PAREXEL International Corporation (PRXL) has reported a 44.67 percent plunge in profit for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2016. The company has earned $21.80 million, or $0.41 a share in the quarter, compared with $39.40 million, or $0.73 a share for the same period last year. On the other hand, adjusted net income for the quarter stood at $45 million, or $0.85 a share compared with $48.70 million or $0.90 a share, a year ago.

Revenue during the quarter went up marginally by 1.32 percent to $612.20 million from $604.20 million in the previous year period. Gross margin for the quarter contracted 81 basis points over the previous year period to 29.97 percent. Total expenses were 90.20 percent of quarterly revenues, down from 90.96 percent for the same period last year. This has led to an improvement of 76 basis points in operating margin to 9.80 percent.

Operating income for the quarter was $60 million, compared with $54.60 million in the previous year period.

However, the adjusted operating income for the quarter stood at $64.70 million compared to $68.40 million in the prior year period. At the same time, adjusted operating margin contracted 75 basis points in the quarter to 10.57 percent from 11.32 percent in the last year period.

"We were satisfied with our adjusted EPS results in the second quarter," said Josef von Rickenbach, chairman and chief executive officer of PAREXEL International. "Revenue growth in the quarter was relatively modest mainly due to the lingering impact of cancellations in prior periods, continuing slower backlog conversion due to increasing clinical trial complexity, and revenue delays from recent awards. As we expect recent strong new business awards to contribute less near-term revenue than we had anticipated, we are lowering our forecast for Fiscal Year 2017 revenue and diluted EPS. "We continue to adapt our organization to our revenue base in order to maximize our operational efficiency," Mr. von Rickenbach concluded.

For fiscal year 2017, PAREXEL International Corporation forecasts revenue to be in the range of $2,080 million to $2,120 million. The company expects diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $2.30 to $2.58 and expects diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $3.15 to $3.43 on adjusted basis.

For the third-quarter 2017, PAREXEL International Corporation forecasts revenue to be in the range of $524 million to $538 million. The company expects diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $0.28 to $0.42. On an adjusted basis, the company expects diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $0.66 to $0.80.