Covance records “outstanding” result

Covance – a drug development services firm – has announced its earnings for the fourth quarter of last year, prompting one senior official to congratulate its employees for their achievement.

Joe Herring, chairman and chief executive officer of the firm, praised the team for "another year of outstanding achievement".

The fourth quarter of 2007 saw the company achieve earnings of $0.78 (0.39 pounds) per diluted share and full-year earnings per share of $2.71.

"Increasing levels of client satisfaction led to strong repeat work resulting in more than $500 million in net orders for the quarter and a 20.6 per cent growth in our backlog to $2.7 billion," Mr Herring commented.

During the fourth quarter, the company’s revenue growth was "robust" and its operating margins "remained solid", he added.

Covance has operations in over 20 countries worldwide, providing a range of services including research products, nonclinical development services and clinical pharmacology services.