CRO

Parexel notches double-digit annual growth with a big year ahead

Parexel CEO Josef von Rickenbach

Parexel International ($PRXL) posted an 11.8% revenue increase in its just-concluded fiscal year, posting record sales and forecasting another banner year.

The global CRO pulled in $1.9 billion in fiscal 2014 service revenue, a leap over the $1.7 billion it grossed the year before.

Clinical Research Services, Parexel's largest segment, grew about 12% to $1.5 billion, while its consulting segment ticked up nearly 7% to $216.2 million and the fast-growing informatics business jumped more than 17% to $267.9 million. Net income amounted to $129.1 million on the year, a 35% raise.

Closing out the year, Parexel's fourth-quarter revenue came in at $510.6 million, a 10% increase over the prior year, and the company finished out fiscal '14 with $592.5 million in net new business and a $5 billion backlog.

And the CRO expects that momentum to carry it into the next year, expecting between $2.1 billion and $2.2 billion in fiscal 2015, good for up to 10% annual growth, CEO Josef von Rickenbach said.

"The successful execution of operational efficiency programs, an improved labor mix and further leverage of low-cost countries drove notable gross margin improvement in the Clinical Research Services and Parexel Informatics businesses, leading to solid operating margin expansion during the fiscal year," von Rickenbach said in statement. "... We expect to achieve our fiscal year 2015 objectives while also making investments in our businesses in an effort to continuously improve the products and services that we offer to our clients, thereby positioning us for sustained growth."

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