MORRISVILLE, N.C., Feb. 18, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Syneos Health (Nasdaq:SYNH), the only fully integrated biopharmaceutical solutions organization, today reported financial results for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2020.

“We delivered another quarter of strong awards performance, along with sequential revenue growth and robust profitability in the fourth quarter. Our innovative solutions, including Kinetic, continue to resonate with customers and we further strengthened our differentiated model with our acquisitions of Synteract, enhancing our SMID footprint, and Illingworth Research Group, further enabling our in-home capability for Decentralized Solutions,” said Alistair Macdonald, Chief Executive Officer, Syneos Health. “We remain confident in the long-term strength of our business given our record backlog, which we expect to fuel strong growth in both segments for the full year 2021.”

Please refer to the "Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" and "Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Measures" included in this press release and accompanying tables for important disclosures about non-GAAP measures and a reconciliation of these measures to the nearest GAAP measures.

Fourth Quarter 2020 Results

For the three months ended December 31, 2020, GAAP revenue decreased 6.0% to $1,140.0 million and decreased 6.1% compared to the adjusted revenue from the same period in the prior year. On a constant currency basis, revenue decreased 7.0% compared to the adjusted revenue from the same period in the prior year. This decrease was driven by revenue declines in both Clinical Solutions and Commercial Solutions, as discussed below.

For the three months ended December 31, 2020, Clinical Solutions GAAP revenue decreased 4.9% to $855.6 million, and decreased 5.0% compared to the adjusted revenue from the same period in the prior year. On a constant currency basis, revenue decreased 5.9% compared to the adjusted revenue from the same period in the prior year. This decrease was primarily due to the impacts of COVID-19, including the related decline in reimbursable out-of-pocket expenses, and the second quarter divestiture of the Company’s contingent staffing business, partially offset by the positive impacts from the Synteract acquisition and fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates.

For the three months ended December 31, 2020, Commercial Solutions GAAP revenue decreased 9.3% to $284.5 million from the same period in the prior year. On a constant currency basis, revenue decreased 9.9%. This decrease was primarily due to the impacts of elevated cancellations in the first half of 2020, as well as the impacts of COVID-19, including a disproportionate decline in reimbursable out-of-pocket expenses and delays in new project starts. Further, Commercial Solutions GAAP revenue for the three months ended December 31, 2020 was negatively impacted by the divestiture of the Company’s medication adherence business in November 2020.

GAAP net income for the three months ended December 31, 2020 increased 0.9% to $91.9 million, resulting in diluted earnings per share of $0.87, compared to GAAP net income of $91.1 million, or diluted earnings per share of $0.86, for the three months ended December 31, 2019. The increases in GAAP net income and diluted earnings per share were primarily due to higher income from operations, a decrease in other expenses primarily related to a lower expense from foreign exchange rate fluctuations, a gain on sale of the medication adherence business and lower interest expense, partially offset by a loss on the extinguishment of debt.

Adjusted net income for the three months ended December 31, 2020 increased 7.5% to $116.8 million, resulting in adjusted diluted earnings per share of $1.11, compared to adjusted net income of $108.6 million, or adjusted diluted earnings per share of $1.03 for the three months ended December 31, 2019. The increases in adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share were primarily due to the increase in adjusted EBITDA, discussed below, and lower interest expense.

Adjusted EBITDA for the three months ended December 31, 2020 increased 3.3% to $194.8 million from the same period in the prior year. The increase in adjusted EBITDA was driven primarily by the impact of the Company’s synergies and cost management strategies, including ForwardBound, partially offset by the impacts of COVID-19.

Full Year 2020 Results

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2020, GAAP revenue decreased 5.6% to $4,415.8 million and decreased 5.7% compared to the adjusted revenue from the same period in the prior year. On a constant currency basis, revenue decreased 5.8% compared to the adjusted revenue from the same period in the prior year. This decrease was driven by revenue declines in both Clinical Solutions and Commercial Solutions, as discussed below.

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2020, Clinical Solutions GAAP revenue decreased 3.4% to $3,306.7 million, and decreased 3.5% compared to the adjusted revenue from the same period in the prior year. On a constant currency basis, revenue decreased 3.7% compared to the adjusted revenue from the same period in the prior year. This decrease was primarily due to the impacts of COVID-19, including the related decline in reimbursable out-of-pocket expenses and the second quarter divestiture of the Company’s contingent staffing business, partially offset by revenue growth during the three months ended March 31, 2020.

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2020, Commercial Solutions GAAP revenue decreased 11.6% to $1,109.0 million from the same period in the prior year. On a constant currency basis, revenue decreased 11.7% compared to the GAAP revenue from the same period in the prior year. This decrease was primarily due to the impact of elevated cancellations during the first half of 2020, as well we the impacts of COVID-19, including a disproportionate decline in reimbursable out-of-pocket expenses and delays in new project starts.

GAAP net income for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 increased 46.9% to $192.8 million, resulting in diluted earnings per share of $1.83, compared to GAAP net income of $131.3 million, or diluted earnings per share of $1.25, for the twelve months ended December 31, 2019. The increases in GAAP net income and diluted earnings per share were primarily due to higher income from operations, lower interest expense, and a decrease in other expenses primarily due to lower expense from foreign exchange rate fluctuations, partially offset by a higher income tax expense.

Adjusted net income for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 increased 5.9% to $359.2 million, resulting in adjusted diluted earnings per share of $3.41, compared to adjusted net income of $339.3 million, or adjusted diluted earnings per share of $3.23 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2019. The increases in adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share were primarily due to lower interest expense, partially offset by a decline in adjusted EBITDA, discussed below.

Adjusted EBITDA for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 decreased 1.8% to $633.6 million from the same period in the prior year. This decrease in adjusted EBITDA was driven primarily by the impacts of COVID-19, partially offset by the impact of the Company’s synergies and cost management strategies, including ForwardBound. A portion of these cost reductions were due to temporary cost savings measures implemented in response to the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The majority of these temporary cost savings measures ended in the third quarter of 2020.

Net New Business Awards and Backlog

Net new business awards were $1,764.1 million and $5,863.1 million for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2020, representing book-to-bill ratios of 1.55x and 1.33x, respectively. Clinical Solutions net new business awards were $1,299.3 million and $4,698.7 million for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2020, representing a book-to-bill ratio of 1.52x and 1.42x, respectively. Commercial Solutions net new business awards were $464.8 million and $1,164.4 million for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2020, representing book-to-bill ratios of 1.63x and 1.05x, respectively. These net new business awards contributed to an ending backlog of $10,951.1 million as of December 31, 2020, consisting of $10,239.5 million for Clinical Solutions and $711.6 million for the Deployment Solutions offering within Commercial Solutions.

Liquidity and Capital Management Update

The Company remains confident in its liquidity position, which includes cash on hand of $272.2 million as of December 31, 2020, and access to its revolving credit facility.

During the three months ended December 31, 2020, the Company made $13.5 million and $200.0 million of voluntary prepayments against its Term Loan A and Term Loan B, respectively that were applied to future mandatory principal payment due. The Company is not required to make a mandatory payment against the principal balance of Term Loan A until April 2022 and Term Loan B until maturity in August 2024. The Company also entered into an amendment to the Credit Agreement that extended the maturity date of the Revolver and a portion of Term Loan A to August 1, 2024.

In addition, on November 24, 2020, the Company completed the issuance and sale of $600.0 million aggregate principal amount of 3.625% senior notes due 2029. The Company received net proceeds, after deducting offering expenses, of $592.5 million. The net proceeds of the offering, together with cash on hand, were used for general corporate purposes, including the funding of acquisitions, and for the repayment of indebtedness.

During the three months ended December 31, 2020, the Company repurchased $8.1 million of common stock. On November 17, 2020, the Company’s Board approved a new stock repurchase program effective January 1, 2021, which succeeded the existing stock repurchase program that expired on December 31, 2020. The new stock repurchase program authorizes the Company to repurchase up to $300.0 million of common stock and expires on December 31, 2022. The Company will continue to evaluate the utilization of its share repurchase program as market and economic conditions evolve.

Full Year 2021 Business Outlook

The Company's guidance takes into account a number of factors, including existing backlog, current sales pipeline, trends in cancellations and delays, and the Company’s ForwardBound initiative, which includes expansion of the Syneos Operating Network, process optimization, and automation initiatives. In addition, the guidance presented below represents the Company’s best efforts to estimate the impact of COVID-19 on its business. The severity and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic are outside of the Company’s control and, given the uncertain nature of the pandemic, could cause the Company’s future operating results to be different from our current expectations, particularly if the impact of the pandemic worsens. Furthermore, the guidance presented below is based on current foreign currency exchange rates, current interest rates, and the Company's expected non-GAAP effective tax rate of approximately 24.0% for the year ending December 31, 2021. The guidance is based upon the Company's estimated number of weighted average diluted shares outstanding, and does not take into account any share repurchases beyond the fourth quarter of 2020. The Company's full year 2021 guidance is outlined below:

About Syneos Health

Syneos Health^® (Nasdaq:SYNH) is the only fully integrated biopharmaceutical solutions organization. The Company, including a Contract Research Organization (CRO) and Contract Commercial Organization (CCO), is purpose-built to accelerate customer performance to address modern market realities. Syneos Health brings together approximately 25,000 clinical and commercial minds with the ability to support customers in more than 110 countries. The Company shares insights, uses the latest technologies, and applies advanced business practices to speed its customers’ delivery of important therapies to patients. To learn more about how Syneos Health is Shortening the distance from lab to life^® visit syneoshealth.com.