BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 18, 2001--Bright Horizons Family Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq:BFAM) today announced financial results for the quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2001.

Net income for the quarter ending September 30, 2001 increased 23% to $2.8 million from $2.3 million in the third quarter of 2000. Earnings per diluted share of $0.22 in the current quarter increased 22% from $0.18 per diluted share for the quarter ended September 30, 2000. Revenues of $87.2 million for the quarter increased 17% from $74.5 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2000.

Net income for the nine months ending September 30, 2001 increased 21% to $8.5 million from $7.1 million for the same period in 2000. Earnings per diluted share of $0.67 for the nine month period increased 18% from $0.57 per diluted share for the same period in 2000. Revenues of $254.7 million for the nine months ending September 30, 2001 increased 19% from $213.2 million for the same 2000 period.

"We are very pleased with our strong operating performance this quarter and for the year," stated Chief Executive Officer Roger Brown. "We opened a record 21 new centers this quarter, including 13 centers for new clients across a spectrum of industries - educational institutions, manufacturing plants, government agencies, healthcare providers and financial services organizations. In addition to our first center in collaboration with the UAW/Ford/Visteon, we opened centers for Medtronic, TIAA-CREF, Onboard Software, Johns Hopkins, Merrill Lynch, Cook County and the City of Chicago and assumed the management of centers for Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, St. Joseph's Hospital of Kansas City and the Inter-American Development Bank. We also added eight centers for existing clients, including JPMorgan Chase, Siebel Systems, IBM and Prudential. We closed three centers this quarter, resulting in 18 net new centers for the quarter."

"We are also proud of our 48 clients recognized by Working Mother magazine among the "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers", including eight of the top 10 companies," continued Brown. "These winning companies recognize that providing quality work site child care and other programs that help employees better integrate the challenges of work and life are key to their business success."

Bright Horizons also announced the election of President and Chief Operating Officer Mary Ann Tocio and Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer David Lissy to the Board of Directors. The additions expand the Board of Directors from 11 members to 13. Tocio, who has been with the Company for nearly 10 years, manages the worldwide operations of Bright Horizons' more than 380 child care and early education centers. Lissy, who joined Bright Horizons in 1997, oversees the Company's business development, strategic planning, client services, consulting and marketing functions.

"Mary Ann and Dave's leadership has been critical to the Company's unprecedented growth and operational success over the past several years. They have created and executed the Company's growth plan, including our recent global expansion, and have ensured our continued ability to enhance the quality of services we provide," said CEO Roger Brown.

"In the aftermath of the events of September 11, I want to commend our teachers, directors and all field personnel for their responsiveness to the crisis," said Brown. "Although none of the centers we manage were directly affected by the tragic events of that day, many of our center personnel, particularly in Washington, DC and New York City, were immediately called on to demonstrate their professionalism and skill by quickly and safely evacuating centers in buildings and government offices that took those precautionary measures. Most impressively, the staff at one of our centers in lower Manhattan served as a haven for more than 60 passersby, administering first aid and comfort to the injured who flocked into the lobby of their building."

"We have also responded to many clients' requests to offer professional advice, seminars and educational materials for their employees looking for assistance to help their children cope with and understand the tragedy," Brown continued. "We are also working with our client JPMorgan Chase along with Mercy Corps, an international relief organization, and the Dougy Center for Grieving Children, on a project to publish a book for parents and caregivers called What Happened to the World? Helping Children Cope in Turbulent Times, as well as comfort kits, providing materials for children directly impacted by the tragedy." The books and kits will be distributed through community organizations, NAEYC chapters, and educational organizations in the New York area, and much of the material will also be accessible through our special Web site developed in response to the tragedy: www.brighthorizons.com/talktochildren.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions will host an investor conference call today at 4:30 pm EDT. The public is invited to listen to the call by dialing 973-633-6740. Replays will be available through Friday, October 26, 2001 at 973-341-3080, PIN# 289095. Visit the Bright Horizons Family Solutions Web site at www.brighthorizons.com.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions is the world's leading provider of employer-sponsored child care, early education and work/life consulting services, managing more than 380 child care and early education centers in the United States, Europe and the Pacific Rim. Bright Horizons serves more than 300 clients, including 82 FORTUNE 500 companies and 48 of the "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers," as recognized by Working Mother magazine.

This press release contains forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Bright Horizons Family Solutions' actual results may vary significantly from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including the ability of the Company to execute contracts relating to new commitments, to enroll families in new as well as existing centers, to open new centers for clients who control construction, and the impact of government tax and fiscal policies on employers considering work-site child care, as well as other factors that are discussed in detail in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the "Risk Factors" section in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2000.

                   Bright Horizons Family Solutions
                    Selected Financial Information
                              (Unaudited)
                 (in thousands except per share data)

                                         Three months ended
                                     9/30/01             9/30/00

Revenues                      $87,173      100.0%    $74,504    100.0%

Cost of services               74,746       85.7%     63,889     85.8%
Gross profit                   12,427       14.3%     10,615     14.2%

Selling, general and
 administrative expenses        7,062        8.1%      6,245      8.4%
Amortization                      542        0.7%        527      0.6%


Income from operations          4,823        5.5%      3,843      5.2%

Net interest
 (expense) income                  (7)       0.0%         38      0.1%

Income before income taxes      4,816        5.5%      3,881      5.3%

Income tax provision           (2,029)      -2.3%     (1,621)    -2.3%

Net income                     $2,787        3.2%     $2,260      3.0%


Per share data:
Net income per
 share - basic                  $0.23                  $0.19
Weighted average number
 of common shares
 outstanding                   12,229                 11,914

Net income per
 share - diluted                $0.22                  $0.18
Weighted average number
 of common and common
 equivalent shares             12,813                 12,667



                   Bright Horizons Family Solutions
                    Selected Financial Information
                              (Unaudited)
                 (in thousands except per share data)

                                        Nine months ended
                                   9/30/01               9/30/00

Revenues                    $254,665     100.0%    $213,192    100.0%

Cost of services             217,240      85.3%     182,035     85.4%
Gross profit                  37,425      14.7%      31,157     14.6%

Selling, general and
 administrative expenses      20,977       8.2%      17,834      8.4%
Amortization                   1,655       0.7%       1,369      0.6%


Income from operations        14,793       5.8%      11,954      5.6%

Net interest
 (expense) income                (72)      0.0%         162      0.1%

Income before
 income taxes                 14,721       5.8%      12,116      5.7%

Income tax provision          (6,181)     -2.4%      (5,045)    -2.4%

Net income                    $8,540       3.4%      $7,071      3.3%


Per share data:
Net income per
 share - basic                 $0.70                  $0.60
Weighted average number
 of common shares
 outstanding                  12,164                 11,857

Net income per
 share - diluted               $0.67                  $0.57
Weighted average number
 of common and common
 equivalent shares            12,793                 12,445