DANBURY, Conn. & RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IQVIA Holdings Inc. (“IQVIA”) (NYSE:IQV), a leading global provider of advanced analytics, technology solutions, and clinical research services to the life sciences industry, today reported financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2020.

Third-Quarter 2020 Operating Results

Revenue for the third quarter of $2,786 million increased 0.6 percent on a reported basis and was lower by 0.1 percent at constant currency, compared to the third quarter of 2019. Technology & Analytics Solutions (TAS) revenue of $1,207 million grew 10.2 percent reported and 9.2 percent on a constant currency basis. Research & Development Solutions (R&DS) revenue of $1,400 million was lower by 4.5 percent on a reported basis and by 5.1 percent at constant currency. Excluding the impact of pass throughs, R&DS revenue grew 2.6 percent year-over-year on a reported basis. Contract Sales & Medical Solutions (CSMS) revenue of $179 million was lower by 13.9 percent on a reported basis and by 14.4 percent at constant currency.

R&DS contracted backlog, including reimbursed expenses, grew 18.5 percent year-over-year to $21.7 billion at September 30, 2020. The company expects approximately $5.8 billion of this backlog to convert to revenue in the next twelve months, up from $5.4 billion at June 30, 2020. The third quarter contracted net book-to-bill ratio was 1.71x including reimbursed expenses and 1.42x excluding reimbursed expenses. For the last twelve months ended September 30, 2020, the contracted net book-to-bill ratio was 1.55x including reimbursed expenses and 1.45x excluding reimbursed expenses.

Third-quarter 2020 Adjusted EBITDA was $604 million, up 1.9 percent compared to the third quarter of 2019. GAAP net income was $101 million, and GAAP diluted earnings per share was $0.52. Adjusted Net Income was $318 million and Adjusted Diluted Earnings per Share was $1.63, up 1.9 percent compared to the third quarter of 2019.

“The IQVIA team continues to execute well in the current environment, once again delivering results above our financial targets, with revenue and profit metrics turning positive in the third quarter,” said Ari Bousbib, chairman and CEO of IQVIA. “TAS has already returned to pre-COVID growth rates and R&DS is expected to reach double-digit growth in the fourth quarter. Demand remains robust, as evidenced by another record quarter of bookings in R&DS, setting the stage for an excellent 2021.”

Year-to-Date 2020 Operating ResultsRevenue of $8,061 million for the first nine months of 2020 was lower by 1.6 percent reported and by 1.2 percent at constant currency, compared to the first nine months of 2019. TAS revenue of $3,433 million grew 4.9 percent reported and 5.6 percent at constant currency. R&DS revenue of $4,076 million was lower by 5.6 percent reported and by 5.4 percent at constant currency. CSMS revenue of $552 million was lower by 8.6 percent reported and by 8.3 percent at constant currency.

Adjusted EBITDA for the first nine months of 2020 was $1,649 million. GAAP net income was $160 million and GAAP diluted earnings per share was $0.82. Adjusted Net Income was $841 million and Adjusted Diluted Earnings per Share was $4.32.

Financial Position

As of September 30, 2020, cash and cash equivalents were $1,464 million and debt was $12,339 million, resulting in net debt of $10,875 million. At the end of the third quarter of 2020, IQVIA’s Net Leverage Ratio was 4.7x trailing twelve month Adjusted EBITDA.

Share Repurchase

When the COVID-19 outbreak became a pandemic in March, the company temporarily suspended share repurchase activity. Based on the company’s performance during the pandemic, continued robust demand for its offerings, solid liquidity, and strong free cash flow performance, IQVIA is today lifting the temporary suspension of its share repurchase program. As of September 30, 2020, the company had approximately $1.0 billion of share repurchase authorization remaining.

Guidance for the fourth quarter and full year of 2020 assumes that business conditions will continue to improve and that localized flare ups of COVID-19 will not have a material impact to fourth quarter results.

Full-Year 2021 Outlook

For the full year of 2021, the company expects revenue of between $12,300 million and $12,600 million, Adjusted EBITDA of between $2,725 million and $2,800 million, and Adjusted Diluted Earnings per Share of between $7.65 and $7.95. The company will provide more detailed full-year 2021 guidance on its fourth quarter earnings results call in mid-February 2021.

The company has developed this outlook based on the general assumption of continued recovery and return to normal business conditions in 2021. The company further assumes that there will not be another global wave of COVID-19 infection that would lead to public health policy decisions that could cause widespread business and healthcare disruptions, hampering the progress of sites reopening, patients returning to trials or other face-to-face interactions that are important to our business.

All financial guidance assumes foreign currency exchange rates at September 30, 2020 remain in effect for the periods forecasted.

About IQVIAI

QVIA (NYSE:IQV) is a leading global provider of advanced analytics, technology solutions and clinical research services to the life sciences industry. Formed through the merger of IMS Health and Quintiles, IQVIA applies human data science — leveraging the analytic rigor and clarity of data science to the ever-expanding scope of human science — to enable companies to reimagine and develop new approaches to clinical development and commercialization, speed innovation and accelerate improvements in healthcare outcomes. Powered by the IQVIA CORE™, IQVIA delivers unique and actionable insights at the intersection of large-scale analytics, transformative technology and extensive domain expertise, as well as execution capabilities. With approximately 68,000 employees, IQVIA conducts operations in more than 100 countries.

IQVIA is a global leader in protecting individual patient privacy. The company uses a wide variety of privacy-enhancing technologies and safeguards to protect individual privacy while generating and analyzing information on a scale that helps healthcare stakeholders identify disease patterns and correlate with the precise treatment path and therapy needed for better outcomes. IQVIA’s insights and execution capabilities help biotech, medical device and pharmaceutical companies, medical researchers, government agencies, payers and other healthcare stakeholders tap into a deeper understanding of diseases, human behaviors and scientific advances, in an effort to advance their path toward cures. To learn more, visit www.iqvia.com.