News Release

Highlights — Fourth Quarter and Full year ended December 31 2011.

* Q4 net revenues increased 5% year on year to $243 million. FY 2011 net revenue increased 5% to $946 million.

* Q4 operating income was 3% or $6.6 million. FY 2011 operating income before non recurring charges was 4% or $39 million.

* EPS for Q4 was $0.07. Diluted 2011 EPS before non-recurring charges was $0.52.

* Q4 net business awards were $308 million, a book-to-bill of 1.3, 2011 net new business awards were $1.3 billion, a book-to-bill of 1.4.

* Guidance for 2012 is for revenue in the range of $1.07 - $1.11 billion, and EPS in the range of $0.90 to $1.10

* Brendan Brennan appointed Chief Financial Officer.

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ICON (NASDAQ:ICLR) (ISIN:IE0005711209), a global provider of outsourced development services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries, today reported its financial results for the full year and fourth quarter ended December 31, 2011.

For the fourth quarter net revenues grew 5% year on year to $242.6 million and operating income was $6.6 million representing 3% of revenue, compared to $22 million or 9% for the same quarter last year. Net income was $4.1 million compared with $22.1 million last year or $0.07 per share compared to $0.36 in the same quarter last year.

For the full year revenue grew 5.1% to $946 million and operating income before non-recurring charges was $39.3 million representing 4.2% of revenue compared to $92 million or 10.2% in 2010. On a US GAAP basis income from operations was $29.4 million or 3.1% compared with $92 million in the prior year.

Net income before non-recurring charges was $31.5 million, a net margin of 3.3%, compared to $87.1 million last year and 9.7% of revenue. EPS before non-recurring charges for 2011 was $0.52 per share compared with $1.44 in 2010. On a US GAAP basis net income was $22.8 million, a net margin of 2.4%, compared to $87.1 million last year and 9.7% of revenue. EPS on a GAAP basis for 2011 was $0.37 per share compared with $1.44 in 2010.

Days sales outstanding, comprising accounts receivable and unbilled revenue less payments on account was 47 days at December 31, 2011 compared with 52 days at the September 30, 2011 and 37 days at December 31, 2010.

For the quarter ended December 31, 2011 cash provided by operating activities was $37.8 million and capital expenditure was $10.7 million. For the full year 2011 cash flow from operating activities was $20.2 million and capital expenditure was $35.3 million. In addition $61.5 million was invested on acquisitions and $9 million was expended on a stock repurchase programme. As a result the company's net cash amounted to $174 million at December 31, 2011 compared to $256 million of net cash at December 31, 2010.

Commenting on the results, Chief Executive Officer, Ciaran Murray, said "I am encouraged with our performance in the quarter. Net new business awards were $308m, representing a book to bill of 1.3. This resulted in a year-end backlog of $2.3 billion up 19% on December 2010." He continued "Earnings in the quarter increased to $0.07. With this level of backlog growth and continuing success in developing our strategic partnerships, we expect revenue to grow steadily through the remainder of 2012 and be in the range of $1.07 - $1.11 billion. As a result of this revenue growth and of improved leverage from our cost base we expect EPS in the range of $0.90 to $1.10."

ICON today also announced the appointment of Mr. Brendan Brennan as Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Brennan has served as acting Chief Financial Officer since October 2011. Prior to this appointment he served as ICON's Senior Vice President of Corporate Finance and he has been a senior member of the ICON finance team since January 2006. Prior to joining ICON, Mr. Brennan held a senior corporate finance position in CRH plc, a major international building materials group. Mr Brennan qualified as a chartered accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers and obtained a Bachelor's degree in Accounting and Finance from Dublin City University.

In addition to the financial measures prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), this press release contains certain non-GAAP financial measures, including non-GAAP operating and net income and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share. While non-GAAP financial measures are not superior to or a substitute for the comparable GAAP measures, ICON believes certain non-GAAP information is useful to investors for historical comparison purposes.

The company will hold its fourth quarter conference call today, February 16, 2012 at 9:00 EST [14:00 Ireland & UK]. This call and associated slide presentation can be accessed live from our website at http://www.iconplc.com. A recording will also be available on the website for 90 days following the call. In addition, a calendar of company events, including upcoming conference presentations, is available on our website under "Investors". This calendar will be updated regularly.

The statements made in this press release may contain forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. In addition to the matters described in this Press Release, the ability to maintain large client contracts or enter into new contracts, maintain client relationships and the ability to manage the opening of new offices, the integration of new business mergers and acquisitions, as well as other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in SEC reports filed by ICON, including its Form 20-F, F-1, S-8 and F-3, may affect the actual results achieved by ICON. ICON disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

ICON plc is a global provider of outsourced development services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. The Company specialises in the strategic development, management and analysis of programs that support clinical development - from compound selection to Phase I-IV clinical studies. With headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, ICON currently, operates from 81 locations in 40 countries and has approximately 8,500 employees. Further information is available at www.iconplc.com.

Source: ICON plc

ICON/ICLR-F

ICON plc
Consolidated Income Statements (Before nonrecurring items)
Three and Twelve Months ended December 31, 2011 and December 31, 2010
(Dollars, in thousands, except share and per share data)
		Three Months Ended					Twelve Months Ended
		December 31,		December 31,			December 31,		December 31,
		2011		2010			2011		2010
Gross Revenue		337,934		317,279			1,296,509		1,263,147
Reimbursable expenses		95,319		85,193			350,780		363,103
Net Revenue		242,615		232,086			945,729		900,044
Costs and expenses
Direct costs		158,244		139,741			611,923		541,388
Selling, general and administrative		67,008		61,463			255,864		232,688
Depreciation and amortization		10,713		8,868			38,682		33,873
Total costs and expenses		235,965		210,072			906,469		807,949
Income from operations		6,650		22,014			39,260		92,095
Interest (expense)/income		(751)		484			(448)		629
Income before provision for income taxes		5,899		22,498			38,812		92,724
Provision for income taxes		(1,786)		(398)			(7,347)		(5,653)
Net income		4,113		22,100			31,465		87,071
Net income per ordinary share
Basic		$0.07		$0.37			$0.52		$1.46
Diluted		$0.07		$0.36			$0.52		$1.44
Weighted average number of ordinary shares
Basic		60,371,190		60,145,383			60,379,338		59,718,934
Diluted		60,759,588		60,817,130			61,070,686		60,637,103

ICON plc
Consolidated Income Statements (US GAAP)
Three and Twelve Months ended December 31, 2011 and December 31, 2010
(Dollars, in thousands, except share and per share data)
		Three Months Ended						Twelve Months Ended
		December 31,			December 31,			December 31,			December 31,
		2011			2010			2011			2010
Gross Revenue		337,934			317,279			1,296,509			1,263,147
Reimbursable expenses		95,319			85,193			350,780			363,103
Net Revenue		242,615			232,086			945,729			900,044
Costs and expenses
Direct costs		158,244			139,741			611,923			541,388
Selling, general and administrative		67,008			61,463			255,864			232,688
Depreciation and amortization		10,713			8,868			38,682			33,873
Nonrecurring charges		-			-			9,817			-
Total costs and expenses		235,965			210,072			916,286			807,949
Income from operations		6,650			22,014			29,443			92,095
Interest income/(expense)		(751)			484			(448)			629
Income before provision for income taxes		5,899			22,498			28,995			92,724
Provision for income taxes		(1,786)			(398)			(6,115)			(5,653)
Net income		4,113			22,100			22,880			87,071
Net income per ordinary share
Basic		$0.07			$0.37			$0.38			$1.46
Diluted		$0.07			$0.36			$0.37			$1.44
Weighted average number of ordinary shares
Basic		60,371,190			60,145,383			60,379,338			59,718,934
Diluted		60,759,588			60,817,130			61,070,686			60,637,103

ICON plc
Summary Balance Sheet Data
December 31, 2011 and December 31, 2010
(Dollars, in thousands)
							December 31,				December 31,
							2011				2010
							(Unaudited)				(Unaudited)
Cash and short-term investments							174,177				255,706
Debt							-				-
Net cash							174,117				255,706
Accounts receivable							201,338				164,907
Unbilled revenue							126,850				101,431
Payments on account							(150,792)				(134,240)
Total							177,396				132,098
Working Capital							253,514				330,333
Total assets							1,035,467				949,538
Shareholders' equity							681,544				669,999

ICON/ICLR-F

ICON plc
Investor Relations
1-888-381-7923
or
Brendan Brennan Chief Financial Officer
+ 353 —1-291-2000
or
Sam Farthing VP Investor Relations
+ 353 —1-291-2000
http://www.iconplc.com

Source: ICON plc

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