8/29
三年前，Kendle International(代號:KNDL) 被业界的大型竞争对手视为不足挂齿的小毛孩。那时的大型的制药公司倾向于将大规模临床试验进行外包，给具有国际化业务规模和制药技术的企业。而 Kendle那时仅仅是进行中型临床试验的小型合同试验机构。然而今非昔比的是，Kendle如今已经赢得了同行任何一家大型公司的敬佩目光，转折点就是两年前公司收购的Charles River Laboratories(代號:CRL) 临床试验业务，令公司业绩增长近50%，为公司赢得了在癌症、眼科学、心脏病医学和内分泌学多方面的深层次专业技术，其地理市场开始超过美国，遍及中东欧。公司的CEO兼创始人Candace Kendle表示：“尽管之前我们在这些地区默默无闻，但是现在我们的业务足迹遍及这些目标市场。”
对于制药公司来说，美国以外的市场是一块丰腴的大肥肉，拥有大量潜在的客户人群。随着合同研发行业每年增长15%，Charles River Laboratories的收购为公司带来了大量的客户和收益。“我们几乎是在一夜之间迎来了业绩增长大爆发，有一半以上的合同是超过1000万美元的。 ”06年公司仅有四分之一的合同是大型合同。“收购交易为公司带来了规模营收效益。”但是分析师注意到公司业绩常常低于华尔街共识的预期，“主要是由于公司在与华尔街交流方面存在障碍，业绩预测总是在不时地上升或降低。”同时，公司的小型业务还受到了项目延迟和取消的影响。
对于公司的成长来所，不断出现的业务挫折也是家常便饭。即便是Quintiles和Pharmaceutical Product Development(代號:PPD) 等的大型竞争对手，在公司做大做强的过程中也时常面临磕磕绊绊。分析师认为：“这不是一个翻手为云覆手为雨的行业。”今年一季度公司的每股收益为0.09 美元，低于共识19% 。之后公司管理层决定对业绩预测采取保守态度。二季度公司的营收大大高于共识，使得公司股价两天内就上涨了15% 。无论如何这都是一个大丰收的季度：净营收上涨了30%至1.27亿美元，每股收益上涨了79%至0.52美元。“这就是公司的作风：无论之前状况如何，公司总能提交一份清楚无疑的季报，显示其业绩的强劲基本面。”
公司还提高了全年营收预测，由4.5-4.6亿美元升至4.9-5.0亿美元。提高每股收益预测，由1.9-2.07美元升至2.00-2.15美元。尽管一些分析师依然质疑公司的业绩状况，主要是由于公司的业绩预测将收购也算在内。公司是6月2日才收购位于多伦多的临床医药中心的，此项开支占到公司营收的5%，但是价格为公司提高此版块业绩55%以上，至860万美元。“我们预计此项业务将上涨至少20-25%，这可是一笔大买卖。”
去年年底公司聘用了一位新高级执行总裁以监管这一业务的一阶段运营，不但实现了二季度的业绩，还为第二阶段的业务打下良好基础。公司在欧洲市场的二季度营收上涨了33%，占到总营收的44%，多数增长来自中欧和东欧。拉丁美洲市场的营收翻了两倍，占到总营收的8%，亚太市场上涨了33%，公司还考虑在亚太市场进行小规模的并购。分析师表示，如果公司预计能够高于共识，股价将上涨26%至2.03美元。
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Investor's Business Daily
Healthy Gains For Medical Research Firms
Thursday August 7, 7:02 pm ET
Marilyn Alva Feeding off strong demand from Big Pharma, contract medical-research firms that specialize in clinical trials keep getting healthier.
High marks on two quarterly report cards this week lifted most of their stocks as well.
On Thursday, shares of Parexel (NasdaqGS:PRXL - News)shot up 12.5% after it reported a 32.6% year-over-year jump in revenue for its June quarter to a record $272 million.
The Boston-based firm beat profit forecasts by two cents with 28 cents a share.
It also raised its outlook for the year. Backlog stood at almost $2.1 billion.
Shares of Kendle (NasdaqGS:KNDL - News), based in Cincinnati, soared 12% on Wednesday after it beat views by 6 cents with earnings of 52 cents. Revenue jumped 30% to $127 million. Its shares rose another 3.5% on Thursday.
"This is a rising tide type of situation," said John Kreger, analyst with William Blair & Co. "Strong demand is helping everyone."
Covance (NYSE:CVD - News)shares jumped 6% on Wednesday after the firm said it would buy an early-stage R&D unit from Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY - News)for $50 million.
In July, Icon (NasdaqGS:ICLR - News)shares got a hefty lift after it reported a strong quarter and raised guidance for the year. On Thursday, shares of the Dublin, Ireland-based firm rose just under 1%.
More outsourcing awards seem to be coming from the big drug companies than from smaller biotech firms, analysts say. Faced with blockbusters going off patent and growing generic competition, large drug firms are restructuring their business models.
"They are trying to become more efficient. They are trying to get their fixed costs down and the productivity of their research up," Parexel CEO Josef von Rickenbach said.
Outsourcers help on both of those fronts.
About 60% of Parexel's new-business wins come from Big Pharma, von Rickenbach says.
Biotechs outsource as well since they don't typically have in-house resources to run clinical trials.
Medical research outsourcing picked up steam about 21/2 years ago as drug firms' profits and pipelines slowed, analysts say.
Between 25% and 30% of R&D volume is now outsourced, according to industry estimates. Industry sources say that figure easily could reach 50% or more.
"There's no sign that the demand trends are slowing," Kreger said.
While overall revenue at contract-research firms is growing 15% annually, the amount of new business coming in is growing 40%, Kreger says.
"That means demand for these companies is very, very strong right now," he said. "The pace of outsourcing by the pharmaceutical industry appears to be accelerating."
Most of the growth is not in the U.S. or Western Europe, but in emerging markets, where drug companies are stepping up clinical trials and other R&D work.
Most of the contract medical researchers have global operations.
Parexel, with offices in 52 countries, has been a pioneer in global expansion. Sixty percent of Parexel's revenue comes from overseas.
"We're in India, China, South Africa and all over Asia," von Rickenbach said.
Parexel's core business covers clinical research from phase one to phase four, including things from designing a trial to clinical and data management.
Unlike rivals, however, it doesn't have a lab operation. But it does have a consulting arm and a tech business that together make up 25% of revenue.
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