On February 20, 2020 PRA Health Sciences, Inc. ("PRA" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: PRAH) reported financial results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2019 (Press release, PRA Health Sciences, FEB 20, 2020, View Source [SID1234554560]).
"We are pleased with our financial results for the quarter and are delighted to have delivered double digit constant currency revenue growth and double digit adjusted earnings growth," said Colin Shannon, PRA’s Chief Executive Officer. "During the year, we strengthened our leadership in Strategic Solutions, Product Registration, and Symphony Health and we believe we are very well positioned for the coming year. In 2020, we will continue to focus on our key strategic initiatives and to providing broad and flexible services to our clients."
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Net new business for our Clinical Research segment for the three months ended December 31, 2019 was $658.9 million, representing a net book-to-bill ratio of 1.21 for the period. This net new business contributed to an ending backlog of $4.7 billion at December 31, 2019.
For the three months ended December 31, 2019, revenue was $800.2 million, which represents growth of 9.7%, or $70.6 million, compared to the fourth quarter of 2018 at actual foreign exchange rates. On a constant currency basis, revenue grew $74.5 million, an increase of 10.2% compared to the fourth quarter of 2018. By segment, the Clinical Research segment generated revenues of $725.1 million, while the Data Solutions segment generated revenues of $75.1 million.
Direct costs, exclusive of depreciation and amortization, were $386.1 million during the three months ended December 31, 2019 compared to $365.7 million for the three months ended December 31, 2018 at actual foreign exchange rates. On a constant currency basis, direct costs increased by $24.7 million compared to the fourth quarter of 2018. The increase in direct costs continues to be driven by increased labor costs in our Clinical Research segment and increased data costs in our Data Solutions segment. Direct costs were 48.2% of revenue during the fourth quarter of 2019 compared to 50.1% of revenue during the fourth quarter of 2018.
Selling, general and administrative expenses were $103.5 million during the three months ended December 31, 2019 compared to $96.4 million for the three months ended December 31, 2018. Selling,
general and administrative costs were 12.9% of revenue during the fourth quarter of 2019 compared to 13.2% of revenue during the fourth quarter of 2018.
GAAP net income attributable to PRA was $74.8 million for the three months ended December 31, 2019, or $1.16 per share on a diluted basis, compared to $71.5 million for the three months ended December 31, 2018, or $1.07 per share on a diluted basis.
EBITDA was $124.9 million for both the three months ended December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018. Adjusted EBITDA was $148.5 million for the three months ended December 31, 2019, representing growth of 9.0% compared to the three months ended December 31, 2018.
Adjusted net income was $98.7 million for the three months ended December 31, 2019, representing 13.6% growth compared to the three months ended December 31, 2018. Adjusted net income for the three months ended December 31, 2019 includes the effects of a reduction in our effective tax rate from 24% to 23%. The decrease in our effective tax rate is primarily attributable to the geographic distribution of our pre-tax earnings. Adjusted net income per diluted share was $1.54 for the three months ended December 31, 2019, representing 17.6% growth compared to the three months ended December 31, 2018.
Full Year 2019 Financial Highlights
For the twelve months ended December 31, 2019, revenue was $3,066.3 million, which represents growth of 6.8%, or $194.3 million, compared to the twelve months ended December 31, 2018 at actual foreign exchange rates. On a constant currency basis, revenue grew $225.2 million, representing growth of 7.8% compared to the twelve months ended December 31, 2018. By segment, the Clinical Research segment generated revenues of $2,813.0 million, while the Data Solutions segment generated revenues of $253.3 million.
GAAP income from operations was $363.9 million. GAAP net income attributable to PRA was $243.0 million, or $3.68 per share on a diluted basis, for the twelve months ended December 31, 2019.
Adjusted net income was $341.0 million for the twelve months ended December 31, 2019, an improvement of 20.0% compared to the twelve months ended December 31, 2018. Adjusted net income per diluted share was $5.17 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2019, up 20.8% compared to the twelve months ended December 31, 2018.
Full Year 2020 and Q1 2020 Guidance
For full year 2020, the Company expects to achieve total revenues between $3.23 billion and $3.36 billion, representing as reported and constant currency growth of 5.0% to 9.5%.
We expect GAAP net income per diluted share of between $4.01 and $4.21 per share and adjusted net income per diluted share of between $5.77 and $5.97 per share, representing growth of 12% to 15%. We anticipate an annual effective income tax rate estimate of 23%.
Our effective tax rate may differ from this estimate, due to, among other things, changes to estimates of the geographic allocation of our pre-tax income as well as changes in interpretations, analysis, and additional guidance that may be issued by regulatory agencies.
For Q1 2020, the Company expects to achieve total revenues between $765.0 million and $787.0 million, representing as reported and constant currency growth of 6% to 9%. The Company expects GAAP net
income per diluted share of between $0.59 and $0.69 per share, adjusted net income per diluted share between $1.05 and $1.15 per share, and an annual effective income tax rate of 23%.
Our 2020 guidance assumes a EURO rate of 1.15 and a GBP rate of 1.30 with all other foreign currencies using a rate as of January 31, 2020.
A reconciliation of our non-GAAP measures, EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income, adjusted net income per share and our 2020 guidance, to the corresponding GAAP measures is included in this press release.
Conference Call Details
PRA will host a conference call at 9:00 a.m. ET on February 21, 2020, to discuss the contents of this release and other relevant topics. To participate, please dial (877) 930-8062 within the United States or (253) 336-7647 outside the United States approximately 10 minutes before the scheduled start of the call. The conference ID for the call is 5667733. The conference call will also be accessible, live via audio broadcast, on the Investor Relations section of the PRA website at investor.prahs.com. A replay of the conference call will be available online at investor.prahs.com. In addition, an audio replay of the call will be available for one week following the call and can be accessed by dialing (855) 859-2056 within the United States or (404) 537-3406 outside the United States. The replay ID is 5667733.
Additional Information
A financial supplement with fourth quarter 2019 results, which should be read in conjunction with this press release, may be found in the Investor Relations section of our website at investor.prahs.com in a document titled "Q4 2019 Earnings Presentation."