Parexel posts lower first quarter profit, sees second quarter below Estimates

Clinical research service provider Parexel International Corp posted a lower quarterly profit as consolidation among drugmakers created unevenness in demand for the company's services, and forecast second-quarter adjusted profit slightly below market estimates.
For the first quarter, the company which provides research, communications and consulting services to drugmakers and medical device companies, posted a net income of $12.4 million, or 21 cents a share, compared with $13.6 million, or 23 cents a share in the year-ago period. Earnings included a favourable tax impact of about 2 cents a share.
Service revenue for the quarter ended September 30 was $259.8 million, down from $263.0 million a year ago. Analysts, on an average, were expecting a profit of 17 cents a share, before special items, on revenue of $265.0 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
The Waltham, Massachusetts-based company said its order backlog at the end of September was about $2.16 billion. Backlog included gross new business wins of $322.1 million and cancellations of $100.7 million.
Last week, bigger and more diversified rival Covance Inc, which is considered a bellwether for contract research organisations, had warned of a modest fourth quarter and a weak performance in its early-stage development services. Parexel shares were trading up 2 percent at $13.85 after the bell. They closed at $13.62 Tuesday on Nasdaq.