ICON Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023 Results

Highlights

• Net business wins in the quarter of $2,531 million; a net book to bill of 1.22.  Full year net business wins of $9,946 million; a net book to bill of 1.22.
• Closing backlog of $22.8 billion, an increase of 2.4% on quarter three 2023 and an increase of 10.0% on quarter four 2022.
• Quarter four revenue of $2,066.2 million representing an increase of 5.3% on prior year revenue.  Full year revenue of $8,120.2 million representing a year on year increase of 4.9%.
• Quarter four adjusted EBITDA of $448.2 million or 21.7% of revenue, an increase of 10.7% on quarter four 2022. Full year adjusted EBITDA of $1,694.1 million or 20.9% of revenue, representing a year on year increase of 14.5%. 
• GAAP net income for the quarter of $216.4 million or $2.60 per diluted share.  Full year GAAP net income of $612.3 million or $7.40 per diluted share. 
• Quarter four adjusted net income was $287.5 million or $3.46 per diluted share, an increase of 10.5% on quarter four 2022 adjusted earnings per share.  Full year adjusted net income of $1,058.2 million or $12.79 per diluted share, an increase of 8.9% on the prior year adjusted earnings per share.
• Days sales outstanding decreased from 49 days at September 30, 2023 to 47 days at December 31, 2023.
• $250.0 million repayment made on Term Loan B debt in quarter four bringing full year Term Loan B debt repayments to $950 million. Net debt balance of $3.4 billion at December 31, 2023 with net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio of 2.0x.
• In quarter four 2023, S&P Global Ratings and Moody's both upgraded ICON's debt instruments to an investment grade credit rating, providing the opportunity to reduce full-year interest expense by circa $100 million year over year in 2024.
• Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program up to $500 million to be opportunistically deployed.
• Re-affirming full-year 2024 financial guidance of revenue of $8,400 - $8,800 million, representing a year over year increase of 3.4% to 8.4%, and adjusted earnings per share* in the range of $14.50 - $15.30, representing a year over year increase of 13.4% to 19.6%.  Adjusted earnings per share to exclude amortization, stock compensation, restructuring, foreign exchange and transaction-related / integrated-related adjustments.
   

Dublin, Ireland, February 21, 2024 – ICON plc (NASDAQ: ICLR), a world-leading healthcare intelligence and clinical research organization, today reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2023.
 

CEO, Dr. Steve Cutler commented, “With our focus on delivering innovative clinical development solutions, ICON’s solid performance in quarter four and the full year 2023 reflects continued market leadership across the customer segments we serve. Our team delivered strong financial results despite challenging macroeconomic conditions, resulting in full year adjusted EBITDA growth of 15% and adjusted EPS growth of 9% over full year 2022.

We remain encouraged by the positive demand environment as we enter this year, and as such, reaffirm our previously issued financial guidance for the full year 2024, with revenue in the range of $8,400 - $8,800 million, and adjusted earnings per share in the range of $14.50 - $15.30.”

Read the consolidated income statements and summary balance sheet data.
 

Fourth Quarter 2023 Results

Gross business wins in the fourth quarter were $2,992 million and cancellations were $461 million. This resulted in net business wins of $2,531 million and a book to bill of 1.22.

Revenue for the fourth quarter was $2,066.2 million. This represents an increase of 5.3% on prior year revenue or 4.1% on a constant currency basis.

GAAP net income was $216.4 million resulting in $2.60 diluted earnings per share in quarter four 2023 compared to $1.42 diluted earnings per share in quarter four 2022. Adjusted net income for the quarter was $287.5 million resulting in an adjusted diluted earnings per share of $3.46 compared to $3.13 per share for the fourth quarter 2022.

Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter was $448.2 million or 21.7% of revenue, a year-on-year increase of 10.7%. 

The effective tax rate on adjusted net income in quarter four was 15.2%.

Cash generated from operating activities for the quarter was $440.1 million. During the quarter $52.7 million was spent on capital expenditure. At December 31, 2023, the Group had cash and cash equivalents of $378.1 million, compared to cash and cash equivalents of $313.1 million at September 30, 2023 and $288.8 million at December 31, 2022. $65 million of the revolving credit facility was drawn down in the quarter and $85 million was repaid. Additionally, $250.0 million of Term Loan B payments were made during the quarter resulting in a net indebtedness of $3.4 billion at December 31, 2023.
 

Full Year 2023 Results

Gross business wins were $11,765 million and cancellations were $1,819 million. This resulted in net business wins of $9,946 million and a book to bill of 1.22.

Full year revenue was $8,120.2 million. This represents a year on year increase of 4.9% on a reported basis and 4.6% on a constant currency basis.

GAAP net income was $612.3 million resulting in $7.40 diluted earnings per share for the full year 2023. Adjusted net income was $1,058.2 million resulting in an adjusted diluted earnings per share of $12.79 compared to $11.75 per share for the equivalent prior year period.

Adjusted EBITDA was $1,694.1 million or 20.9% of revenue, a year on year increase of 14.5%.

The effective tax rate on adjusted net income in 2023 was 15.5%.

Cash generated from operating activities in 2023 was $1,161.0 million. $140.7 million was spent on capital expenditure. $370 million of the revolving credit facility was drawn down and $315 million was repaid.  Additionally, $950.0 million of Term Loan B payments were made in the year.

Other Information

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 adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share. Adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share exclude amortization, stock compensation, foreign exchange gains and losses, restructuring and transaction-related / integration-related adjustments.  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 a conference call on February 22, 2024 at 08:00 EST [13:00 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, including statements about our financial guidance. 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 other 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, F-4, S-8, F-3 and certain other reports, which are available on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov. 

* Our full-year 2024 guidance adjusted earnings per share measures are provided on a non-GAAP basis because the company is unable to predict with a reasonable degree of certainty certain items contained in the GAAP measures without unreasonable efforts. For the same reasons, the Company is unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information.

ICON plc is a world-leading healthcare intelligence and clinical research organization. From molecule to medicine, we advance clinical research providing outsourced services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and government and public health organizations. We develop new innovations, drive emerging therapies forward and improve patient lives. With headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, ICON employed approximately 41,100 employees in 106 locations in 53 countries as at December 31, 2023. For further information about ICON, visit: www.iconplc.com.
 

Source: ICON plc

Contact: Investor Relations +1 888 381 7923 or 
Brendan Brennan Chief Financial Officer +353 1 291 2000
Kate Haven Vice President Investor Relations +1 888 381 7923

All at ICON