WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Danaher Corp. has announced that net earnings for the quarter ended July 3 were $296 million, or 89 cents per diluted share, an 18.5 percent decrease as compared to the company’s 2008 second quarter net earnings of $363 million, or $1.09 per diluted share. Included in the net earnings and diluted earnings per share are certain discrete credits and charges that are summarized in the attached supplemental schedule. Sales for the 2009 second quarter were $2.67 billion, 18.5 percent less than the $3.28 billion reported for the 2008 second quarter. Core revenues declined 15 percent in the quarter, compared to the second quarter of 2008.

Net earnings for the first six months of 2009 were $533 million, or $1.61 per diluted share, compared with net earnings of $640 million, or $1.92 per diluted share for the first six months of 2008. Sales for the first six months of 2009 were $5.30 billion compared to $6.31 billion for the first six months of 2008, a decrease of 16 percent.

H. Lawrence Culp, Jr., president and chief executive officer, stated, “We continue to experience significant headwinds across most of our businesses and end markets due to the weak global economy. Despite these challenging conditions, we are encouraged by our strong margin and free cash flow performance. Our free cash flow was $438 million in the quarter, with a free cash flow to net income conversion ratio of 148 percent. As a result of the difficult operating environment, we continue to aggressively implement our cost reduction activities across the company, which when combined with our focus on capturing share gains in a down market, should position us well for the balance of 2009 and beyond.”