News Release

Highlights — Full Year 2010 and Fourth Quarter ended December 31.

* 2010 net revenue increased 1.4% to $900 million, or 3.1% on a constant currency basis. Q4 net revenues increased 2.1% or 5.6% on a constant currency basis to $232 million.

* 2010 operating income was 10.2% or $92 million. Q4 operating income was 9.5% or $22 million.

* Diluted 2010 EPS was $1.44. EPS for Q4 was 36 cents.

* 2010 net new business awards were $1.05 billion, a book-to-bill of 1.16x. Q4 net business awards were $237 million, a book-to-bill of 1.0x.

* Guidance for 2011 is for revenue in the range of $945 - $980 million, growth of 5 — 9%, and EPS in the range of $1.10 to $1.25

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, 2010.

Net revenues for 2010 grew 1.4% to $900 million, representing a constant currency increase of 3.1% year on year.

Operating income was $92 million, representing 10.2% of revenue, compared to $116.3 million and 13.1% last year. This comprised clinical services operating income of $104.8 million or 12.5% and central lab operating losses of $12.8 million.

Net income was $87.1 million, a net margin of 9.7%, compared to $91.6 million last year and 10.3% of revenue. Diluted EPS for 2010 was $1.44 per share compared with $1.53 in 2009.

For the fourth quarter, net revenues grew 2% to $232.1 million. On a constant currency basis the increase was 5.6%.

Operating income was $22 million, representing 9.5% of revenue, compared to $29.6 million or 13% for the same quarter last year. This comprised clinical services operating income of $26 million or 12.1% and a central lab operating loss of $4 million.

Net income was $22 million, compared with $23.9 million last year, producing a diluted earnings per share of 36c compared to 40c in the same quarter last year.

Days sales outstanding, comprising accounts receivable and unbilled revenue less payments on account, were 37 days at December 31, 2010. This compares to 33 days at December 31, 2009.

For the quarter ended December 31, 2010, cash provided by operating activities was $31.9 million and capital expenditure was $7.1 million. Full year 2010 cash flow from operating activities was $87.4 million and capital expenditure was $31 million. As a result, the company's net cash amounted to $256 million at December 31, 2010 compared to $194 million of net cash at December 31, 2009.

Commenting on the results, CEO Peter Gray said "2010 has been a challenging year, as some parts of our business, and particularly our central lab, absorbed the impact of the weak business environment in 2009. 2010 has also seen an acceleration in the pace of change in the biopharmaceutical industry, which is creating strong opportunities for the future, but is requiring us to adapt our business model and structures to effectively capitalise on these. This process continues, and we are making significant investments to build additional capabilities, to leverage our scale more effectively, and to implement process and systems change necessary to prosper in the evolving market. We do not expect the benefit of our investments to be realised until late 2011 and into 2012. Consequently we are guiding revenue for 2011 in the range of $945 — $980 million, representing growth of 5-9%, and EPS in the range of $1.10 - $1.25."

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.

The company will hold its fourth quarter conference call today, February 24, 2011 at 9:00 EST [14:00 Ireland & UK]. This call and linked 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 77 locations in 39 countries and has approximately 7,700 employees. Further information is available at www.iconplc.com.

ICON/ICLR-F

ICON plc
Consolidated Income Statements (Before one time net charges & tax credits)
Three and Twelve Months ended December 31, 2010 and December 31, 2009
(Dollars, in thousands, except share and per share data)
		Three Months Ended				Twelve Months Ended
		December 31,		December 31,		December 31,		December 31,
		2010		2009		2010		2009
Gross Revenue		317,279		321,541		1,263,147		1,258,227
Reimbursable expenses		85,193		94,122		363,103		370,615
Net Revenue		232,086		227,419		900,044		887,612
Costs and expenses
Direct costs		139,741		131,291		541,388		507,783
Selling, general and administrative		61,463		57,271		232,688		230,910
Depreciation and amortization		8,868		9,238		33,873		32,659
Total costs and expenses		210,072		197,800		807,949		771,352
Income from operations		22,014		29,619		92,095		116,260
Interest income/(expense)		484		(474)		629		(2,778)
Income before provision for income taxes		22,498		29,145		92,724		113,482
Provision for income taxes		(398)		(5,237)		(5,653)		(21,924)
Net income		22,100		23,908		87,071		91,558
Net income per ordinary share
Basic		$0.37		$0.41		$1.46		$1.56
Diluted		$0.36		$0.40		$1.44		$1.53
Weighted average number of ordinary shares
Basic		60,145,383		58,808,946		59,718,934		58,636,878
Diluted		60,817,130		60,092,814		60,637,103		59,900,504

ICON plc
Consolidated Income Statements (US GAAP)
Three and Twelve Months ended December 31, 2010 and December 31, 2009
(Dollars, in thousands, except share and per share data)
		Three Months Ended				Twelve Months Ended
		December 31,		December 31,		December 31,		December 31,
		2010		2009		2010		2009
Gross Revenue		317,279		321,541		1,263,147		1,258,227
Reimbursable expenses		85,193		94,122		363,103		370,615
Net Revenue		232,086		227,419		900,044		887,612
Costs and expenses
Direct costs		139,741		131,291		541,388		507,783
Selling, general and administrative		61,463		57,271		232,688		230,910
Depreciation and amortization		8,868		9,238		33,873		32,659
One time net charges		-		(133)		-		8,808
Total costs and expenses		210,072		197,667		807,949		780,160
Income from operations		22,014		29,752		92,095		107,452
Interest income/(expense)		484		(474)		629		(2,778)
Income before provision for income taxes		22,498		29,278		92,724		104,674
Provision for income taxes		(398)		1,598		(5,653)		(10,375)
Net income		22,100		30,876		87,071		94,299
Net income per ordinary share
Basic		$0.37		$0.53		$1.46		$1.61
Diluted		$0.36		$0.51		$1.44		$1.57
Weighted average number of ordinary shares
Basic		60,145,383		58,808,946		59,718,934		58,636,878
Diluted		60,817,130		60,092,814		60,637,103		59,900,504

ICON plc
Summary Balance Sheet Data
December 31, 2010 and December 31, 2009
(Dollars, in thousands)
						December 31,						December 31,
						2010						2009
						(Audited)						(Audited)
Cash and short-term investments						255,706						194,028
Debt						-						-
Net cash						255,706						194,028
Accounts receivable						164,907						191,924
Unbilled revenue						101,431						92,080
Payments on account						(134,240)						(165,198)
Total						132,098						118,806
Working Capital						329,350						235,906
Total assets						949,538						908,398
Shareholders' equity						669,999						572,246
Source:				ICON plc
Contact:				Investor Relations 1-888-381-7923 or
				Ciaran Murray CFO + 353 1 291 2000
				Brendan Brennan VP Corp Fin+ 353 1 291 2000
				all at ICON.
				http://www.iconplc.com

ICON plc
Contact : Investor Relations 1-888-381-7923
or
Ciaran Murray Chief Financial Officer + 353 —1-291-2000
or
Brendan Brennan SVP Corp Fin + 353 —1-291-2000
or
Sam Farthing VP Investor Relations + 353 —1-291-2000

Source: ICON plc

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