WILMINGTON, N.C., Oct. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PPD, Inc. today reported its financial and operating results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2007.
PPD recorded net revenue of $357.2 million for the third quarter of 2007, an increase of 14.1 percent over net revenue of $313.1 million for the third quarter of 2006. Net revenue for the third quarter 2007 included reimbursed out-of-pocket expenses of $28.7 million, compared to $23.3 million for the same period in 2006.
Income from operations for third quarter 2007 was $52.9 million, compared to income from operations of $52.0 million for the same period last year. Third quarter 2007 income from operations included $4.3 million of stock compensation expense, compared to stock compensation expense of $5.0 million for the third quarter 2006. Research and development expense for third quarter 2007 was $8.4 million, compared to $1.9 million for the same period last year. The increase in R&D expense was primarily related to costs incurred to conduct Phase I clinical studies for PPD’s statin compound for the treatment of dyslipidemia.
Third quarter 2007 earnings per diluted share were $0.32, compared to earnings per diluted share of $0.31 for the third quarter of 2006.
Segment Performance
Development segment net revenue for third quarter 2007, which does not include reimbursed out-of-pocket expenses, was $323.8 million, an increase of 13.5 percent over the same period in 2006. Development segment income from operations for third quarter 2007 was up 14.0 percent to $61.2 million from $53.6 million for the same period in 2006.
Discovery sciences segment net revenue, which does not include reimbursed out-of-pocket expenses, was $4.7 million for the third quarter of 2007, compared to $4.5 million in the same period last year. Discovery sciences segment third quarter 2007 loss from operations was $8.3 million, compared to a loss from operations of $1.7 million for the third quarter 2006. The third quarter 2007 loss from operations reflects the impact of increased R&D expense to further develop the statin compound.
Other Financial Information
Gross new business authorizations for the third quarter of 2007 totaled $570.6 million. The third quarter 2007 cancellation rate was 21.8 percent. Year-to-date net days sales outstanding (DSO) at September 30, 2007, were 49.1 days, compared to year-to-date DSO of 44.0 at December 31, 2006. Third quarter 2007 cash flow from operations was $61.6 million. At September 30, 2007, PPD had $444.2 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments.
Cash Dividend Policy
PPD also announced its board of directors has amended the annual cash dividend policy to increase the annual dividend rate from $0.12 to $0.40 per year, payable quarterly at a rate of $0.10 per share. PPD expects the new dividend rate will be effective beginning in the fourth quarter 2007.
“Another period of strong proposal flow in the third quarter 2007 combined with an improved hit rate helped fuel a 21 percent sequential increase in gross authorizations for the quarter,” said Fred Eshelman, chief executive officer of PPD. “We were pleased to announce the addition of three new members of our management team and the realignment of our regional clinical operations teams, and we plan to continue our focus on core business execution.”
Eshelman added, “PPD’s board of directors, management team and employees are pleased to be able to reward our shareholders through the substantial increase in our annual cash dividend rate, and we remain firmly committed to unlocking additional shareholder value through the delivery of high quality services and the advancement of our compound portfolio strategy.”
PPD will conduct a live conference call and audio webcast tomorrow, October 24, 2007, at 9 a.m. ET to discuss its third quarter 2007 results. A Q&A session will follow. To access the webcast, please visit http://www.ppdi.com and follow the instructions under the Investor Presentations/Webcasts link in the Corporate section of the Web site. A replay of the webcast will be available shortly after the call. PPD has established a direct dial number, +877 644 0692 (Conference ID: 18887347), for telephone access.
PPD is a leading global contract research organization providing discovery, development and post-approval services as well as compound partnering programs. Our clients and partners include pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, academic and government organizations. With offices in 30 countries and more than 10,000 professionals worldwide, PPD applies innovative technologies, therapeutic expertise and a commitment to quality to help its clients and partners maximize returns on their R&D investments and accelerate the delivery of safe and effective therapeutics to patients. For more information, visit our Web site at http://www.ppdi.com.
Except for historical information, all of the statements, expectations and assumptions contained in this news release, including expectations and assumptions about company growth, the prospects of the compound partnering business and the payment of future dividends under the annual cash dividend policy, are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Although PPD attempts to be accurate in making these forward- looking statements, it is possible that future circumstances might differ from the assumptions on which such statements are based. In addition, other important factors which could cause results to differ materially include the following: success in sales growth; loss of large contracts; increased cancellation rates; risks that we may not continue our annual cash dividend policy; the ability to attract and retain key personnel; economic conditions and outsourcing trends in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, academic and government industry segments; competition within the outsourcing industry; risks associated with the development and commercialization of drugs, including earnings dilution and obtaining regulatory approval; risks associated with acquisitions and investments, such as impairments; rapid technological advances that make our products and services less competitive; and the other risk factors set forth from time to time in the SEC filings for PPD, copies of which are available free of charge upon request from the PPD investor relations department.
stephen.smith@wilm.ppdi.comlouise.caudle@rtp.ppdi.com
CONTACT: Steve Smith (Investors), +1-910-558-7585,
stephen.smith@wilm.ppdi.com, or Louise Caudle (Media), +1-919-462-4467,
louise.caudle@rtp.ppdi.com, both of PPD, Inc.
Web site: http://www.ppdi.com//
