Clinical research group Icon says its net revenues for the year ending December 2008 rose by 37% to $865m, while its full year operating income grew by 44% to $99.5m.
Full year diluted earnings per share rose to $1.30, up 38% on the previous year.
Icon also said that its fourth quarter net revenues for the three months to the end of December increased by 22% to $220m compared to the same time the previous year. Income from operations for the three months rose by 34% to $26.5m.
The company said that as a result of two recent acquisitions - Healthcare Discoveries last February and Prevalere Life Sciences in November - its net debt amounted to $4.3m by the end of 2008. This compares to net cash of $23.8m at the end of 2007.
'With our backlog at $1.74 billion we have entered 2009 in a good position, although the difficult economic climate has put some customers under pressure and has created a degree of uncertainty,' commented Icon's CEO Peter Gray.
'We remain positive, though cautious, as 2009 commences,' he added.
