ICON PLC

The stable outlook on ICON reflects our view that favorable business prospects will support continued strong free cash flow and underpin positive net debt metrics over the next 24 months. The outlook also reflects our belief that the group will fund share buyback activity with cash flow and rapidly deleverage following any debt-funded acquisitions. While we anticipate that ICON could engage in some M&A, the ratings could come under pressure if we expect leverage remains elevated for a sustained period. Specifically, we could lower the rating if adjusted debt to EBITDA were to rise above 2x, or if adjusted funds from operations (FFO) to debt fell below 45% on a prolonged basis. We could also consider lowering the rating if

...ICON PLC's operations have been more resilient to COVID-19 fallout, with vaccine trials partially offsetting the impact on clinical trials over the period. Lockdown and social distancing measures impeded clinical trials in April/May, with 70% of sites either partially or fully shut during the peak. While this disruption to operations constrained revenue generation and operating margins, particularly in the second quarter, it was somewhat mitigated by the increase of COVID-19 vaccine trials. However, as the restrictions eased, the number of sites affected by the lockdowns reduced to 40%, and has continued to improve week over week since. ICON is presently supporting the Pfizer & BioNTech trial across 150 of its sites. In addition, ICON's acquisition of Symphony Clinical Research in 2019 has supported remote home trail services, where the lockdown had hindered on-site monitoring. As vaccine rollouts in several countries continue, S&P Global Ratings believes there remains a high degree of...

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