News Release

Highlights

• Quarter 4 net revenue increased 13.0% year on year to $390 million. Full Year 2014 net revenue increased 12.5% to $1.50 billion.
• Quarter 4 income from operations before non-recurring charges was $60.4 million or 15.5% of revenue. Full year 2014 income from operations before non-recurring charges was $211.1 million or 14% of net revenue.
• Earnings per share before non-recurring charges for Quarter 4 and the full year 2014 were 87 cents and $2.87 respectively.
• Quarter 4 gross business wins were $552 million, representing a gross book to bill of 1.41. Quarter 4 net business wins were $469 million, representing a net book to bill of 1.20. Full year net new business awards were $1.8 billion, representing a net book to bill of 1.21.
• Full year 2015 revenue guidance in the range of $1,610 - $1,675 million, representing growth of 7-11%. Earnings per share guidance is in the range of $3.45 - $3.60, an increase of 20-25%.

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ICON plc (NASDAQ:ICLR), a global provider of drug development solutions and services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries, today reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2014.

In the fourth quarter net revenue grew 13.0% year on year to $390.1 million from $345.2 million in the same quarter last year.

Income from operations before non-recurring charges was $60.4 million or 15.5% of revenue, compared to $38.7 million or 11.2% for the same quarter last year.

Net income before non-recurring charges was $54 million or 87 cents per share on a diluted basis, compared with $33.5 million or 53 cents per share for the same quarter last year.

Full year net revenues for 2014 increased 12.5% to $1,503 million from $1,336 million in 2013.

Full year income from operations before non-recurring charges was $211.1 million or 14.0% of revenue, compared with income from operations before non-recurring charges of $130.2 million or 9.7% of revenue in the previous year.

On a US GAAP basis, income from operations was $202.4 million or 13.5% compared with $121.2 million or 9.1% in the prior year.

Full year net income before non-recurring charges for 2014 was $181.3 million or $2.87 per share on a diluted basis, compared with net income before non-recurring charges of $110 million or $1.77 per share on a diluted basis last year.

On a US GAAP basis net income for the full year was $172.5 million, compared to $102.8 million last year. Net margin for the full year 2014 was 11.5% of revenue, up from 7.7% in 2013. Earnings per share on a US GAAP basis for 2014 was $2.73 per share compared with $1.65 in 2013.

Full year 2015 revenue guidance is in the range of $1,610 - $1,675 million, representing growth of 7-11%. This includes the recently announced acquisition of MediMedia Pharma Solutions; on a constant currency organic basis revenue is expected to grow by 6-10%. Earnings per share guidance is in the range of $3.45 - $3.60, an increase of 20-25%.

Days sales outstanding, comprising accounts receivable and unbilled revenue less payments on account, were 40 days at December 31, 2014, compared with 32 days at the end of December 2013.

For the quarter ended December 31, 2014, cash generated from operating activities was $75.2 million and capital expenditure was $10.2 million. For the full year 2014, cash flow from operating activities was $170 million and capital expenditure was $32.8 million. In addition, we completed $107 million of share repurchases during the quarter and in total $140 million for the full year. Consequently the company's net cash amounted to $216 million at December 31, 2014, compared to net cash of $321 million at December 31, 2013.

CEO Ciaran Murray commented, "In 2014 our excellence in execution, along with our market leading innovative solutions enabled our customers to enhance the productivity of their development programmes and further consolidated our position as a leader in the drug development industry. This has enabled us to book $1.8 billion of new business, to grow our closing backlog by 16% to $3.6 billion and drive revenues by 13% to over $1.5 billion. By continuing to improve our operational performance and expand our margins we increased EPS by 62% to $2.87. For 2015 we are guiding revenue to be in the range of $1,610 - 1,675 million, an increase of 7-11%, and earnings to be in the range $3.45- $3.60, an increase of 20-25%."

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.

ICON will hold its fourth quarter conference call today, February 25, 2015 at 9:00 EST [14:00 Ireland & UK]. This call and linked slide presentation can be accessed live from our website at http://investor.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.

This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management's current expectations and information currently available, including current economic and industry conditions. These statements are not guarantees of future performance or actual results, and actual results, developments and business decisions may differ from those stated in this press release. The forward-looking statements are subject to future events, risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the statements, including, but not limited to, the ability to enter into new contracts, maintain client relationships, manage the opening of new offices and offering of new services, the integration of new business mergers and acquisitions, as well as economic and global market conditions and other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in SEC reports filed by ICON, all of which are difficult to predict and some of which are beyond our control. For these reasons, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements when making investment decisions. The word "expected" and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are only as of the date they are made and we do not undertake any obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement, either as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. More information about the risks and uncertainties relating to these forward-looking statements may be found in SEC reports filed by ICON, including its Form 20-F, F-1, S-8 and F-3, which are available on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov.

ICON plc is a global provider of drug development solutions and 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 83 locations in 38 countries and has approximately 10,600 employees. Further information is available at www.iconplc.com.

ICON plc
Consolidated Income Statements (Unaudited)
(Before restructuring and other items)
Three and Twelve Months ended December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013
(Dollars, in thousands, except share and per share data)
		Three Months Ended								Twelve Months Ended
		December 31,				December 31,				December 31,				December 31,
		2014				2013				2014				2013
Revenue:
Gross revenue		528,211				450,062				2,030,286				1,784,345
Reimbursable expenses		(138,138)				(104,821)				(526,970)				(448,287)
Net revenue		390,073				345,241				1,503,316				1,336,058
Costs and expenses:
Direct costs		229,876				215,326				903,167				845,413
Selling, general and administrative expense		85,425				79,241				336,461				313,931
Depreciation and amortization		14,335				11,963				52,542				46,514
Total costs and expenses		329,636				306,530				1,292,170				1,208,858
Income from operations		60,437				38,711				211,146				130,200
Net interest expense		204				39				366				(302)
Income before provision for income taxes		60,641				38,750				211,512				129,898
Provision for income taxes		(6,671)				(5,270)				(30,248)				(19,902)
Net income		53,970				33,480				181,264				109,996
Net income per Ordinary Share:
Basic		89c				54c				$2.95				$1.81
Diluted		87c				53c				$2.87				$1.77
Weighted average number of Ordinary Shares outstanding:
Basic		60,394,465				61,431,281				61,496,115				60,907,274
Diluted		61,908,135				62,828,079				63,131,417				62,253,251

ICON plc
Consolidated Income Statements (Unaudited)
(US GAAP)
Three and Twelve Months ended December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013
(Dollars, in thousands, except share and per share data)
		Three Months Ended								Twelve Months Ended
		December 31,				December 31,				December 31,				December 31,
		2014				2013				2014				2013
Revenue:
Gross revenue		528,211				450,062				2,030,286				1,784,345
Reimbursable expenses		(138,138)				(104,821)				(526,970)				(448,287)
Net revenue		390,073				345,241				1,503,316				1,336,058
Costs and expenses:
Direct costs		229,876				215,326				903,167				845,413
Selling, general and administrative expense		85,425				79,241				336,461				313,931
Depreciation and amortization		14,335				11,963				52,542				46,514
Restructuring and other items		8,796				-				8,796				9,033
Total costs and expenses		338,432				306,530				1,300,966				1,214,891
Income from operations		51,641				38,711				202,350				121,167
Net interest expense		204				39				366				(302)
Income before provision for income taxes		51,845				38,750				202,716				120,865
Provision for income taxes		(6,671)				(5,270)				(30,248)				(18,053)
Net income		45,174				33,480				172,468				102,812
Net income per Ordinary Share:
Basic		74c				54c				$2.80				$1.69
Diluted		73c				53c				$2.73				$1.65
Weighted average number of Ordinary Shares outstanding:
Basic		60,394,465				61,431,281				61,496,115				60,907,274
Diluted		61,908,135				62,828,079				63,131,417				62,253,251

ICON plc
Summary Balance Sheet Data
December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013
(Dollars, in thousands)
		December 31,		December 31,
		2014		2013
		(Audited)		(Audited)
Net cash		216,000		320,836
Accounts receivable		370,956		342,581
Unbilled revenue		146,163		113,239
Payments on account		(280,097)		(297,347)
Total		237,022		158,473
Working Capital		281,148		352,259
Total Assets		1,527,791		1,442,460
Shareholder's Equity		950,206		910,579

ICON/ICLR-F

ICON plc
Contact:
Investor Relations 1-888-381-7923
or
Brendan Brennan
CFO + 353 1 291 2000
or
Simon Holmes
EVP IR & Corporate Development +353 1 291 2000
http://www.iconplc.com

Source: ICON

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