ICON Reports Full-Year 2010 Revenue of $900m and EPS of $1.44 Highlights - Full Year 2010 and Fourth Quarter ended December 31. * 2010 net revenue increased 1.4% to $900 million, or 3.1% on a constant currency basis. Q4

Reports Full-Year 2010 Revenue of $900m and EPS of $1.44

- Full Year 2010 and Fourth Quarter ended December 31.

net revenue increased 1.4% to $900 million, or 3.1% on a constant

currency basis. Q4 net revenues increased 2.1% or 5.6% on a constant

currency basis to $232 million.

operating income was 10.2% or $92 million. Q4 operating income was 9.5%

2010 EPS was $1.44. EPS for Q4 was 36 cents.

net new business awards were $1.05 billion, a book-to-bill of 1.16x. Q4

net business awards were $237 million, a book-to-bill of 1.0x.

Guidance for 2011 is for revenue in the range of $945 - $980 million,

growth of 5 - 9%, and EPS in the range of $1.10 to $1.25

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--February 24, 2011--ICON (NASDAQ:ICLR)

(ISIN:IE0005711209), a global provider of outsourced development

services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device

industries, today reported its financial results for the full year and

fourth quarter ended December 31, 2010.

Net revenues for 2010 grew 1.4% to $900 million, representing a constant

currency increase of 3.1% year on year.

Operating income was $92 million, representing 10.2% of revenue,

compared to $116.3 million and 13.1% last year. This comprised clinical

services operating income of $104.8 million or 12.5% and central lab

operating losses of $12.8 million.

Net income was $87.1 million, a net margin of 9.7%, compared to $91.6

million last year and 10.3% of revenue. Diluted EPS for 2010 was $1.44

per share compared with $1.53 in 2009.

For the fourth quarter, net revenues grew 2% to $232.1 million. On a

constant currency basis the increase was 5.6%.

Operating income was $22 million, representing 9.5% of revenue, compared

to $29.6 million or 13% for the same quarter last year. This comprised

clinical services operating income of $26 million or 12.1% and a central

lab operating loss of $4 million.

Net income was $22 million, compared with $23.9 million last year,

producing a diluted earnings per share of 36c compared to 40c in the

same quarter last year.

Days sales outstanding, comprising accounts receivable and unbilled

revenue less payments on account, were 37 days at December 31, 2010.

This compares to 33 days at December 31, 2009.

For the quarter ended December 31, 2010, cash provided by operating

activities was $31.9 million and capital expenditure was $7.1 million.

Full year 2010 cash flow from operating activities was $87.4 million and

capital expenditure was $31 million. As a result, the company's net cash

amounted to $256 million at December 31, 2010 compared to $194 million

of net cash at December 31, 2009.

Commenting on the results, CEO Peter Gray said "2010 has been a

challenging year, as some parts of our business, and particularly our

central lab, absorbed the impact of the weak business environment in

2009. 2010 has also seen an acceleration in the pace of change in the

biopharmaceutical industry, which is creating strong opportunities for

the future, but is requiring us to adapt our business model and

structures to effectively capitalise on these. This process continues,

and we are making significant investments to build additional

capabilities, to leverage our scale more effectively, and to implement

process and systems change necessary to prosper in the evolving market.

We do not expect the benefit of our investments to be realised until

late 2011 and into 2012. Consequently we are guiding revenue for 2011 in

the range of $945 - $980 million, representing growth of 5-9%, and EPS

in the range of $1.10 - $1.25."

In addition to the financial measures prepared in accordance with

generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), this press release

contains certain non-GAAP financial measures, including non-GAAP

operating and net income and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share. While

non-GAAP financial measures are not superior to or a substitute for the

comparable GAAP measures, ICON believes certain non-GAAP information is

useful to investors for historical comparison purposes.

The company will hold its fourth quarter conference call today, February

24, 2011 at 9:00 EST [14:00 Ireland & UK]. This call and linked slide

presentation can be accessed live from our website at http://www.iconplc.com.

A recording will also be available on the website for 90 days following

the call. In addition, a calendar of company events, including upcoming

conference presentations, is available on our website under "Investors".

This calendar will be updated regularly.

The statements made in this press release may contain forward-looking

statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. In addition

to the matters described in this Press Release, the ability to maintain

large client contracts or enter into new contracts, maintain client

relationships and the ability to manage the opening of new offices, the

integration of new business mergers and acquisitions, as well as other

risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in SEC reports filed

by ICON, including its Form 20-F, F-1, S-8 and F-3, may affect the

actual results achieved by ICON. ICON disclaims any intent or obligation

to update these forward-looking statements.

ICON plc is a global provider of outsourced development services to the

pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. The Company

specialises in the strategic development, management and analysis of

programs that support clinical development - from compound selection to

Phase I-IV clinical studies. With headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, ICON

currently, operates from 77 locations in 39 countries and has

approximately 7,700 employees. Further information is available at www.iconplc.com.

Contact : Investor Relations

Ciaran Murray Chief Financial Officer + 353

Brendan Brennan SVP Corp Fin + 353 -1-291-2000

Farthing VP Investor Relations + 353 -1-291-2000