Icon revises earnings potential after strong Q2 results
The Dublin-headquartered firm reported revenue of $389m (€351.8m), up almost 3.5% on the same period last year.
Income from operations increased by 41% to $68.1m or 17.5% of revenue compared to $48.3 million or 12.8% for the same quarter last year.
“In quarter two we achieved a record level of net new business awards of $486m, a book to bill of 1.25 and grew our backlog by 8% over last year. Our operating margin expanded to 17.5% and EPS was 95c an increase of 48% over last year.
“We expect this margin performance to continue, and are raising 2015 earnings guidance by 8%, from a range of $3.60 — $3.70 to a range of $3.90 — $4.00,” said chief executive, Ciaran Murray.
The company also announced a continuation of its share buyback programme which has seen $58m of shares repurchased to date this year.
The extended programme of up to $400m, funded using committed financing and cash on hand has been approved by the company’s board.
“With our balance sheet capacity we will continue our recent policy of increasing shareholder value through the use of share buyback programmes,” Mr Murray said.
