On July 31, 2019 PRA Health Sciences, Inc. ("PRA," "we," "us" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: PRAH) reported financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2019 (Press release, PRA Health Sciences, JUL 31, 2019, View Source [SID1234537978]).

"Our second quarter financial results produced a record level of net new business awards, solid revenue growth, and continued margin expansion, all of which were in line with our expectations," said Colin Shannon, PRA’s Chief Executive Officer. "Although we have modified our expectations around our 2019 revenue targets, market demand remains strong and our objective of delivering broad and flexible services to our clients remains our top priority."

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Net new business for our Clinical Research segment for the three months ended June 30, 2019 was $670.7 million, representing a net book-to-bill ratio of 1.24 for the period. This net new business contributed to an ending backlog of $4.5 billion at June 30, 2019.

For the three months ended June 30, 2019, revenue was $763.3 million, which represents growth of 5.6%, or $40.5 million, compared to the three months ended June 30, 2018 at actual foreign exchange rates. On a constant currency basis, revenue grew $49.1 million, an increase of 6.8% compared to the second quarter of 2018. By segment, the Clinical Research segment generated revenues of $702.2 million, while the Data Solutions segment generated revenues of $61.1 million.

Direct costs, exclusive of depreciation and amortization, were $386.2 million during the three months ended June 30, 2019 compared to $381.7 million for the three months ended June 30, 2018 at actual foreign exchange rates. On a constant currency basis, direct costs increased $15.6 million compared to the second quarter of 2018. Consistent with the first quarter of 2019, the increase in direct costs was primarily driven by an increase in labor-related costs in our Clinical Research segment as we continue to hire billable staff to ensure appropriate staffing levels. Direct costs were 50.6% of revenue during the second quarter of 2019 compared to 52.8% of revenue during the second quarter of 2018.

Selling, general and administrative expenses were $98.8 million during the three months ended June 30, 2019 compared to $91.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2018. Selling, general and

administrative costs were 12.9% of revenue during the second quarter of 2019 compared to 12.6% of revenue during the second quarter of 2018. The increase in selling, general and administrative expenses is primarily related to an increase in salaries and related benefits, including stock-based compensation expense as we continue to hire staff and an increase in office space and related expenses to support our continued growth.

GAAP net income was $41.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2019, or $0.62 per share on a diluted basis, compared to GAAP net income of $42.0 million for the three months ended June 30, 2018, or $0.64 per share on a diluted basis.

EBITDA was $107.0 million for the three months ended June 30, 2019, representing an increase of 4.3% compared to the three months ended June 30, 2018. Adjusted EBITDA was $129.4 million for the three months ended June 30, 2019, representing growth of 17.9% compared to the three months ended June 30, 2018.

Adjusted net income was $81.8 million for the three months ended June 30, 2019, representing growth of 23.8% compared to the three months ended June 30, 2018. Adjusted net income per diluted share was $1.22 for the three months ended June 30, 2019, representing growth of 22.0% compared to the three months ended June 30, 2018.

A reconciliation of our non-GAAP measures, including EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income, adjusted net income per diluted share and our 2019 guidance, to the corresponding GAAP measures is included in this press release.

First Half 2019 Financial Highlights

For the six months ended June 30, 2019, revenue was $1,485.3 million, which represents growth of 4.3%, or $60.7 million, compared to the six months ended June 30, 2018 at actual foreign exchange rates. On a constant currency basis, revenue grew $81.4 million, representing growth of 5.7% compared to the six months ended June 30, 2018.

Reported GAAP income from operations was $166.7 million, reported GAAP net income was $85.2 million and reported GAAP net income per diluted share was $1.28 for the six months ended June 30, 2019.

Adjusted Net Income was $155.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2019, an improvement of 26.8% compared to the same period in 2018. Adjusted Net Income per diluted share was $2.32 for the six months ended June 30, 2019, up 25.4% compared to the same period in 2018.

Guidance

The Company is updating its 2019 revenue guidance to between $3.02 billion and $3.10 billion, representing as reported growth of 5% to 8% and constant currency growth of 6% to 8%. We are updating our GAAP net income per diluted share to between $3.60 and $3.70 and Adjusted Net Income per diluted share to between $4.98 and $5.08, representing growth of 16% to 19%. We continue to estimate our annual effective income tax rate at approximately 24%. 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 guidance from regulatory agencies related to interpretation, analysis and guidance of the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Our guidance assumes a EURO rate of 1.15 and a GBP rate of 1.30. All other foreign currency exchange rates are as of June 30, 2019.

Conference Call Details

PRA will host a conference call at 9:00 a.m. ET on August 1, 2019, 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 6295812. 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 6295812.

Additional Information

A financial supplement with second 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 "Q2 2019 Earnings Presentation."