- Record service revenue of $275.8 million, up 15.6% year-over-year
- Gross new business wins of $459.0 million, up 32% from the September quarter
- Net book-to-bill ratio of 1.23
BOSTON, Jan. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PAREXEL International Corporation today announced its financial results for the second quarter ended December 31, 2008.
For the three months ended December 31, 2008, PAREXEL’s consolidated service revenue increased 15.6% to a record $275.8 million compared with $238.7 million in the prior year period. Excluding the negative impact of foreign exchange of $25.9 million dollars in the quarter, revenue increased 26.4%. Under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), the Company reported operating income of $7.7 million, or 2.8% of consolidated service revenue, in the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2009, versus operating income of $20.5 million, or 8.6% of consolidated service revenue, in the comparable quarter of the prior year. Net income for the quarter totaled $5.2 million, or $0.09 per diluted share, compared with net income of $11.5 million, or $0.20 per diluted share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2007.
As previously reported, the Company was notified by a small biopharma client of its inability to make further payments due to PAREXEL in connection with an on-going service contract for a large late stage clinical trial. The client subsequently filed for bankruptcy protection. As a result of this event, the Company terminated the contract with the client, and recorded $15 million in pre-tax reserves in the second quarter for anticipated wind-down costs and bad debt expense related to impaired accounts receivable (for service fees, pass-through costs, and investigator fees). We have conducted a thorough review of the projects that we are currently managing for small biopharma clients, and do not believe that we have any further material exposure of a similar nature at this time.
Excluding the impact from the contract termination, second quarter operating income was $22.7 million, or 8.2% of consolidated service revenue, net income was $13.1 million, and earnings per diluted share were $0.23, representing earnings per share growth of 15% compared with the prior year period.
On a segment basis, consolidated service revenue for the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2009 was $200.9 million in Clinical Research Services (CRS), $31.9 million in PAREXEL Consulting and Medical Communications Services (PCMS), and $43.0 million in Perceptive Informatics, Inc.
For the six months ended December 31, 2008, consolidated service revenue was $538.9 million versus $446.8 million in the prior year period, an increase of 20.6%. Operating income for the current six-month period was $29.7 million, or 5.5% of service revenue, compared with operating income of $37.0 million, or 8.3% of service revenue in the prior year period. On an adjusted basis, excluding the impact from the contract termination previously mentioned, operating income for the six-month period ending December 31, 2008 was $44.7 million, equating to an operating margin of 8.3% of service revenue. Net income on a GAAP basis for the six months ended December 31, 2008 was $18.8 million, or $0.32 per diluted share, compared with net income of $25.4 million, or $0.44 per diluted share, in the prior year period. On an adjusted basis, excluding both the impact from the Q2 Fiscal Year 2009 contract termination, and a $4 million net tax benefit in Q1 of Fiscal Year 2008, net income for the six months ended December 31, 2008 was $26.7 million, or $0.46 per diluted share, compared with net income of $21.4 million, or $0.37 per diluted share, in the prior year period.
PAREXEL’s backlog was approximately $2.0 billion at the end of the December quarter, an increase of approximately 13% year-over-year. The reported backlog included gross new business wins of $459.0 million, cancellations of $121.0 million (including $44 million from the previously mentioned client contract termination), and a negative impact from foreign exchange rates of $116.5 million. The net book-to-bill ratio was 1.23 in the quarter (defined as gross new business less cancellations divided by service revenue). Excluding the client contract termination, the net book-to-bill ratio was approximately 1.39.
Mr. Josef H. von Rickenbach, PAREXEL’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer stated, “During the second quarter, I was pleased with the Company’s new business performance in a challenging market. We also made good progress with the integration of ClinPhone, which enabled us to drive significant sequential improvement in Perceptive’s gross margin.”
Mr. von Rickenbach continued, “With regard to our outlook for the current calendar year, I remain cautiously optimistic. While we may experience a slow-down in the small biopharma client segment due to the current condition of the financial markets, I believe that this impact may be offset by an increase in outsourcing levels from larger clients. In this regard, many large pharma companies are approaching clinical trials outsourcing more strategically, and look to benefit from our depth of expertise in the drug development process. Notwithstanding the current uncertain environment, we continue to believe that our strategy and position in the industry are sound, and feel that we are poised to take advantage of the many opportunities that continue to exist in the marketplace.”
The Company issued forward-looking guidance for the third quarter of Fiscal Year 2009 (ending March 31, 2009), for Fiscal Year 2009 and for Calendar 2009 using recent exchange rates. For the third quarter, the Company anticipates reporting consolidated service revenue in the range of $273 to $283 million and earnings per diluted share in the range of $0.23 to $0.25. On a GAAP basis, for Fiscal Year 2009, consolidated service revenue is expected to be in the range of $1.095 to $1.115 billion, and earnings per diluted share to be in the range of $0.80 to $0.84 (previously issued revenue guidance was service revenue of $1.080 to $1.110 billion, and diluted earnings per share of $0.75 to $0.82). Excluding the impact of the second quarter contract termination as previously described, the Company expects to achieve diluted earnings per share of $0.94 to $0.98 for Fiscal Year 2009. For Calendar Year 2009, consolidated service revenue is expected to be in the range of $1.135 to $1.175 billion, and earnings per diluted share are projected to be in the range of $0.96 to $1.04.
In addition to the financial measures prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), the Company uses certain non-GAAP financial measures. The Company believes that presenting the non-GAAP financial measures contained in this press release assists investors and others in gaining a better understanding of its core operating results and future prospects, especially when comparing such results to previous periods or forecasted guidance, because such measures exclude items that are outside of the Company’s normal operations and/or, in certain cases, are difficult to forecast accurately for future periods. Management uses non-GAAP financial measures, in addition to the measures prepared in accordance with GAAP, as the basis for measuring the Company’s core operating performance and comparing such performance to that of prior periods and to the performance of its competitors for the same reasons stated above. Such measures are also used by management in its financial and operating decision-making. Non-GAAP financial measures are not meant to be considered superior to or a substitute for the Company’s results of operations prepared in accordance with GAAP.
A conference call to discuss PAREXEL’s second quarter earnings, business, and financial outlook will begin at 10:00 a.m. ET on Tuesday, January 27, 2009 and will be broadcast live over the internet via webcast. The webcast may be accessed in the “Webcasts” portion of the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at www.parexel.com. Users should follow the instructions provided to assure that the necessary audio applications are downloaded and installed. A replay of this webcast will be archived on the website approximately two hours after the call and will continue to be accessible for approximately one year following the live event. To participate via telephone, dial (612) 332-0720 and ask to join the PAREXEL quarterly conference call.
Certain trended financial information may be found in the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website under the “Additional Financials” section.
About the Company
PAREXEL International Corporation is a leading global bio/pharmaceutical services organization, providing a broad range of knowledge-based contract research, medical communications and consulting services to the worldwide pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. Committed to providing solutions that expedite time-to-market and peak-market penetration, PAREXEL has developed significant expertise across the development and commercialization continuum, from drug development and regulatory consulting to clinical pharmacology, clinical trials management, medical education and reimbursement. Perceptive Informatics, Inc., a subsidiary of PAREXEL, provides advanced technology solutions, including medical imaging, to facilitate the clinical development process. Headquartered near Boston, Massachusetts, PAREXEL operates in 71 locations throughout 51 countries around the world, and has over 9,250 employees. For more information about PAREXEL International visit www.parexel.com.
This release contains “forward-looking” statements regarding future results and events, including, without limitation, statements regarding expected financial results, future growth and customer demand, such as the guidance provided by the Company with respect to the third quarter of Fiscal Year 2009, Fiscal Year 2009 and Calendar 2009. For this purpose, any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed forward-looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, the words “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “expects,” “intends,” “appears,” “estimates,” “projects,” “targets,” and similar expressions are also intended to identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this release involve a number of risks and uncertainties. The Company’s actual future results may differ significantly from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements contained in this release. Important factors that might cause such a difference include, but are not limited to, risks associated with: actual operating performance; actual expense savings and other operating improvements resulting from recent restructurings; the loss, modification, or delay of contracts which would, among other things, adversely impact the Company’s recognition of revenue included in backlog; the Company’s dependence on certain industries and clients; the Company’s ability to win new business, manage growth and costs, and attract and retain employees; the Company’s ability to complete additional acquisitions and to integrate newly acquired businesses or enter into new lines of business, including, but not limited to, the successful business integration and anticipated synergy achievements in connection with the ClinPhone acquisition; the impact on the Company’s business of government regulation of the drug, medical device and biotechnology industry; consolidation within the pharmaceutical industry and competition within the biopharmaceutical services industry; the potential for significant liability to clients and third parties; the potential adverse impact of health care reform; and the effects of exchange rate fluctuations and other international economic, political, and other risks. Such factors and others are discussed more fully in the section entitled “Risk Factors” of the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2008 as filed with the SEC on November 7, 2008, which “Risk Factors” discussion is incorporated by reference in this press release. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company’s estimates as of the date of this release. The Company specifically disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the future. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company’s estimates or views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.
PAREXEL is a registered trademark of PAREXEL International Corporation, and Perceptive Informatics is a trademark of Perceptive Informatics, Inc. All other names or marks may be registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective business and are hereby acknowledged.
CONTACT: James Winschel, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial
Officer, or Jill Baker, Vice President of Investor Relations, both of
PAREXEL International Corporation, +1-781-434-4118
Web site: http://www.parexel.com/
