Icon targets revenue growth of 2-5% for 2017

Icon, the Dublin-based clinical trials group, is targeting full-year revenue growth of between 2 and 5 per cent this year, as it eyes up “bolt-on” acquisitions.

For 2017, Icon expects full year revenue in the range of $1.7-$1.75 billion and earnings per share of $5-$5.20, representing growth of between 6 and 11 per cent, the company said as it issued a trading update ahead of a presentation at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco on Tuesday.

"We expect 2017 to be another year of revenue and earnings growth for Icon," said chief executive Ciaran Murray. "Our success in developing new customer relationships has further diversified our customer base."

He said the group expected to reduce the portion of revenue accounted for by its biggest customer to about 15-17 per cent, from between 24 and 26 per cent last year.

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“We continue to see good demand across all of our service lines from large pharma customers alongside a continuing flow of business from mid-size, speciality pharma and device companies. In addition to this organic growth we will continue to deploy capital to maximise shareholder value through a combination of ‘bolt-on’ M&A that will enhance our capabilities and share repurchases.”

For 2016, the company confirmed its current guidance of full-year earnings in the range of $4.60-$4.80 a share and revenue in the range of $1.66-$1.68 billion.

Icon employs about 12,300 people in 37 countries worldwide, including more than 1,000 in Dublin and Limerick.