ICON Reports First Quarter 2019 Results

Highlights

• Net business wins (including pass-through) in the quarter of $885
  million; a book to bill of 1.31.
• Closing backlog (including pass-through) of $7.9 billion, a year on
  year increase of 10.5%.
• Quarter 1 reported revenue of $675 million. This represents a year on
  year increase of 8.8% or 11.1% on a constant currency basis.
• Reported income from operations was $102 million, or 15.1% of revenue.
  This represents an increase of 11.1% over Q1 2018.
• Reported earnings per share of $1.63, an increase of 14.8% over Q1
  2018.
• Revenue guidance increased from a range of $2,735 – $2,835 million to
  a range of $2,760 – $2,840 million. Earnings per share guidance
  increased from a range of $6.69 – $6.89 to a range of $6.75 – $6.95.
• Strong cash generated from operating activities totalling $95 million
  in the quarter. This represents an increase of $54 million on Q1 2018.

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 first quarter ended March 31, 2019.

CEO Dr. Steve Cutler commented, “I’m pleased with our results in
quarter one which represent a good start to 2019. Supported by a strong
book to bill of 1.31x, our backlog of business increased by 11% year
over year to $7.9 billion. Revenue grew by 11% on a constant currency
basis over the same period last year and combined with further leverage
of our cost base enabled us to deliver earnings per share of $1.63, a
15% increase. With new business opportunities continuing to be robust
and our strong balance sheet enhanced by solid cash collection during
the quarter, we look to the future with optimism. We are therefore
increasing our 2019 revenue guidance from a range of $2,735 – $2,835
million to a range of $2,760 – $2,840 million and we are increasing
earnings guidance from a range of $6.69 – $6.89 to $6.75 – $6.95.”

First Quarter 2019 Results

Gross business wins (including pass-through) in the first quarter were
$1.04 billion and cancellations were $156 million. This resulted in net
business wins of $885 million and a book to bill of 1.31.

Reported revenue for quarter 1 was $674.9 million. This represents a
year on year increase of 8.8% or 11.1% on a constant currency basis.

Reported income from operations in the quarter was $101.9 million or
15.1% of revenue compared to $91.7 million or 14.8% of revenue for the
same quarter last year.

Reported net income for the quarter was $88.3 million or 13.1% of
revenue compared with $78.1 million or 12.6% of revenue in the same
quarter last year.

Reported earnings per share on a diluted basis was $1.63, an increase of
14.8%, compared to $1.42 per share for the same quarter last year.

On a comparative basis, non-GAAP days sales outstanding were 59 days at
March 31, 2019, compared with 57 days at the end of December 2018.

Cash generated from operating activities for the quarter was $94.6
million. During the quarter, the Group completed the purchase of
MolecularMD for $42.3 million, capital expenditure was $7.0 million and
$25 million worth of stock was repurchased at an average price of
$124.84. As a result, at March 31, 2019, the company had net cash of
$128.6 million, compared to net cash of $106.5 million at December 31,
2018 and net cash of $4.6 million at the end of March 2018.

Other Information

The new leasing standard (ASU No. 2016-02) ‘Leases’ was effective for
ICON plc from January 1, 2019. ICON adopted the new standard as of
January 1, 2019 under the modified retrospective approach. Under this
transition method, the new standard is applied from January 1, 2019
without restatement of comparative period amounts. Results as at
December 31, 2018 and for the three months ended March 31, 2018 are
therefore presented under the previous lease accounting principles.

In addition to the financial measures prepared in accordance with
generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), this press release
contains certain non-GAAP financial measures. 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 first quarter conference call tomorrow, May 2^nd,
2019 at 10:00 EDT [15:00 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 employed approximately 13,920 employees in 90 locations in
37 countries as at March 31, 2019. Further information is available at www.iconplc.com.

Source: ICON plc

ICON/ICLR-F

Contacts

ICON plc Contact:
Investor Relations +1 888 381 7923 or
Brendan
Brennan, Chief Financial Officer +353 1 291 2000
Jonathan Curtain,
Vice President Corporate Finance & Investor Relations +353 1 291 2000
http://www.iconplc.com