Icon has reported operating profits of $92m for the year ended December 2010, down from the $116.3m reported the previous year.
The company, which provides services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries, said its clinical services division saw operating profits of $104.8m for the year while its central lab division reported operating losses of $12.8m.
Revenues for the year grew by 1.4% to $900m after what the company called a challenging year.
The company said that some parts of its business, especially its central lab, absorbed the impact of the weak business environment in 2009.
'2010 has also seen an acceleration in the pace of change in the biopharmaceutical industry, and is creating strong opportunities for the future, but is requiring us to adapt our business model and structures to effectively capitalise on these,' commented Icon's chief executive Peter Gray.
Icon also said that its fourth quarter net revenues rose by 2.1% to $232m while its fourth quarter operating profits increased by 9.5% to $22m.
