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Federal Funds Rate

We like to think that when we deposit a dollar at the bank, it goes into a big vault and we can pull out that same dollar at any time. But that¿s not how the U.S. banking system works. Banks take that money and invest it to make money themselves, so cash gets spread around. This, naturally, leads to a big risk: What happens if those investments go sour? Well, you¿d be out of luck. You can¿t get your dollar back.

The Federal Reserve doesn¿t like that scenario, so it prohibits banks from putting all the cash it has on deposit on the line. In fact, the Fed forces banks to keep a portion of their assets at the Federal Reserve itself, to make sure that some of your assets won¿t get squandered if the bank¿s bets go south. These are called ¿reserves,¿ (hence, Federal Reserve. Got it? Good), and usually amount to 10% of the total cash kept in checking accounts.

These reserves are never exactly 10%, and banks like to keep a little extra in reserve ¿ not, as you might think, to make you more comfortable that they¿re in good financial shape, but rather so they can take that excess and lend it to other banks and make money off it. (They¿re banks, they can¿t help themselves.) The rate at which they make these loans is called the Federal Funds rate, which is set by the Federal Reserve¿s Federal Open Market Committee.

When you hear people chattering about how the Fed cut or hiked interest rates, this is what they¿re talking about: the interest rate banks can charge for lending money from their reserves. This begs the question: If these are essentially loans between banks, why is the Fed Funds rate so important for the rest of the economy?

Well, simply put, because loans make the financial world go round. Bank A lends Bank B $10,000 at a Fed Funds rate of 5%. Bank B then lends out $10,000 to a small business at 7%. The small business then takes that money and expands the business and hires new workers. Now someone is employed, Bank B has made interest off the loan, and Bank A is the richer for making it all happen. It¿s perhaps overly simplistic, but you get the idea. When you want the economy to thrive, you make lending cheaper.

Of course, sometimes you don¿t want the economy to thrive. In fact, you might want it to cool down, mostly to avoid money flooding the system and causing inflation. In that case, the Fed raises interest rates, making it difficult to lend or borrow.

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Bruker Corporation Reports First Quarter 2008 Results

 
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BILLERICA, Mass., May 05, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) ----Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ:BRKR) today reported financial results for the first quarter 2008, ended on March 31, 2008.

On February 26, 2008, Bruker BioSciences Corporation closed its acquisition of the Bruker BioSpin Group, and renamed itself Bruker Corporation. Under US GAAP, this transaction is accounted for as an acquisition of businesses under common control, and as a result all one-time transaction costs are expensed in the period in which they are incurred, rather than being added to goodwill. In addition, expenses incurred subsequent to the consummation of the acquisition, such as interest expenses incurred on acquisition related debt, are not reflected in the financial results of periods prior to the date of the acquisition, as they typically would be in pro-forma financials in acquisitions of unrelated parties. After the closing of the transaction all historical financial statements are required to be restated by combining the historical consolidated financial statements of Bruker BioSciences Corporation with those of the Bruker BioSpin Group. Accordingly, the financial results for the first quarters of 2008 and of 2007 included within this release have been restated to combine the historical consolidated financial statements of Bruker BioSciences Corporation with those of the Bruker BioSpin Group for both full quarters.

In the first quarter of 2008, revenue increased 14.9% to $238.4 million, compared to revenue of $207.5 million in the first quarter of 2007. Foreign currency translation contributed 9.9% to this revenue growth rate. GAAP operating income for the first quarter of 2008 was $15.9 million, compared to $19.7 million in the first quarter of 2007. Included in GAAP operating income in the first quarter of 2008 were acquisition related charges of $5.8 million, which, if excluded, would result in a 10.2% increase in operating income over the first quarter of 2007.

GAAP diluted earnings (loss) per share were ($0.00) in the first quarter of 2008, compared to $0.09 in the first quarter of 2007. Included in GAAP EPS for the first quarter of 2008 were previously announced foreign exchange losses of ($0.06) per diluted share, Bruker BioSpin acquisition related expenses of ($0.04) per diluted share, and interest expense on acquisition related debt of ($0.01) per diluted share, with a cumulative effect of ($0.10) per diluted share. For comparison, included in net income for the first quarter of 2007 were foreign exchange losses of ($0.7 million), or ($0.00) per diluted share, and there were no acquisition related charges or interest expense.

Cash flow from operations in the first quarter of 2008 was $22.3 million, compared to $21.7 million in the first quarter of 2007. As of March 31, 2008, Bruker Corporation had a net debt position of $101 million.

"The acquisition of the Bruker BioSpin Group in February was a transformational event for our company, and we are very excited about the introduction of several novel and truly innovative products and solutions at Pittcon 2008," said Frank Laukien, President and CEO. "We are in the early stages of integrating the new combined Bruker group. Despite uncertain economic conditions we expect in the medium term to realize revenue synergies through cross-selling opportunities and integrated solutions development, and we are also planning further gross margin improvements and expense leveraging through sourcing efficiencies, shared functions and operational streamlining."

William Knight, Chief Financial Officer, commented: "In the first quarter our operational performance was below our internal goals, but within the range of quarterly fluctuations that we expect to see with the combined new business. Our bottom line was negatively impacted by foreign exchange losses, as well as by acquisition related charges and interest expense, which resulted in a reduction in our earnings by ($0.10) per diluted share. We are working to reduce interest expenses and the effects of foreign currency fluctuations in the future, and as part of these initiatives we have already repaid approximately $55 million of the debt incurred to acquire the Bruker BioSpin Group in April, and have plans in place to repay an additional $80 million this week."

USE OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

In addition to the financial measures prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), we use certain non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted operating income and adjusted EPS. Adjusted operating income excludes acquisition related charges and adjusted EPS excludes acquisition related charges, interest expense on acquisition related debt, and foreign exchange losses. We believe the inclusion of these non-GAAP measures helps investors to gain a better understanding of our core operating results and future prospects, consistent with how management measures and forecasts the Company's performance, especially when comparing such results to previous periods or forecasts. However, the non-GAAP financial measures included in this press release are not meant to be a better presentation or a substitute for results prepared in accordance with GAAP.

EARNINGS CONFERENCE CALL

Bruker Corporation will host an operator-assisted earnings conference call at 8 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Monday, May 5, 2008. To listen to the webcast, investors can go to www.bruker.com and click on the live web broadcast symbol. The webcast will be available through the Company web site for 30 days. Investors can also listen and participate on the telephone in the US and Canada by calling 888-339-2688, or 617-847-3007 outside the US and Canada. Investors should refer to the Bruker Corporation Earnings Call. A telephone replay of the conference call will be available one hour after the conference call by dialing 888-286-8010 in the US and Canada, or 617-801-6888 outside the US and Canada, and then entering replay pass code 94254806.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT

Any statements contained in this press release that do not describe historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any forward-looking statements contained herein are based on current expectations, but are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. The factors that could cause actual future results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties relating to the integration of businesses we have acquired or may acquire in the future, changing technologies, product development and market acceptance of our products, the cost and pricing of our products, manufacturing, competition, dependence on collaborative partners and key suppliers, capital spending and government funding policies, changes in governmental regulations, intellectual property rights, litigation, and exposure to foreign currency fluctuations. These and other factors are identified and described in more detail in our filings with the SEC, including, without limitation, our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, our most recent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and our current reports on Form 8-K. We disclaim any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements other than as required by law.

 Bruker Corporation CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (in thousands, except per share data) Three Months
   Ended March 31, ------------------- 2008 2007 --------- --------- Product revenue $207,035 $181,609 Service revenue 29,957
   25,187 Other revenue 1,444 740 --------- --------- Total revenue 238,436 207,536 Cost of product revenue 104,901 96,649 Cost
   of service revenue 20,406 16,339 --------- --------- Total cost of revenue 125,307 112,988 --------- --------- Gross profit
   margin 113,129 94,548 Operating Expenses: Sales and marketing 43,393 35,462 General and administrative 16,804 13,413 Research
   and development 31,205 25,964 Acquisition related charges 5,793 - --------- --------- Total operating expenses 97,195 74,839
   --------- --------- Operating income 15,934 19,709 Foreign exchange losses, net (12,219) (711) Interest and other income (expense),
   net 30 1,461 --------- --------- Income before income tax provision and minority interest in consolidated subsidiaries 3,745
   20,459 Income tax provision 4,270 6,023 --------- --------- Income before minority interest in consolidated subsidiaries (525)
   14,436 Minority interest in consolidated subsidiaries 160 86 --------- --------- Net income (loss) $ (685) $ 14,350 =========
   ========= Net income (loss) per share: Basic $ (0.00) $ 0.09 ========= ========= Diluted $ (0.00) $ 0.09 ========= =========
   Weighted average shares outstanding: Basic 162,303 160,365 ========= ========= Diluted 162,303 162,906 ========= =========
   
 Bruker Corporation CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (in thousands) March 31, December 2008 31, 2007 ----------
   ---------- ASSETS Current assets: Cash and short-term investments $ 321,282 $ 344,554 Accounts receivable, net 165,081 185,217
   Inventories 511,597 447,688 Other current assets 88,500 57,238 ---------- ---------- Total current assets 1,086,460 1,034,697
   Property and equipment, net 231,541 207,588 Intangible and other assets 79,428 69,346 ---------- ---------- Total assets $1,397,429
   $1,311,631 ========== ========== LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY Current liabilities: Short-term borrowings $ 253,096
   $ 35,591 Accounts payable 59,210 52,293 Customer deposits 275,241 233,466 Other current liabilities 244,064 239,841 ----------
   ---------- Total current liabilities 831,611 561,191 Long-term debt 169,428 6,394 Other long-term liabilities 106,005 107,656
   Minority interest in subsidiaries 672 538 Total shareholders' equity 289,713 635,852 ---------- ---------- Total liabilities
   and shareholders' equity $1,397,429 $1,311,631 ========== ========== 

SOURCE: Bruker Corporation

Bruker Corporation
   Michael Willett, +1 978-663-3660, ext. 1411 Investor Relations Officer Email: michael.willett@bruker.com 
Copyright
   Business Wire 2008

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