			290			569
				Accrued expenses			(348	)		(211	)
				Income taxes			(1,089	)		(486	)
				Deferred revenues			7,010			524
					Net cash provided by operating activities		30,151			13,816
Investing activities:
	Purchases of property and equipment						(7,313	)		(6,726	)
	Purchases of short-term investments						(17,552	)		(23,025	)
	Proceeds from sales of short-term investments						9,723			12,750
					Net cash used in investing activities		(15,142	)		(17,001	)
Financing activities:
	Repayment of capital lease obligations						(324	)		(161	)
	Proceeds from exercise of stock options						2,681			722
	Repurchase of common stock for treasury						—			(2,243	)
					Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities		2,357			(1,682	)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash							42			(278	)
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents							17,408			(5,145	)
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period							38,364			45,806
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period						$	55,772		$	40,661