10-K 1 q4201710kdocument.htm 10-K Document

 
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549


FORM 10‑K
 
ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017
or
TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the transition period from                  to                 .
Commission file number: 001‑36732
 
PRA Health Sciences, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
 
Delaware
46‑3640387
(State or other jurisdiction of
(I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization)
Identification No.)

4130 ParkLake Avenue, Suite 400, Raleigh, NC 27612
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
(919) 786‑8200
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code
 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class
    
Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share
 
Nasdaq Global Select Market

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well‑known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☒  No ☐
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐  No ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒  No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S‑T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes ☒  No ☐
Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S‑K (§229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10‑K or any amendment to this Form 10‑K. ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non‑accelerated filer, smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b‑2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer ☒
Accelerated filer ☐
Non-accelerated filer ☐
Smaller reporting company ☐
Emerging growth company ☐
 
 
(Do not check if a
smaller reporting company)
 
 
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b‑2 of the Act). Yes ☐  No ☒
The aggregate market value of the voting and non‑voting common equity held by non‑affiliates of the registrant, based upon the closing sale price as reported on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on June 30, 2017, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, was approximately $3.0 billion. For purposes of this computation, shares of the registrant’s common stock held by each executive officer, director, and each person known to the registrant to own 10% or more of the outstanding voting power have been excluded in that such persons are affiliates.
Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer’s classes of Common Stock, as of the latest practicable date.
Class
    
Number of Shares Outstanding
Common Stock $0.01 par value
 
63,790,933 shares outstanding as of February 16, 2018
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Portions of the registrant’s definitive proxy statement to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders are incorporated herein by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10‑K to the extent stated herein. Such Proxy Statement will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year to which this report relates.
 



PRA HEALTH SCIENCES, INC.
ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10‑K
FOR FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2017
TABLE OF CONTENTS
 
Item
Number
 
Page No.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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FORWARD‑LOOKING STATEMENTS
 
This Annual Report on Form 10‑K contains forward‑looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. Such forward‑looking statements reflect, among other things, our current expectations and anticipated results of operations, all of which are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, market trends, or industry results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward‑looking statements. Therefore, any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be forward‑looking statements and should be evaluated as such. Without limiting the foregoing, the words “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “projects,” “should,” “targets,” “will” and the negative thereof and similar words and expressions are intended to identify forward‑looking statements. These forward‑looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including those described in “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A of this report. Unless legally required, we assume no obligation to update any such forward‑looking information to reflect actual results or changes in the factors affecting such forward‑looking information.
 
Website and Social Media Disclosure
 
We use our website (www.prahs.com) as a channel of distribution of company information. The information we post through this channel may be deemed material. Accordingly, investors should monitor this channel, in addition to following our press releases, Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, filings and public conference calls and webcasts. The contents of our website are not, however, a part of this report.

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Part I
 
Item 1.  Business
 
Overview
 
We are one of the world’s leading global contract research organizations, or CROs, by revenue, providing outsourced clinical development services to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. We believe we are one of a select group of CROs with the expertise and capability to conduct clinical trials across all major therapeutic areas on a global basis. We have therapeutic expertise in areas that are among the largest in pharmaceutical development, including oncology, central nervous system, inflammation and infectious diseases. We believe we provide our clients with one of the most flexible clinical development service offerings, which includes both traditional, project‑based Phase I through Phase IV services as well as embedded and functional outsourcing services. We believe we further differentiate ourselves from our competitors through our investments in medical informatics and clinical technologies designed to enhance efficiencies, improve study predictability and provide better transparency for our clients throughout their clinical development processes.
 
We are one of the largest CROs in the world by revenue, focused on executing clinical trials on a global basis. Our global clinical development platform includes approximately 70 offices across North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, South Africa, Australia and the Middle East and over 15,800 employees worldwide. Since 2000, we have participated in approximately 3,700 clinical trials worldwide, we have worked on marketed drugs across several therapeutic areas and conducted the pivotal or supportive trials that led to U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, or international regulatory approval of more than 75 drugs.
 
We believe we are a leader in the transformation of the CRO engagement model via our flexible clinical development service offerings, which include embedded and functional outsourcing services in addition to traditional, project‑based clinical trial services. Our Strategic Solutions offerings provide Embedded Solutions™ and functional outsourcing services in which our teams are fully integrated within the client’s internal clinical development operations and are responsible for managing functions across the entire breadth of the client’s drug development pipeline. We believe that our Strategic Solutions offerings represent an innovative alternative to the traditional, project‑based approach and allow our clients to maintain greater control over their clinical development processes. Our flexible clinical development service offerings expand our addressable market beyond the traditional outsourced clinical development market to include the clinical development spending that biopharmaceutical companies historically have retained in‑house.

In September 2017, we completed the acquisition of Symphony Health Solutions Corporation, or Symphony Health, a provider of data and analytics to help professionals understand the full market lifecycle of products offered for sale by companies in the pharmaceutical industry. With this acquisition, we expect to enhance our ability to serve customers throughout the clinical research and commercial development process with technologies that provide data and analytics.
  
Over the past 30 years, we have developed strong client relationships and have performed services for more than 300 biotechnology and pharmaceutical clients. In the year ended December 31, 2017, we derived 53% of our service revenue from large pharmaceutical companies, 16% from small‑ to mid‑sized pharmaceutical companies, 16% of our service revenue from large biotechnology companies, 14% of our service revenue from all other biotechnology companies and 1% of our service revenue from non-pharmaceutical companies. Our Strategic Solutions offerings have significantly expanded our relationships with large pharmaceutical companies in recent years, which has allowed us to pursue strategic alliances with these companies due to our global presence, broad therapeutic expertise and flexible clinical development service offerings. Additionally, we believe that we have built a reputation as a strategic partner of choice for biotechnology and small‑ to mid‑sized pharmaceutical companies as a result of our competitively differentiated platform and our long‑term track record of serving these companies. We expect to benefit from growth in clinical development investment from these customers given the favorable capital raising environment in recent years.
 

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CRO Industry
 
CROs provide drug development services, regulatory and scientific support, and infrastructure and staffing support to provide their clients with the flexibility to supplement their in‑house capabilities or to provide a fully outsourced solution. The CRO industry has grown from providing limited clinical trial services in the 1970s to a full service industry characterized by broad relationships with clients and by service offerings that encompass the entire drug development process. Today, CROs provide a comprehensive range of clinical services, including protocol design and management and monitoring of Phase I through Phase IV clinical trials, data management, laboratory testing, medical and safety reviews and statistical analysis. In addition, CROs provide services that generate high quality and timely data in support of applications for regulatory approval of new drugs or reformulations of existing drugs as well as new and existing marketing claims. CROs leverage selected information technologies and procedures to efficiently capture, manage and analyze the large streams of data generated during a clinical trial.
 
Drug development processes
 
Discovering and developing new drugs is an expensive and time‑consuming process and is highly regulated and monitored through approval processes that vary by region. Before a new prescription drug reaches commercialization, it must undergo extensive pre‑clinical and clinical testing and regulatory review, to verify that the drug is safe and effective.
 
A drug is first tested in pre‑clinical studies, which can take several years to complete. When a new molecule is synthesized or discovered, it is tested for therapeutic value using various animal and tissue models. If the drug warrants further development, additional studies are completed and an investigational new drug application, or IND, is submitted to the FDA. Once the IND becomes effective, the drug may proceed to the human clinical trial phase which generally consists of the following interrelated phases, which may overlap:
 
Stages of Clinical Development
 
 prah20161231x10k001a02.jpg

Market trends
 
Industry Standard Research, or ISR, a market research firm, estimated in its “2017 CRO Market Size Projections 2016-2021” report, or ISR 2017 Market Report, that the size of the worldwide CRO market was approximately $32 billion in 2016 and will grow at a 7% CAGR to $44 billion in 2021. This growth will be driven by an increase in the amount of research and development expenditure and levels of clinical development outsourcing by biopharmaceutical companies.
 

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Increased R&D spending
 
ISR estimates in the ISR 2017 Market Report that R&D expenditures by biopharmaceutical companies were approximately $283 billion in 2016 and will grow approximately 3% per year through 2020. Of this amount, approximately $117 billion was spent on development, including $83 billion on Phase I through IV clinical development. Growth drivers of R&D spending among biopharmaceutical companies include the need to replenish lost revenues resulting from the patent expirations of a large number of high‑profile drugs in recent years which has resulted in the need for biopharmaceutical companies to increase their R&D expenditures to eventually fill this revenue void with new drug approvals, and a robust capital raising environment among biotechnology companies. We believe biotechnology companies primarily use the capital to fund clinical trials, and due to the general lack of existing infrastructure, these trials are often contracted to CROs. We expect the favorable capital raising environment will continue to be a source of strong growth for R&D spending.

Higher outsourcing penetration
 
ISR estimates in the ISR 2017 Market Report that approximately 37% of Phase I through IV of clinical development spend is outsourced to CROs, and the levels of penetration are expected to increase to approximately 45% by 2021. We believe this increase in outsourcing is due to several factors, including the need to maximize R&D productively, the increasing burden of clinical trial complexity, and the desire to pursue simultaneous registration in multiple countries.
 
Maximizing Productivity and Reducing Cost—Productivity within the biopharmaceutical industry has declined over the past several years and the cost of developing a new drug, which is now estimated to be $1.4 billion per drug, has significantly increased. The combined impact of declining R&D productivity and increased development costs has translated into significant pressure on margins and short‑term earnings for biopharmaceutical companies. We believe that the need for these companies to maximize productivity and lower costs will lead them to increasingly partner with CROs that can improve efficiency, and increase flexibility and speed across their clinical operations. 

Increasing Clinical Trial Complexity—Over the last decade, the burden of clinical trial complexity has been increasingly difficult to manage due to requirements from regulatory authorities worldwide for greater amounts of clinical trial and safety data to support the approval of new drugs, and requirements for adherence to increasingly complex and diverse regulations and guidelines. In an effort to minimize potential risks, these regulatory agencies also typically require a greater amount of post‑approval information and monitoring of drugs on the market. To balance the conflicting demands of a growing market with the need to control R&D expenses, biopharmaceutical companies partner with CROs that can provide services designed to generate high quality and timely data in support of regulatory approvals of new drugs or the reformulations of existing drugs as well as support of post‑approval regulatory requirements. 

Simultaneous Multi‑Country Registration—Given their desire to maximize efficiency and global market penetration to achieve higher potential returns on their R&D expenditures, biopharmaceutical companies are increasingly pursuing simultaneous, rather than sequential, regulatory new drug submissions and approvals in multiple countries. However, most biotechnology and small‑ to mid‑sized pharmaceutical companies do not possess the capability or capacity to simultaneously conduct large‑scale clinical trials in more than one country. In addition, establishing and maintaining internal global infrastructure to pursue multiple regulatory approvals in different therapeutic categories and jurisdictions can be costly.
 
Our History and Corporate Information
 
PRA Health Sciences, Inc. was incorporated in Delaware in June 2013 under the name Pinnacle Holdco Parent, Inc. On December 19, 2013, Pinnacle Holdco Parent, Inc. changed its name to PRA Global Holdings, Inc. and on July 10, 2014, PRA Global Holdings, Inc. changed its name to PRA Health Sciences, Inc. Our wholly‑owned subsidiary, PRA Holdings, Inc., or PRA Holdings, was incorporated in Delaware in July 2007 and its predecessors date back to 1982. Our qualified and experienced clinical and scientific staff has been delivering clinical drug development services to our clients for more than 30 years and our service offerings now encompass the spectrum of the clinical drug development process. See Note 4 to our audited consolidated financial statements found elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information with respect to our recent acquisitions.
 
We are a subsidiary of KKR PRA Investors L.P., a Delaware limited partnership controlled by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P., or KKR.
 


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Our Competitive Strengths
 
Global CRO platform
 
We are one of the largest CROs in the world by revenue focused on executing clinical trials on a global basis. Our global clinical development platform includes approximately 70 offices across North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, South Africa, Australia and the Middle East and over 15,800 employees worldwide. We are dedicated to the seamless execution of integrated clinical trials on multiple continents concurrently. We believe our global presence and scale are important differentiators as biopharmaceutical companies are increasingly focused on greater patient access for increasingly complex clinical trials and gaining regulatory approval for new products in multiple jurisdictions simultaneously.
 
Broad and flexible service offering
 
We believe that we are one of a select group of CROs capable of providing both traditional, project‑based CRO services as well as embedded and functional outsourcing services. Our broad and flexible service offering allows us to meet the clinical research needs of a wide range of clients, from small biotechnology companies to large pharmaceutical companies. Through more than 30 years of experience, we have developed significant expertise executing complex drug development projects that span Phase I through Phase IV clinical trials. Our Product Registration offerings consist primarily of traditional, project‑based CRO services, where we have gained the reputation as a strategic partner of choice to biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Our Strategic Solutions offerings primarily cater to the needs of large pharmaceutical companies that seek to maintain greater control over their clinical trial processes.
 
Therapeutic expertise in large segments of drug development
 
Our therapeutic expertise encompasses areas that are among the largest in pharmaceutical development, including oncology, central nervous system, inflammation and infectious diseases. We have participated in more than 2,200 clinical trials in these key areas since 2005, accounting for a substantial majority of our total clinical trials during this period. We employ drug development experts with extensive experience across numerous therapeutic areas in preparing development plans, establishing study and protocol designs, identifying investigative sites and patients and submitting regulatory filings. Our staff is highly experienced and includes approximately 750 Ph.Ds, 650 medical doctors and 275 doctors of pharmacy worldwide.
 
Innovative approach to clinical trials using medical informatics
 
We are committed to being an industry leader in developing global, scalable and sustainable solutions for our clients. We aim to continuously improve our systems and processes by investing in medical informatics, technology, analytics and IT infrastructure. Our information delivery system enables rapid, web‑based delivery of clinical trial data to clients and project teams. We believe our proprietary analysis and application of this data are key differentiators and allow us to identify more productive investigative sites and speed up overall patient enrollment, thereby decreasing drug development timelines. We have invested in and acquired large databases of aggregated patient medical data, which we refer to as medical informatics, to better understand patient distribution and location. Specifically, we have acquired data sources that give us significant amounts of information about patient populations within the United States to enhance enrollment, including medical claims data, hospital master charge data, pharmacy data, laboratory data and payor data. Capitalizing on our investments in medical informatics, we have the capability to identify potential patient populations by location, diagnostic code, treating physician, medications, date diagnosed, last treatment and other relevant metrics. Our medical informatics suite includes physician, hospital and pharmacy databases that cover more than 280 million patient lives and approximately 10 billion patient and pharmacy claims in the United States.

Leading enabler of integrated health data and analytics

The acquisition of Symphony Health supports our commitment to enhancing the future of clinical development with best-in-class technology solutions which enable deep, data-driven insights to optimize global clinical studies and drug commercialization.    
 
Diversified and attractive client base
 
Over the past 30 years, we have developed strong client relationships and have performed services for more than 300 biotechnology and pharmaceutical clients. In the year ended December 31, 2017, we derived 53% of our service revenue from large pharmaceutical companies, 16% from small‑ to mid‑sized pharmaceutical companies, 16% of our service revenue from large biotechnology companies, 14% of our service revenue from all other biotechnology companies and 1% of our service

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revenue from non-pharmaceutical companies. Our Strategic Solutions offerings have significantly expanded our relationships with large pharmaceutical companies in recent years, which has allowed us to pursue strategic alliances with these companies due to our global presence, broad therapeutic expertise and flexible clinical development service offerings. Additionally, we believe that we have built a reputation as a strategic partner of choice for biotechnology and small‑ to mid‑sized pharmaceutical companies as a result of our competitively differentiated platform and our long‑term track record of serving these companies. We expect to benefit from growth in clinical development investment from these customers given the favorable capital raising environment in recent years. Our client relationships are also broad and diversified, and in the year ended December 31, 2017 our top 10 clients represented 62% of service revenue, with our largest client representing approximately 10% of service revenue and our largest single study accounting for approximately 4% of our service revenue.
 
Innovative management team
 
We are led by a dedicated and experienced executive management team with an average of over 20 years of experience across the global clinical research, pharmaceutical and life sciences industries. This team has been responsible for building our global platform, successfully integrating our acquisitions, developing our advanced IT‑enabled infrastructure and realizing our significant growth in revenue and earnings over the past five years.
 
Our Growth Strategy
 
Leverage our strong market position within the biotechnology and small‑ to mid‑sized pharmaceutical market
 
We believe our long‑term track record serving biotechnology and small‑ to mid‑sized pharmaceutical companies has resulted in our earning a reputation as a strategic partner of choice for these companies. We believe that biotechnology and small‑ to mid‑sized pharmaceutical companies rely on full service CROs to deliver fast, effective and thorough support throughout the clinical development and regulatory processes, as these companies generally lack a global clinical development infrastructure. We intend to leverage our strong relationships with biotechnology and small‑ to mid‑sized pharmaceutical companies to capture additional business from these companies. In particular we believe the CRO strategic alliances that have become prevalent with large pharmaceutical companies over the past several years will increasingly be utilized by biotechnology and small‑ to mid‑sized pharmaceutical companies. We believe we are well-positioned to take advantage of these opportunities given the depth of our relationships and our proven track record serving these customers.
 
Build deeper and broader relationships with large pharmaceutical companies
 
Large pharmaceutical companies have increasingly focused on partnering with multi‑national CROs that offer a wide array of global therapeutic and service capabilities. We have invested significantly in our global scale and infrastructure over the past several years to enhance our status as a service provider for these companies. Our acquisition of RPS significantly increased the depth of our relationships with large pharmaceutical companies. We intend to expand our relationships beyond the Embedded Solutions provided through our Strategic Solutions offering to include traditional, project‑based clinical trial services.
 
Expand our leading therapeutic expertise in existing and new areas
 
We believe that our therapeutic expertise in all clinical phases of drug development is critical to the proper design and management of clinical trials and we intend to continue to capitalize on our strong market positions in several large therapeutic categories. We have established, and will continue to refine, our scientific and therapeutic business development initiatives, which link our organization to key clinical opinion leaders and medical informatics data to more effectively leverage therapeutic expertise throughout our client engagement. Specifically, we believe that oncology, central nervous system, inflammation and infectious diseases, which together represent the majority of all drug candidates currently in clinical development by biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, will be significant drivers of our growth. In the area of oncology, we believe that the growth of targeted therapies, companion diagnostics and personalized medicine will continue to drive drug development. With the aging demographics we believe we will see significant growth in the area of dementia and Alzheimer’s research and drug development, which is complemented by our specialty and focus in neurology. Additionally, we believe that development of niche therapeutic drugs (orphan drugs) will see considerable growth moving forward and we have a dedicated staff focused on the design and conduct of trials for these drugs.
 

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Continue to enhance our tech-enabled CRO engagement model

The acquisition of Symphony Health has provided us with rich data insights that will allow us to customize our clinical studies to be as unique as the patients who they are designed around. By creatively harnessing the power of our technology and data assets, we are redefining the clinical development process for a more patient-centric future.

Continue to realize financial synergies and strategic benefits from recent acquisitions
 
We believe we will continue to realize financial synergies and strategic benefits from the acquisitions we have completed over the past four years, resulting in additional revenue growth and margin improvements. We believe that our strategic acquisitions are complementary to our customer base and expect to generate incremental revenue growth by cross‑selling our full set of services to our existing and new customers, thereby expanding the scope of our customer relationships and generating additional revenue.
 
Pursue selective and complementary acquisition strategy
 
We are a selectively acquisitive company, focused on growing our core service offerings, therapeutic capabilities and geographic reach into areas of high market growth. We have acquired 21 companies since 1997 and have established programs to help us identify acquisition targets and integrate them successfully. Our acquisition strategy is driven by our comprehensive commitment to serve client needs and we are continuously assessing the market for potential opportunities.
 
Service Offerings
 
Following the acquisition of Symphony Health, we now have two reportable segments: Clinical Research and Data Solutions. Our Clinical Research segment encompasses a broad array of services across the spectrum of clinical development programs. Our Data Solutions provides data, analytics, technology, and consulting solutions to the life sciences market. The offerings of our two segments complement each other and can provide enhanced value to our clients when delivered together, with each driving demand for the other.

For financial information regarding our segments, see Part II, Item 7 “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Segment Results of Operations" and Note 21 to our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Clinical Research

We perform a broad array of services across the spectrum of clinical development programs, from the filing of INDs and similar regulatory applications to conducting all phases of clinical trials. Our core service offerings include:

Product Registration, which includes Phase IIb through III product registration trials and Phase IV trials, inclusive of post‑marketing commitments and registries;

Strategic Solutions, which provides Embedded Solutions and functional outsourcing services, in which our teams are fully integrated within the client’s internal clinical development operations and responsible for managing functions across the entire breadth of the client’s drug development pipeline; and

Early Development Services, which includes Phase I through Phase IIa clinical trials and bioanalytical laboratory services.
 
We provide many back office services to clients as well, including processing the payments to investigators and volunteers. We also collaborate with third‑party vendors for services such as imaging, central lab and patient recruitment services.

Product Registration
 
Product Registration encompasses the design, management and implementation of study protocols for Phase II through Phase III clinical trials, which are the critical building blocks of product development programs, as well as Phase IV, or post‑approval, clinical trials. We have extensive resources and expertise to design and conduct studies on a global basis, develop integrated global product databases, collect and analyze trial data and prepare and submit regulatory submissions in the United States, Europe and other jurisdictions.

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A typical full‑scale program or project may involve the following components:

clinical program development, review and consultation and lifecycle management planning;

design of the clinical protocol and electronic case report forms, or CRFs;

feasibility studies for investigator interest and patient access and availability;

patient recruitment and retention services;

project management;

investigator and site analysis for selection and qualification;

investigator handbook and meetings;

investigational site support and clinical monitoring;

data management;

patient medical and safety management;

analysis and reporting;

medical and scientific publications; and

preparation of regulatory filings.
 
As described below, we offer a suite of product registration service offerings to our clients to address the several components involved in conducting a full‑scale program or project.
 
Clinical Trial Management—Our clinical trial management services, used by biotechnology and pharmaceutical clients, may be performed exclusively by us or in collaboration with the client’s internal staff or other CROs. With our broad clinical trial management capabilities, we conduct single site studies, multi‑site U.S. and international studies and global studies on multiple continents. Through our electronic trial master file, we can create, collect, store, edit and retrieve any electronic document in any of our office locations worldwide, enabling our global project teams to work together efficiently regardless of where they are physically located and allowing seamless transfer of work to a more efficient locale.
 
Project Management—Our project management group manages the development process, setting specific targets and utilizing various metrics to ensure that a project moves forward in the right trajectory, resources are used optimally and client satisfaction is met. This group also oversees the implementation of a work breakdown structure, communication plan, and a risk and contingency program for each study. We believe that the management structure of our service delivery model sets us apart in the industry. Each individual project is assigned a director of project delivery and key strategic accounts are also assigned a general partner. As a member of the senior management team, the general partner works with the director of project delivery, the project management group and client representatives to ensure the highest level of client satisfaction. With more than 370 project directors and project managers, we match our project management personnel to projects based on experience and study specific parameters.

Regulatory Affairs—Our team of global regulatory professionals has extensive experience working with biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies and regulatory authorities worldwide. Our regulatory affairs group is comprised of an internal network of local regulatory experts who are native speakers in countries across North America, Latin America, Western and Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia Pacific. Regulatory team members and local regulatory experts act as clients’ representatives for submissions and direct communications with regulatory authorities in all regions. The group’s regulatory expertise enables rapid study start‑up and facilitates competitive product development plans and effective submission strategies.
 
Therapeutic Expertise—Our therapeutic expertise group provides scientific and medical expertise and patient access and retention services worldwide across a broad range of therapeutic areas. Our broad experience throughout various therapeutic areas allows us to offer a more complete global service offering to our clients. Our diverse therapeutic expertise

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group leverages best‑in‑class data assets to assist our clients with the design and implementation of entire clinical development programs and our current and potential clients increasingly seek partners who can provide these capabilities. We provide clients with therapeutic expertise in the design and implementation of high‑quality product development programs and help them achieve key development milestones in a cost and time effective manner. Our therapeutic expertise is used by both emerging biotechnology companies that lack clinical development infrastructure and pharmaceutical companies that have limited internal medical resources or are exploring new therapeutic areas.
 
Clinical Operations—Our clinical operations group provides clients with a full set of study site management and monitoring services in approximately 90 countries worldwide, through our highly experienced team of clinical research associates and specialists. This experience includes knowledge of local regulations, medical practices, safety and individual therapeutic areas. We provide our clients with fully trained and locally based clinical teams led by experienced clinical team managers that initiate site start‑up, monitor activities and review data. Based in the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific and Africa, these teams work from a strategic foundation that combines reliance on proven, consistent processes with the flexibility to adapt innovative ideas and technologies. Given our expertise executing clinical trials around the world we are positioned to meet our clients’ diverse needs and expectations. Our study start‑up services group, a unit within clinical operations, manages the key components of rapid site activation and investigational site set‑up for clinical trials by utilizing our global and region specific expertise.
 
Data and Programming Services—Our global data and programming services group offers an innovative suite of technologies that gather and organize clinical trial data. We employ industry leading electronic data capture technologies and innovative delivery systems to produce high quality and standardized data and reports. We focus on evaluating a client’s needs, presenting optimal solutions for each trial and implementing the chosen solution effectively during project execution. To support these goals, we have built a group of technological experts in drug research that has a strong foundation in data management fundamentals and core programming abilities.
 
Safety and Risk Management—Our dedicated safety and risk management group helps clients design, implement and operationalize the proper safety procedures from development through to post‑marketing, allowing for clear assessment and the communication of patient safety profiles. We have centralized drug safety centers in Mannheim, Germany; Swansea, United Kingdom; Charlottesville, Virginia, United States (with a satellite center in Lenexa, Kansas); Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Singapore. Centers are staffed with experienced drug safety associates. These associates are responsible for integrating an effective risk minimization strategy for a drug product and generating useable information through ongoing risk evaluation. Our safety and risk management team provides risk mitigation strategies for our clients at all stages of the drug development cycle along with core signal detection capabilities.
 
Biostatistics and Medical Writing—Our global biostatistics and medical writing operations integrate our biostatistics, medical writing, pharmacokinetics and regulatory publishing groups. With a staff of industry experienced and therapeutically trained biostatisticians and medical writers, we offer clients expertise in statistical analysis, data pooling and regulatory reporting. This global team provides specialist consulting expertise and support to clients from the first stage of protocol design through post‑marketing surveillance and Phase IV studies. For publishing, we use a specialized electronic system that enables us to seamlessly assemble, manage and publish complex documents in compliance with applicable regulatory guidelines.
 
Quality Assurance Services—Our global quality assurance group is staffed by a team of experienced professionals in the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific. Our quality assurance department is entirely separate from and independent of the personnel engaged in the direction and conduct of clinical trials. The objective of the quality assurance group is the global promotion of ongoing quality awareness and continuous improvement of our processes. This group serves these efforts by performing audits on the processes and systems used in the management of clinical trials to ensure compliance with study protocol and applicable regulatory requirements. This group has performed audits for a wide range of medical indications and in all phases of clinical trials across the globe.
 
Late Phase Services—Our global late phase services group supports global and regional post‑approval trials with management locations centralized in Pennsylvania, Germany and Singapore. Our experienced late‑phase services team assists clients with the post‑marketing process by helping identify trends and signals in large populations as well as planning and conducting safety surveillance studies, large‑sample trials, registries, restricted access programs, risk management programs, diagnostic trials and biomarker research. The team consists of industry leading strategic experts, operational specialists and epidemiologists who work with clients to identify post‑marketing research objectives and goals and translate them into comprehensive study designs. 

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Strategic Solutions
 
Our Strategic Solutions offerings enable biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies to execute their internally‑managed development portfolio with greater flexibility and to leverage their existing infrastructure to minimize redundancy. These offerings provide a broad spectrum of solutions that allow for the efficient management and execution of critical clinical development functions for pharmaceutical clients. These services are embedded or integrated within the client’s internal clinical development operations to support the entire breadth of the client’s drug development pipeline. By embedding our employees within our clients’ infrastructure, we create a strategic and interdependent relationship that allows us to anticipate our clients’ clinical trial demands and efficiently deploy our skilled clinical professionals to meet our clients’ needs. Clinical functions supported by this service offering include study start‑up activities, site monitoring, study management, data management, biostatistics, regulatory and product safety. We focus our solutions primarily on our clients’ Phase II through Phase IV development programs. While traditional, project‑based CRO offerings target the outsourced component of biopharmaceutical industry spending, our Strategic Solutions offerings address the total Phase II through IV development market. We pioneered the embedded services model described below, and have extensive experience helping customers re‑align their operating model to more efficiently manage their development portfolio with greater flexibility and control.
 
Our Strategic Solutions offerings include:
 
Embedded Solutions—We believe we are the only company in the industry to offer a strategically scalable, fully‑embedded clinical development solution. Our Embedded Solutions model is designed to merge clinical operations expertise, management, infrastructure and support to create a flexible and integrated operating model. The goal of our Embedded Solutions model is to enable our client’s internally‑managed development processes to be executed with greater flexibility. These solutions can be further enhanced by leveraging our systems and technology as required. In our Embedded Solutions model, we typically work with our partners to assist in redesigning existing systems and processes to drive greater efficiency, speed and quality and to implement innovative approaches and enhanced technology. We employ a strong joint governance structure and robust metrics to measure and ensure strong quality, cycle time, productivity and service‑level performance.
 
Functional Services Provider Solutions—Our functional services provider offering provides dedicated capacity management within a single operating platform and within one function or across multiple functions and geographies. While the customer provides direction and functional management, we provide resources and line management, training and support. We also utilize business level metrics to help ensure that staff are deployed with the relevant experience and are producing consistent, repeatable results.
 
Staff Augmentation Solutions—Our staff augmentation solutions offering provides customers with the ability to address their dynamic staffing needs by supplying access to resources qualified to meet their clinical development needs. This allows clients to maintain flexibility while also reducing fixed costs. In order to rapidly attract and recruit qualified employees for these situations, we have assembled what we believe is the largest team in the industry focused on personnel recruitment. These individual professionals are hired as our employees and managed by our teams, minimizing co‑employment related issues. The customer has the ability to define the resources required according to the therapeutic‑ and disease‑specific experience required. These resources can be on site at the customer’s facility, at our offices, or regionally based.

Custom‑Built Development Solutions—Our custom‑built development solutions are designed to offer people, process, systems and development expertise that enable the efficient internal development of a company’s product portfolio with greater control and flexibility, accelerated development timelines and substantially reduced costs. With the client’s core leadership in control, we help to build the development team our clients need, while enabling them to maintain the flexibility to be nimble during the development lifecycle.
 
Commercialization Services—Through our commercialization services offering, we assist our clients in addressing the challenge of commercializing products. We do this by deploying professionals who are knowledgeable in launch preparation and product lifecycle management. We assist customers in managing the product lifecycle by working with them to create concise messaging, engage thought leadership and health care providers, generate consumer enthusiasm for the product, and prepare for post‑marketing commitments. Our commercialization services offering utilizes our flexible service model and, as such, can be delivered as an Embedded Solution, through our functional service provider model, or through staff augmentation.
 
Early Development Services
 
Our Early Development Services business unit, or EDS, offers a full range of services for Phase I and Phase IIa studies as well as bioanalytical analysis. We have conducted studies for major pharmaceutical companies in Europe, the United States

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and Japan, as well as for many smaller and emerging biotechnology companies. We have also built direct relationships with a large base of available subjects, including healthy volunteers and patient populations with specific medical conditions.
 
Acquisitions in recent years have allowed us to significantly expand our Phase I to Phase II services. This includes offerings focused on the conduct and design of early stage patient population studies, and therapeutically focused in human abuse liability, or HAL, addiction, pain, psychiatric, neurological, pediatric and infectious disease services. We are one of the largest providers of patient population for Phase I and confined Phase II to Phase III services in the United States, and are one of only a few CROs in the world which has the ability to design and conduct HAL studies, a regulatory‑required study for central nervous system compounds. We believe this enables us to provide our clients with a full range of Phase I to Phase II clinical research services in specialized patient populations for both inpatient and outpatient settings.
 
EDS also supports a variety of additional services, ranging from protocol development to data management and pharmacy services, including manufacturing of investigational medicinal products. Our state‑of‑the‑art laboratories provide pharmacokinetics, the branch of pharmacology concerned with the movement of drugs within the body, and pharmacodynamics, the branch of pharmacology concerned with the effects of drugs and the mechanism of their action analyses, including biomarkers, as needed. Our safety laboratory supports our own clinics and also acts as a central lab for medium sized Phase II trials. We also provide clinical study reports, statistical analysis, medical writing and regulatory support.
 
We focus on high‑end Phase I studies and specialize in more complex types of studies in which safety, intelligent design, and a wide range of pharmacodynamics assessments are critical factors. We believe our Phase I team is a leader in new developments such as microdosing studies, pain models, HAL studies and multi‑purpose protocols with adaptive designs. We have developed extensive methodologies enabling us to conduct studies with pharmacokinetics and/or pharmacodynamics objectives.
 
We have more than 1,000 early development specialists working in seven clinical pharmacology units located across four different countries, including the United States, the Netherlands and countries in Central and Eastern Europe. We are equipped with the technologies and infrastructure for high‑quality, efficient studies on a wide range of drugs and indications. Over the past five years we have conducted more than 700 high‑level, complex early development clinical trials and more than 200 bioanalytical studies per year over the previous five years.
 
Phase I through IIa Studies—For in‑house Phase I studies, we offer approximately 450 beds worldwide and accommodate volunteers in our state‑of‑the‑art clinical pharmacology units, some of which are hospital based. At these centers, volunteers are under constant medical supervision by a team of highly experienced medical professionals. We have an active pool of more than 100,000 study participants (both healthy volunteers and various specific patient populations).

In addition to in‑house studies, we use an innovative “unit‑on‑demand” business model that brings a Phase I center to patients. This model establishes a Phase I study environment in central medical facilities that specialize in the treatment of the target patient population. Physicians can recruit high volumes of patients using extensive networks of referring specialists and general practitioners. The studies occur in single center and multi‑national settings. We have also built an extensive patient network and database in areas including depression, schizophrenia, diabetes and hepatitis C. In addition to conducting Phase I and IIa studies in subjects, these sites act as investigative sites in Phase IIb and III trials.
 
We also offer full pharmacy capabilities and we operate a manufacturing site that complies with applicable current Good Manufacturing Practice regulations and is designed for fast and flexible manufacturing of small batches of investigational medicinal product for studies. In addition, dedicated data management professionals who can process clinical data into specific deliverables are integrated in each clinical pharmacology unit.
 
Since a large proportion of drug compounds do not succeed in Phase I, we utilize IND trials that include “microdose” or “low‑dose” studies to screen multiple candidates at an early stage and minimize the number of failing clinical product candidates. We have been closely involved in the field of microdose studies over the past ten years and have conducted more than 30 microdose studies.
 
Bioanalytical Laboratory—We offer clients two state‑of‑the‑art bioanalytical laboratories located in Assen, the Netherlands, and Lenexa, Kansas, United States. These bioanalytical laboratories have been harmonized with respect to standard operating procedures, work instructions and equipment. This provides a high level of consistency, continuity and efficiency. It also provides our clients with the ability to run studies in either laboratory, depending on the requirements of the study, and ensures that they will receive the same high level of service. Both bioanalytical laboratories are located within close proximity to their respective Phase I clinical pharmacology unit, ensuring rapid sample processing for critical dose escalation decision making involving pharmacokinetic assays. Both facilities include laboratories for mass spectrometry and ultra‑

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performance liquid chromatography, typically applied to small molecule analysis. For large molecules, such as biologicals and biomarkers, our laboratories operate a wide variety of specialized assays, including ligand binding assays with a variety of detection methodologies and immunogenicity. In our fully licensed isotope laboratory, bioanalytical support is provided for mass balance and microdosing studies. The laboratories, combined with expert and highly educated staff, provide a full range of analytical services throughout the development process.

Data Solutions

Our Data Solutions segment provides data, analytics, technology, and consulting solutions to the life sciences market. We have proprietary sources of data about pharmaceutical transactions that we purchase from pharmaceutical retailers, prescribers, payers and institutional users. The data is anonymized and includes details on the patient, the location where they purchased the drug or therapy, and the payer. The details on the patient, although anonymous, are tracked in such a way as to allow analysis of therapies and purchasing over a long term. They also include demographic data such as age, gender, race and diagnoses. The data is refreshed monthly.

The core service offerings of our Data Solutions segment include:

Market Intelligence Services

Targeting and Compensation - Prescription and drug sales data services used primarily to compensate sales representatives. This data includes dispensed prescription data, non-retail pharmacy drug purchasing data and healthcare demographic and affiliations data.

Pharmaceutical Audit Suite - National-level prescription and sales data services used primarily for market research. Data subscriptions include all products and therapeutic areas and is primarily accessed on-line through our business intelligence tool.

Consulting & Services

Brand Analytics - Anonymized patient-level data sets and services that enable a variety of commercial analytics, including patient compliance, persistency, product switching, share and counts, and diagnosis. The most significant offering is PatientSource, a comprehensive patient-level data set, providing a detailed view of patient treatment activity in a client-defined disease category. PatientSource includes data regarding prescribers, patients and payer dynamics.

Managed Markets - Suite of prescription claims-based data products and analytic tools that leverage our exclusive claims lifecycle data to understand managed markets influence on product demand.

Commercial Effectiveness - Commercial effectiveness is a professional services unit providing offerings that enable clients to optimize promotion spend and activities. Offerings include digital promotional measurement, advanced targeting, patient journey, and market landscape.

Scientific Studies/Clinical Hubs - Our Scientific Studies/Clinical Hubs unit provides services that include clinically-oriented data hubs and health economics studies to pharmaceutical companies' medical affairs or health economics divisions. Our team provides real world evidence data to support the assessment of the clinical effectiveness of drugs.

Apps & Technology

Health Data Services - Health Data Services provides technology-enabled products and services that allow clients to effectively access and analyze Symphony Health and integrated third-party data.

Clients and Suppliers
 
We serve a wide range of client types, including biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. We have developed numerous strategic relationships in the last five years. In the year ended December 31, 2017, we derived 53% of our service revenue from large pharmaceutical companies, 16% of our service revenue from small‑ to mid‑sized pharmaceutical companies, 16% of our service revenue from large biotechnology companies, 14% of our service revenue from all other biotechnology companies and 1% of our service revenue from non-pharmaceutical companies. In 2017 and 2016, our top five clients represented approximately 42% and 45% of service revenue, respectively; this revenue was derived from a combination

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of fixed‑fee contracts, fee‑for‑service contracts and time and materials contracts. One of our clients accounted for 10.3% of service revenue during the year ended December 31, 2017. Two of our clients accounted for 11.0% and 10.4% of service revenue during the year ended December 31, 2016. No individual project accounted for 10% or more of service revenue for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016.
 
We utilize a number of suppliers in our business, including central laboratory services, drug storage and shipping, foreign language translation services and information technology. In 2017, our largest individual supplier was paid $16.7 million. In addition, our top 10 suppliers together received payments during 2017 of approximately $112.0 million. We believe that we will continue to be able to meet our current and future supply needs.
 
Sales and Marketing
 
We have a proven sales team with the ability to build relationships with new clients and to grow within existing clients. Critical to our sales process is the involvement of our operations and global scientific and medical affairs teams who contribute their knowledge to project implementation strategies presented in client proposals. These teams also work closely with the sales team to build long‑term relationships with biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Our therapeutic expertise team supports the sales effort by developing robust service offerings in its core therapeutic areas, which link our organization to key clinical opinion leaders, global investigator networks and best‑in‑class vendors. We rely heavily on our past project performance, qualified teams, medical informatics data and therapeutic expertise in winning new business.
 
Our approach to proposal development, led by seasoned proposal developers in conjunction with insight from our drug development experts, allows us to submit proposals that address client requirements in a creative and tailored manner. Proposal teams conduct research on competing drugs and conduct feasibility studies among potential investigators to assess their interest and patient availability for proposals and presentations. Our proprietary, automated estimation system allows for rapid and accurate creation of project budgets, which forms the initial basis for business management of budgets subsequent to award of the study.
 
Competition
 
Our Clinical Research business competes primarily with other full‑service CROs and in‑house research and development departments of pharmaceutical and established biotech companies. Our principal traditional CRO competitors are ICON plc, INC Research Holdings, Inc. (now known as Syneos Health, Inc.), Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings, PAREXEL International Corporation, Pharmaceutical Product Development LLC, and IQVIA Inc.
 
CROs compete on the basis of a number of factors, including reliability, past performance, expertise and experience in specific therapeutic areas, scope of service offerings, strengths in various geographic markets, technological capabilities, ability to manage large scale global clinical trials, and price.
 
The CRO industry remains highly fragmented, with several hundred smaller, limited service providers and a small number of full‑service companies with global capabilities. We believe there are significant barriers to becoming a global provider offering a broad range of services and products. These barriers include:
the cost and experience necessary to develop broad therapeutic expertise;
the ability to manage large, complex international clinical programs;
the ability to deliver high‑quality services consistently for large drug development projects;
the experience to prepare regulatory submissions on a global basis; and
the infrastructure and knowledge to respond to the global needs of clients.
 
Our Data Solutions business competes with a diverse set of businesses. We generally compete with other information, analytics, technology, services and consulting companies, as well as with government agencies, private payers and other healthcare companies that provide their data directly to others. Our offerings compete with a number of firms, including IQVIA Inc., OptumHealth, Cognizant Technology Solutions, and ZS Associates.

Backlog
 
Our studies and projects are performed over varying durations, ranging from several months to several years. Backlog represents anticipated service revenue from contracted new business awards that either have not started or are in process but

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have not been completed for our Clinical Research segment. Canceled contracts and scope reductions are removed from backlog as they occur. Our backlog at December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 was approximately $3.5 billion, $2.9 billion and $2.4 billion, respectively. Cancellations totaled $366.0 million, $290.6 million and $231.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.
 
We believe our backlog as of any date is not necessarily a meaningful indicator of our future results for a variety of reasons. First, studies vary in duration. For instance, some studies that are included in our backlog may be completed in 2018, while others may be completed in later years. Second, the scope of studies may change, which may either increase or decrease the amount of backlog. Third, studies may be terminated or delayed at any time by the client or regulatory authorities. Delayed contracts remain in our backlog until a determination of whether to continue, modify or cancel the study is made.

We had $2,413.7 million, $2,076.5 million and $1,696.6 million in net new business awards for our Clinical Research segment in the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively. Net new business represents gross new business awards less cancellations for the period.

We exclude our Data Solutions segment from backlog and new business awards due to the short term nature of its contracts.

For more details regarding risks related to our backlog, see “Risk Factors—Our backlog may not convert to service revenue at the historical conversion rate.”
 
Intellectual Property
 
We develop and use proprietary methodologies, analytics, systems, technologies and other intellectual property throughout our business, including a number of patents as well as other proprietary information regarding our methodologies, technologies, systems and analytics. We also hold various federal trademark registrations and pending applications in the United States and other jurisdictions, including PRA Health Sciences, Nextrials, Parallel 6, and Symphony Health.
 
Government Regulation
 
In the United States, the FDA governs the conduct of clinical trials of drug products in human subjects, the form and content of regulatory applications, including, but not limited to, IND applications for human clinical testing and the development, approval, manufacture, safety, labeling, storage, record keeping, and marketing of drug products. The FDA has similar authority and similar requirements with respect to the clinical testing of biological products and medical devices. In the European Union, or EU, similar laws and regulations apply which may vary slightly from one member state to another and are enforced by the European Medicines Agency or respective national member states’ authorities, depending on the case.

 Governmental regulation directly affects our business. Increased regulation leads to more complex clinical trials and an increase in potential business for us. Conversely, a relaxation in the scope of regulatory requirements, such as the introduction of simplified marketing applications for pharmaceutical and biological products, could decrease the business opportunities available to us.
 
We must perform our clinical drug and biologic services in compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations, including “Good Clinical Practices,” or GCP, which govern, among other things, the design, conduct, performance, monitoring, auditing, recording, analysis, and reporting of clinical trials. Before a human clinical trial may begin, the manufacturer or sponsor of the clinical product candidate must file an IND with the FDA, which contains, among other things, the results of preclinical tests, manufacturer information, and other analytical data. A separate submission to an existing IND must also be made for each successive clinical trial conducted during product development. Each clinical trial must be conducted in accordance with an effective IND. In addition, under GCP, each human clinical trial we conduct is subject to the oversight of an independent institutional review board, or IRB, which is an independent committee that has the regulatory authority to review, approve and monitor a clinical trial for which the IRB has responsibility. The FDA, the IRB, or the sponsor may suspend or terminate a clinical trial at any time on various grounds, including a finding that the study subjects are being exposed to an unacceptable health risk. In the EU, we must perform our clinical drug services in compliance with essentially similar laws and regulations.
 
In order to comply with GCP and other regulations, we must, among other things:
comply with specific requirements governing the selection of qualified investigators;
obtain specific written commitments from the investigators;

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obtain IRB review and approval of the clinical trial;
verify that appropriate patient informed consent is obtained before the patient participates in a clinical trial;
ensure adverse drug reactions resulting from the administration of a drug or biologic during a clinical trial are medically evaluated and reported in a timely manner;
monitor the validity and accuracy of data;
verify drug or biologic accountability;
instruct investigators and study staff to maintain records and reports; and
permit appropriate governmental authorities access to data for review.
 
We must also maintain reports in compliance with applicable regulatory requirements for each study for auditing by the client and the FDA or similar regulatory authorities.
 
A failure to comply with applicable regulations relating to the conduct of clinical trials or the preparation of marketing applications could lead to a variety of sanctions. For example, violations of GCP could result, depending on the nature of the violation and the type of product involved, in the issuance of a warning letter, suspension or termination of a clinical study, refusal of the FDA to approve clinical trial or marketing applications or withdrawal of such applications, injunction, seizure of investigational products, civil penalties, criminal prosecutions, or debarment from assisting in the submission of new drug applications.
 
We monitor our clinical trials to test for compliance with applicable laws and regulations in the United States and the non‑U.S. jurisdictions in which we operate. We have adopted standard operating procedures that are designed to satisfy regulatory requirements and serve as a mechanism for controlling and enhancing the quality of our clinical trials. In the United States, our procedures were developed to ensure compliance with GCP and associated guidelines. Within Europe, all work is carried out in accordance with the European Community Note for Guidance (CPMP/ICH/135/95). In order to facilitate global clinical trials, we have implemented common standard operating procedures across our regions to assure consistency whenever feasible.
 
The Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information, or the Privacy Rule, and the Security Rule, issued under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health, or HITECH, Act of 2009, collectively HIPAA, as well as applicable state privacy and security laws and regulations restrict the use and disclosure of certain protected health information, or PHI, and establishes national standards to protect individuals’ electronic PHI that is created, received, used or maintained by certain entities. Under the Privacy Rule, “covered entities” may not use or disclose PHI without the authorization of the individual who is the subject of the PHI, unless such use or disclosure is specifically permitted by the Privacy Rule or required by law.
 
We are not a covered entity under HIPAA. However, in connection with our clinical development activities, we do receive PHI from covered entities subject to HIPAA. In order for those covered entities to disclose PHI to us, the covered entity must obtain an authorization from the research subject that meets the Privacy Rule requirements, or make such disclosure pursuant to an exception to the Privacy Rule’s authorization requirement. We are both directly and indirectly affected by the privacy provisions surrounding individual authorizations because many investigators with whom we are involved in clinical trials are directly subject to them as a HIPAA “covered entity” and because we obtain identifiable health information from third parties that are subject to such regulations. Because of amendments to the HIPAA data security and privacy rules, there are some instances where we may be a HIPAA “business associate” of a “covered entity,” meaning that we may be directly liable for any breaches in protected health information and other HIPAA violations. As part of our research activities, we require covered entities that perform research activities on our behalf to comply with HIPAA, including the Privacy Rule’s authorization requirement, and applicable state privacy and security laws and regulations.
 
In Europe, the upcoming European Union General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR) replaces the current European Union Data Privacy Directive (Directive). The EU GDPR requires organizations working with the personal data of EU citizens to have established processes related to its collection and use. Organizations must have objective evidence of compliance (Principle of Accountability) with the EU GDPR. The penalties for non-compliance are significant, including up to four percent of an organization's global annual revenue. Enforcement of this regulation is unknown as the EU GDPR is not implemented until May 25, 2018. There are also administrative penalties where transfers of personal data may be stopped. As PRA is a global organization, such a disruption in data transfers could pose significant operational challenges.


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We maintain a registration with the Drug Enforcement Administration, or DEA, that enables us to use controlled substances in connection with our research services. Controlled substances are those drugs and drug products that appear on one of five schedules promulgated and administered by DEA under the Controlled Substances Act. This act governs, among other things, the distribution, recordkeeping, handling, security, and disposal of controlled substances. Our DEA registration authorizes us to receive, conduct testing on, and distribute controlled substances in Schedules II through V. A failure to comply with the DEA’s regulations governing these activities could lead to a variety of sanctions, including the revocation or the denial of a renewal of our DEA registration, injunctions, or civil or criminal penalties.
 
Environmental Regulation and Liability
 
We are subject to various laws and regulations relating to the protection of the environment and human health and safety in the countries in which we do business, including laws and regulations governing the management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes, the cleanup of contaminated sites and the maintenance of a safe workplace. Our operations include the use, generation, and disposal of hazardous materials and medical wastes. We may, in the future, incur liability under environmental statutes and regulations for contamination of sites we own or operate (including contamination caused by prior owners or operators of such sites), the off‑site disposal of hazardous substances and for personal injuries or property damage arising from exposure to hazardous materials from our operations. We believe that we have been and are in substantial compliance with all applicable environmental laws and regulations and that we currently have no liabilities under such environmental requirements that could reasonably be expected to materially harm our business, results of operations or financial condition.

Liability and Insurance
 
We may be liable to our clients for any failure to conduct their studies properly according to the agreed‑upon protocol and contract. If we fail to conduct a study properly in accordance with the agreed‑upon procedures, we may have to repeat a study or a particular portion of the services at our expense, reimburse the client for the cost of the services and/or pay additional damages.
 
At our clinical pharmacology units we study the effects of drugs on healthy volunteers. In addition, in our clinical business we, on behalf of our clients, contract with physicians who render professional services, including the administration of the substance being tested, to participants in clinical trials, many of whom are seriously ill and are at great risk of further illness or death as a result of factors other than their participation in a trial. As a result, we could be held liable for bodily injury, death, pain and suffering, loss of consortium, or other personal injury claims and medical expenses arising from a clinical trial. In addition, we sometimes engage the services of vendors necessary for the conduct of a clinical trial, such as laboratories or medical diagnostic specialists. Because these vendors are engaged as subcontractors, we are responsible for their performance and may be held liable for damages if the subcontractors fail to perform in the manner specified in their contract.
 
To reduce our potential liability, and as a requirement of the GCP regulations, informed consent is required from each volunteer and patient. In addition, our clients provide us with contractual indemnification for all of our service related contracts. These indemnities generally do not, however, protect us against certain of our own actions such as those involving negligence or misconduct. Our business, financial condition and operating results could be harmed if we were required to pay damages or incur defense costs in connection with a claim that is not indemnified, that is outside the scope of an indemnity or where the indemnity, although applicable, is not honored in accordance with its terms.
 
We maintain errors, omissions, and professional liability insurance in amounts we believe to be appropriate. This insurance provides coverage for vicarious liability due to negligence of the investigators who contract with us, as well as claims by our clients that a clinical trial was compromised due to an error or omission by us. If our insurance coverage is not adequate, or if insurance coverage does not continue to be available on terms acceptable to us, our business, financial condition, and operating results could be materially harmed.
 
Employees
 
As of December 31, 2017, we had over 15,800 employees, of which approximately 44% were in the United States, approximately 34% were in Europe, approximately 3% were in Canada, and approximately 19% were in Africa, Latin America, and Asia Pacific. Some of our employees located outside of the United States are represented by workers council or labor unions. We believe that our employee relations are satisfactory. Approximately 40% of employees hold a Master’s level degree or higher. We have approximately 1,800 employees that hold a Ph.D, M.D. or other doctorate level degrees.
 

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Available Information
 
We are subject to the informational requirements of the Exchange Act and, in accordance therewith, file reports, including annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC. Copies of our annual reports on Form 10‑K, quarterly reports on Form 10‑Q, current reports on Form 8‑K and our Proxy Statements for our annual meetings of stockholders, and any amendments to those reports, as well as Section 16 reports filed by our insiders, are available free of charge on our website as soon as reasonably practicable after we file the reports with, or furnish the reports to the SEC. Our website address is http://www.prahs.com, and our investor relations website is located at investor.prahs.com. Information on our website is not incorporated by reference herein. Our SEC filings are also available for reading and copying at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the SEC at 1‑800‑SEC‑0330. In addition, the SEC maintains an Internet site (http://www.sec.gov) containing reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC.

Item 1A.  Risk Factors
 
You should consider carefully the risks and uncertainties described below together with the other information included in this Annual Report on Form 10‑K, including our consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto. The occurrence of any of the following risks may materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and future prospects, which could in turn materially affect the price of our common stock.
 
The potential loss, delay or non‑renewal of our contracts, or the non‑payment by our clients for services that we have performed, could adversely affect our results.
 
We routinely experience termination, cancellation and non‑renewals of contracts by our clients in the ordinary course of business, and the number of cancellations can vary significantly from year to year.
 
Most of our clients for traditional, project‑based clinical trial services can terminate our contracts without cause upon 30 to 60 days’ notice. For example, our cancellation percentage for traditional, project‑based Phase I through IV trials was 18% for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016. Our traditional, project‑based clients may delay, terminate or reduce the scope of our contracts for a variety of reasons beyond our control, including but not limited to:
 
decisions to forego or terminate a particular clinical trial;
lack of available financing, budgetary limits or changing priorities;
actions by regulatory authorities;
production problems resulting in shortages of the drug being tested;
failure of the drug being tested to satisfy safety requirements or efficacy criteria;
unexpected or undesired clinical results;
insufficient patient enrollment in a trial;
insufficient investigator recruitment;
decisions to downsize product development portfolios;
dissatisfaction with our performance, including the quality of data provided and our ability to meet agreed upon schedules;
shift of business to another CRO or internal resources;
product withdrawal following market launch; or
shut down of our clients’ manufacturing facilities.
 
In addition, our clients for our Strategic Solutions offerings may elect not to renew our contracts for a variety of reasons beyond our control, including in the event that we are unable to provide staff sufficient in number or experience as required for a project.
 

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In the event of termination, our contracts often provide for fees for winding down the study, but these fees may not be sufficient for us to maintain our profit margins, and termination or non‑renewal may result in lower resource utilization rates, including with respect to personnel who we are not able to place on another client engagement.
 
Clinical trials can be costly and a material portion of our revenue is derived from emerging biotechnology and small to mid‑sized pharmaceutical companies, which may have limited access to capital. In addition, we provide services to such companies before they pay us for some of our services. There is a risk that we may initiate a clinical trial for a client, and the client subsequently becomes unwilling or unable to fund the completion of the trial. In such a situation, notwithstanding the client’s ability or willingness to pay for or otherwise facilitate the completion of the trial, we may be legally or ethically bound to complete or wind down the trial at our own expense.
 
Because the contracts included in our backlog can generally be terminated without cause, we do not believe that our backlog as of any date is necessarily a meaningful predictor of future results. In addition, we may not realize the full benefits of our backlog of contractually committed services if our clients cancel, delay or reduce their commitments under our contracts with them. Thus, the loss or delay of a large contract or the loss or delay of multiple contracts could adversely affect our service revenue and profitability. In addition, the terminability of our contracts puts increased pressure on our quality control efforts, since not only can our contracts be terminated by clients as a result of poor performance, but any such termination may also affect our ability to obtain future contracts from the client involved and others. We believe the risk of loss or delay of multiple contracts is even greater in those cases where we are party to broader partnering arrangements with global biopharmaceutical companies.
 
We bear financial risk if we underprice our fixed‑fee contracts or overrun cost estimates, and our financial results can also be adversely affected by failure to receive approval for change orders or delays in documenting change orders.
 
Most of our traditional, project‑based Phase I through IV contracts are fixed‑fee contracts. We bear the financial risk if we initially underprice our contracts or otherwise overrun our cost estimates. In addition, contracts with our clients are subject to change orders, which we commonly experience and which occur when the scope of work we perform needs to be modified from that originally contemplated by our contract with the client. Modifications can occur, for example, when there is a change in a key trial assumption or parameter, a significant change in timing or a change in staffing needs. Furthermore, if we are not successful in converting out‑of‑scope work into change orders under our current contracts, we bear the cost of the additional work. Such underpricing, significant cost overruns or delay in documentation of change orders could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.
 
Our backlog may not convert to service revenue at the historical conversion rate.
 
Backlog represents anticipated service revenue from contracted new business awards that either have not started or are in process but have not been completed and was $3.5 billion, $2.9 billion, and $2.4 billion at December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively. Our revenue conversion rate is based on a financial and operational analysis performed by our project management teams and represents the level of effort expected to be expended at a specific point in time. Once work begins on a project, revenue is recognized over the duration of the project. Projects may be terminated or delayed by the client or delayed by regulatory authorities for reasons beyond our control. To the extent projects are delayed, the timing of our revenue could be affected. In the event that a client cancels a contract, we generally would be entitled to receive payment for all services performed up to the cancellation date and subsequent client authorized services related to terminating the canceled project. Generally, however, we have no contractual right to the full amount of the revenue reflected in our backlog in the event of a contract cancellation. The duration of the projects included in our backlog, and the related revenue recognition, range from a few months to many years. Our backlog may not be indicative of our future results, and we may not realize all the anticipated future revenue reflected in our backlog. A number of factors may affect the realization of our revenue from backlog, including:
the size, complexity and duration of the projects;
the cancellation or delay of projects; and
change in the scope of work during the course of a project.
Fluctuations in our reported backlog levels also result from the fact that we may receive a small number of relatively large orders in any given reporting period that may be included in our backlog. Because of these large orders, our backlog in that reporting period may reach levels that may not be sustained in subsequent reporting periods.
 
As we increasingly compete for and enter into large contracts that are more global in nature, there can be no assurance about the rate at which our backlog will convert into revenue. A decrease in this conversion rate would mean that the rate of revenue recognized on contracts may be slower than what we have experienced in the past, which could impact our service

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revenue and results of operations on a quarterly and annual basis. The revenue recognition on larger, more global projects could be slower than on smaller, less global projects for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to, an extended period of negotiation between the time the project is awarded to us and the actual execution of the contract, as well as an increased timeframe for obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals. Additionally, delayed projects will remain in backlog and will not generate revenue at the rate originally expected. Thus, the relationship of backlog to realized revenues is indirect and may vary over time.
 
Our operating margins and profitability will be adversely affected if we are unable to either achieve efficiencies in our operating expenses or grow revenues at a rate faster than expenses.
 
We operate in a highly competitive environment and experience competitive pricing pressure. To achieve our operating margins over the last three years, we have implemented initiatives to control the rate of growth of our operating expenses. We will continue to utilize these initiatives in the future with a view to offsetting these pricing pressures; however, we cannot be certain that we will be able to achieve the efficiency gains necessary to maintain or grow our operating margins or that the magnitude of our growth in service revenue will be faster than the growth in our operating costs. If we are unable to grow our service revenue at a faster rate than our operating costs, our operating margins will be adversely affected. Our initiatives and any future cost initiatives may also adversely affect us, as they may decrease employee morale or make it more difficult for us to meet operational requirements.
 
If we are unable to attract suitable investigators and patients for our clinical trials, our clinical development business may suffer.
 
The recruitment of investigators and patients for clinical trials is essential to our business. Patients typically include people from the communities in which the clinical trials are conducted. Our clinical development business could be adversely affected if we are unable to attract suitable and willing investigators or patients for clinical trials on a consistent basis. For example, if we are unable to engage investigators to conduct clinical trials as planned or enroll sufficient patients in clinical trials, we may need to expend additional funds to obtain access to resources or else be compelled to delay or modify the clinical trial plans, which may result in additional costs to us. These considerations might result in our being unable to successfully achieve our projected development timelines, or potentially even lead us to consider the termination of ongoing clinical trials or development of a product.
 
Our embedded and functional outsourcing solutions could subject us to significant employment liability.
 
With our embedded and functional outsourcing services, we place employees at the physical workplaces of our clients. The risks of this activity include claims of errors and omissions, misuse or misappropriation of client proprietary information, theft of client property and torts or other claims under employment liability, co‑employment liability or joint employment liability. We have policies and guidelines in place to reduce our exposure to such risks, but if we fail to follow these policies and guidelines we may suffer reputational damage, loss of client relationships and business, and monetary damages.

If we lose the services of key personnel or are unable to recruit experienced personnel, our business could be adversely affected.
 
Our success substantially depends on the collective performance, contributions and expertise of our senior management team and other key personnel including qualified management, professional, scientific and technical operating staff and qualified sales representatives for our contract sales services. There is significant competition for qualified personnel in the biopharmaceutical services industry, particularly those with higher educational degrees, such as a medical degree, a Ph.D or an equivalent degree. The departure of any key executive, the payment of increased compensation to attract and retain qualified personnel, or our inability to continue to identify, attract and retain qualified personnel or replace any departed personnel in a timely fashion, may impact our ability to grow our business and compete effectively in our industry and may negatively affect our ability to meet financial and operational goals.

Changes in accounting standards may adversely affect our financial statements.

From time to time the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, and SEC issue new or revised guidance that we are required to adopt. It is possible that future accounting standards may require changes to our current accounting treatment and may require us to make changes to our accounting systems and processes. These changes could have a material impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition. See Note 2 to our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for details regarding recently implemented accounting standards and recently issued accounting pronouncements and the potential impact they may have on the Company. 

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Our effective income tax rate may fluctuate for different reasons, including the recently-enacted U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which may adversely affect our operations, earnings and earnings per share.
 
Our effective income tax rate is influenced by our projected profitability in the various taxing jurisdictions in which we operate. The global nature of our business increases our tax risks. In addition, as a result of increased funding needs by governments resulting from fiscal stimulus measures, revenue authorities in many of the jurisdictions in which we operate are known to have become more active in their tax collection activities. Changes in the distribution of profits and losses among taxing jurisdictions may have a significant impact on our effective income tax rate, which in turn could have an adverse effect on our net income and earnings per share. The application of tax laws in various taxing jurisdictions, including the United States, is subject to interpretation, and tax authorities in various jurisdictions may have diverging and sometimes conflicting interpretations of the application of tax laws. Changes in tax laws or tax rulings in the United States or other tax jurisdictions in which we operate, could materially impact our effective tax rate.
 
Factors that may affect our effective income tax rate include, but are not limited to:

the requirement to exclude from our quarterly worldwide effective income tax calculations losses in jurisdictions where no income tax benefit can be recognized;

actual and projected full year pre‑tax income, including differences between actual and anticipated income before taxes in various jurisdictions;

changes in tax laws, or in the interpretation or application of tax laws, in various taxing jurisdictions, including the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act;

audits or other challenges by taxing authorities; and

the establishment of valuation allowances against a portion or all of certain deferred income tax assets if we determined that it is more likely than not that future income tax benefits will not be realized.
In addition, our effective income tax rate is influenced by U.S. tax law which has been substantially modified by the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The following provisions of the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act could have an adverse effect on our tax rate if it is determined that the provisions are applicable to the Company:
global intangible low-taxed income;          
limitations on the U.S. deductions for net business interest;
base erosion anti-abuse provisions; and
performance-based compensation subject to $1 million limit.
These changes may cause fluctuations in our effective income tax rate that could adversely affect our results of operations and cause fluctuations in our earnings and earnings per share.
 
Our business depends on the continued effectiveness and availability of our information systems, including the information systems we use to provide our services to our clients, and failures of these systems may materially limit our operations.
 
Due to the global nature of our business and our reliance on information systems to provide our services, we intend to increase our use of web‑enabled and other integrated information systems in delivering our services. We also provide access to similar information systems to certain of our clients in connection with the services we provide them. As the breadth and complexity of our information systems continue to grow, we will increasingly be exposed to the risks inherent in the development, integration and ongoing operation of evolving information systems, including:
disruption, impairment or failure of data centers, telecommunications facilities or other key infrastructure platforms;
security breaches of, cyberattacks on and other failures or malfunctions in our critical application systems or their associated hardware; and
excessive costs, excessive delays or other deficiencies in systems development and deployment.

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The materialization of any of these risks may impede the processing of data, the delivery of databases and services, and the day‑to‑day management of our business and could result in the corruption, loss or unauthorized disclosure of proprietary, confidential or other data. While we have disaster recovery plans in place, they might not adequately protect us in the event of a system failure. Despite any precautions we take, damage from fire, floods, hurricanes, power loss, telecommunications failures, computer viruses, information system security breaches and similar events at our various computer facilities could result in interruptions in the flow of data to our servers and from our servers to our clients. Corruption or loss of data may result in the need to repeat a trial at no cost to the client, but at significant cost to us, or result in the termination of a contract or damage to our reputation. Additionally, significant delays in system enhancements or inadequate performance of new or upgraded systems once completed could damage our reputation and harm our business. Finally, long‑term disruptions in the infrastructure caused by events such as natural disasters, the outbreak of war, the escalation of hostilities and acts of terrorism, particularly involving cities in which we have offices, could adversely affect our business. Although we carry property and business interruption insurance, our coverage might not be adequate to compensate us for all losses that may occur.
 
Unauthorized disclosure of sensitive or confidential data, whether through system failure or employee negligence, fraud or misappropriation, could damage our reputation and cause us to lose clients. Similarly, unauthorized access to or through our information systems or those we develop for our clients, whether by our employees or third parties, including a cyber‑attack by computer programmers and hackers who may develop and deploy viruses, worms or other malicious software programs could result in negative publicity, significant remediation costs, legal liability and damage to our reputation and could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. In addition, our liability insurance might not be sufficient in type or amount to adequately cover us against claims related to security breaches, cyber‑attacks and other related breaches. To date, cyber security attacks directed at us have not had a material impact on our financial results. Due to the evolving nature of security threats, however, the impact of any future incidents cannot be predicted.
 
Upgrading the information systems that support our operating processes and evolving the technology platform for our services pose risks to our business.
 
Continued efficient operation of our business requires that we implement standardized global business processes and evolve our information systems to enable this implementation. We have continued to undertake significant programs to optimize business processes with respect to our services. Our inability to effectively manage the implementation and adapt to new processes designed into these new or upgraded systems in a timely and cost‑effective manner may result in disruption to our business and negatively affect our operations.
 
We have entered into agreements with certain vendors to provide systems development and integration services that develop or license to us the IT platform for programs to optimize our business processes. If such vendors fail to perform as required or if there are substantial delays in developing, implementing and updating the IT platform, our client delivery may be impaired, and we may have to make substantial further investments, internally or with third parties, to achieve our objectives. Additionally, our progress may be limited by parties with existing or claimed patents who seek to enjoin us from using preferred technology or seek license payments from us.
 
Meeting our objectives is dependent on a number of factors which may not take place as we anticipate, including obtaining adequate technology enabled services, creating IT‑enabled services that our clients will find desirable and implementing our business model with respect to these services. Also, increased IT‑related expenditures may negatively impact our profitability.
 
Our operations might be affected by the occurrence of a natural disaster or other catastrophic event.
 
We depend on our clients, investigators, laboratories and other facilities for the continued operation of our business. Although we have contingency plans in place for natural disasters or other catastrophic events, these events, including terrorist attacks, pandemic flu, hurricanes and ice storms, could nevertheless disrupt our operations or those of our clients, investigators and collaboration partners, which could also affect us. In particular, our headquarters are in Raleigh, North Carolina where hurricanes might occur. Even though we carry business interruption insurance policies and typically have provisions in our contracts that protect us in certain events, we might suffer losses as a result of business interruptions that exceed the coverage available under our insurance policies or for which we do not have coverage. Any natural disaster or catastrophic event affecting us or our clients, investigators or collaboration partners could have a significant negative impact on our operations and financial performance.
 

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We may be adversely affected by client concentration or concentration in therapeutic classes in which we conduct clinical trials.
 
We derive a substantial portion of our revenues from a limited number of large clients. In 2017 and 2016, we derived 42% and 45%, respectively, of our service revenue from our top five clients. In addition, almost 41% of our backlog, as of December 31, 2017, is concentrated among five clients. If any large client decreases or terminates its relationship with us, our business, results of operations or financial condition could be materially adversely affected.
 
Additionally, we conduct multiple clinical trials for different clients in single therapeutic classes, particularly in the areas of oncology and central nervous system. Conducting multiple clinical trials for different clients in a single therapeutic class involving drugs with the same or similar chemical action has in the past, and may in the future, adversely affect our business if some or all of the trials are canceled because of new scientific information or regulatory judgments that affect the drugs as a class or if industry consolidation results in the rationalization of drug development pipelines.
 
Our business is subject to international economic, political and other risks that could negatively affect our results of operations and financial condition.
 
We have significant operations in non‑U.S. countries that may require complex arrangements to deliver services on global contracts for our clients. Additionally, we have established operations in locations remote from our most developed business centers. As a result, we are subject to heightened risks inherent in conducting business internationally, including the following:
 
conducting a single trial across multiple countries is complex, and issues in one country, such as a failure to comply with local regulations or restrictions, may affect the progress of the trial in the other countries, for example, by limiting the amount of data necessary for a trial to proceed, resulting in delays or potential cancellation of contracts, which in turn may result in loss of revenue; 
non‑U.S. countries could enact legislation or impose regulations or other restrictions, including unfavorable labor regulations or tax policies, which could have an adverse effect on our ability to conduct business in or expatriate profits from those countries;
tax rates in certain non‑U.S. countries may exceed those in the United States and non‑U.S. earnings may be subject to withholding requirements or the imposition of tariffs, exchange controls or other restrictions, including restrictions on repatriation;
certain non‑U.S. countries are expanding or may expand their regulatory framework with respect to patient informed consent, protection and compensation in clinical trials, which could delay or inhibit our ability to conduct trials in such jurisdictions or which could materially increase the risks associated with performing trials in such jurisdictions;
the regulatory or judicial authorities of non‑U.S. countries may not enforce legal rights and recognize business procedures in a manner to which we are accustomed or would reasonably expect;
we may have difficulty complying with a variety of laws and regulations in non‑U.S. countries, some of which may conflict with laws in the United States;
changes in political and economic conditions may lead to changes in the business environment in which we operate, as well as changes in non‑U.S. currency exchange rates;
clients in non‑U.S. jurisdictions may have longer payment cycles, and it may be more difficult to collect receivables in non‑U.S. jurisdictions; and
natural disasters, pandemics or international conflict, including terrorist acts, could interrupt our services, endanger our personnel or cause project delays or loss of trial materials or results.
These risks and uncertainties could negatively impact our ability to, among other things, perform large, global projects for our clients. Furthermore, our ability to deal with these issues could be affected by applicable U.S. laws and the need to protect our assets. In addition, we may be more susceptible to these risks as we enter and continue to target growth in emerging countries and regions, including India, China, Eastern Europe and Latin America, which may be subject to a relatively higher risk of political instability, economic volatility, crime, corruption and social and ethnic unrest, all of which are exacerbated in many cases by a lack of an independent and experienced judiciary and uncertainties in how local law is applied and enforced. The materialization of any such risks could have an adverse impact on our financial condition and results of operations.
 

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Due to the global nature of our business, we may be exposed to liabilities under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and various non‑U.S. anti‑corruption laws, and any allegation or determination that we violated these laws could have a material adverse effect on our business.
 
We are required to comply with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or FCPA, and other U.S. and non‑U.S. anti‑corruption laws, which prohibit companies from engaging in bribery, including corruptly or improperly offering, promising, or providing money or anything else of value to non‑U.S. officials and certain other recipients. In addition, the FCPA imposes certain books, records, and accounting control obligations on public companies and other issuers. We operate in parts of the world in which corruption can be common and compliance with anti‑bribery laws may conflict with local customs and practices. Our global operations face the risk of unauthorized payments or offers being made by employees, consultants, sales agents, and other business partners outside of our control or without our authorization. It is our policy to implement safeguards to prohibit these practices by our employees and business partners with respect to our operations. However, irrespective of these safeguards, or as a result of monitoring compliance with such safeguards, it is possible that we or certain other parties may discover or receive information at some point that certain employees, consultants, sales agents, or other business partners may have engaged in corrupt conduct for which we might be held responsible. Violations of the FCPA or other non‑U.S. anti‑corruption laws may result in restatements of, or irregularities in, our financial statements as well as severe criminal or civil sanctions, and we may be subject to other liabilities, which could negatively affect our business, operating results and financial condition. In some cases, companies that violate the FCPA may be debarred by the U.S. government and/or lose their U.S. export privileges. Changes in anti‑corruption laws or enforcement priorities could also result in increased compliance requirements and related costs which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, the U.S. or other governments may seek to hold us liable for successor liability FCPA violations or violations of other anti‑corruption laws committed by companies in which we invest or that we acquired or will acquire.
 
If we are unable to successfully develop and market new services or enter new markets, our growth, results of operations or financial condition could be adversely affected.
 
A key element of our growth strategy is the successful development and marketing of new services and entering new markets that complement or expand our existing business. As we develop new services or enter new markets, including services targeted at participants in the broader healthcare industry, we may not have or adequately build the competencies necessary to perform such services satisfactorily, may not receive market acceptance for such services or may face increased competition. If we are unable to succeed in developing new services, entering new markets or attracting a client base for our new services or in new markets, we will be unable to implement this element of our growth strategy, and our future business, reputation, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.
 
If we fail to perform our services in accordance with contractual requirements, government regulations and ethical considerations, we could be subject to significant costs or liability and our reputation could be adversely affected.
 
We contract with biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies to perform a wide range of services to assist them in bringing new drugs to market. Our services include monitoring clinical trials, laboratory analysis, electronic data capture, patient recruitment, data analytics, technology solutions and other related services. Such services are complex and subject to contractual requirements, government regulations, and ethical considerations. For example, we are subject to regulation by the FDA and comparable non‑U.S. regulatory authorities relating to our activities in conducting pre‑clinical and clinical trials. The clinical trial process must be conducted in accordance with regulations promulgated by the FDA under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, which requires the drug to be tested and studied in certain ways. In the United States, before human clinical testing may begin, a manufacturer must file an IND with the FDA. Further, an IRB for each medical center proposing to participate in the clinical trial must review and approve the protocol for the clinical trial before the medical center’s investigators participate. Once initiated, clinical trials must be conducted pursuant to and in accordance with the applicable IND, the requirements of the relevant IRBs, and GCP regulations. Similarly, before clinical trials begin, a drug is tested in pre‑clinical studies that are expected to comply with Good Laboratory Practice requirements. We are also subject to regulation by the DEA which regulates the distribution, recordkeeping, handling, security, and disposal of controlled substances. If we fail to perform our services in accordance with these requirements, regulatory authorities may take action against us. Such actions may include injunctions or failure to grant marketing approval of products, imposition of clinical holds or delays, suspension or withdrawal of approvals, rejection of data collected in our studies, license revocation, product seizures or recalls, operational restrictions, civil or criminal penalties or prosecutions, damages or fines. Clients may also bring claims against us for breach of our contractual obligations and patients in the clinical trials and patients taking drugs approved on the basis of those trials may bring personal injury claims against us. Any such action could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and reputation.
 

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Such consequences could arise if, among other things, the following occur:
 
Improper performance of our services.  The performance of clinical development services is complex and time‑consuming. For example, we may make mistakes in conducting a clinical trial that could negatively impact or obviate the usefulness of the trial or cause the results of the trial to be reported improperly. If the trial results are compromised, we could be subject to significant costs or liability, which could have an adverse impact on our ability to perform our services and our reputation would be harmed. As examples:
non‑compliance generally could result in the termination of ongoing clinical trials or the disqualification of data for submission to regulatory authorities;
compromise of data from a particular trial, such as failure to verify that adequate informed consent was obtained from patients, could require us to repeat the trial under the terms of our contract at no further cost to our client, but at a potentially substantial cost to us; and
breach of a contractual term could result in liability for damages or termination of the contract. 
Large clinical trials can cost tens of millions of dollars, and while we endeavor to contractually limit our exposure to such risks, improper performance of our services could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, damage our reputation and result in the cancellation of current contracts by the affected client or other current clients or failure to obtain future contracts from the affected client or other current or potential clients.
 
Investigation of clients.  From time to time, one or more of our clients are investigated by regulatory authorities or enforcement agencies with respect to regulatory compliance of their clinical trials, programs or the marketing and sale of their drugs. In these situations, we have often provided services to our clients with respect to the clinical trials, programs or activities being investigated, and we are called upon to respond to requests for information by the authorities and agencies. There is a risk that either our clients or regulatory authorities could claim that we performed our services improperly or that we are responsible for clinical trial or program compliance. If our clients or regulatory authorities make such claims against us and prove them, we could be subject to damages, fines or penalties. In addition, negative publicity regarding regulatory compliance of our clients’ clinical trials, programs or drugs could have an adverse effect on our business and reputation.
 
If we fail to comply with federal, state, and non‑U.S. healthcare laws, including fraud and abuse laws, we could face substantial penalties and our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects could be adversely affected.
 
Even though we do not order healthcare services or bill directly to Medicare, Medicaid or other third‑party payors, certain federal and state healthcare laws and regulations pertaining to fraud and abuse are and will be applicable to our business. We could be subject to healthcare fraud and abuse laws of both the federal government and the states in which we conduct our business. Because of the breadth of these laws and the narrowness of available statutory and regulatory exceptions, it is possible that some of our business activities could be subject to challenge under one or more of such laws. If we or our operations are found to be in violation of any of the laws described above or any other governmental regulations that apply to us, we may be subject to penalties, including civil and criminal penalties, damages, fines, imprisonment and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations, any of which could materially adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our financial results.
 
Our services could subject us to potential liability that may adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.
 
Our business involves the testing of new drugs on patients in clinical trials. Our involvement in the clinical trial and development process creates a risk of liability for personal injury to or death of patients, particularly those with life‑threatening illnesses, resulting from adverse reactions to the drugs administered during testing or after regulatory approval. For example, we may be sued in the future by individuals alleging personal injury due to their participation in clinical trials and seeking damages from us under a variety of legal theories. If we are required to pay damages or incur defense costs in connection with any personal injury claim that is outside the scope of indemnification agreements we have with our clients, if any indemnification agreement is not performed in accordance with its terms or if our liability exceeds the amount of any applicable indemnification limits or available insurance coverage, our financial condition, results of operations and reputation could be materially and adversely affected. We might also not be able to obtain adequate insurance or indemnification for these types of risks at reasonable rates in the future.
 
We also contract with physicians to serve as investigators in conducting clinical trials. Investigators are typically located at hospitals, clinics or other sites and supervise the administration of the investigational drug to patients during the course of a clinical trial. If the investigators commit errors or make omissions during a clinical trial that result in harm to trial

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patients or after a clinical trial to a patient using the drug after it has received regulatory approval, claims for personal injury or products liability damages may result. Additionally, if the investigators engage in fraudulent or negligent behavior, trial data may be compromised, which may require us to repeat the clinical trial or subject us to liability or regulatory action. We do not believe we are legally responsible for the medical care rendered by such third‑party investigators, and we would vigorously defend any claims brought against us. However, it is possible we could be found liable for claims with respect to the actions of third‑party investigators.
 
Some of our services involve direct interaction with clinical trial patients and operation of Phase I and IIa clinical facilities, which could create potential liability that may adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.
 
We operate facilities where Phase I to IIa clinical trials are conducted, which ordinarily involve testing an investigational drug on a limited number of individuals to evaluate its safety, determine a safe dosage range and identify side effects. Failure to operate such a facility in accordance with applicable regulations could result in disruptions to our operations. Additionally, we face risks associated with adverse events resulting from the administration of such drugs and the professional malpractice of medical care providers. We also directly employ nurses and other trained employees who assist in implementing the testing involved in our clinical trials, such as drawing blood from subjects. Any professional malpractice or negligence by such investigators, nurses or other employees could potentially result in liability to us in the event of personal injury to or death of a subject in clinical trials. This liability, particularly if it were to exceed the limits of any indemnification agreements and insurance coverage we may have, may adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and reputation.
 
Our insurance may not cover all of our indemnification obligations and other liabilities associated with our operations.
 
We maintain insurance designed to provide coverage for ordinary risks associated with our operations and our ordinary indemnification obligations. The coverage provided by such insurance may not be adequate for all claims we may make or may be contested by our insurance carriers. If our insurance is not adequate or available to pay liabilities associated with our operations, or if we are unable to purchase adequate insurance at reasonable rates in the future, our profitability may be adversely impacted.

We do not currently maintain key person life insurance policies on any of our employees. If any of our key employees were to join a competitor or to form a competing company, some of our clients might choose to use the services of that competitor or new company instead of our own. Furthermore, clients or other companies seeking to develop in‑house capabilities may hire some of our senior management or key employees. We cannot assure you that a court would enforce the non‑competition provisions in our employment agreements.
 
Exchange rate fluctuations may affect our results of operations and financial condition.
 
During 2017, approximately 17% of our service revenue and 39% of our expenses were denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, particularly the Euro and the British Pound. Because a portion of our service revenue and expenses are denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar and our financial statements are reported in U.S. dollars, changes in non‑U.S. currency exchange rates could significantly affect our results of operations and financial condition.
 
The revenue and expenses of our non‑U.S. operations are generally denominated in local currencies and translated into U.S. dollars for financial reporting purposes. Accordingly, exchange rate fluctuations will affect the translation of non‑U.S. results into U.S. dollars for purposes of reporting our consolidated results.
 
We are subject to non‑U.S. currency transaction risk for fluctuations in exchange rates during the period of time between the consummation and cash settlement of a transaction. We earn revenue from our service contracts over a period of several months and, in some cases, over several years. Accordingly, exchange rate fluctuations during this period may affect our profitability with respect to such contracts.
 
We may limit these risks through exchange rate fluctuation provisions stated in our service contracts, or we may hedge our transaction risk with non‑U.S. currency exchange contracts or options. We have not, however, hedged any of our non‑U.S. currency transaction risk, and we may experience fluctuations in financial results from our operations outside the United States and non‑U.S. currency transaction risk associated with our service contracts.
 
If we do not keep pace with rapid technological changes, our services may become less competitive or obsolete.
 
The biopharmaceutical industry generally, and drug development and clinical research more specifically, are subject to rapid technological changes. Our current competitors or other businesses might develop technologies or services that are more

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effective or commercially attractive than, or render obsolete, our current or future technologies and services. If our competitors introduce superior technologies or services and if we cannot make enhancements to remain competitive, our competitive position would be harmed. If we are unable to compete successfully, we may lose clients or be unable to attract new clients, which could lead to a decrease in our revenue and financial condition.
 
Our relationships with existing or potential clients who are in competition with each other may adversely impact the degree to which other clients or potential clients use our services, which may adversely affect our results of operations.
 
The biopharmaceutical industry is highly competitive, with companies each seeking to persuade payors, providers and patients that their drug therapies are more cost‑effective than competing therapies marketed or being developed by competing firms. In addition to the adverse competitive interests that biopharmaceutical companies have with each other, these companies also have adverse interests with respect to drug selection and reimbursement with other participants in the healthcare industry, including payors and providers. Biopharmaceutical companies also compete to be first to the market with new drug therapies. We regularly provide services to biopharmaceutical companies who compete with each other, and we sometimes provide services to such clients regarding competing drugs in development. Our existing or future relationships with our biopharmaceutical clients have in the past and may continue to deter other biopharmaceutical clients from using our services or in certain instances has resulted in our clients seeking to place limits on our ability to serve their competitors and other industry participants. In addition, our further expansion into the broader healthcare market may adversely impact our relationships with biopharmaceutical clients, and such clients may elect not to use our services, reduce the scope of services that we provide to them or seek to place restrictions on our ability to serve clients in the broader healthcare market with interests that are adverse to theirs. Any loss of clients or reductions in the level of revenues from a client could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, business and prospects.

If we are unable to manage our joint ventures and identify, acquire and integrate future acquisitions and joint ventures with our existing business, services and technologies, our business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely impacted.
 
We have historically grown our business both organically and through acquisitions, and we anticipate that a portion of our future growth may come from acquiring existing businesses, services or technologies and entering into strategic alliances and joint ventures. The success of any acquisition will depend upon, among other things, our ability to effectively integrate acquired personnel, operations, products and technologies into our business, to obtain regulatory approvals, and to retain the key personnel and clients of our acquired businesses. Failure to successfully integrate any acquired business may result in reduced levels of revenue, earnings or operating efficiency than might have been achieved if we had not acquired such businesses. In addition, any future acquisitions could result in the incurrence of additional debt and related interest expense, contingent liabilities and amortization expenses related to intangible assets, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, operating results and cash flow.
 
The success of any joint venture will involve, among other things, learning about new markets and regulations, ensuring quality controls are adequate and not inadvertently creating competitors. We may be unable to identify suitable acquisition opportunities, properly evaluate the price of such acquisitions or obtain any necessary financing on commercially acceptable terms. We may also spend time and money investigating and negotiating with potential acquisition targets and strategic alliance partners but not complete the transaction. Acquisitions involve other risks, including, among others, the assumption of additional liabilities and expenses, difficulties and expenses in connection with integrating the acquired companies and achieving the expected benefits, issuances of potentially dilutive securities or debt, loss of key employees of the acquired companies, transaction costs, diversion of management’s attention from other business concerns and, with respect to the acquisition of non‑U.S. companies, the inability to overcome differences in non‑U.S. business practices, language and customs. Our failure to identify potential acquisitions, complete targeted acquisitions and integrate completed acquisitions or identify and manage strategic alliances or joint ventures could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
 
We have a significant amount of goodwill and intangible assets on our balance sheet, and our results of operations may be adversely affected if we fail to realize the full value of our goodwill and intangible assets.
 
Our balance sheet reflects goodwill and intangibles assets of $1,512.4 million and $783.8 million, respectively, as of December 31, 2017. Collectively, goodwill and intangibles assets represented 68% of our total assets as of December 31, 2017. In accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets are not amortized, but are subject to a periodic impairment evaluation. We assess the realizability of our indefinite-lived intangible assets and goodwill annually and conduct an interim evaluation whenever events or changes in circumstances, such as operating losses or a significant decline in earnings associated with the acquired business or asset, indicate that these assets

26


may be impaired. In addition, we review long‑lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the assets might not be recoverable. If indicators of impairment are present, we evaluate the carrying value in relation to estimates of future undiscounted cash flows. Our ability to realize the value of the goodwill and intangible assets will depend on the future cash flows of the businesses we have acquired, which in turn depend in part on how well we have integrated these businesses into our own business. The carrying amount of the goodwill could be impaired if there is a downturn in our business or our industry or other factors that affect the fair value of our business, in which case a charge to earnings would become necessary. If we are not able to realize the value of the goodwill and intangible assets, we may be required to incur material charges relating to the impairment of those assets. Such impairment charges could materially and adversely affect our operating results and financial condition. See Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10‑K for a further discussion of our goodwill and intangible asset impairment testing.
 
Our ability to utilize our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes may be limited.
 
Under Sections 382 and 383 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, if a corporation undergoes an “ownership change” (generally defined as a greater than 50 percentage point change, by value, in the aggregate stock ownership of certain stockholders over a three‑year period), the corporation’s ability to use its pre‑change net operating loss carryforwards to offset its future taxable income and other pre‑change tax attributes may be limited. We have experienced at least one ownership change in the past. We may experience additional ownership changes in the future. In addition, future changes in our stock ownership (including future sales by KKR) could result in additional ownership changes. Any such ownership changes could limit our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards to offset any future taxable income and other tax attributes. State and non‑U.S. tax laws may also impose limitations on our ability to utilize net operating loss carryforwards and other tax attributes.
 
Our business could be harmed if we are unable to manage our growth effectively.
 
We believe that sustained growth places a strain on operational, human and financial resources. To manage our growth, we must continue to improve our operating and administrative systems and to attract and retain qualified management, professional, scientific and technical operating personnel. We believe that maintaining and enhancing both our systems and personnel at reasonable cost are instrumental to our success. We cannot assure you that we will be able to enhance our current technology or obtain new technology that will enable our systems to keep pace with developments and the sophisticated needs of our clients. The nature and pace of our growth introduces risks associated with quality control and client dissatisfaction due to delays in performance or other problems. In addition, non‑U.S. operations involve the additional risks of assimilating differences in non‑U.S. business practices, hiring and retaining qualified personnel and overcoming language barriers. Failure to manage growth effectively could have an adverse effect on our business.
 
Our operations involve the use and disposal of hazardous substances and waste which can give rise to liability that could adversely impact our financial condition.
 
We conduct activities that have involved, and may continue to involve, the controlled use of hazardous materials and the creation of hazardous substances, including medical waste and other highly regulated substances. Although we believe that our safety procedures for handling the disposal of such materials generally comply with the standards prescribed by non‑U.S., state and federal laws and regulations, our operations nevertheless pose the risk of accidental contamination or injury caused by the release of these materials and/or the creation of hazardous substances, including medical waste and other highly regulated substances. In the event of such an accident, we could be held liable for damages and cleanup costs which, to the extent not covered by existing insurance or indemnification, could harm our business. In addition, other adverse effects could result from such liability, including reputational damage resulting in the loss of additional business from certain clients.
 
We rely on third parties to provide certain data and other information to us. Our suppliers or providers might increase our cost to obtain, restrict our use of or refuse to license data, which could lead to our inability to access certain data or provide certain services and, as a result, materially and adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.

Our services are derived from, or include, the use of data we collect from third parties. We have several data suppliers that provide us a broad and diverse scope of information that we collect, use in our business and sell.

We generally enter into long-term contractual arrangements with many of our data suppliers. At the time we enter into a new data supply contract or renew an existing contract, suppliers may increase our cost to obtain and use the data provided by such supplier, increase restrictions on our ability to use or sell such data, or altogether refuse to license the data to us. Also, our data suppliers may fail to meet or adhere to our quality control standards or fail to deliver the data to us. Although no single

27


supplier is material to our business, if suppliers that collectively provide a significant amount of the data we receive or use were to increase our costs to obtain or use such data, further restrict our access to or use of such data, fail to meet or adhere to our quality control standards, refuse to provide or fail to deliver data to us, our ability to provide data-dependent services to our clients may be adversely impacted, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition or cash flow.

We rely on third parties for important products and services, services and licenses to certain technology and intellectual property rights and we might not be able to continue to obtain such products, services and licenses.
 
We depend on certain third parties to provide us with products and services critical to our business. Such services include, among others, suppliers of drugs for patients participating in trials, suppliers of kits for use in our laboratories, suppliers of reagents for use in our testing equipment and providers of maintenance services for our equipment. The failure of any of these third parties to adequately provide the required products or services, or to do so in compliance with applicable regulatory requirements, could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Some of our services rely on intellectual property, technology and other similar property owned and/or controlled by third parties. Our licenses to this property and technology could terminate or expire and we might not be able to replace these licenses in a timely manner. Also, we might not be able to renew these licenses on similar terms and conditions. Failure to renew these licenses, or renewals of these licenses on less advantageous terms, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition or cash flow.
 
We have only a limited ability to protect our intellectual property rights, and these rights are important to our success.
 
Our success depends, in part, upon our ability to develop, use and protect our proprietary methodologies, analytics, systems, technologies and other intellectual property. Existing laws of the various countries in which we provide services or solutions offer only limited protection of our intellectual property rights, and the protection in some countries may be very limited. We rely upon a combination of trade secrets, confidentiality policies, nondisclosure, invention assignment and other contractual arrangements, and copyright, trademark and trade secret laws, to protect our intellectual property rights. These laws are subject to change at any time and certain agreements may not be fully enforceable, which could further restrict our ability to protect our innovations. Our intellectual property rights may not prevent competitors from independently developing services similar to or duplicative of ours. Further, the steps we take in this regard might not be adequate to prevent or deter infringement or other misappropriation of our intellectual property by competitors, former employees or other third parties, and we might not be able to detect unauthorized use of, or take appropriate and timely steps to enforce, our intellectual property rights. Enforcing our rights might also require considerable time, money and oversight, and we may not be successful in enforcing our rights.
 
Depending on the circumstances, we might need to grant a specific client greater rights in intellectual property developed in connection with a contract than we otherwise generally do. In certain situations, we might forego all rights to the use of intellectual property we create, which would limit our ability to reuse that intellectual property for other clients. Any limitation on our ability to provide a service or solution could cause us to lose revenue generating opportunities and require us to incur additional expenses to develop or license new or modified solutions for future projects.
 
Our business has experienced substantial expansion and contraction in the past and we might not properly manage any expansion or contraction in the future.
 
Rapid expansion or contraction, both of which we have experienced, could strain our operational, human and financial resources and facilities. If we fail to properly manage any changes, our expenses might grow more than revenue and our results of operations and financial condition might be negatively affected. In order to manage expansion or contraction, we must, among other things, do the following:
continue to improve our operating, administrative and information systems;
accurately predict our future personnel, resource and facility needs to meet our commitments;
track the progress of ongoing projects; and
attract and retain qualified management, sales, professional, scientific and technical operating personnel. 
In addition, we have numerous business groups, subsidiaries and divisions. If we cannot properly manage these groups, subsidiaries or divisions, it will disrupt our operations. We also face additional risks in expanding our non‑U.S. operations. Specifically, we might find it difficult to:
assimilate differences in non‑U.S. business practices and regulations;

28


properly integrate systems and operating procedures;
hire and retain qualified personnel; and
overcome language and cultural barriers. 
The biopharmaceutical services industry is fragmented and highly competitive.
 
The biopharmaceutical services industry is fragmented and highly competitive and if we do not compete successfully, our business will suffer. We often compete for business with other biopharmaceutical services companies, universities, niche providers and discovery and development departments within our clients, some of which are large biopharmaceutical services companies in their own right with greater resources than ours. As part of our business model, we have formed preferred vendor relationships. These relationships generally are not contractual and are subject to change at any time. As a result of these relationships, we may find reduced access to certain potential clients due to preferred vendor arrangements with other competitors. There are few barriers to entry for smaller specialized companies considering entering the industry. Because of their size and focus, these companies might compete effectively against larger companies like us, which could have a material adverse impact on our business. Additionally, the industry is highly fragmented, with numerous smaller specialized companies and a handful of full‑service companies with global capabilities similar to ours. Increased competition has led to price and other forms of competition, such as acceptance of less favorable contract terms that could adversely affect our operating results. As a result of competitive pressures, in recent years our industry has experienced consolidation. This trend is likely to produce more competition from the resulting larger companies for both clients and acquisition candidates.
 
Outsourcing trends in the biopharmaceutical industry and changes in aggregate spending and R&D budgets could adversely affect our operating results and growth rate.
 
We provide services to the biopharmaceutical industry and our revenues depend on the outsourcing trends and R&D expenditures in the industry. Economic factors and industry trends that affect biopharmaceutical companies affect our business. Biopharmaceutical companies continue to seek long‑term strategic collaborations with global CROs with favorable pricing terms. Competition for these collaborations is intense and we may decide to forego an opportunity or we may not be selected, in which case a competitor may enter into the collaboration and our business with the client, if any, may be limited. In addition, if the biopharmaceutical industry reduces its outsourcing of clinical trials or such outsourcing fails to grow at projected rates, our operations and financial condition could be materially and adversely affected. All of these events could adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.
 
Consolidation in the biopharmaceutical industry could lead to a reduction in our revenues.
 
Several large biopharmaceutical companies have completed mergers and acquisitions that will consolidate the outsourcing trends and R&D expenditures into fewer companies. Large pharmaceutical companies represent a significant portion of our customer base. The pharmaceutical industry is currently undergoing a period of increased merger activity. As a result of this and future consolidations, our client diversity may decrease and our business may be adversely affected. In addition, consolidation and other factors in the biopharmaceutical industry, may slow decision making by our clients or result in the delay or cancellation of clinical trials.
 
We may be affected by healthcare reform and potential additional reforms.
 
Numerous government bodies are considering or have adopted various healthcare reforms and may undertake, or are in the process of undertaking, efforts to control growing healthcare costs through legislation, regulation and voluntary agreements with medical care providers and biopharmaceutical companies. We are uncertain as to the effects of these reforms on our business and are unable to predict what legislative proposals, if any, will be adopted in the future. If regulatory cost containment efforts limit the profitability of new drugs, our clients may reduce their R&D spending, which could reduce the business they outsource to us. Similarly, if regulatory requirements are relaxed or simplified drug approval procedures are adopted, the demand for our services could decrease.
 
Government bodies may also adopt healthcare legislation or regulations that are more burdensome than existing regulations. For example, product safety concerns and recommendations by the Drug Safety Oversight Board could change the regulatory environment for drug products, and new or heightened regulatory requirements may increase our expenses or limit our ability to offer some of our services. Additionally, new or heightened regulatory requirements may have a negative impact on the ability of our clients to conduct industry sponsored clinical trials, which could reduce the need for our services. Furthermore, a relaxation of the scope of regulatory requirements, such as the introduction of simplified marketing applications for pharmaceuticals and biologics, could decrease the business opportunities available to us.

29


 
Actions by regulatory authorities or clients to limit the scope of or withdraw an approved drug from the market could result in a loss of revenue.
 
Government regulators have the authority, after approving a drug, to limit its indication for use by requiring additional labeled warnings or to withdraw the drug’s approval for its approved indication based on safety concerns. Similarly, clients may act to voluntarily limit the availability of approved drugs or withdraw them from the market after we begin our work. If we are providing services to clients for drugs that are limited or withdrawn, we may be required to narrow the scope of or terminate our services with respect to such drugs, which would prevent us from earning the full amount of service revenue anticipated under the related service contracts.
 
Current and proposed laws and regulations regarding the protection of personal data could result in increased risks of liability or increased cost to us or could limit our service offerings.
 
The confidentiality, collection, use and disclosure of personal data, including clinical trial patient‑specific information, are subject to governmental regulation generally in the country in which the personal data was collected or used. For example, U.S. federal regulations under HIPAA generally require individuals’ written authorization, in addition to any required informed consent, before protected health information may be used for research and such regulations specify standards for de‑identifications and for limited data sets. We may also be subject to applicable state privacy and security laws and regulations in states in which we operate. We are both directly and indirectly affected by the privacy provisions surrounding individual authorizations because many investigators with whom we are involved in clinical trials are directly subject to them as a HIPAA “covered entity” and because we obtain identifiable health information from third parties that are subject to such regulations. Because of recent amendments to the HIPAA data security and privacy rules, there are some instances where we may be a HIPAA “business associate” of a “covered entity,” meaning that we may be directly liable for any breaches in protected health information and other HIPAA violations. These amendments may subject us to HIPAA’s enforcement scheme, which, as amended, can result in up to $1.5 million in annual civil penalties for each HIPAA violation.
 
In the EU and other jurisdictions, personal data includes any information that relates to an identified or identifiable natural person with health information carrying additional obligations, including obtaining the explicit consent from the individual for collection, use or disclosure of the information. In addition, we are subject to laws and regulations with respect to cross‑border transfers of such data out of certain jurisdictions in which we operate, including the EU. If we are unable to transfer data between and among countries and regions in which we operate, it could affect the manner in which we provide our services or adversely affect our financial results. The United States, the EU and its member states, and other countries where we have operations, continue to issue new privacy and data protection rules and regulations that relate to personal data and health information. Failure to comply with these data protection and privacy regulations and rules in various jurisdictions, or to resolve any serious privacy or security complaints, could subject us to regulatory sanctions, criminal prosecution or civil liability. Federal, state and non‑U.S. governments may propose or have adopted additional legislation governing the collection, possession, use or dissemination of personal data, such as personal health information, and personal financial data as well as security breach notification rules for loss or theft of such data. Additional legislation or regulation of this type might, among other things, require us to implement new security measures and processes or bring within the legislation or regulation de‑identified health or other personal data, each of which may require substantial expenditures or limit our ability to offer some of our services. Additionally, if we violate applicable laws, regulations or duties relating to the use, privacy or security of personal data, we could be subject to civil liability or criminal prosecution, be forced to alter our business practices and suffer reputational harm.
 
The biopharmaceutical industry has a history of patent and other intellectual property litigation, and we might be involved in costly intellectual property lawsuits.
 
The biopharmaceutical industry has a history of intellectual property litigation, and these lawsuits will likely continue in the future. Accordingly, we may face patent infringement suits by companies that have patents for similar business processes or other suits alleging infringement of their intellectual property rights. Legal proceedings relating to intellectual property could be expensive, take significant time and divert management’s attention from other business concerns, regardless of the outcome of the litigation. If we do not prevail in an infringement lawsuit brought against us, we might have to pay substantial damages, and we could be required to stop the infringing activity or obtain a license to use technology on unfavorable terms.
 

30


Circumstances beyond our control could cause the CRO industry to suffer reputational or other harm that could result in an industry‑wide reduction in demand for CRO services, which could harm our business.
 
Demand for our services may be affected by perceptions of our clients regarding the CRO industry as a whole. For example, other CROs could engage in conduct that could render our clients less willing to do business with us or any CRO. Although to date no event has occurred causing material industry‑wide reputational harm, one or more CROs could engage in or fail to detect malfeasance, such as inadequately monitoring sites, producing inaccurate databases or analysis, falsifying patient records, and performing incomplete lab work, or take other actions that would reduce the confidence of our clients in the CRO industry. As a result, the willingness of biopharmaceutical companies to outsource R&D services to CROs could diminish and our business could thus be harmed materially by events outside our control.

Our substantial indebtedness could adversely affect our financial condition and prevent us from fulfilling our debt obligations and may otherwise restrict our activities.
 
As of December 31, 2017, we had total indebtedness of $1,352.4 million, which consisted of: $120.0 million principal amount of variable rate accounts receivable financing due 2019, $1,140.9 million principal amount of variable rate first lien term loans due 2021, or the 2016 First Lien Term Loan, and $91.5 million in borrowings under our revolving line of credit, or the 2016 Revolver. The 2016 First Lien Term Loan and 2016 Revolver, which were amended in September 2017 and December 2017, are collectively known as the 2016 Credit Facilities.
 
Specifically, our high level of debt could have important consequences to the holders of our debt, including:
making it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations with respect to our debt;
limiting our ability to obtain additional financing to fund future working capital, capital expenditures, investments or acquisitions or other general corporate requirements;
requiring a substantial portion of our cash flows to be dedicated to debt service payments instead of other purposes, thereby reducing the amount of cash flow available for working capital, capital expenditures, investments or acquisitions and other general corporate purposes;
increasing our vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions;
exposing us to the risk of increased interest rates as certain of our borrowings, including borrowings under the 2016 Credit Facilities and accounts receivable financing agreement, are at variable rates of interest;
limiting our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in the industry in which we compete;
placing us at a disadvantage compared to other, less leveraged competitors; and
increasing our cost of borrowing.
Despite our level of indebtedness, we may incur more debt and undertake additional obligations. Incurring such debt or undertaking such additional obligations could further exacerbate the risks to our financial condition.
 
Although the credit agreement governing the 2016 Credit Facilities, as amended, contains restrictions on the incurrence of additional indebtedness, these restrictions are subject to a number of qualifications and exceptions, and the indebtedness incurred in compliance with these restrictions could increase. To the extent new debt is added to our current debt levels, the risks to our financial condition would increase.
 
While the credit agreement governing the 2016 Credit Facilities, as amended, also contains restrictions on our ability to make loans and investments, these restrictions are subject to a number of qualifications and exceptions, and the investments incurred in compliance with these restrictions could be substantial.
 
If we do not comply with the covenants in our financing agreements, we may not have the funds necessary to pay all of our indebtedness that could become due.
 
The credit agreement governing the 2016 Credit Facilities and the accounts receivable financing agreement, as amended, require us to comply with certain covenants. In particular, our credit agreement prohibits us from incurring any additional indebtedness, except in specified circumstances, or amending the terms of agreements relating to certain existing junior indebtedness, if any, in a manner materially adverse to the lenders under our credit agreement without their respective approval. Further, our credit agreement and the accounts receivable financing agreement contain customary covenants, including covenants that restrict our ability to acquire and dispose of assets, engage in mergers or reorganizations, pay

31


dividends or make investments. A violation of any of these covenants could cause an event of default under our financing agreements.

If we default on our financing agreements as a result of our failure to pay principal or interest when due, our material breach of any representation, warranty or covenant, or any other reason, all outstanding amounts could become immediately due and payable. In such case, we may not have sufficient funds to repay all the outstanding amounts. In addition, or in the alternative, the lenders under our financing agreements could exercise their rights under the security documents entered into in connection with these agreements. If any of the holders of our indebtedness accelerate the repayment of such indebtedness, there can be no assurance that we will have sufficient assets to repay our indebtedness. If we were unable to repay those amounts, the holders of our secured indebtedness could proceed against the collateral granted to them to secure that indebtedness. Any acceleration of amounts due or the substantial exercise by the lenders of their rights under the security documents would likely have a material adverse effect on us.
 
We may not be able to generate sufficient cash to service all of our indebtedness, and may be forced to take other actions to satisfy our obligations under our indebtedness that may not be successful.
 
Our ability to satisfy our debt obligations will depend upon, among other things:
our future financial and operating performance, which will be affected by prevailing economic conditions and financial, business, regulatory and other factors, many of which are beyond our control; and
the future availability of borrowings under our 2016 Credit Facilities, which depends on, among other things, our complying with the covenants in those facilities. 
It cannot be assured that our business will generate sufficient cash flow from operations, or that future borrowings will be available to us under our 2016 Credit Facilities or otherwise, in an amount sufficient to fund our liquidity needs.
 
If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to service our indebtedness, we may be forced to reduce or delay capital expenditures, sell assets, seek additional capital or restructure or refinance our indebtedness. These alternative measures may not be successful and may not permit us to meet our scheduled debt service obligations. Our ability to restructure or refinance our debt will depend on the condition of the capital markets and our financial condition at such time. Any refinancing of our debt could be at higher interest rates and may require us to comply with more onerous covenants, which could further restrict our business operations. In addition, the terms of existing or future debt agreements, may restrict us from adopting some of these alternatives. In the absence of such operating results and resources, we could face substantial liquidity problems and might be required to dispose of material assets or operations to meet our debt service and other obligations. We may not be able to consummate those dispositions for fair market value or at all and any proceeds that we could realize from any such dispositions may not be adequate to meet our debt service obligations then due.
 
Interest rate fluctuations may affect our results of operations and financial condition.
 
Because all of our debt is variable‑rate debt, fluctuations in interest rates could have a material effect on our business. We currently utilize derivative financial instruments such as interest rate swaps to hedge our exposure to interest rate fluctuations, but such instruments may not be effective in reducing our exposure to interest fluctuations, and we may discontinue utilizing them at any time. As a result, we may incur higher interest costs if interest rates increase. These higher interest costs could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition and the levels of cash we maintain for working capital.
 
KKR continues to have significant influence over us, including control over decisions that require the approval of stockholders, which could limit your ability to influence the outcome of matters submitted to stockholders for a vote.
 
KKR beneficially owned approximately 20.7% of our common stock as of December 31, 2017. Even though KKR does not control a majority of our outstanding voting power, it has the ability to exercise significant control over all corporate actions requiring stockholder approval, including:
the election and removal of directors and the size of our board of directors;
any amendment of our certificate of incorporation or bylaws; or
the approval of mergers and other significant corporate transactions, including a sale of substantially all of our assets. 


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Provisions of our corporate governance documents and Delaware law could make any change in our board of directors or in control of our company more difficult.
 
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our amended and restated bylaws and Delaware law contain provisions, such as provisions authorizing, without a vote of stockholders, the issuance of one or more series of preferred stock, that could make it difficult or expensive for a third party to pursue a tender offer, change in control or takeover attempt that is opposed by our management and board of directors even if such a transaction would be beneficial to our stockholders. We also have a staggered board of directors that could make it more difficult for stockholders to change the composition of our board of directors in any one year. These anti‑takeover provisions could substantially impede the ability of public stockholders to change our management or board of directors.
 
Our operating results and share price may be volatile, which could cause the fair value of our stockholders’ investments to decline.
 
Securities markets worldwide have experienced, and are likely to continue to experience, significant price and volume fluctuations. This market volatility, as well as general economic, market or political conditions, could subject the market price of our shares to wide price fluctuations regardless of our operating performance. Our operating results and the trading price of our shares may fluctuate in response to various factors, including:
market conditions in the broader stock market;
actual or anticipated fluctuations in our quarterly financial and operating results;
introduction of new products or services by us or our competitors;
the public’s reaction to our press releases, our other public announcements and our filings with the SEC;
changes in, or failure to meet, earnings estimates or recommendations by research analysts who track our common stock or the stock of other companies in our industries;
strategic actions by us, our customers or our competitors, such as acquisitions or restructurings;
changes in accounting standards, policies, guidance, interpretations or principles;
issuance of new or changed securities analysts’ reports or recommendations or termination of coverage of our common stock by securities analysts;
sales, or anticipated sales, of large blocks of our stock;
the granting or exercise of employee stock options;
volume of trading in our common stock;
additions or departures of key personnel;
regulatory or political developments;
litigation and governmental investigations;
changing economic conditions;
defaults on our indebtedness; and
exchange rate fluctuations.
These and other factors, many of which are beyond our control, may cause our operating results and the market price and demand for our shares to fluctuate substantially. While we believe that operating results for any particular quarter are not necessarily a meaningful indication of future results, fluctuations in our quarterly operating results could limit or prevent investors from readily selling their shares and may otherwise negatively affect the market price and liquidity of our shares. In addition, in the past, when the market price of a stock has been volatile, holders of that stock have sometimes instituted securities class action litigation against the company that issued the stock. If any of our stockholders brought a lawsuit against us, we could incur substantial costs defending the lawsuit. Such a lawsuit could also divert the time and attention of our management from our business, which could significantly harm our profitability and reputation.
 

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A significant portion of our total outstanding shares may be sold into the market in the near future. This could cause the market price of our common stock to drop significantly, even if our business is doing well.
 
Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock into the public market could occur at any time. We have 63,623,950 outstanding shares of common stock as of December 31, 2017. Certain of our stockholders have demand registration rights and “piggyback” registration rights with respect to future registered offerings of our common stock. KKR and other stockholders, who collectively own 20.7% of our common stock, may sell shares of our common stock. These sales, or the perception in the market that the holders of a large number of shares intend to sell shares, could reduce the market price of our common stock. We also registered all shares of common stock that we may issue under our equity compensation plans and they can be freely sold in the public market upon issuance, subject to restrictions on transfer contained in management stockholders agreements entered into between certain recipients of equity compensation and KKR. As restrictions on transfer end, the market price of our stock could decline if the holders of currently restricted shares sell them or are perceived by the market as intending to sell them.
 
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
 
None.
 
Item 2. Properties
 
We lease a facility for our corporate headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina. We also lease other offices in North America, Europe, Africa, Latin America, Australia and Asia. In 2017, our total rental expense for our facilities and offices was approximately $37.0 million. We do not own any real estate. We believe that our properties, taken as a whole, are in good operating condition and are suitable for our business operations.
 
Item 3. Legal Proceedings
 
We are currently involved, as we are from time to time, in legal proceedings that arise in the ordinary course of our business. We believe that we have adequately accrued for these liabilities and that there is no other litigation pending that could materially harm our results of operations and financial condition. See Note 13 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10‑K for a further discussion of our current legal proceedings.
 
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
 
Not applicable.

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PART II
 
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
 
Market Information for Common Stock
 
Our common stock trades on the NASDAQ under the symbol “PRAH.” The following table sets forth the high and low sales prices per share of our common stock as reported by the NASDAQ for the periods indicated.
 
 
High
 
Low
Fiscal Year 2017
 

 
 

Fourth Quarter
$
92.00

 
$
75.71

Third Quarter
$
80.99

 
$
73.05

Second Quarter
$
79.98

 
$
61.93

First Quarter
$
66.04

 
$
54.08

 
High
 
Low
Fiscal Year 2016
 
 
 
Fourth Quarter
$
60.96

 
$
50.87

Third Quarter
$
56.77

 
$
39.25

Second Quarter
$
51.35

 
$
39.52

First Quarter
$
47.84

 
$
35.60

 
Holders of Record
 
On February 16, 2018, we had approximately 132 common stockholders of record. This number does not include beneficial owners for whom shares are held by nominees in street name.
 
Dividend Policy
 
We have not paid any cash dividends during the two most recent fiscal years. We also have no current plans to pay any cash dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future and instead intend to retain earnings, if any, for future operations, expansion and debt repayment. Any decision to declare and pay dividends in the future will be made at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on, among other things, our results of operations, cash requirements, financial condition, contractual restrictions and other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant. In addition, our ability to pay dividends is limited by covenants in the credit agreement governing our 2016 Credit Facilities and in the indenture governing our Senior Notes. See Part II, Item 7 “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation—Liquidity and Capital Resources—2016 Credit Facilities” for restrictions on our ability to pay dividends.
 
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities
 
There were no unregistered sales of equity securities in 2017 that have not been previously reported.
 
Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer
 
None.
 
Stock Performance Graph
 
This performance graph shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, or incorporated by reference into any filing of PRA Health Sciences, Inc.
 
The following graph shows a comparison from November 13, 2014 (the date our common stock commenced trading on the NASDAQ) through December 31, 2017 of the cumulative total return for our common stock, the Nasdaq Composite Index and the Nasdaq Health Care Index.
 

35


The graph assumes that $100 was invested at the market close on November 13, 2014 in the common stock of PRA Health Sciences, Inc., the Nasdaq Composite Index and the Nasdaq Health Care Index, and assumes reinvestments of dividends, if any. The stock price performance of the following graph is not necessarily indicative of future stock price performance.

stockpricegraph.jpg

Item 6. Selected Financial Data
 
The following tables set forth, for the periods and at the dates indicated, our selected historical consolidated financial data. We have derived the selected consolidated financial data for the years ended December 31, 2015, 2016 and 2017, and as of December 31, 2016 and 2017, from our audited consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10‑K. We have derived the selected consolidated financial data for the period from January 1 through September 22, 2013, the period from September 23 through December 31, 2013, the year ended December 31, 2014, and as of December 31, 2013, 2014 and 2015 from our consolidated financial statements not appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10‑K. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results we may achieve in any future period.
 
The accompanying selected consolidated statements of operations and cash flows data are presented for two periods: Predecessor and Successor, which relate to the period preceding the Company’s acquisition by KKR, or KKR Transaction, and the period succeeding the KKR Transaction, respectively. The Company refers to the operations of PRA Health Sciences, Inc. and subsidiaries for both the Predecessor and Successor periods.
 
Historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected in the future.
 
You should read the following information together with the more detailed information contained in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10‑K.


36


 
Predecessor
 
Successor
(in thousands, except per share data)
January 1, 2013 -
September 22, 2013
 
September 23, 2013 -
December 31, 2013
 
December 31, 2014
 
December 31,
2015
 
December 31,
2016
 
December 31,
2017
Consolidated statement of operations data:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Revenue:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Service revenue
$
508,539

 
$
324,362

 
$
1,266,596

 
$
1,375,847

 
$
1,580,023

 
$
1,948,374

Reimbursement revenue
103,531

 
54,854

 
192,990

 
238,036

 
231,688

 
311,015

Total revenue
612,070

 
379,216

 
1,459,586

 
1,613,883

 
1,811,711

 
2,259,389

Operating expenses:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Direct costs
304,102

 
222,776

 
859,218

 
886,528

 
1,032,688

 
1,283,868

Reimbursable out-of-pocket costs
103,531

 
54,854

 
192,990

 
238,036

 
231,688

 
311,015

Selling, general and administrative
142,880

 
69,730

 
253,970

 
246,417

 
269,893

 
321,987

Transaction-related costs
47,486

 
29,180

 

 

 
44,834

 
87,709

Depreciation and amortization
25,144

 
25,333

 
96,564

 
77,952

 
69,506

 
78,227

Loss on disposal of fixed assets
225

 

 
5

 
652

 
753

 
358

(Loss) income from operations
(11,298
)
 
(22,657
)
 
56,839

 
164,298

 
162,349

 
176,225

Interest expense, net
(32,719
)
 
(23,703
)
 
(81,939
)
 
(61,747
)
 
(54,913
)
 
(46,729
)
Loss on modification or extinguishment of debt
(21,678
)
 
(7,211
)
 
(25,036
)
 

 
(38,178
)
 
(15,023
)
Foreign currency (losses) gains, net
(3,641
)
 
(4,117
)
 
10,538

 
14,048

 
24,029

 
(39,622
)
Other (expense) income, net
(530
)
 
1,180

 
(2,254
)
 
(1,434
)
 
607

 
(304
)
(Loss) income before income taxes and equity in (losses) income of unconsolidated joint ventures
(69,866
)
 
(56,508
)
 
(41,852
)
 
115,165

 
93,894

 
74,547

(Benefit from) provision for income taxes
(22,079
)
 
(17,186
)
 
(8,154
)
 
30,004

 
28,494

 
(12,623
)
(Loss) income before equity in (losses) income of unconsolidated joint ventures
(47,787
)
 
(39,322
)
 
(33,698
)
 
85,161

 
65,400

 
87,170

Equity in (losses) income of unconsolidated joint ventures, net of tax
(603
)
 
(621
)
 
(2,044
)
 
(3,396
)
 
2,775

 
123

Net (loss) income
(48,390
)
 
(39,943
)
 
(35,742
)
 
81,765

 
68,175

 
87,293

Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest

 

 

 

 

 
(366
)
Net (loss) income attributable to PRA Health Sciences, Inc.
$
(48,390
)
 
$
(39,943
)
 
$
(35,742
)
 
$
81,765

 
$
68,175

 
$
86,927

Net (loss) income per share (1):
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Basic
$
(1.22
)
 
$
(1.02
)
 
$
(0.83
)
 
$
1.36

 
$
1.12

 
$
1.39

Diluted
$
(1.22
)
 
$
(1.02
)
 
$
(0.83
)
 
$
1.29

 
$
1.06

 
$
1.32

Cash dividends declared per common stockholders:
$
2.83

 
$

 
$

 
$

 
$

 
$

Weighted average common shares outstanding:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Basic
39,643

 
39,337

 
42,897

 
59,965

 
60,759

 
62,437

Diluted
39,643

 
39,337

 
42,897

 
63,207

 
64,452

 
65,773

Cash flow data:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities (5)
$
54,044

 
$
(25,666
)
 
$
34,034

 
$
152,428

 
$
160,047

 
$
220,408

Net cash used in investing activities (5)
(54,753
)
 
(1,008,419
)
 
(11,472
)
 
(71,686
)
 
(34,614
)
 
(687,420
)
Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities (5)
(42,065
)
 
1,115,041

 
(5,956
)
 
(42,444
)
 
(101,595
)
 
507,009

Other financial data:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Backlog (at period end) (2)
$

 
$
1,939,666

 
$
2,141,112

 
$
2,440,123

 
$
2,934,823

 
$
3,535,611

Net new business (3)
462,046

 
312,298

 
1,493,652

 
1,696,635

 
2,076,484

 
2,413,730

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Successor
 
 
 
As of December 31,
2013
 
As of December 31,
2014
 
As of December 31,
2015
 
As of December 31,
2016
 
As of December 31,
2017
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Consolidated balance sheet data
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Cash and cash equivalents
 
 
$
72,155

 
$
85,192

 
$
121,065

 
$
144,623

 
$
192,229

Accounts receivable and unbilled services, net
 
 
294,984

 
338,781

 
415,077

 
439,053

 
627,003

Working capital
 
 
(11,270
)
 
22,367

 
43,796

 
60,538

 
(94,592
)
Total assets (4)
 
 
2,357,673

 
2,214,484

 
2,228,743

 
2,190,391

 
3,358,046

Total long-term debt, net (4)
 
 
1,208,751

 
924,444

 
889,514

 
797,052

 
1,225,397

Total liabilities (4)
 
 
1,890,338

 
1,537,669

 
1,526,021

 
1,461,139

 
2,421,565

Total stockholders' equity
 
 
467,335

 
676,815

 
702,722

 
729,252

 
936,481

Total liabilities and stockholders' equity (4)
 
 
2,357,673

 
2,214,484

 
2,228,743

 
2,190,391

 
3,358,046

 
(1)
Because of the KKR Transaction, our capital structure for periods before and after the KKR Transaction are not comparable and therefore we are adjusting the number of shares to reflect the stock split only for the successor periods. On September 29, 2014, the Board of Directors of the Company approved, and made legally effective, a 2.34539 to 1 reverse stock split of the Company’s common stock.
(2)
Our backlog consists of anticipated service revenue for our Clinical Research segment from new business awards that either have not started or are but have not been completed. Backlog varies from period to period depending upon new business awards and contract increases, cancellations and the amount of service revenue recognized under existing contracts.
(3)
For our Strategic Solutions offering, the value of new business awards is the anticipated service revenue to be recognized in the corresponding quarter of the next fiscal year. For the remainder of our business, net new business is the value of services awarded during the period from projects under signed contracts, letters of intent and, in some cases, pre‑contract commitments that are supported by written communications, adjusted for contracts that were modified or canceled during the period. For the fiscal year 2013, net new business excludes the RPS Acquisition. New business awards are for our Clinical Research segment.
(4)
In 2015 we early adopted ASU No. 2015-03 and ASU No. 2015-15. The balance sheet data for 2014 and 2013 has been restated to reflect the presentation of debt issuance costs as a reduction of long-term debt.
(5)
In 2016, we early adopted ASU No. 2016-15 and ASU No. 2016-18. The consolidated statement of cash flows data for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, and the period from January 1 through September 22, 2013, and the period from September 23 through December 31, 2013 has been restated to reflect the adoption of the new standards.

37


Item 7.  Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
 
You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations together with our “Selected Financial Data” and the consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.” Some of the information contained in this discussion and analysis or set forth elsewhere in this Annual Report, including information with respect to our plans and strategy for our business, includes forward‑looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. You should read the “Risk Factors” section of this Annual Report on Form 10‑K for a discussion of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results described in or implied by the forward‑looking statements contained in the following discussion and analysis.
 
Overview
 
We are one of the world’s leading global CROs, by revenue, providing outsourced clinical development services to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. We believe we are one of a select group of CROs with the expertise and capability to conduct clinical trials across major therapeutic areas on a global basis. Our therapeutic expertise includes areas that are among the largest in pharmaceutical development, and we focus in particular on oncology, central nervous system inflammation, respiratory, cardiometabolic and infectious diseases. We believe that we further differentiate ourselves from our competitors through our investments in medical informatics and clinical technologies designed to enhance efficiencies, improve study predictability and provide better transparency for our clients throughout their clinical development processes. Our Data Solutions segment allows us to better serve our clients across their entire product lifecycle by (i) improving clinical trial design, recruitment, and execution; (ii) creating real-world data solutions based on the use of medicines by actual patients in normal situations; and (iii) increasing the efficiency of healthcare companies' commercial organizations through enhanced analytics and outsourcing services. 
 
Contracts define the relationships with our clients and establish the way we earn revenue. Three types of relationships are most common: a fixed‑price contract, a time and materials contract and fee‑for‑service arrangements. In cases where the contracts are fixed price, we may bear the cost of overruns for the contracted scope, or we may benefit if the costs are lower than we anticipated for the contracted scope. In cases where our contracts are fee‑for‑service, the contracts contain an overall budget for contracted resources. If actual resources used are lower than anticipated, the client generally keeps the savings and we may be responsible for covering the cost of the unused resource if we are unable to redeploy the resource. For time and material contracts, we bill the client only for the actual hours we spend to complete the contracted scope based upon stated hourly rates by position. The duration of our contracts range from a few months to several years. Revenue for services is recognized only after persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, the sales price is determinable, services have been rendered, and collectability is reasonably assured. Once these criteria have been met, we recognize revenue for the services provided on fixed‑fee contracts in our Clinical Research segment based on the proportional performance methodology, which determines the proportion of outputs or performance obligations which have been completed or delivered compared to the total contractual outputs or performance obligations. To measure performance, we compare the contract costs incurred to estimated total contract costs through completion. As part of the client proposal and contract negotiation process, we develop a detailed project budget for the direct costs based on the scope of the work, the complexity of the study, the geographical location involved and our historical experience. We then establish the individual contract pricing based on our internal pricing guidelines, discount agreements, if any, and negotiations with the client. The estimated total contract costs are reviewed and revised periodically throughout the lives of the contracts, with adjustments to revenue resulting from such revisions being recorded on a cumulative basis in the period in which the revisions are first identified. Our costs consist of expenses necessary to carry out the clinical development project undertaken by us on behalf of the client. These costs primarily include the expense of obtaining appropriately qualified labor to administer the project, which we refer to as direct cost headcount. Other costs we incur are attributable to the expense of operating our business generally, such as leases and maintenance of information technology and equipment. Revenue from time and materials contracts is recognized as hours are incurred. Revenues and the related costs of fee‑for‑service contracts are recognized in the period in which services are performed. We recognize revenue for services provided on fixed-fee contracts in our Data Solutions segment either ratably as earned over the contract period (for subscription-based services) or upon delivery (for delivery of data solutions or reports). Revenue from time and materials contracts is recognized as hours are incurred. Revenues and the related costs of fee-for-service contracts are recognized in the period in which services are performed.
 
How We Assess the Performance of Our Business
 
Historically, we have reported one reportable segment. In conjunction with the acquisition of Symphony Health on September 6, 2017, the Company expanded its reporting segments. The Company is now managed through two reportable segments, (i) Clinical Research and (ii) Data Solutions. Our chief operating decision maker uses gross profit as the primary measure of each segment's operating results in order to allocate resources and in assessing the Company's performance. In

38


addition to our GAAP financial measures, we review various financial and operational metrics. For our Clinical Research segment we review new business awards, cancellations, and backlog.

Our gross new business awards for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 were $2,779.8 million, $2,367.1 million and $1,927.6 million, respectively. New business awards arise when a client selects us to execute its trial and is documented by written or electronic correspondence or for our Strategic Solutions offering when the amount of revenue expected to be recognized is measurable. The number of new business awards can vary significantly from year to year, and awards can have terms ranging from several months to several years. For our Strategic Solutions offering, the value of a new business award is the anticipated service revenue to be recognized in the corresponding quarter of the next fiscal year. For the remainder of our business, the value of a new award is the anticipated service revenue over the life of the contract, which does not include reimbursement activity or investigator fees.
 
In the normal course of business, we experience contract cancellations, which are reflected as cancellations when the client provides us with written or electronic correspondence that the work should cease. During the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 we had $366.0 million, $290.6 million, and $231.7 million, respectively, of cancellations for which we received correspondence from the client. The number of cancellations can vary significantly from year to year. The value of the cancellation is the remaining amount of unrecognized service revenue, less the estimated effort to transition the work back to the client.
 
Our backlog consists of anticipated service revenue from new business awards that either have not started or are in process but have not been completed. Backlog varies from period to period depending upon new business awards and contract modifications, cancellations, and the amount of service revenue recognized under existing contracts. Our backlog at December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 was $3.5 billion, $2.9 billion, and $2.4 billion, respectively.
 
Industry Trends
 
ISR estimated in its ISR 2017 Market Report that the size of the worldwide CRO market was approximately $32 billion in 2015 and will grow at a 7% CAGR to $44 billion over the next five years. This growth will be driven by an increase in the amount of research and development expenditures and higher levels of clinical development outsourcing by biopharmaceutical companies.
 
Business Combinations
 
We have completed and will continue to consider strategic business combinations to enhance our capabilities and offerings in certain areas. In September 2017, we acquired Symphony Health, which is expected to enhance our ability to serve customers throughout the clinical research process with technologies that provide data and analytics. Additionally, in May 2017, we acquired Parallel 6, Inc., or Parallel 6, which is expected to allow us to offer our customers technologies that provide improved efficiencies by reducing study durations and costs through integrated operational management.
 
These transactions were accounted for as business combinations and the acquired results of operations are included in our consolidated financial information since the acquisition date.

See Note 4 to our audited consolidated financial statements found elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information with respect to these and other smaller acquisitions.
 
Joint Ventures
 
In June 2017, we closed on a joint venture transaction with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd., or Takeda, that enables us to provide clinical trial delivery and pharmacovigilance services as a strategic partner of Takeda Japan. The joint venture was effectuated through the creation of a new legal entity, Takeda PRA Development Center KK, or TDC joint venture. The TDC joint venture is based in Japan and is owned by us (50%) and Takeda (50%).

In March 2013, we entered into a joint venture agreement with A2 Healthcare Corporation to form A2PRA Corporation, or A2PRA. The joint venture provides research and development outsourcing solutions in Japan to the biopharmaceutical and medical device industries. This joint venture is based in Tokyo, Japan and is owned by us (49%) and A2 Healthcare Corporation (51%).

See Note 3 and Note 4 to our audited consolidated financial statements found elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information with respect to the joint ventures.

39


 
Sources of Revenue
 
Total revenues are comprised of service revenue and reimbursement revenue, each of which is described below.
 
Service Revenue
 
We generally enter into contracts with customers to provide services with payments based on either fixed‑fee, time and materials, or fee‑for‑service arrangements. Revenue for services is recognized only after persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, the sales price is determinable, services have been rendered, and collectability is reasonably assured.
 
Once these criteria have been met, we recognize revenue for the services provided on fixed‑fee contracts in the Clinical Research segment based on the proportional performance methodology, which determines the proportion of outputs or performance obligations which have been completed or delivered compared to the total contractual outputs or performance obligations. To measure performance, we compare the contract costs incurred to estimated total contract costs through completion. As part of the client proposal and contract negotiation process, we develop a detailed project budget for the direct costs based on the scope of the work, the complexity of the study, the geographical location involved and our historical experience. We then establish the individual contract pricing based on our internal pricing guidelines, discount agreements, if any, and negotiations with the client. The estimated total contract costs are reviewed and revised periodically throughout the lives of the contracts, with adjustments to revenue resulting from such revisions being recorded on a cumulative basis in the period in which the revisions are first identified. The Company recognizes revenue for services provided on fixed-fee contracts in the Data Solutions segment either ratably as earned over the contract period, for subscription-based services, or upon delivery, for one-time delivery of data solutions or reports. Revenue from time and materials contracts is recognized as hours are incurred. Billable hours typically fluctuate during the terms of individual contracts, as services we provide generally increase at the beginning of a study and decrease toward the end of a study. Revenues and the related costs of fee‑for‑service contracts are recognized in the period in which services are performed.
 
In the Clinical Research segment, a majority of our contracts undergo modifications over the contract period and our contracts provide for these modifications. During the modification process, we recognize revenue to the extent we incur costs, provided client acceptance and payment is deemed reasonably assured.
 
Volume discounts are offered to certain large customers based on annual volume thresholds. We record an estimate of the annual volume rebate as a reduction of revenue throughout the period based on the estimated total rebate to be earned for the period.
 
Most of our contracts in the Clinical Research segment can be terminated by the client either immediately or after a specified period, typically 30 to 60 days, following notice. In the case of early termination, these typically contracts require payment to us of fees earned to date, the fees, and in some cases, a termination fee or some portion of the fees or profit that we could have earned under the contract if it had not been terminated early. Based on ethical, regulatory, and health considerations, this wind‑down activity may continue for several quarters or years. Therefore, revenue recognized prior to cancellation generally does not require a significant adjustment upon cancellation.
 
Increases in the estimated total direct costs to complete a contract without a corresponding proportional increase to the total contract price result in a cumulative adjustment to the amount of revenue recognized in the period the change in estimate is determined.

Our Data Solutions segment enters into contracts with some of its larger data suppliers that involve non-monetary terms. We will issue purchase credits to be used toward the data supplier's purchase of the Company's products, services or consulting. In exchange, we receive monetary discounts on the data received from the data suppliers. The fair value of the revenue earned from the customer purchases is determined based on similar product offerings to other customers. At the end of the contract year, any unused purchase credits will be forfeited or carried over to the next contract year based on the terms of the data supplier contract. For the year ended December 31, 2017, we recognized service in kind revenue of $5.8 million from these transactions, which is included in service revenue in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations.
 
Clinical Research segment service revenue was $1,857.9 million, $1,580.0 million, and $1,375.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively. Changes in service revenue from period to period are driven primarily by changes in backlog at the beginning of a period, as well as new business awards during such period. Additionally, service revenue and billable hours will generally be impacted by the mix of studies that are active during a period, as different studies have different staffing requirements, as well as the life cycles of projects that are active during a period.

40



Data Solutions segment service revenue was $90.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2017. Refer to Note 2 - Significant Accounting Policies of our audited consolidated financial statements for further discussion of our Data Solutions segment's revenue recognition policy.
 
Our service revenues are derived from a wide range of client types. During the year ended December 31, 2017, we derived 53% of our service revenue from large pharmaceutical companies, 16% of our service revenue from small‑ to mid‑sized pharmaceutical companies, 16% of our service revenue from large biotechnology companies, 14% of our service revenue from all other biotechnology companies and 1% of our service revenue from non-pharmaceutical companies. For the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015, our top five clients represented approximately 42%, 45%, and 41%, respectively, of service revenue; this revenue was derived from a combination of fixed‑fee contracts, fee‑for‑service contracts and time and materials contracts. One client accounted for 10.3% of service revenue during the year ended December 31, 2017. Two of our clients accounted for 11.0% and 10.4% of service revenue during the year ended December 31, 2016, respectively. One client accounted for 10.7% of service revenue during the year ended December 31, 2015. No individual project accounted for 10% or more of service revenue for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015.

Reimbursement Revenue and Reimbursable Out‑of‑Pocket Costs
 
We incur out‑of‑pocket costs, which are reimbursable by our customers. We include these out‑of‑pocket costs as reimbursement revenue and reimbursable out‑of‑pocket expenses in our consolidated statement of operations.
 
As is customary in our industry, we also routinely enter into separate agreements on behalf of our clients with independent physician investigators in connection with clinical trials. We also receive funds from our clients for investigator fees, which are netted against the related costs, since such fees are the obligation of our clients, without risk or reward to us. We are not obligated either to perform the service or to pay the investigator in the event of default by the client. In addition, we do not pay the independent physician investigator until funds are received from the client. Accordingly, unlike reimbursable out‑of‑pocket costs, we do not recognize these investigator fees in revenue.

Reimbursement costs and investigator fees are not included in our backlog because they are pass‑through costs to our clients.
 
We believe that the fluctuations in reimbursement costs and reimbursement revenue from period to period are not meaningful to our underlying performance.
 
Costs and Expenses
 
Our costs and expenses are comprised primarily of our direct costs, selling, general and administrative costs, depreciation and amortization and income taxes. In addition, we incur reimbursable out‑of‑pocket expenses; however, as noted above, our reimbursable out‑of‑pocket expenses are directly offset by our reimbursement revenue. Since reimbursement revenue is offset by our out‑of‑pocket reimbursable expenses, we monitor and measure costs as a percentage of service revenue rather than total revenue as we believe this is a more meaningful comparison and better reflects the operations of our business.
 
Direct Costs
 
For our Clinical Research segment, direct costs consist primarily of labor‑related charges. They include elements such as salaries, benefits and incentive compensation for our employees. In addition, we utilize staffing agencies to procure primarily part time individuals to perform work on our contracts. Labor-related charges as a percentage of the Clinical Research segment's total direct costs were 96.4%, 96.6%, and 95.7% for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively. The cost of labor procured through staffing agencies is included in these percentages and represents 5.6%, 5.1%, and 4.1% of the Clinical Research segment's total direct costs for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively. Our remaining direct costs are items such as travel, meals, postage and freight, patient costs, medical waste and supplies. The total of all these items as a percentage of the Clinical Research segment's total direct costs were 3.6%, 3.4%, and 4.3% for the year ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

For our Data Solutions segment, direct costs consist primarily of data costs. Data costs as a percentage of the Data Solutions segment's total direct costs were 71.0% for the year ended December 31, 2017. Labor-related charges, such as salaries, benefits and incentive compensation for our employees, were 23.0% of the Data Solutions segment's total direct costs

41


for the year ended December 31, 2017. Our remaining direct costs are items such as travel, meals, and supplies and were 6.0% of the Data Solutions segment's total direct costs for the year ended December 31, 2017.

Historically, direct costs have increased with an increase in service revenues. The future relationship between direct costs and service revenues may vary from historical relationships. Direct costs as a percentage of service revenues were 65.9%, 65.4%, and 64.4% during the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively. Several factors will cause direct costs to decrease as a percentage of service revenues. Deployment of our billable staff in an optimally efficient manner has the most impact on our ratio of direct cost to service revenue. The most effective deployment of our staff is when they are fully engaged in billable work and are accomplishing contract related activities at a rate that meets or exceeds budgeted targets. We also seek to optimize our efficiency by performing work using the employee with the lowest cost. Generally, the following factors may cause direct costs to increase as a percentage of service revenues: our staff are not fully deployed, as is the case when there are unforeseen cancellations or delays, or when our staff are accomplishing tasks at levels of effort that exceed budget, such as rework; as well as pricing pressure from increased competition.
 
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses
 
Selling, general and administrative expenses consist of administration payroll and benefits, marketing expenditures, and overhead costs such as information technology and facilities costs. These expenses also include central overhead costs that are not directly attributable to our operating business and include certain costs related to insurance, professional fees and property.

Transaction‑Related Costs
 
Transaction-related costs consist of expenses incurred with our secondary offerings, transaction-related stock-based compensation awards, revaluations of contingent consideration related to business combinations, the closing of our accounts receivable financing agreement, fees associated with the Incremental Borrowing (defined below), and our refinancing of the 2013 Credit Facilities (defined below).
 
Loss on Modification or Extinguishment of Debt
 
Loss on modification or extinguishment of debt for the year ended December 31, 2017 was associated with the September 2017 incremental borrowing under the 2016 Credit Facilities, or the Incremental Borrowing, redemption on our 9.5% senior notes due 2023, or Senior Notes, and the December 2017 amendment to the 2016 Credit Facilities, or the 2017 Refinancing. Loss on extinguishment of debt for the year ended December 31, 2016 was associated with our cash tender offer on Senior Notes and the refinancing of our variable rate first lien term loan due 2020, or 2013 First Lien Term Loan, and revolving line of credit, or 2013 Revolver, collectively known as the 2013 Credit Facilities.

Depreciation and Amortization
 
Depreciation represents the depreciation charged on our fixed assets. The charge is recorded on a straight‑line method, based on estimated useful lives of three to seven years for computer hardware and software and five to seven years for furniture and equipment. Leasehold improvements are depreciated over the lesser of the life of the lease term or the useful life of the improvements. Amortization expense consists of amortization recorded on acquisition‑related intangible assets. Customer relationships, backlog, databases and finite‑lived trade names are amortized on an accelerated basis, which coincides with the period of economic benefit we expect to receive. All other finite‑lived intangibles are amortized on a straight‑line basis. In accordance with GAAP, we do not amortize goodwill and indefinite‑lived intangible assets.
 
Income Taxes
 
Because we conduct operations on a global basis, our effective tax rate has and will continue to depend upon the geographic distribution of our pre‑tax earnings among several different taxing jurisdictions. Our effective tax rate can also vary based on changes in the tax rates of the different jurisdictions. Our effective tax rate is also impacted by tax credits and the establishment or release of deferred tax asset valuation allowances and tax reserves, as well as significant non‑deductible items such as portions of transaction‑related costs.
 
Foreign subsidiaries are taxed separately in their respective jurisdictions. We have foreign net operating loss carryforwards in some jurisdictions. The carryforward periods for these losses vary from five years to an indefinite carryforward period depending on the jurisdiction. Our ability to offset future taxable income with the net operating loss carryforwards may be limited in certain instances, including changes in ownership.

42


 
Exchange Rate Fluctuations
 
The majority of our foreign operations transact in the Euro, or EUR or British Pound, or GBP. As a result, our revenue and expenses are subject to exchange rate fluctuations with respect to these currencies. We have translated these currencies into U.S. dollars using the following average exchange rates:
 
 
Year Ended December 31,
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
U.S. Dollars per:
 
 
 
 
 
Euro
1.13

 
1.11

 
1.11

British Pound
1.29

 
1.35

 
1.53


Results of Operations
 
Consolidated Results of Operations for the Year Ended December 31, 2017 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2016
 
 
Years Ended December 31,
(in thousands)
2017
 
2016
Revenue
 
 
 
Service revenue
$
1,948,374

 
$
1,580,023

Reimbursement revenue
311,015

 
231,688

Total revenue
2,259,389

 
1,811,711

Operating expenses
 
 
 
Direct costs
1,283,868

 
1,032,688

Reimbursable out-of-pocket costs
311,015

 
231,688

Selling, general and administrative
321,987

 
269,893

Transaction-related costs
87,709

 
44,834

Depreciation and amortization
78,227

 
69,506

Loss on disposal of fixed assets
358

 
753

Income from operations
176,225

 
162,349

Interest expense, net
(46,729
)
 
(54,913
)
Loss on modification or extinguishment of debt
(15,023
)
 
(38,178
)
Foreign currency (losses) gains, net
(39,622
)
 
24,029

Other (expense) income, net
(304
)
 
607

Income before income taxes and equity in income of unconsolidated joint ventures
74,547

 
93,894

(Benefit from) provision for income taxes
(12,623
)
 
28,494

Income before equity in income of unconsolidated joint ventures
87,170

 
65,400

Equity in income of unconsolidated joint ventures, net of tax
123

 
2,775

Net income
$
87,293

 
$
68,175

Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest
(366
)
 

Net income attributable to PRA Health Sciences, Inc.
$
86,927

 
$
68,175

 
Service revenue increased by $368.4 million, or 23.3%, from $1,580.0 million during the year ended December 31, 2016 to $1,948.4 million during the year ended December 31, 2017. Service revenue for the year ended December 31, 2017 benefited from an increase in billable hours and an increase in the effective rate of the hours billed on our studies, an increase of $90.5 million due to the acquisition of Symphony Health which was completed on September 6, 2017, and by a favorable impact of $7.1 million from foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations. The growth in service revenue and the increase in billable hours were due largely to the increase in our backlog as we entered the year, the type of services we are providing on our active studies, which was driven by the life cycles of projects that were active during the period, the growth in new business awards as a result of higher demand for our services across the industries we serve, and more effective sales efforts and the growth in the overall CRO market. New business awards arise when a client selects us to execute its trial. The number

43


of awards can vary significantly from period to period and our studies have terms ranging from several months to several years. The increase in our effective rate of the hours billed on our studies is attributable to the contract pricing terms on our current mix of active studies and the mix of clients and the services that we provide to those clients.
 
Direct costs increased by $251.2 million, or 24.3%, from $1,032.7 million during the year ended December 31, 2016 to $1,283.9 million during the year ended December 31, 2017. Salaries and related benefits in our Clinical Research segment increased $184.3 million as we continue to hire billable staff to ensure appropriate staffing levels for our current studies and future growth and an unfavorable impact of $6.4 million from foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations. The addition of our Data Solutions segment resulted in $52.2 million of incremental direct costs during 2017. Direct costs as a percentage of service revenue increased from 65.4% during the year ended December 31, 2016 to 65.9% during the year ended December 31, 2017. The increase in direct costs as a percentage of revenue was primarily due to the aforementioned increase in salaries and related benefits.

Selling, general and administrative expenses increased by $52.1 million, or 19.3%, from $269.9 million during the year ended December 31, 2016 to $322.0 million during the year ended December 31, 2017. Selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of service revenue decreased from 17.1% during the year ended December 31, 2016 to 16.5% during the year ended December 31, 2017. The decrease in selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of service revenue is primarily related to our continued efforts to effectively leverage our selling and administrative functions.
 
During the year ended December 31, 2017, we incurred transaction-related expenses of $87.7 million. These costs consist of $6.4 million of fees incurred in connection with the acquisition of Symphony Health, $5.3 million of stock-based compensation expense related to the release of a portion of the transfer restrictions on vested options and $1.0 million of third-party costs incurred in connection with our August 2017 secondary offering. The Company also recognized changes in the fair value of contingent consideration of $75.0 million related to our recent acquisitions. During the year ended December 31, 2016, we incurred transaction-related expenses of $44.8 million. These costs consist of $10.1 million of stock-based compensation expense associated with the release of the transfer restrictions on a portion of shares issuable upon exercise of vested service-based options in connection with the announcement of our March, May, and November 2016 secondary offerings. These costs also include $32.0 million of stock-based compensation expense related to the vesting and release of the transfer restrictions of certain performance-based stock options. In addition, we incurred $2.7 million of third-party fees associated with the secondary offerings and the closing of our accounts receivable financing agreement.
 
Depreciation and amortization expense increased by $8.7 million, or 12.5%, from $69.5 million during the year ended December 31, 2016 to $78.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2017. Depreciation and amortization expense as a percentage of service revenue was 4.4% during the year ended December 31, 2016 and 4.0% during the year ended December 31, 2017. The decrease in depreciation and amortization expense as a percentage of service revenue is primarily due the continued decline in amortization of our acquired intangibles, which are amortized on an accelerated basis.
 
Interest expense, net decreased by $8.2 million from $54.9 million during the year ended December 31, 2016 to $46.7 million during the year ended December 31, 2017. The cash tender of our Senior Notes during March 2016 and refinancing of our variable first lien term loans in December 2016 contributed to a 1.2% decrease in the weighted average interest rate and resulted in a $12.5 million reduction in interest expense. The $550.0 million Incremental Borrowing during the year ended December 31, 2017 to fund the Symphony Health acquisition contributed to a $5.9 million increase in interest expense. Additionally, interest expense decreased by $2.3 million due to lower amortization of debt issuance costs, which was partially offset by an increase of $0.9 million related to the amortization of our terminated interest rate swaps and interest expense on our current interest rate swap.
 
Loss on modification or extinguishment of debt was $15.0 million during the year ended December 31, 2017 compared to $38.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2016. The loss on modification or extinguishment of debt during the year ended December 31, 2017 is related to the Incremental Borrowing, the 2017 Refinancing, and the extinguishment of the Senior Notes. The Incremental Borrowing was to fund the acquisition of Symphony Health and we recognized $3.1 million in fees in loss on modification of debt. The 2017 Refinancing was to reduce the interest rate margin and amend the payment schedule on the 2016 First Lien Term Loan as well as increase the 2016 Revolver's borrowing capacity, which resulted in a $0.6 million loss on modification of debt. The voluntary redemption of the remaining Senior Notes resulted in a $11.3 million loss on extinguishment of debt, which consists of $9.2 million early payment premium and $2.1 million write-off of unamortized debt issuance cost. The $38.2 million loss on extinguishment of debt incurred during the year ended December 31, 2016 was associated with our cash tender offer on our Senior Notes and our refinancing of the 2013 Credit Facilities. The loss of $21.5 million due to our cash tender offer consisted of a $17.4 million early tender premium, a $3.7 million write-off of unamortized debt issuance cost and $0.4 million of fees associated with the transaction. The refinancing of

44


our 2013 Credit Facilities resulted in a $16.7 million loss on extinguishment of debt, which consisted of the write-off of $15.8 million write-off of unamortized debt issuance costs and $0.9 million of fees associated with the transaction.
 
Foreign currency (losses) gains, net changed by $63.7 million from foreign currency gains of $24.0 million during the year ended December 31, 2016 to foreign currency losses of $39.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2017. The foreign currency gains and losses are due to fluctuations in the U.S. dollar, gains or losses that arise in connection with the revaluation of short-term inter-company balances between our domestic and international subsidiaries, and gains or losses from foreign currency transactions, such as those resulting from the settlement of third-party accounts receivables and payables denominated in a currency other than the local currency of the entity making the payment. During the year ended December 31, 2017, foreign currency losses were primarily due to the U.S. dollar weakening against the EUR, GBP, Canadian dollar, or CAD, and Russian ruble, or RUB by 13.7%, 9.3%, 7.1% and 6.2%, respectively. During the year ended December 31, 2016, the foreign currency gains were primarily a result of the weakening of the GBP against the U.S. dollar by 16.7% following the decision by voters in the United Kingdom, to approve a referendum to exit the European Union, commonly referred to as Brexit, in June 2016.
 
(Benefit from) provision for income taxes decreased by $41.1 million from a provision of $28.5 million during the year ended December 31, 2016 to a benefit of $12.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2017. Our effective tax benefit rate was 16.9% during the year ended December 31, 2017, and an effective tax rate of 30.3% during the year ended December 31, 2016. The change in the effective tax rate was primarily attributable to (i) the benefit realized from the tax deduction of stock awards in excess of the amount recognized in the financial statements per guidance under ASU No. 2016-09, "Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting", (ii) the release of the valuation allowance against the federal net deferred tax assets, and (iii) the decrease in the net U.S. deferred tax liabilities due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enacted December 22, 2017.

Consolidated Results of Operations for the Year Ended December 31, 2016 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2015
 
 
Years Ended December 31,
(in thousands)
2016
 
2015
Revenue
 
 
 
Service revenue
$
1,580,023

 
$
1,375,847

Reimbursement revenue
231,688

 
238,036

Total revenue
1,811,711

 
1,613,883

Operating expenses
 
 
 
Direct costs
1,032,688

 
886,528

Reimbursable out-of-pocket costs
231,688

 
238,036

Selling, general and administrative
269,893

 
246,417

Transaction-related costs
44,834

 

Depreciation and amortization
69,506

 
77,952

Loss on disposal of fixed assets
753

 
652

Income from operations
162,349

 
164,298

Interest expense, net
(54,913
)
 
(61,747
)
Loss on modification or extinguishment of debt
(38,178
)
 

Foreign currency gains, net
24,029

 
14,048

Other income (expense), net
607

 
(1,434
)
Income before income taxes and equity in income (losses) of unconsolidated joint ventures
93,894

 
115,165

Provision for income taxes
28,494

 
30,004

Income before equity in income (losses) of unconsolidated joint ventures
65,400

 
85,161

Equity in income (losses) of unconsolidated joint ventures, net of tax
2,775

 
(3,396
)
Net income
$
68,175

 
$
81,765

 
Service revenue increased by $204.2 million, or 14.8%, from $1,375.8 million during the year ended December 31, 2015 to $1,580.0 million during the year ended December 31, 2016. Service revenue for the year ended December 31, 2016 benefited from an increase in billable hours and an increase in the effective rate of the hours billed on our studies, offset by an unfavorable impact of $5.3 million from foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations. The growth in

45


service revenue and the increase in billable hours were due largely to the increase in our backlog as we entered the year, the type of services we are providing on our active studies, which was driven by the life cycles of projects that were active during the period, the growth in new business awards as a result of higher demand for our services across the industries we serve, and more effective sales efforts and the growth in the overall CRO market. New business awards arise when a client selects us to execute its trial. The number of awards can vary significantly from period to period and our studies have terms ranging from several months to several years. The increase in our effective rate of the hours billed on our studies is attributable to the contract pricing terms on our current mix of active studies and the mix of clients and the services that we provide to those clients.
 
Direct costs increased by $146.2 million, or 16.5%, from $886.5 million during the year ended December 31, 2015 to $1,032.7 million during the year ended December 31, 2016. The increase in direct costs was primarily due to an increase in labor-related costs of $170.6 million, as we continued to hire billable staff to support our current projects and as we hired additional staff in anticipation of our growing portfolio of studies, offset by a favorable impact of $21.3 million from foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations. Direct costs as a percentage of service revenue increased from 64.4% during the year ended December 31, 2015 to 65.4% during the year ended December 31, 2016. This increase in direct costs as a percentage of service revenue is primarily due to the $8.3 million impact of research and development credits, or R&D Credits, recorded during the year ended December 31, 2015 that related to prior years. The R&D Credits are the result of a comprehensive analysis we have been performing across the organization to determine whether expenditures incurred qualify as research and development as defined by the respective jurisdiction.
 
Selling, general and administrative expenses increased by $23.5 million, or 9.5%, from $246.4 million during the year ended December 31, 2015 to $269.9 million during the year ended December 31, 2016. Selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of service revenue decreased from 17.9% during the year ended December 31, 2015 to 17.1% during the year ended December 31, 2016. This decrease in selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of service revenue is primarily related to our continued efforts to effectively manage our selling and administrative functions as we continue to grow.
 
During the year ended December 31, 2016, we incurred transaction-related expenses of $44.8 million. The costs consist of $10.1 million of stock-based compensation expense associated with the release of the transfer restrictions on a portion of shares issuable upon exercise of vested service-based options in connection with the announcement of our March, May, and November 2016 secondary offerings. The costs also include $32.0 million of stock-based compensation expense related to the vesting and release of the transfer restrictions of certain performance-based stock options. In addition, we incurred $2.7 million of third-party fees associated with the secondary offerings and the closing of our accounts receivable financing agreement. There were no transaction-related expenses incurred for the year ended December 31, 2015.
 
Depreciation and amortization expense decreased by $8.4 million, or 10.8%, from $78.0 million during the year ended December 31, 2015 to $69.5 million during the year ended December 31, 2016. Depreciation and amortization expense as a percentage of service revenue was 5.7% during the year ended December 31, 2015 and 4.4% during the year ended December 31, 2016. The decrease in depreciation and amortization expense as a percentage of service revenue is primarily due the continued decline in amortization of our acquired intangibles, which are amortized on an accelerated basis.
 
Interest expense, net decreased by $6.8 million from $61.7 million during the year ended December 31, 2015 to $54.9 million during the year ended December 31, 2016. The cash tender on our Senior Notes during 2016, as well as a 0.8% decrease in the weighted average interest rate on our outstanding debt as compared to the year ended December 31, 2015, resulted in a $9.7 million reduction in interest expense. Additionally, interest expense decreased $1.6 million due to lower amortization of debt issuance costs, which was offset by an increase of $4.7 million related to the amortization of our terminated interest rate swaps and interest expense on our current interest rate swap.
 
Losses on modification or extinguishment of debt were $38.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2016 and there were no losses on modification of debt during the year ended December 31, 2015. The $38.2 million loss on extinguishment of debt incurred during the year ended December 31, 2016 was associated with our cash tender offer on our Senior Notes and our refinancing of the 2013 Credit Facilities. The loss of $21.5 million due to our cash tender offer consisted of a $17.4 million early tender premium, a $3.7 million write-off of unamortized debt issuance cost and $0.4 million of fees associated with the transaction. The refinancing of our 2013 Credit Facilities resulted in a $16.7 million loss on extinguishment of debt, which consisted of the write-off of $15.8 million write-off of unamortized debt issuance costs and $0.9 million of fees associated with the transaction.
 
Foreign currency gains, net increased by $10.0 million from $14.0 million during the year ended December 31, 2015 to $24.0 million during the year ended December 31, 2016. The foreign currency gains and losses are due to fluctuations in the

46


U.S. dollar, gains or losses that arise in connection with the revaluation of short-term inter-company balances between our domestic and international subsidiaries, and gains or losses from foreign currency transactions, such as those resulting from the settlement of third-party accounts receivables and payables denominated in a currency other than the local currency of the entity making the payment. During the year ended December 31, 2016, the foreign currency gains were primarily a result of the weakening of the British Pound against the U.S. dollar by 16.7% following Brexit. During the year ended December 31, 2015, foreign currency gains were primarily due to the devaluation of the Canadian dollar, Euro and British Pound against the U.S. dollar by 16.1%, 10.1% and 4.6%, respectively.
 
Provision for income taxes decreased by $1.5 million from $30.0 million during the year ended December 31, 2015 to $28.5 million during the year ended December 31, 2016. Our effective tax rate was 30.3% and 26.1% during the years ended December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, respectively. The change in the effective tax rate was primarily attributable to a decrease in global pre-tax income related to an increase in the overall U.S. loss, the impact of that loss on the valuation allowance and the increase of foreign earnings that are taxed currently in the U.S.

Segment Results of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 2017, December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015

Clinical Research

 
Years Ended December 31,
 
Change
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
 
2017 vs. 2016
 
2016 vs. 2015
(in thousands)
Service revenue
$
1,857,876

 
$
1,580,023

 
$
1,375,847

 
$
277,853

 
17.6
%
 
$
204,176

 
14.8
%
Gross profit
626,186

 
547,335

 
489,319

 
78,851

 
14.4
%
 
58,016

 
11.9
%
Gross profit %
33.7
%
 
34.6
%
 
35.6
%
 
(0.9
)%
 
 
 
(1.0
)%
 
 

Year Ended December 31, 2017 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2016

Service revenue increased by $277.9 million, or 17.6%, from $1,580.0 million during the year ended December 31, 2016 to $1,857.9 million during the year ended December 31, 2017. Service revenue for the year ended December 31, 2017 benefited from an increase in billable hours and an increase in the effective rate of hours billed on our studies. The growth in service revenue and the increase in billable hours were due largely to the increase in our backlog as we entered the year, the type of services we are providing on our active studies, which was driven by the life cycles of projects that were active during the period, the growth in new business awards as a result of higher demand for our services across the industries we serve, and more effective sales efforts and the growth in the overall CRO market. New business awards arise when a client selects us to execute its trial. The number of awards can vary significantly from period to period and our studies have terms ranging from several months to several years. The increase in our effective rate of the hours billed on our studies is attributable to the contract pricing terms on our current mix of active studies and the mix of clients and the services that we provide to those clients.

Gross profit increased by $78.9 million, or 14.4%, from $547.3 million during the year ended December 31, 2016 to $626.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2017 primarily due to an increase in revenue. Gross profit as a percentage of revenue decreased from 34.6% during the year ended December 31, 2016 to 33.7% for the same period in 2017. Gross profit as a percentage of revenue decreased primarily due to an increase in labor-related costs of $184.3 million, as we continued to hire billable staff to ensure appropriate staffing levels for our current studies and our future growth.

Year Ended December 31, 2016 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2015

Service revenue increased by $204.2 million, or 14.8%, from $1,375.8 million during the year ended December 31, 2015 to $1,580.0 million during the year ended December 31, 2016. Service revenue for the year ended December 31, 2016 benefited from an increase in billable hours and an increase in the effective rate of the hours billed on our studies. The growth in service revenue and the increase in billable hours were due largely to the increase in our backlog as we entered the year, the type of services we are providing on our active studies, which was driven by the life cycles of projects that were active during the period, the growth in new business awards as a result of higher demand for our services across the industries we serve, and more effective sales efforts and the growth in the overall CRO market. New business awards arise when a client selects us to execute its trial. The number of awards can vary significantly from period to period and our studies have terms ranging from several months to several years. The increase in our effective rate of the hours billed on our studies is

47


attributable to the contract pricing terms on our current mix of active studies and the mix of clients and the services that we provide to those clients.

Gross profit increased by $58.0 million, or 11.9%, from $489.3 million during the year ended December 31, 2015 to $547.3 million during the year ended December 31, 2016, primarily due to an increase in revenue. Gross profit as a percentage of revenue decreased from 35.6% during the year ended December 31, 2015 to 34.6% for the same period in 2016. Gross profit as a percentage of revenue decreased primarily due to the $8.3 million impact of R&D Credits recorded during the year ended December 31, 2015 that related to prior years. The R&D Credits are the result of a comprehensive analysis we have been performing across the organization to determine whether expenditures incurred qualify as research and development as defined by the respective jurisdiction.

Data Solutions

 
Years Ended December 31,
 
Change
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
 
2017 vs. 2016
 
2016 vs. 2015
(in thousands)
Service revenue
$
90,498

 
$

 
$

 
$
90,498

 
n/a
 
$

 
n/a
Gross profit
38,320

 

 

 
38,320

 
n/a
 

 
n/a
Gross profit %
42.3
%
 

 

 
n/a

 
 
 
n/a

 
 

Year Ended December 31, 2017 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2016 and Year Ended December 31, 2015

The Company acquired Symphony Health on September 6, 2017, in conjunction with the acquisition the Company expanded its reporting segments. The Company recognized $90.5 million of revenue and $52.2 million in direct costs during the period between September 6, 2017 and December 31, 2017 for our Data Solutions segment. See Note 4 to our consolidated financial statements found elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information about the acquisition.

Seasonality
 
Although our business is not generally seasonal, our Clinical Research segment typically experiences a slight decrease in its revenue growth rate during the fourth quarter due to holiday vacations and a similar decrease in new business awards in the first quarter due to our clients’ budgetary cycles and vacations during the year‑end holiday period. Our Data Solutions segment usually experiences an increase in revenue during the fourth quarter as many pharmaceutical companies use a portion of funds remaining in their annual budgets to purchase its data offerings.

Liquidity and Capital Resources
 
We assess our liquidity in terms of our ability to generate cash to fund our operating, investing and financing activities. Our principal source of liquidity is operating cash flows. As of December 31, 2017, we had approximately $192.2 million of cash and cash equivalents of which $63.6 million was held by our foreign subsidiaries. Our expected primary cash needs on both a short and long‑term basis are for capital expenditures, expansion of services, geographic expansion, debt repayments, and other general corporate purposes. We have historically funded our operations and growth, including acquisitions, with cash flow from operations, borrowings, and issuances of equity securities. We expect to continue expanding our operations through internal growth and strategic acquisitions and investments. We expect these activities will be funded from existing cash, cash flow from operations and, if necessary or appropriate, borrowings under our existing or future credit facilities. Our sources of liquidity could be affected by our dependence on a small number of industries and clients, compliance with regulations, international risks, and personal injury, environmental or other material litigation claims.


48


Cash Collections
 
Cash collections from accounts receivable were $2,495.5 million during the year ended December 31, 2017, including $257.1 million of funds received from customers to pay independent physician investigators, or investigators, as compared to $2,074.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2016, including $248.2 million of funds received from customers to pay investigators, $1,831.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2015, including $231.4 million of funds received from customers to pay investigators. The increase in cash collections is related to our increase in revenue, driven by an increase in new business awards and backlog.
 
Discussion of Cash Flows
 
Cash Flow from Operating Activities

Cash provided by operating activities increased by $60.4 million during the year ended December 31, 2017 as compared to 2016. The increase in operating cash flow reflects increased cash flows from our operating performance and a slight decrease in cash outflows primarily from working capital. Net income after non-cash adjustments increased $51.5 million as compared to the prior year and outflows from working capital decreased by $8.9 million. The decrease in working capital outflows was primarily driven by positive changes in operating assets and liabilities attributable to the timing and payment of invoices offset by an increase in our days sales outstanding during the year ended December 31, 2017.

Cash provided by operating activities increased by $7.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2016 as compared to 2015. The increase in operating cash flow reflects increased cash flows from our operating performance and a reduction in interest payments, which was partially offset by an increase in cash outflows primarily from working capital. The changes in working capital were driven by a $2.1 million decrease in accounts payable and accrued expenses during the year ended December 31, 2016 as compared to $21.3 million increase during the year ended December 31, 2015 and is attributable to the timing and payment of invoices. This is partially offset by a $9.1 million improvement in cash outflows from our accounts receivable, unbilled services, and advanced billings accounts, driven by a slower rate of increase in our days sales outstanding during the year ended December 31, 2016.
 
Cash Flow from Investing Activities
 
Net cash used in investing activities was $687.4 million during the year ended December 31, 2017, compared to $34.6 million for the same period of 2016. The net cash outflows from acquisitions increased from $4.3 million during the year ended December 31, 2016 to $625.3 million during the same period in 2017. Additionally, capital expenditures increased by $28.2 million compared to the prior year, which is partially offset by $3.7 million received from the sale of our ownership stake in the WuXiPRA joint venture during the year ended December 31, 2016.
 
Net cash used in investing activities decreased by $37.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2016 as compared to 2015. The decrease in the cash outflows was primarily due to the $32.9 million payment for the termination of our interest rate swaps during 2015 and a $7.2 million change in cash flows related to our unconsolidated joint ventures. During the year ended December 31, 2015, we made $23.0 million in capital contributions to our unconsolidated joint ventures and received $19.5 million from the dissolution of our joint venture with KKR, and during the year ended December 31, 2016, we received $3.7 million from the sale of our ownership stake in our WuXiPRA joint venture. 
 
Cash Flow from Financing Activities
 
Net cash provided by financing activities during the year ended December 31, 2017 was $507.0 million compared to $101.6 million of net cash used in financing activities for the same period of 2016. During the year ended December 31, 2017 our long-term debt balance, including borrowing under the revolving line of credit, increased by $516.0 million; these borrowings were used to fund the acquisition of Symphony Health. During the year ended December 31, 2016, our total debt decreased by $77.6 million due to voluntary principal payments on our long-term debt.
 
Net cash used in financing activities during the year ended December 31, 2016 was $101.6 million compared to $42.4 million for the same period of 2015. During the year ended December 31, 2016, we entered into an accounts receivable financing agreement and received proceeds of $120.0 million which was used to repay $133.6 million aggregate principal on our Senior Notes, as part of a cash tender offer. In addition, we voluntarily repaid $689.0 million in principal balance on the 2013 First Lien Term Loan and received $625.0 million in proceeds from the 2016 First Lien Term Loan. During 2016, we also paid $25.5 million in debt extinguishment and debt issuance costs. For the year ended December 31, 2015, we voluntarily repaid $40.0 million on our 2013 First Lien Term Loan.

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Inflation
 
Our long‑term contracts, those in excess of one year, generally include an inflation or cost of living adjustment for the portion of the services to be performed beyond one year from the contract date. As a result, we expect that inflation generally will not have a material adverse effect on our operations or financial condition. Historically our projection of inflation contained within our contracts has not significantly impacted our operating income. Should inflation be in excess of the estimates within our contracts our operating margins would be negatively impacted if we were unable to negotiate contract modifications with our clients.

Indebtedness

2016 Credit Facilities
 
The 2016 Credit Facilities provide senior secured financing of up to $1,400.0 million, consisting of: 
the 2016 First Lien Term Loan in an aggregate principal amount of up to $1,175.0 million; and 
the 2016 Revolver in an aggregate principal amount of up to $225.0 million.

The above amounts reflect the $550.0 million Incremental Borrowing associated with the acquisition of Symphony Health and the $100.0 million new revolving credit commitment received as part of the 2017 Refinancing. Refer to Note 9 - Revolving credit facilities and long‑term debt for further information on those transactions.
 
The borrower of the 2016 First Lien Term Loan and the 2016 Revolver is Pharmaceutical Research Associates, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of PRA Health Sciences, Inc. The 2016 Revolver includes borrowing capacity available for letters of credit up to $25.0 million and for up to $20.0 million of borrowings on same‑day notice, referred to as swingline loans.
 
The 2016 Credit Facilities provides that we have the right at any time to request incremental term loans and/or revolving commitments in an aggregate principal amount of up to (a) $275.0 million, plus (b) all voluntary prepayments and corresponding voluntary commitment reductions of the Senior Secured Credit Facilities, other than from proceeds of long-term indebtedness, prior to the date of any such incurrence, plus (c) an additional amount which, after giving effect to the incurrence of such amount, we would not exceed a consolidated net first lien secured leverage to consolidated EBITDA ratio of 3.0 to 1.0 pro forma for such incremental facilities, minus (d) the sum of (i) the aggregate principal amount of new term loan commitments and new revolving credit commitments incurred and (ii) the aggregate principal amount of certain other indebtedness incurred. The lenders under these facilities are not under any obligation to provide any such incremental commitments or loans, and any such addition of or increase in commitments or loans is subject to certain customary conditions precedent.

Interest Rate and Fees
 
Borrowings under the 2016 First Lien Term Loan and the 2016 Revolver bear interest at a rate equal to, at our option, either (a) London Interbank Offered Rate, or LIBOR, for the relevant interest period, plus an applicable margin; provided that solely with respect to the 2016 First Lien Term Loan LIBOR shall be deemed to be no less than 0.00% per annum or (b) an adjusted base rate, or the ABR, plus an applicable margin.
 
The applicable margin on our 2016 First Lien Term Loan is based on our ratio of total debt to EBITDA per the table below:
Pricing
Level
 
Total indebtedness
to EBITDA Ratio
 
Letter of
Credit
Fees
 
ABR Margin
Rate
 
Adjusted LIBOR
Margin Rate
 
Commitment
Fees
I
 
> 3.75x
 
2.00%
 
1.00%
 
2.00%
 
0.40%
II
 
< 3.75x but > 3.00x
 
1.75%
 
0.75%
 
1.75%
 
0.35%
III
 
< 3.00x but > 2.25x
 
1.50%
 
0.50%
 
1.50%
 
0.30%
IV
 
< 2.25x but > 1.50x
 
1.25%
 
0.25%
 
1.25%
 
0.25%
V
 
< 1.50x
 
1.00%
 
0.00%
 
1.00%
 
0.20%
 

50


In addition to paying interest on outstanding principal under the 2016 Revolver, the Company is required to pay a commitment fee to the lenders under the 2016 Revolver in respect of the unutilized commitments thereunder. The commitment fee rate will be based on the ratio of total indebtedness to EBITDA on a given date. We are also required to pay customary letter of credit fees.

As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, the weighted average interest rate on the 2016 First Lien Term Loan was 3.45% and 2.70%, respectively.
 
Prepayments
 
The 2016 Credit Facilities require us to prepay outstanding term loans, subject to certain exceptions, with: 
100% of the net cash proceeds of the incurrence or issuance of certain debt; and 
100% of the net cash proceeds of $5.0 million of certain non-ordinary course asset sales and casualty and condemnation events, subject to reinvestment rights and certain other exceptions.
 
The foregoing mandatory prepayments will be applied first to accrued interest and fees and second, to the scheduled installments of principal of the 2016 Credit Facilities in direct order of maturity.
 
We may voluntarily repay outstanding loans under the 2016 Credit Facilities at any time without premium or penalty, subject to reimbursements of the lenders’ redeployment costs actually incurred in the case of a prepayment of LIBOR borrowings other than on the last day of the relevant interest period.
 
Amortization and Final Maturity
The 2016 First Lien Term Loan, including the Incremental Borrowing and the 2017 Refinancing, is a floating rate term loan with scheduled, fixed quarterly principal payments of $7.2 million to be made quarterly until September 30, 2021, with the remaining $1,033.0 million principal payment due at December 6, 2021.
 
The Company has the option of 1, 2, 3 or 6-month borrowing terms under the 2016 Revolver. Principal amounts outstanding under the 2016 Revolver are due and payable in full at maturity, on or about December 6, 2021.

Guarantee and Security
 
All obligations of the borrower under the 2016 Credit Facilities are unconditionally guaranteed by us and all our material, wholly‑owned U.S. restricted subsidiaries, with customary exceptions including where providing such guarantees is not permitted by law, regulation or contract or would result in material adverse tax consequences.
 
All obligations of the borrower under the 2016 Credit Facilities, and the guarantees of such obligations, are secured, subject to permitted liens and other exceptions, by substantially all of the assets of the borrower and each guarantor, including but not limited to: (i) a perfected pledge of all of the capital stock issued by the borrower and each guarantor and (ii) perfected security interests in substantially all other tangible and intangible assets of the borrower and the guarantors (subject to certain exceptions and exclusions).
 
Certain Covenants and Events of Default
 
The 2016 Credit Facilities contain a number of covenants that, among other things, restrict, subject to certain exceptions, our ability to: 
create any liens;
make investments and acquisitions; 
incur or guarantee additional indebtedness; 
enter into mergers or consolidations and other fundamental changes; 
conduct sales and other dispositions of property or assets; 

51


enter into sale-leaseback transactions or hedge agreements; 
prepay subordinated debt;
pay dividends or make other payments in respect of capital stock;
 change the line of business; 
enter into transactions with affiliates; 
enter into burdensome agreements with negative pledge clauses and clauses restriction; and 
subsidiary distributions.
 
Our 2016 Credit Facilities contain customary events of default (subject to exceptions, thresholds and grace periods), including, without limitation: (i) nonpayment of principal or interest; (ii) failure to perform or observe covenants; (iii) inaccuracy or breaches of representations and warranties; (iv) cross‑defaults with certain other indebtedness; (v) certain bankruptcy related events; (vi) impairment of certain security interests in collateral, guarantees or invalidity or unenforceability of certain 2016 Credit Facilities documents; (vii) monetary judgment defaults; (viii) certain ERISA matters; and (ix) certain change of control events.
 
The 2016 Credit Facilities requires us to maintain a consolidated total debt to consolidated EBITDA ratio of 4.25 to 1.0 and consolidated EBITDA to fixed charges no less than 3.0 to 1.0 for any four consecutive fiscal quarters for which financial statements have been provided to the administrative agent as required by the Senior Secured Credit Agreement. Following a qualified material acquisition, the 2016 Credit Facilities allows the Company to increase its Consolidated Total Debt to Consolidated EBITDA Ratio to 5.25 to 1.00; provided that (i) such ratio in respect of each quarter shall be reduced by 0.25 to 1.00, (ii) in no event shall such ratio be lower than 4.25 to 1.00 and (iii) such an increase pursuant to this shall be permitted no more than once during any period of 24 consecutive months.
 
The 2016 Credit Facilities also contain certain customary affirmative covenants and events of default, including a change of control.

Accounts Receivable Financing Agreement
 
We entered into an accounts receivable financing agreement with PNC Bank, National Association, as administrative agent and lender on March 22, 2016.

We may borrow up to $140.0 million from PNC, secured by liens on our accounts receivables and other assets. We are liable for customary representations, warranties, covenants and indemnities. In addition, we have guaranteed the performance of the obligations and will guarantee the obligations of any additional servicer that may become party to the accounts receivable financing agreement. As of December 31, 2017, the outstanding balance was $120.0 million.

The accounts receivable financing agreement terminates on March 22, 2019, unless terminated earlier pursuant to its term.
 
Interest Rate and Fees
 
Loans under the accounts receivable financing agreement will accrue interest at either a reserve-adjusted LIBOR or a base rate, plus 1.60%. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, the weighted average interest rate on the accounts receivable financing agreement was 2.96% and 2.31%. We may prepay loans upon one business day prior notice and may terminate the accounts receivable financing agreement with 15 days’ prior notice.
 
Covenants and Events of Default
 
The accounts receivable financing agreement contains various customary representations and warranties and covenants, and default provisions which provide for the termination and acceleration of the commitments and loans under the accounts receivable financing agreement in circumstances including, but not limited to, failure to make payments when due, breach of representations, warranties or covenants, certain insolvency events or failure to maintain the security interest in the trade receivables, and defaults under other material indebtedness.


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Senior Notes

On December 29, 2017, the Company redeemed the remaining $91.4 million aggregate principal amount of its Senior Notes. In accordance with the guidance in ASC 470-50, the debt redemption was accounted for as a debt extinguishment. The redemption resulted in a $11.3 million loss on extinguishment of debt, which consists of a $9.2 million early payment premium and $2.1 million write-off of unamortized debt issuance cost which is included in loss on modification or extinguishment of debt in the consolidated statement of operations during the year ended December 31, 2017.

 Contractual Obligations and Commercial Commitments
 
The following table summarizes our future minimum payments for all contractual obligations and commercial commitments for years subsequent to the year ended December 31, 2017:
 
 
Payments Due by Period
 
Less than 1
year
 
1 - 3 years
 
3 - 5 years
 
More than 5
years
 
Total
 
(in thousands)
Principal payments on long-term debt (1)
$
120,289

 
$
177,578

 
$
1,054,560

 
$

 
$
1,352,427

Interest payments on long-term debt (1)
48,074

 
91,980

 
42,118

 

 
182,172

Service purchase commitments (2)
80,802

 
103,761

 
33,241

 
95

 
217,899

Operating leases
44,071

 
74,365

 
57,753

 
110,394

 
286,583

Less: sublease income
(181
)
 
(250
)
 
(165
)
 

 
(596
)
Uncertain income tax positions (3)

 

 

 

 

Contingent consideration on acquisition (4)
114,692

 
50,644

 

 

 
165,336

Total
$
407,747

 
$
498,078

 
$
1,187,507

 
$
110,489

 
$
2,203,821


(1)
Principal payments are based on the terms contained in our credit agreements. Principal payments include payments on 2017 First Lien Term Debt, accounts receivable financing agreement, and borrowings under our 2017 Revolver. Interest payments are based on the interest rate in effect on December 31, 2017
(2)
Service purchase commitments are defined as agreements to purchase goods or services that are enforceable and legally binding and that specify all significant terms, including fixed or minimum quantities to be purchased.
(3)
As of December 31, 2017, our liability related to uncertain income tax positions was approximately $7.9 million; the entire amount has been excluded from the table as we are unable to predict when these liabilities will be paid due to the uncertainties in timing of the settlement of the income tax positions.
(4)
Represents contingent payments associated with our acquisitions. These amounts are remeasured at fair value every reporting period with the change in fair value recorded in Transaction-related costs (see Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements). The actual amounts ultimately paid out may be different depending on the level of achievement of certain earnings milestones.

Off‑Balance Sheet Arrangements
 
We have no off‑balance sheet arrangements. The term “off‑balance sheet arrangement” generally means any transaction, agreement or other contractual arrangement to which an entity unconsolidated with us is a party, under which we have any obligation arising under a guarantee contract, derivative instrument or variable interest or a retained or contingent interest in assets transferred to such entity or similar arrangement that serves as credit, liquidity or market risk support for such assets.
 
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
 
For information on new accounting pronouncements and the impact, if any, on our financial position or results of operations, see Note 2 to our audited consolidated financial statements found elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
 
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
 
In preparing our financial statements in conformity with GAAP, management is required to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Our actual results could differ from those estimates. We believe that the following are some of the more critical judgment areas in the application of our accounting policies that affect our financial condition and results of operations. We have discussed the application of these critical accounting policies with our board of directors.
 

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Revenue Recognition
 
The majority of our service revenue is recorded regionally on a proportional performance basis. Revenue for service is recognized only after persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, the sales price is determinable and collectability is reasonably assured. To measure performance, we compare contract costs incurred to estimated total contract costs through completion. We believe this is the best indicator of the performance of the contract obligations because the costs relate to the amount of labor hours incurred to perform the service. Direct costs are primarily comprised of labor‑related charges associated with the delivery of services. Each month we accumulate costs on each project and compare them to the total current estimated costs to determine the proportional performance. We then multiply the proportion completed by the contract value to determine the amount of revenue that can be recognized. Each month we review the total current estimated costs on each project to determine if these estimates are still accurate and, if necessary, we adjust the total estimated costs for each project. During our monthly contract review process, we review each contract’s performance to date, current cost trends, and circumstances specific to each study. The original or current cost estimates are reviewed and if necessary the estimates are adjusted and refined to reflect any changes in the anticipated performance under the study. In the normal course of business, we conduct this review each month in all service delivery locations. As the work progresses, original estimates might be deemed incorrect due to, among other things, revisions in the scope of work or patient enrollment rate, and a contract modification might be negotiated with the customer to cover additional costs. If not, we bear the risk of costs exceeding our original estimates. Management assumes that actual costs incurred to date under the contract are a valid basis for estimating future costs. Should management’s assumption of future cost trends fluctuate significantly, future margins could be reduced. In the past, we have had to commit unanticipated resources to complete projects, resulting in lower margins on those projects. Should our actual costs exceed our estimates on fixed price contracts, future margins could be reduced, absent our ability to negotiate a contract modification. We accumulate information on each project to refine our bidding process. Historically, the majority of our estimates and assumptions have been materially correct, but these estimates might not continue to be accurate in the future.
 
Allowance for Doubtful Accounts
 
Included in “Accounts receivable and unbilled services, net” on our consolidated balance sheets is an allowance for doubtful accounts. Generally, before we do business with a new client, we perform a credit check, as our allowance for doubtful accounts requires that we make an accurate assessment of our customers’ creditworthiness. Approximately 14% of our client base is small- to mid-sized biotech companies, creating a heightened risk related to the creditworthiness for a portion of our client base. We manage and assess our exposure to bad debt on each of our contracts. We age our billed accounts receivable and assess exposure by client type, by aged category, and by specific identification. After all attempts to collect a receivable have failed, the receivable is written off against the allowance. Historically, we have not had any write‑offs in excess of our allowance. If, at December 31, 2017, our aged accounts receivable balance greater than 90 days were to increase by 10% (for the U.S. operations), no material adjustments to bad debt expense would be required.
 
Income Taxes
 
Changes in judgment as to recognition or measurement of tax positions can materially affect the estimate of our effective tax rate and, consequently, our operating results. We consider many factors when evaluating and estimating our tax positions and tax benefits, which may require periodic adjustments and may not accurately anticipate actual outcomes.
 
We have to use estimates and judgments in calculating certain tax liabilities and determining the recoverability of certain deferred tax assets, which arise from net operating losses, tax credit carry forwards and temporary differences between the tax and financial statement recognition of revenue and expense. We are also required to reduce our deferred tax assets by a valuation allowance if, based on the weight of available evidence, it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the recorded deferred tax assets will not be realized in future periods.

On December 22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the “Act”) was signed into law making significant changes to the Internal Revenue Code. Changes include, but are not limited to, a corporate tax rate decrease from 35% to 21% effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017, the transition of U.S international taxation from a worldwide tax system to a territorial system, and a one-time transition tax on the mandatory deemed repatriation of cumulative foreign earnings as of December 31, 2017. The Company has calculated our best estimate of the impact of the Act in our year end income tax provision in accordance with our understanding of the Act and guidance under SAB 118 available as of the date of this filing and as a result has recorded $0.2 million as additional income tax expense in the fourth quarter of 2017, the period in which the legislation was enacted. The provisional amount related to the remeasurement of certain deferred tax assets, deferred tax liabilities, and U.S. uncertain tax positions, based on the rates at which they are expected to reverse in the future, was a benefit of $41.7 million. The provisional amount related to the one-time transition tax on the mandatory deemed repatriation of foreign earnings was $77.6 million based on cumulative foreign earnings of $392.5 million. The Company also recorded a

54


provisional tax benefit of $35.7 million related to the utilization of foreign tax credits against the one-time transition tax. In addition, the Company has recorded a valuation allowance against an estimated $12.8 million of excess foreign tax credits related to the transition tax inclusion. The Company is continuing to analyze the overall impact of the transition tax inclusion, including its foreign tax credit limitation position and will update the provisional estimate as it completes its analysis during the measurement period. Due to the complexity of the new law, the Company is still in the process of investigating the related accounting implications. Specifically, for the Global Intangible Low Tax Income (“GILTI”) tax the Company intends to make an accounting policy decision around whether to account for GILTI as a period cost in the relevant period, or to record deferred taxes related to the basis in the Company’s foreign subsidiaries once additional guidance is available for assessment.
In evaluating our ability to recover our deferred tax assets, in full or in part, we consider all available positive and negative evidence, including our past operating results, the existence of cumulative losses in the most recent fiscal years and our forecast of future taxable income on a jurisdiction‑by‑jurisdiction basis. In determining future taxable income, assumptions include the amount of state, federal and international pretax operating income, international transfer pricing policies, the reversal of temporary differences and the implementation of feasible and prudent tax planning strategies. These assumptions require significant judgment about the forecasts of future taxable income and are consistent with the plans and estimates we use to manage the underlying businesses. Based on our analysis of the above factors, we determined that a valuation allowance of $25.2 million was required as of December 31, 2017 relating to the U.S. foreign tax credit carryforwards, state net operating loss carryforwards, foreign net operating loss carryforwards and state tax credit carryforwards. Changes in our assumptions could result in an adjustment to the valuation allowance, up or down, in the future.
 
In addition, the calculation of our tax liabilities involves dealing with uncertainties in the application of complex tax regulations in a multitude of jurisdictions. We determine our liability for uncertain tax positions globally under the provisions in the FASB's Accounting Standards Codification, or ASC, 740, Income Taxes. As of December 31, 2017, we had recorded a liability for uncertain tax positions of $7.9 million. If events occur such that payment of these amounts ultimately proves to be unnecessary, the reversal of liabilities would result in tax benefits being recognized in the period when we determine the liabilities are no longer necessary. If our calculation of liability related to uncertain tax positions proves to be more or less than the ultimate assessment, a tax expense or benefit to expense, respectively, would result. The total liability reversal that could affect the tax rate is $0.5 million.
 
Stock‑Based Compensation
 
In accordance with the ASC 718, Stock Compensation, as modified and supplemented, we estimate the value of employee stock options on the date of grant using either the Black‑Scholes model for all options with a service condition or a lattice model for options with market and performance conditions. The determination of fair value of stock‑based payment awards on the date of grant using an option‑pricing model is affected by the stock price of similar entities as well as assumptions regarding a number of highly complex and subjective variables. These variables include the expected stock price volatility over the term of the awards, and actual and projected employee stock option exercise behaviors. The Black‑Scholes and lattice models require extensive actual employee exercise behavior data and the use of a number of complex assumptions including expected volatility, risk‑free interest rate, expected dividends, and expected life. In developing our assumption, we take into account the following:

We use the historical volatilities of a selected peer group as we do not have sufficient history to estimate the volatility of our common share price. We calculate expected volatility based on reported data for selected reasonably similar publicly traded companies for which the historical information is available. For the purpose of identifying peer companies, we consider characteristics such as industry, length of trading history, similar vesting terms and in‑the‑money option status. We plan to continue to use the guideline peer group volatility information until the historical volatility of our common shares is relevant to measure expected volatility for future award grants.

The risk‑free interest rate assumption is based upon observed interest rates appropriate for the term of our employee stock options.

The dividend yield assumption is based on the history and expectation of dividend payouts.

For those options valued using the Black-Scholes model, the expected life is based upon the guidance provided by the FASB. For those options with a market condition valued under the lattice model, the expected life varies depending on the target stock price that triggers vesting. 

We account for forfeitures as they occur.
 

55


Due to the absence of an active market for our common stock prior to our IPO, the fair value of our common stock on the date of the grant was determined in good faith by our Board of Directors with the assistance of management, based on a number of factors consistent with the methodologies outlined in the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Practice Aid, Valuation of Privately-Held-Company Equity Securities Issued as Compensation. Subsequent to the IPO, the fair value of our common stock is based upon the market price of our common stock on the date of the grant as listed on the NASDAQ.
 
Long‑Lived Assets, Goodwill and Indefinite‑Lived Intangible Assets
 
As a result of our acquisitions we have recorded goodwill and other identifiable finite and indefinite‑lived acquired intangibles. The identification and valuation of these intangible assets at the time of acquisition require significant management judgment and estimates.
 
We review long‑lived asset groups for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the asset group might not be recoverable. If indicators of impairment are present, we evaluate the carrying value of property and equipment in relation to estimates of future undiscounted cash flows. As a result of our acquisitions we have recorded goodwill and other identifiable finite and indefinite‑lived acquired intangibles. The identification and valuation of these intangible assets at the time of acquisition require significant management judgment and estimates. In connection with acquisitions, valuations were completed and value was assigned to identifiable finite‑lived and indefinite‑lived intangible assets and goodwill, based on the purchase price of the transactions.
 
We test goodwill for impairment on at least an annual basis by comparing the carrying value to the estimated fair value of our reporting units. On October 1, 2017, we reviewed goodwill for impairment and our analysis indicated that the fair value of goodwill exceeded the carrying value and, therefore, no impairment exists. When evaluating for impairment, we may first perform a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is more likely than not that a reporting unit or indefinite-lived intangible asset is impaired. If we do not perform a qualitative assessment, or if it determines that it is not more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit or indefinite-lived intangible asset exceeds its carrying amount, we will calculate the estimated fair value of the reporting unit’s or indefinite-lived intangible asset. Our decision to perform a qualitative impairment assessment for an individual reporting unit in a given year is influenced by a number of factors, inclusive of the size of the reporting unit's goodwill, the significance of the excess of the reporting unit's estimated fair value over carrying value at the last quantitative assessment date, the amount of time in between quantitative fair value assessments and the date of acquisition. During 2017, as part of our annual impairment analysis, we performed the qualitative assessment on each reporting unit comprising of our total goodwill balance of $1,512.4 million and for our indefinite-lived trade name intangible asset. 

If we do not perform a qualitative assessment, goodwill impairment is determined by comparing the fair value of each reporting unit, determined using various valuation techniques, with the primary technique being a discounted cash flow analysis, to its carrying value. This process is inherently subjective and dependent upon the estimates and assumptions we make. In determining the expected future cash flows of our company, we assume that we will continue to enter into new contracts, execute the work on these contracts profitably, collect receivables from customers, and thus generate positive cash flows. In addition, our analysis could be impacted by future adverse change such as future declines in our operating results, a further significant slowdown in the worldwide economy or pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry or failure to meet the performance projections included in our forecast.
 
Fair Value Measurements
 
We record certain assets and liabilities at fair value. Fair value is defined as a price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. A three‑level hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs used to measure fair value is further described in Note 2 to our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10‑K.
 
Fair Value Measurements on a Recurring Basis
 
At December 31, 2017 and 2016, we used Level 3 inputs to measure liabilities totaling $50.6 million and $2.8 million, respectively. The liability at December 31, 2017 relates to contingent consideration issued in connection with our acquisition of Symphony Health. The liability at December 31, 2016 related to contingent consideration issued in connection with our acquisitions of Value Health Solutions Inc. and Nextrials, Inc.
 

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All derivatives are measured at fair value and recognized as either assets or liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets. The fair value of our interest rate swaps, measured using Level 2 inputs, was an asset of $0.4 million and a liability of $0.6 million at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. 

All investments in marketable securities are measured at fair value using quoted market prices. At December 31, 2017, assets totaling $0.4 million were valued using Level 1 inputs. No other liabilities or assets are remeasured at fair value.
 
Dividend History
 
We have not declared or paid dividends during 2017, 2016 and 2015.

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
 
Market risk is the potential loss arising from adverse changes in market rates and prices, such as foreign currency exchange rates, interest rates and other relevant market rate or price changes. In the ordinary course of business, we are exposed to various market risks, including changes in foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates, and we regularly evaluate our exposure to such changes. Our overall risk management strategy seeks to balance the magnitude of the exposure and the cost and availability of appropriate financial instruments.
 
Interest Rate Risk
 
We are subject to market risk associated with changes in interest rates. In September 2015, we entered into an interest rate swap with a notional value of $250.0 million to hedge our variable rate term debt. This swap will mature in September 2018. At December 31, 2017, we had $1,010.9 million outstanding under our 2016 First Lien Term Loan and accounts receivable financing agreement that were not covered by an interest rate swap and therefore subject to variable interest rates. Each quarter percentage point increase or decrease in the variable rate would result in our interest expense changing by approximately $2.7 million per year under our unhedged variable rate debt.

In January 2018, we entered into two new interest rate swaps in order to minimize interest rate volatility on our debt. For further information regarding this subsequent event refer to Note 23 to our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
 
Foreign Exchange Risk
 
Since we operate on a global basis, we are exposed to various foreign currency risks. First, our consolidated financial statements are denominated in U.S. dollars, but a significant portion of our revenue is generated in the local currency of our foreign subsidiaries. Accordingly, changes in exchange rates between the applicable foreign currency and the U.S. dollar will affect the translation of each foreign subsidiary’s financial results into U.S. dollars for purposes of reporting consolidated financial results. A hypothetical change of 10% in average exchange rates used to translate all foreign currencies to U.S. dollars would have impacted income (loss) before income taxes and equity in income (losses) of unconsolidated joint ventures by approximately $17.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2017. The process by which each foreign subsidiary’s financial results are translated into U.S. dollars is as follows: income statement accounts are translated at average exchange rates for the period; balance sheet asset and liability accounts are translated at end of period exchange rates; and equity accounts are translated at historical exchange rates. Translation of the balance sheet in this manner affects the stockholders’ equity account, referred to as the cumulative translation adjustment account. This account exists only in the foreign subsidiary’s U.S. dollar balance sheet and is necessary to keep the foreign balance sheet stated in U.S. dollars in balance. Accumulated currency translation adjustments recorded as a separate component of stockholders’ equity were $(117.2) million and $(201.1) million at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. We do not have significant operations in countries in which the economy is considered to be highly‑inflationary.
 
In addition, two specific risks arise from the nature of the contracts we enter into with our clients, which from time to time are denominated in currencies different than the particular subsidiary’s local currency. These risks are generally applicable only to a portion of the contracts executed by our foreign subsidiaries providing clinical services. The first risk occurs as revenue recognized for services rendered is denominated in a currency different from the currency in which the subsidiary’s expenses are incurred. As a result, the subsidiary’s earnings can be affected by fluctuations in exchange rates.

The second risk results from the passage of time between the invoicing of clients under these contracts and the ultimate collection of client payments against such invoices. Because the contract is denominated in a currency other than the subsidiary’s local currency, we recognize a receivable at the time of invoicing for the local currency equivalent of the foreign

57


currency invoice amount. Changes in exchange rates from the time the invoice is prepared until payment from the client is received will result in our receiving either more or less in local currency than the local currency equivalent of the invoice amount at the time the invoice was prepared and the receivable established. This difference is recognized by us as a foreign currency transaction gain or loss, as applicable, and is reported in other expense or income in our consolidated statements of operations. Historically, fluctuations in exchange rates from those in effect at the time contracts were executed have not had a material effect on our consolidated financial results.


58


Item 8.  Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
 
Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
 
Management of PRA Health Sciences, Inc. (the “Company”) is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. Internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of our consolidated financial statements for external reporting purposes in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the Company, (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of consolidated financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, and that receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and directors, and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of the Company’s assets that could have a material effect on the consolidated financial statements.
 
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements in the consolidated financial statements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
 
Management assessed the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2017. In making these assessments, management used the framework established by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013). Based on management’s assessment and the criteria in the COSO framework, management has concluded that the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2017 was effective.

Management excluded from its assessment of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2017, the internal control over financial reporting of Symphony Health Solutions Corporation, or Symphony Health, which was acquired on September 6, 2017. This exclusion is consistent with guidance issued by the SEC that an assessment of a recently acquired business may be omitted from the scope of management's report on internal control over financial reporting in the year of acquisition. Symphony Health, excluding acquired goodwill and intangible assets, represented 4% of our consolidated total assets and 5% of our consolidated service revenue as of and for the year ended December 31, 2017. See a discussion of this acquisition in Note 4, Business Combinations, of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements contained in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
 
The Company’s independent registered public accounting firm has issued a report on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. This report appears on page 61 in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
 
/s/ Colin Shannon
    
/s/ Linda Baddour
 
 
 
Colin Shannon
 
Linda Baddour
President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors
 
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
(Principal Executive Officer)
 
(Principal Financial Officer)


59


REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
 
To the stockholders and the Board of Directors of PRA Health Sciences, Inc.

Opinion on the Consolidated Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of PRA Health Sciences, Inc. and subsidiaries (the "Company") as of December 31, 2017 and 2016, and the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income (loss), changes in stockholders’ equity, and cash flows, for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2017, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the "financial statements"). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2017 and 2016, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2017, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2017, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission and our report dated February 22, 2018, expressed an unqualified opinion on the Company's internal control over financial reporting.

Adoption of new Accounting Standard

As discussed in Note 2 to the financial statements, the Company adopted ASU No. 2016-09, “Compensation-Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting” on January 1, 2017.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.


/s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP

Raleigh, North Carolina
February 22, 2018

We have served as the Company's auditor since 2013.


60


REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
 
To the stockholders and the Board of Directors of PRA Health Sciences, Inc.
Opinion on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
We have audited the internal control over financial reporting of PRA Health Sciences, Inc. and subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2017, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). In our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2017, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by COSO.
We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2017, of the Company and our report dated February 22, 2018 expressed an unqualified opinion on those financial statements and included an explanatory paragraph regarding the Company’s adoption of ASU No. 2016-09, “Compensation-Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting.”
As described in “Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting,” management excluded from its assessment the internal control over financial reporting at Symphony Health Solutions Corporation, which was acquired on September 6, 2017 and whose financial statements constitute 4% of consolidated total assets (excluding acquired goodwill and intangible assets) and 5% of consolidated service revenue as of and for the year ended December 31, 2017. Accordingly, our audit did not include the internal control over financial reporting at Symphony Health Solutions Corporation.
Basis for Opinion
The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying “Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting.” Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Definition and Limitations of Internal Control over Financial Reporting
A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
/s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP
Raleigh, North Carolina
February 22, 2018

61


PRA HEALTH SCIENCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(in thousands, except share amounts)
 
 
December 31,
 
2017
 
2016
ASSETS
 
 
 
Current assets:
 
 
 
Cash and cash equivalents
$
192,229

 
$
144,623

Restricted cash
661

 
4,715

Accounts receivable and unbilled services, net
627,003

 
439,053

Prepaid expenses and other current assets
55,580

 
35,367

Income taxes receivable
1,551

 
979

Total current assets
877,024

 
624,737

Fixed assets, net
143,070

 
87,577

Goodwill
1,512,424

 
971,980

Intangible assets, net
783,836

 
473,976

Deferred tax assets
8,939

 
6,568

Investment in unconsolidated joint ventures
407

 
284

Deferred financing fees
1,844

 
1,762

Other assets
30,502

 
23,507

Total assets
$
3,358,046

 
$
2,190,391

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
 
 
 
Current liabilities:
 
 
 
Current portion of borrowings under credit facilities
$
91,500

 
$

Current portion of long-term debt
28,789

 
31,250

Accounts payable
64,635

 
51,335

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities
303,875

 
123,589

Income taxes payable
13,606

 
25,524

Advanced billings
469,211

 
332,501

Total current liabilities
971,616

 
564,199

Deferred tax liabilities
112,181

 
73,703

Long-term debt, net
1,225,397

 
797,052

Other long-term liabilities
112,371

 
26,185

Total liabilities
2,421,565

 
1,461,139

Commitments and contingencies (Note 13)

 

Stockholders' equity:
 
 
 
Preferred stock (100,000,000 authorized shares; $0.01 par value)
 
 
 
    Issued and outstanding -- none

 

Common stock (1,000,000,000 authorized shares; $0.01 par value)
 
 
 
    Issued and outstanding -- 63,623,950 and 61,597,705 at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively
636

 
616

Additional paid-in capital
905,423

 
879,067

Accumulated other comprehensive loss
(136,470
)
 
(224,686
)
Retained earnings
161,182

 
74,255

Equity attributable to PRA Health Sciences, Inc. stockholders
930,771

 
729,252

Noncontrolling interest
5,710

 

Total stockholders' equity
936,481

 
729,252

Total liabilities and stockholders' equity
$
3,358,046

 
$
2,190,391

 
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.


62


PRA HEALTH SCIENCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(in thousands, except per share amounts)
 
 
Years Ended December 31,
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
Revenue:
 
 
 
 
 
Service revenue
$
1,948,374

 
$
1,580,023

 
$
1,375,847

Reimbursement revenue
311,015

 
231,688

 
238,036

Total revenue
2,259,389

 
1,811,711

 
1,613,883

Operating expenses:
 
 
 
 
 
Direct costs
1,283,868

 
1,032,688

 
886,528

Reimbursable out-of-pocket costs
311,015

 
231,688

 
238,036

Selling, general and administrative
321,987

 
269,893

 
246,417

Transaction-related costs
87,709

 
44,834

 

Depreciation and amortization
78,227

 
69,506

 
77,952

Loss on disposal of fixed assets
358

 
753

 
652

Income from operations
176,225

 
162,349

 
164,298

Interest expense, net
(46,729
)
 
(54,913
)
 
(61,747
)
Loss on modification or extinguishment of debt
(15,023
)
 
(38,178
)
 

Foreign currency (losses) gains, net
(39,622
)
 
24,029

 
14,048

Other (expense) income, net
(304
)
 
607

 
(1,434
)
Income before income taxes and equity in income (losses) of unconsolidated joint ventures
74,547

 
93,894

 
115,165

(Benefit from) provision for income taxes
(12,623
)
 
28,494

 
30,004

Income before equity in income (losses) of unconsolidated joint ventures
87,170

 
65,400

 
85,161

Equity in income (losses) of unconsolidated joint ventures, net of tax
123

 
2,775

 
(3,396
)
Net income
87,293

 
68,175

 
81,765

Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest
(366
)
 

 

Net income attributable to PRA Health Sciences, Inc.

$
86,927

 
$
68,175

 
$
81,765

Net income per share attributable to common stockholders:
 
 
 
 
 
Basic
$
1.39

 
$
1.12

 
$
1.36

Diluted
$
1.32

 
$
1.06

 
$
1.29

Weighted average common shares outstanding:
 
 
 
 
 
Basic
62,437

 
60,759

 
59,965

Diluted
65,773

 
64,452

 
63,207

 
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.


63


PRA HEALTH SCIENCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)
(in thousands)
 
 
Years Ended December 31,
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
Net income
$
87,293

 
$
68,175

 
$
81,765

Other comprehensive income (loss):
 
 
 
 
 
Foreign currency translation adjustments
83,814

 
(95,019
)
 
(52,433
)
Unrealized gains (losses) on derivative instruments, net of income taxes of $96, $(622), and $(578)
149

 
(978
)
 
(11,273
)
Reclassification adjustments:
 
 
 
 
 
Losses on derivatives included in net income, net of income taxes, $2,699, $2,303, and $0
4,156

 
3,618

 
908

Comprehensive income (loss)
175,412

 
(24,204
)
 
18,967

Comprehensive income attributable to noncontrolling interest
(269
)
 

 

Comprehensive income (loss) attributable to PRA Health Sciences, Inc.
$
175,143

 
$
(24,204
)
 
$
18,967

 
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.


64


PRA HEALTH SCIENCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
(in thousands)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive
(Loss) Income
(Note 16)
 
Retained
Earnings
(Accumulated
Deficit)
 
Noncontrolling Interest
 
 
 
Common Stock
 
Additional
Paid-in
Capital
 
 
 
 
 
 
Shares
 
 Amount
 
 
 
 
 
Total
Balance at December 31, 2014
59,814

 
$
598

 
$
821,411

 
$
(69,509
)
 
$
(75,685
)
 
$

 
$
676,815

Exercise of common stock options
257

 
3

 
78

 

 

 

 
81

Issuance of common stock
174

 
1

 
1,582

 

 

 

 
1,583

Stock-based compensation

 

 
5,276

 

 

 

 
5,276

Net income

 

 

 

 
81,765

 

 
81,765

Other comprehensive loss, net of tax

 

 

 
(62,798
)
 

 

 
(62,798
)
Balance at December 31, 2015
60,245

 
602

 
828,347

 
(132,307
)
 
6,080

 

 
702,722

Exercise of common stock options
1,303

 
13

 
642

 

 

 

 
655

Stock-based compensation
50

 
1

 
49,232

 

 

 

 
49,233

Income tax benefit from stock-based award activities

 

 
846

 

 

 

 
846

Net income

 

 

 

 
68,175

 

 
68,175

Other comprehensive loss, net of tax

 

 

 
(92,379
)
 

 

 
(92,379
)
Balance at December 31, 2016
61,598

 
616

 
879,067

 
(224,686
)
 
74,255

 

 
729,252

Exercise of common stock options
1,904

 
19

 
8,072

 

 

 

 
8,091

Issuance of common stock
5

 

 
375

 

 

 

 
375

Stock-based compensation
117

 
1

 
17,909

 

 

 

 
17,910

Non-controlling interest related to Takeda joint venture

 

 

 

 

 
5,441

 
5,441

Net income

 

 

 

 
86,927

 
366

 
87,293

Other comprehensive income, net of tax

 

 

 
88,216

 

 
(97
)
 
88,119

Balance at December 31, 2017
63,624

 
$
636

 
$
905,423

 
$
(136,470
)
 
$
161,182

 
$
5,710

 
$
936,481

 
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.

65


PRA HEALTH SCIENCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(in thousands)
 
Years Ended December 31,
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
Cash flows from operating activities:
 
 
 
 
 
Net income
$
87,293

 
$
68,175

 
$
81,765

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
 
 
 
 
 
Depreciation and amortization
78,227

 
69,506

 
77,952

Amortization of debt issuance costs and discount
2,108

 
4,433

 
5,983

Amortization of terminated interest rate swaps
6,684

 
4,961

 
731

Stock-based compensation expense
12,616

 
7,067

 
5,276

Non-cash transaction related stock-based compensation expense
5,294

 
42,166

 

Unrealized foreign currency losses (gains)
39,700

 
(24,499
)
 
(16,464
)
Loss on modification or extinguishment of debt
15,023

 
38,178

 

Loss on disposal of fixed assets
358

 
753

 
652

Change in acquisition-related contingent consideration
74,969

 
(527
)
 
89

Equity in (income) losses of unconsolidated joint ventures
(123
)
 
(2,775
)
 
3,396

Unrealized loss on derivatives
171

 
47

 
1,787

Excess tax benefit from stock-based compensation

 
(846
)
 

Deferred income taxes
(75,915
)
 
(10,469
)
 
(3,219
)
Other reconciling items
592

 
(652
)
 
443

Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of acquired assets and assumed liabilities:
 
 
 
 
 
Accounts receivable and unbilled services
(136,330
)
 
(31,313
)
 
(83,211
)
Prepaid expenses and other assets
1,762

 
(10,071
)
 
(11,675
)
Accounts payable and other liabilities
35,792

 
(1,474
)
 
36,135

Income taxes
10,640

 
7,308

 
9,958

Advanced billings
61,547

 
79

 
42,830

Net cash provided by operating activities
220,408

 
160,047

 
152,428

Cash flows from investing activities:
 
 
 
 
 
Purchase of fixed assets
(61,318
)
 
(33,143
)
 
(32,814
)
Proceeds from the sale of fixed assets
56

 
10

 
44

Cash paid for interest on interest rate swap
(874
)
 
(913
)
 
(302
)
Cash paid to terminate interest rate swaps

 

 
(32,907
)
Acquisition of Symphony Health Solutions Corporation, net of cash acquired
(521,182
)
 

 

Payment of Symphony Health Solutions Corporation contingent consideration
(67,781
)
 

 

Acquisition of Parallel 6, Inc., net of cash acquired
(38,859
)
 

 

Acquisition of Takeda PRA Development Center KK, net of cash acquired
2,680

 

 

Acquisition of Takeda Pharmaceutical Data Services, Ltd., net of cash acquired
(142
)
 

 

Acquisition of Nextrials, Inc., net of cash acquired

 
(4,268
)
 

Acquisition of Value Health Solutions, Inc., net of cash acquired


 

 
(543
)
Payment of ClinStar, LLC working capital settlement

 

 
(1,693
)
Distributions from unconsolidated joint ventures

 
3,700

 
19,529

Contributions to unconsolidated joint ventures

 

 
(23,000
)
Net cash used in investing activities
(687,420
)
 
(34,614
)
 
(71,686
)
Cash flows from financing activities:
 
 
 
 
 
Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt
550,000

 
625,000

 

Repayment of long-term debt
(125,513
)
 
(822,559
)
 
(40,000
)
Proceeds from accounts receivable financing agreement
20,000

 
120,000

 

Repayment on accounts receivable financing agreement
(20,000
)
 

 

Borrowings on line of credit
121,500

 
110,000

 
90,000

Repayments of line of credit
(30,000
)
 
(110,000
)
 
(90,000
)
Payment of debt prepayment and debt extinguishment costs
(9,226
)
 
(17,824
)
 

Payment for debt issuance costs
(6,588
)
 
(7,713
)
 

Payment of common stock issuance costs

 

 
(525
)
Excess tax benefit from stock-based compensation

 
846

 

Proceeds from stock option exercises
7,236

 
655

 
81

Payment of acquisition-related contingent consideration
(400
)
 

 
(2,000
)
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities
507,009

 
(101,595
)
 
(42,444
)
Effects of foreign exchange changes on cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash
3,555

 
(625
)
 
(3,702
)
Change in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash
43,552

 
23,213

 
34,596

Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash, beginning of year
149,338

 
126,125

 
91,529

Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash, end of year
$
192,890

 
$
149,338

 
$
126,125

 The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.

66

PRA HEALTH SCIENCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS



(1) Basis of Presentation
 
Description of Business
 
PRA Health Sciences, Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively, the Company) is a full‑service global contract research organization providing a broad range of product development services for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies around the world. The Company’s integrated services include data management, statistical analysis, clinical trial management, and regulatory and drug development consulting.

In September 2017, the Company completed the acquisition of Symphony Health Solutions Corporation, or Symphony Health, to better serve clients across their entire product lifecycle by (i) improving clinical trial design, recruitment, and execution; (ii) creating real-world data solutions based on the use of medicines by actual patients in normal situations; and (iii) increasing the efficiency of healthcare companies' commercial organizations through enhanced analytics and outsourcing services. The acquisition of Symphony Health was accounted for as a business combination and the acquired results of operations are included in the Company's consolidated financial information since the date of the acquisition. See Note 4 for additional information regarding the acquisition of Symphony Health.
 
Basis of Presentation
 
The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, or GAAP.
 
Secondary Offerings
 
During 2017 and 2016, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P., or KKR, and certain executive officers of the Company sold a total of 10,000,000 and 17,500,000 shares, respectively, of the Company’s common stock as part of secondary offerings. The Company incurred professional fees in connection with the secondary offerings of $1.0 million and $1.3 million during years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. The fees are included in transaction-related costs in the accompanying consolidated statement of operations. As of December 31, 2017, KKR owned 20.7% of the Company’s outstanding common stock.

(2) Significant Accounting Policies
 
Principles of Consolidation
 
The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts and operations of the Company, its subsidiaries and investments in which the Company has control. Amounts pertaining to the non-controlling ownership interests held by third parties in the operating results and financial position of the Company’s majority-owned subsidiaries are reported as non-controlling interests. Intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.
 
Variable Interest Entities
 
Financial Accounting Standards Board’s, or FASB, accounting guidance concerning variable interest entities, or VIE, addresses the consolidation of business enterprise to which the usual condition of consolidation (ownership of a majority voting interest) does not apply. This guidance focuses on controlling financial interests that may be achieved through arrangements that do not involve voting interests. The guidance requires an assessment of who the primary beneficiary is and whether the primary beneficiary should consolidate the VIE. The primary beneficiary is identified as the variable interest holder that has both the power to direct the activities of the variable interest entity that most significantly impacts the entity’s economic performance and the obligation to absorb losses or the right to receive benefits from the entity that could potentially be significant to the variable interest entity. Application of the VIE consolidation requirements may require the exercise of significant judgment by management.


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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

Takeda PRA Development Center KK

The Company entered into a joint venture with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd. during 2017. For further discussion on the joint venture, refer to Note 4, Business Combinations. 

Accounts Receivable Financing Agreement
 
On March 22, 2016, the Company entered into a three-year accounts receivable financing agreement and related arrangements to securitize certain of its accounts receivable. Under the accounts receivable financing agreement, certain of the Company’s U.S. accounts receivable and unbilled services balances are sold by certain of its consolidated subsidiaries to another of its consolidated subsidiaries, a wholly-owned bankruptcy-remote special purpose entity, or SPE. The SPE in turn may borrow up to $140.0 million from a third party lender, secured by liens on the receivables and other assets of the SPE.
 
The Company retains the servicing of the securitized accounts receivable portfolio and has a variable interest in the SPE by holding the residual equity. The Company determined that the SPE is a VIE and it is the primary beneficiary because (i) the Company’s servicing responsibilities for the securitized portfolio gives it the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the performance of the VIE and (ii) its variable interest in the VIE gives it the obligation to absorb losses and the right to receive residual returns that could potentially be significant. As a result, the Company has consolidated the VIE within its financial statements.
 
Refer to Note 9, Revolving Credit Facilities and Long-Term Debt, for additional information regarding the accounts receivable financing agreement.

Risks and Other Factors
 
The Company’s revenues are dependent on research and development expenditures of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Any significant reduction in research and development expenditures by the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries could have a material adverse effect on the Company and its results of operations.
 
Clients of the Company generally may terminate contracts without cause upon 30 to 60 days’ notice. While the Company generally negotiates deposit payments and early termination fees up front, such terminations could significantly impact the future level of staff utilization and have a material adverse effect on the Company and the results of future operations.
 
Use of Estimates
 
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. In particular, the Company’s primary method of revenue recognition requires estimates of costs to be incurred to fulfill existing long-term contract obligations. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Estimates are also used when accounting for certain items such as allowance for doubtful accounts, depreciation and amortization, asset impairment, certain acquisition-related assets and liabilities including contingent consideration, income taxes, fair market value determinations, and contingencies.
 
Reportable Segments
  
In conjunction with the acquisition of Symphony Health, the Company expanded its reporting segments. The Company is now managed through two reportable segments, Clinical Research and Data Solutions. Clinical Research, which primarily serves biopharmaceutical clients, provides outsourced clinical research and clinical trial related services. Data Solutions provides data and analytics, technology solutions and real-world insights and services to companies in the pharmaceutical industry.

The Clinical Research segment is solely focused on the execution of clinical trials on a global basis. The Company has considered whether the delivery of the different types of capabilities in various stages of clinical development constitute separate products or lines of service in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification, or ASC, 280, “Segment Reporting,” or ASC 280, and has concluded that there are substantial similarities and overlaps in the capabilities delivered at

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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

each stage of clinical development, with the primary differences between the Early Development Services, or EDS, compared to the Product Registration, or PR, and Strategic Solutions, or SS, relating to the points during the life cycle of a clinical trial at which such capabilities are delivered. After review and analysis of the operating characteristics of each service offering and using the aggregation characteristics under ASC 280, the Company has concluded that the services provided are similar across most characteristics.

 The Company's operations consist of two reportable segments, which represents management's view of the Company's operations based on its management and internal reporting structure. The Company considered the guidance in ASC 350, “Intangibles—Goodwill and Other,” which notes that a reporting unit is an operating segment or one level below an operating segment. PR, EDS, and SS are the business units that are one level below the Company’s Clinical Research operating segment and the Company determined that they meet the definition of “components,” as discrete financial information exists and this information is regularly reviewed by management. The Data Solutions operating segment does not have any material components.

Business Combinations
 
Business combinations are accounted for using the acquisition method and, accordingly, the identifiable assets acquired, the liabilities assumed, and any non-controlling interest in the acquiree are recorded at their estimated fair values on the date of the acquisition. Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price over the estimated fair value of the net assets acquired, including the amount assigned to identifiable intangible assets.
 
Contingent Liabilities
 
The Company provides for contingent liabilities when (1) it is probable that an asset has been impaired or a liability has been incurred at the date of the consolidated financial statements and (2) the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated. Disclosure in the notes to the consolidated financial statements is required for loss contingencies that do not meet both these conditions if there is a reasonable possibility that a loss may have been incurred. The Company expenses as incurred the costs of defending legal claims against the Company.
 
Cash Equivalents
 
The Company considers all highly-liquid investments purchased with an original maturity of three months or less to be cash equivalents. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, substantially all of the Company’s cash and cash equivalents were held in or invested with large financial institutions. Certain bank deposits may at times be in excess of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insurance limits.
 
Restricted cash
 
The Company receives cash advances from its customers to be used for the payment of investigator costs and other pass-through expenses. The terms of certain customer contracts require that such advances be maintained in separate escrow accounts; these accounts are not commingled with the Company’s cash and cash equivalents and are presented separately in the consolidated balance sheets as restricted cash.
 
Additionally, as part of the acquisition of Nextrials, Inc., or Nextrials, the Company was required to transfer $0.5 million to an escrow account held by a subsidiary. These funds were distributed in 2017.
 
The following table provides a reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash reported within the consolidated balance sheets that sum to the total of the same amounts shown in the consolidated statements of cash flows (in thousands): 
 
December 31,
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
Cash and cash equivalents
$
192,229

 
$
144,623

 
$
121,065

Restricted cash
661

 
4,715

 
5,060

Total cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash
$
192,890

 
$
149,338

 
$
126,125


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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

 
Accounts Receivable and Unbilled Services
 
Accounts receivable represent amounts for which invoices have been sent to clients based upon contract terms. Unbilled services represent amounts earned for services that have been rendered but for which clients have not been billed and include reimbursement revenue. Unbilled services are generally billable upon submission of appropriate billing information, achievement of contract milestones or contract completion.
 
Allowances for Doubtful Accounts
 
The Company maintains an allowance for estimated losses resulting from the inability of its customers to make required payments. The Company performs credit reviews of each customer, monitors collections and payments from customers, and determines the allowance based upon historical experience and specific customer collection issues. The Company ages billed accounts receivable and assesses exposure by customer type, by aged category, and by specific identification. After all attempts to collect a receivable have failed, the receivable is written off against the allowance or, to the extent unreserved, to bad debt expense.
 
Advanced Billings
 
Advanced billings represent amounts associated with services, reimbursement revenue and investigator fees that have been received but have not yet been earned or paid.
 
Fixed Assets
 
Fixed assets and software purchased or developed for internal use are recorded at cost and are depreciated on a straight-line basis over the following estimated useful lives:
 
Furniture, fixtures and equipment
5-7 years
Computer hardware and software
3-7 years
Leasehold improvements
Lesser of the life of the lease or useful life of the improvements
 
Internal Use Software
 
The Company accounts for internal use software in accordance with the guidance in ASC 350‑40, “Internal-Use Software," which require certain direct costs and interest costs incurred during the application stage of development to be capitalized and amortized over the useful life of the software.
 
Derivative Financial Instruments
 
The Company utilizes interest rate swaps to manage changes in market conditions related to debt obligations. All derivatives are measured at fair value and recognized as either assets or liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets. Derivatives that are not determined to be effective hedges are adjusted to fair value with a corresponding effect on earnings. Changes in the fair value of derivatives that are designated and determined to be effective as part of a hedge transaction have no immediate effect on earnings and depending on the type of hedge, are recorded either as part of other comprehensive loss and will be included in earnings in the period in which earnings are affected by the hedged item, or are included in earnings as an offset to the earnings impact of the hedged item. Any ineffective portion of hedges is reported in earnings as it occurs. Amounts previously recorded in accumulated other comprehensive loss related to these interest rate swaps will be reclassified into earnings over the term of the previously hedged borrowing using the swaplet method. The Company has elected the accounting policy that cash flows associated with interest rate derivative contracts are classified as cash flows from investing activities.
 
Contingent Consideration

The consideration for the Company’s acquisitions may include potential future earn-out payments that are contingent upon the occurrence of particular events. These payments might be based on the achievement of future revenue or earnings milestones. The Company records a contingent consideration obligation for such contingent payments at fair value on the

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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

acquisition date. The Company estimates the fair value of contingent consideration obligations through valuation models designed to estimate the probability of such contingent payments based on various assumptions and incorporating estimated success rates. Estimated payments are discounted using present value techniques to arrive at an estimated fair value at the balance sheet date. Changes in the fair value of the contingent consideration obligations, excluding adjustments that qualify as measurement period adjustments, are recognized within the Company’s consolidated statements of operations. Changes in the fair value of the contingent consideration obligations can result from changes to one or multiple inputs, including adjustments to the discount rates, changes in the amount or probability of achieving certain revenue or earnings targets. These fair value measurements are based on significant inputs not observable in the market. Substantial judgment is employed in determining the appropriateness of these assumptions as of the acquisition date and for each subsequent period. Accordingly, changes in assumptions or actual results could have a material impact on the amount of contingent consideration expense the Company records in any given period.

During the fourth quarter of 2017, the Company made an accounting policy election to present changes in the fair value of contingent consideration as part of income from operations within transaction-related costs on the consolidated statements of operations. The change in fair value of contingent consideration for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2016, totaled $0.1 million and $0.5 million, respectively, and were included in other (expense) income, net on the consolidated statements of operations. Due to the immaterial nature of the prior year balances, they were not reclassified to match the current year presentation.

Fair Value Measurements

The Company records certain assets and liabilities at fair value. Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. A three-level fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs used to measure fair value is described below. This hierarchy requires entities to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. The three levels of inputs used to measure fair value are as follows:

Level 1—Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2—Observable inputs other than quoted prices included in Level 1, such as quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets; quoted prices for identical or similar assets and liabilities in markets that are not active; or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data.

Level 3—Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity. This includes certain pricing models, discounted cash flow methodologies and similar techniques that use significant unobservable inputs.
 
The carrying amount of financial instruments, including cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, unbilled services, accounts payable and advanced billings, approximate fair value due to the short maturities of these instruments.
 
Recurring Fair Value Measurements
 
The following table summarizes the fair value of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities that are measured on a recurring basis as of December 31, 2017 (in thousands):
 
 
Level 1
 
Level 2
 
Level 3
 
Total
Assets:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Interest rate swap
$

 
$
428

 
$

 
$
428

Marketable securities
393

 

 

 
393

Total
$
393

 
$
428

 
$

 
$
821

Liabilities:
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

Contingent consideration
$

 
$

 
$
50,644

 
$
50,644

Total
$

 
$

 
$
50,644

 
$
50,644

 

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PRA HEALTH SCIENCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

The following table summarizes the fair value of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities that are measured on a recurring basis as of December 31, 2016 (in thousands):
 
 
Level 1
 
Level 2
 
Level 3
 
Total
Liabilities:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Interest rate swap
$

 
$
590

 
$

 
$
590

Contingent consideration

 

 
2,754

 
2,754

Total
$

 
$
590

 
$
2,754

 
$
3,344

 
The Company values contingent consideration using models that include significant unobservable Level 3 inputs, such as projected financial performance over the earn-out period along with estimates for market volatility and the discount rate applicable to potential cash payments. Interest rate swaps are measured at fair value using a market approach valuation technique. The valuation is based on an estimate of net present value of the expected cash flows using relevant mid-market observable data inputs and based on the assumption of no unusual market conditions or forced liquidation.
 
The following table summarizes the changes in Level 3 financial liabilities measured on a recurring basis (in thousands):
 
 
Contingent consideration - Accrued expenses and other current liabilities
 
Contingent consideration - Other long-term liabilities
Balance at December 31, 2015
 
$
999

 
$

Initial estimate of Nextrials contingent consideration
 

 
2,282

Revaluations included in earnings
 

 
(527
)
Reclassification adjustment
 
736

 
(736
)
Balance at December 31, 2016
 
1,735

 
1,019

Initial estimate of Symphony Health contingent consideration
 
90,394

 
18,390

Initial estimate of Parallel 6, Inc. contingent consideration
 

 
8,350

Payments on Nextrials contingent consideration
 
(400
)
 

Payments on Symphony Health contingent consideration
 
(67,788
)
 

Measurement period adjustments
 
24,388

 
14,279

Changes in fair value included in earnings
 
66,363

 
8,606

Transfer out
 
(114,692
)
 

Balance at December 31, 2017
 
$

 
$
50,644


The $114.7 million transfer out represents the year-end 2017 earn-out payment to the sellers of Symphony Health that was calculated using observable inputs at December 31, 2017. The remaining $50.6 million balance at December 31, 2017, which was valued using a Monte Carlo simulation, relates to the 2018 earn-out payment to Symphony Health and is based on its future adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or Adjusted EBITDA. Key assumptions include (1) a discount rate of 8%, (2) a volatility rate of 32%, and (3) probability adjusted level of Adjusted EBITDA of $56.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2018. Refer to Note 4 for additional discussion of the Symphony Health acquisition.
 
Non-recurring Fair Value Measurements
 
Certain assets and liabilities are carried on the accompanying consolidated balance sheets at cost and are not remeasured to fair value on a recurring basis. These assets include finite-lived intangible assets which are tested when a triggering event occurs and goodwill and identifiable indefinite-lived intangible assets which are tested for impairment annually on October 1 or when a triggering event occurs.
 

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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

As of December 31, 2017, assets carried on the balance sheet and not remeasured to fair value on a recurring basis totaling approximately $2,296.3 million were identified as Level 3. These assets are comprised of goodwill of $1,512.4 million and identifiable intangible assets, net of $783.8 million.
 
Refer to Note 9, Revolving Credit Facilities and Long-Term Debt, for additional information regarding the fair value of long-term debt balances.
 
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets
 
The Company reviews the recoverability of its long-lived asset groups, including furniture and equipment, computer hardware and software, leasehold improvements, and other finite-lived intangibles, when events or changes in circumstances occur that indicate the carrying value of the asset group may not be recoverable. The assessment of possible impairment is based on the Company’s ability to recover the carrying value of the asset group from the expected future pre-tax cash flows (undiscounted and without interest charges) of the related operations. If these cash flows are less than the carrying value of such asset, an impairment loss is recognized for the difference between estimated fair value and carrying value. The Company’s primary measure of fair value is based on discounted cash flows. The measurement of impairment requires the Company to make estimates of these cash flows related to long-lived assets, as well as other fair value determinations.
 
Goodwill and Other Intangibles
 
Goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets are tested for impairment annually or more frequently if an event or circumstance indicates that an impairment loss may have been incurred. Separate intangible assets that have finite useful lives are amortized over their estimated useful lives or over the period in which economic benefit is received. The Company’s primary finite-lived intangibles are customer relationships, customer backlog, and acquired databases, which are amortized on an accelerated basis, which coincides with the period of economic benefit received by the Company.

 The Company reviews the carrying value of goodwill to determine whether impairment may exist on an annual basis or whenever it has reason to believe goodwill may not be recoverable. The annual impairment test of goodwill is performed during the fourth quarter of each fiscal year. The Company did not have an impairment for any of the years presented.
 
When evaluating for impairment, the Company may first perform a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is more likely than not that a reporting unit or indefinite-lived intangible asset is impaired. If the Company does not perform a qualitative assessment, or if it determines that it is not more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit or indefinite-lived intangible asset exceeds its carrying amount, the Company will calculate the estimated fair value of the reporting unit or indefinite-lived intangible asset. The Company’s decision to perform a qualitative impairment assessment for an individual reporting unit in a given year is influenced by a number of factors, inclusive of the size of the reporting unit's goodwill, the significance of the excess of the reporting unit's estimated fair value over carrying value at the last quantitative assessment date, the amount of time in between quantitative fair value assessments and the date of acquisition. During 2017, as part of the Company’s annual impairment analysis, the Company performed the qualitative assessment for all of its goodwill and indefinite-lived trade name intangible asset balances. 
 
If the Company does not perform a qualitative assessment, goodwill impairment is determined by the Company using a two-step process. The first step of the goodwill impairment test is used to identify potential impairment by comparing the fair value of each reporting unit, determined using various valuation techniques, with the primary technique being a discounted cash flow analysis, to its carrying value. If the fair value of a reporting unit exceeds its carrying amount, goodwill of the reporting unit is considered not impaired and the second step of the impairment test is unnecessary. If the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, the second step of the goodwill impairment test is performed to measure the amount of impairment loss, if any. The second step of the goodwill impairment test compares the implied fair value of the reporting unit’s goodwill with the carrying amount of that goodwill. If the carrying amount of the reporting unit’s goodwill exceeds the implied fair value of that goodwill, an impairment loss is recognized.
 
Revenue Recognition
 
The Company generally enters into contracts with customers to provide services with payments based on either fixed-fee, time and materials, or fee-for-service arrangements. Revenue for services is recognized only after persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, the sales price is determinable, services have been rendered, and collectability is reasonably assured.

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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

 
Once these criteria have been met, the Company recognizes revenue for the services provided on fixed-fee contracts in the Clinical Research segment based on the proportional performance methodology, which determines the proportion of outputs or performance obligations which have been completed or delivered compared to the total contractual outputs or performance obligations. To measure performance, the Company compares the contract costs incurred to estimated total contract costs through completion. As part of the client proposal and contract negotiation process, the Company develops a detailed project budget for the direct costs based on the scope of the work, the complexity of the study, the geographical location involved and the Company’s historical experience. The Company then establishes the individual contract pricing based on the Company’s internal pricing guidelines, discount agreements, if any, and negotiations with the client. The estimated total contract costs are reviewed and revised periodically throughout the lives of the contracts, with adjustments to revenue resulting from such revisions being recorded on a cumulative basis in the period in which the revisions are first identified. Contract costs consist primarily of direct labor and other project-related costs. The Company recognizes revenue for services provided on fixed-fee contracts in the Data Solutions segment either ratably as earned over the contract period, for subscription-based services, or upon delivery, for one-time delivery of data solutions or reports. Revenue from time and materials contracts is recognized as hours are incurred. Revenues and the related costs of fee-for-service contracts are recognized in the period in which services are performed.

In the Clinical Research segment, a majority of contracts undergo modifications over the contract period and the Company’s contracts provide for these modifications. During the modification process, the Company recognizes revenue to the extent it incurs costs, provided client acceptance and payment is deemed reasonably assured.
 
Volume discounts are offered to certain large customers based on annual volume thresholds. The Company records an estimate of the annual volume rebate as a reduction of revenue throughout the period based on the estimated total rebate to be earned for the period.
 
Most contracts in the Clinical Research segment can be terminated by the client either immediately or after a specified period following notice. These contracts require the client to pay the Company the fees earned through the termination date, the fees and expenses to wind down the study, and, in some cases, a termination fee or some portion of the fees or profit that the Company could have earned under the contract if it had not been terminated early. Therefore, revenue recognized prior to cancellation generally does not require a significant adjustment upon cancellation.

The Company's Data Solutions segment enters into contracts with some of its larger data suppliers that involve non-monetary terms. The Company will issue purchase credits to be used toward the data supplier's purchase of the Company's products, services or consulting. In exchange the Company receives monetary discounts on the data received from the data suppliers. The fair value of the revenue earned from the customer purchases is determined based on similar product offerings to other customers. At the end of the contract year, any unused purchase credits will be forfeited or carried over to the next contract year based on the terms of the data supplier contract. For the year ended December 31, 2017, the Company recognized service in kind revenue of $5.8 million from these transactions, which is included in service revenue in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations.
 
Reimbursement Revenue and Reimbursable Out-of-Pocket Costs
 
The Company incurs out-of-pocket costs, in excess of contract amounts, which are reimbursable by its customers. The Company includes out-of-pocket costs both as reimbursement revenue and as reimbursable out-of-pocket costs in the consolidated statements of operations.
 
As is customary in the industry, the Company routinely enters into separate agreements on behalf of its clients with independent physician investigators in connection with clinical trials. The funds received for investigator fees are netted against the related cost because such fees are the obligation of the Company’s clients, without risk or reward to the Company. The Company is not obligated either to perform the service or to pay the investigator in the event of default by the client. In addition, the Company does not pay the independent physician investigator until funds are received from the client. Total payments to investigators were $250.9 million, $249.6 million, and $208.0 million and for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively.


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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

Concentration of Credit Risk
 
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to credit risk consist of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, and unbilled services. As of December 31, 2017, substantially all of the Company’s cash and cash equivalents were held in or invested with large financial institutions. Accounts receivable include amounts due from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. The Company establishes an allowance for potentially uncollectible receivables. In management’s opinion, there is no additional material credit risk beyond amounts provided for such losses.
 
Service revenue from individual customers greater than 10% of consolidated service revenue in the respective periods was as follows:
 
Years Ended December 31,
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
Customer A
10.3
%
 
11.0
%
 

Customer B

 
10.4
%
 
10.7
%

Accounts receivable and unbilled receivables from individual customers that were equal to or greater than 10% of consolidated accounts receivable and unbilled receivables at the respective dates were as follows: 
 
December 31,
 
2017
 
2016
Customer A
11.5
%
 
12.0
%
 
Foreign Currency
 
The assets and liabilities of the Company’s foreign subsidiaries are translated into U.S. dollars at exchange rates in effect as of the end of the period. Equity activities are translated at the spot rate effective at the date of the transaction. Revenue and expense accounts and cash flows of these operations are translated at average exchange rates prevailing during the period the transactions occurred. Translation gains and losses are included as an adjustment to the accumulated other comprehensive loss account in stockholders’ equity.
 
Translation gains and losses from foreign currency transactions, such as those resulting from the settlement and revaluation of foreign receivables and payables, are included in the determination of net income. These amounts are included in foreign currency (losses) gains, net in the consolidated statements of operations. In addition, gains or losses related to the Company’s intercompany loans payable and receivable denominated in a foreign currency other than the subsidiary’s functional currency that are deemed to be of a long-term investment nature are remeasured to cumulative translation and recorded in accumulated other comprehensive loss in the consolidated balance sheets.
 
Income Taxes

The Company uses the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets are recognized for future deductible temporary differences, along with net operating loss carryforwards and credit carryforwards, if it is more likely than not that the tax benefits will be realized. To the extent a deferred tax asset cannot be recognized under the preceding criteria, a valuation allowance is established to reduce the deferred tax asset to the amount that is more likely than not to be realized. Deferred tax liabilities are recognized for future taxable temporary differences. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled.
 
There are inherent uncertainties related to the interpretation of tax regulations in the jurisdictions in which the Company transacts business. The judgments and estimates made at a point in time may change based on the outcome of tax audits, as well as changes to, or further interpretations of, regulations. Income tax expense is adjusted in the period in which these events occur, and these adjustments are included in the Company’s consolidated statement of operations. If such changes take place, there is a risk that the Company’s effective tax rate may increase or decrease in any period. A company must recognize the tax benefit from an uncertain tax position only if it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained

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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

on examination by the taxing authorities, based on the technical merits of the position. The tax benefits recognized in the financial statements from such a position are measured based on the largest benefit that has a greater than fifty percent likelihood of being realized upon ultimate resolution.
 
Stock-Based Compensation
 
The primary type of stock-based compensation utilized by the Company is stock options. Stock options are awards which allow the employee to purchase shares of the Company’s stock at a fixed price. The Company measures compensation cost at the grant date, based on fair value of the award, and recognizes it as expense over the employees’ requisite service period.

The fair value of each option issued during these periods was estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model for service condition awards with the following weighted average assumptions:
 
Years Ended December 31,
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
Risk-free interest rate
1.9
%
 
1.5
%
 
1.7
%
Expected life, in years
6.3

 
6.3

 
6.3

Dividend yield
N/A

 
N/A

 
N/A

Volatility
29.7
%
 
31.2
%
 
34.4
%
 
The risk-free interest rate is based on the United States Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of the grant. The expected life represents the period of time the grants are expected to be outstanding. The Company uses the historical volatilities of a selected peer group as it does not have sufficient history to estimate the volatility of its common share price. The Company calculates expected volatility based on reported data for selected reasonably similar publicly traded companies for which the historical information is available. For the purpose of identifying peer companies, the Company considers characteristics such as industry, length of trading history, similar vesting terms and in-the-money option status.
 
Due to the absence of an active market for the Company’s common shares prior to the Company’s IPO, the fair value of the Company's common shares for purposes of determining the exercise price for award grants was determined in good faith by the Company’s Board of Directors, or Board, with the assistance and upon the recommendation of management based on a number of market factors, including: the common shares underlying the award involved illiquid securities in a private company; results of operations and financial position; and the market performance of publicly traded companies compared to the Company.
 
The Company accounts for its stock-based compensation for restricted share awards and restricted share units, or collectively, RSAs/RSUs, based on the closing market price of the Company’s common stock on the trading day immediately prior to the grant date, and recognizes it as expense over the employees’ requisite service period.
 
Net Income Per Share
 
The calculation of net income per share, or EPS, is based on the weighted average number of common shares or common stock equivalents outstanding during the applicable period. The dilutive effect of common stock equivalents is excluded from basic earnings per share and is included in the calculation of diluted earnings per share, unless the effect of inclusion would be anti-dilutive.
 
Debt Issuance Costs
 
Debt issuance costs relating to the Company’s long-term debt are recorded as a direct reduction of long-term debt; these costs are deferred and amortized to interest expense using the effective interest method, over the respective terms of the related debt. Debt issuance costs relating to the Company’s revolving credit facilities are recorded as an asset; these costs are deferred and amortized to interest expense using the straight-line method.
 

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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

Compensated Absences
 
The Company accrues for the costs of compensated absences to the extent that the employee’s right to receive payment relates to service already rendered, the obligation vests or accumulates, payment is probable and the amount can be reasonably estimated. The Company’s policies related to compensated absences vary by jurisdiction and obligations are recorded net of estimated forfeiture due to turnover when reasonably predictable.

Operating Leases
 
The Company records rent expense for operating leases, some of which have escalating rent over the term of the lease, on a straight-line basis over the initial effective lease term. The Company begins depreciation on the date of initial possession, which is generally when the Company enters the space and begins to make improvements in preparation for its intended use. Some of the Company’s facility leases provide for concessions by the landlords, including payments for leasehold improvements considered tenant assets, free rent periods, and other lease inducements. The Company reflects these concessions as deferred rent in the accompanying consolidated financial statements. The Company accounts for the difference between rent expense and rent paid as deferred rent. For tenant allowances for improvements considered to be tenant assets, rent holidays and other lease incentives, the Company records a deferred rent liability at the inception of the lease term and amortizes the deferred rent over the term of the lease as a reduction to rent expense. For tenant allowances considered to be property owner assets, the payment is treated as a reimbursement for the cost of the lessor asset.

Transaction-related Cost

Transaction-related costs consist primarily of: (1) the change in the fair value of acquisition-related contingent consideration; (2) costs incurred in connection with due diligence performed in connection with acquisitions; (3) costs associated with the accounts receivable financing agreement; and (4) secondary offering costs, which consist of stock-based compensation expense related to the release of the transfer restrictions on vested options and third-party fees incurred in connection with the offerings.
 
Recently Implemented Accounting Standards
 
In March 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, issued Accounting Standards Update, or ASU, No. 2016-09, “Compensation-Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting.” This update includes provisions intended to simplify various aspects of accounting for share-based compensation. In addition, ASU No. 2016-09 went into effect for public companies for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016. The Company adopted this ASU beginning with the first quarter of 2017. The adoption of this ASU had the following effects on the consolidated financial statements:
 
Income taxes - The standard requires excess tax benefits and tax deficiencies to be recorded as income tax benefit or expense in the statement of operations. The Company applied the modified retrospective adoption approach beginning in 2017 and recorded a cumulative-effect adjustment to retained earnings and reduced its deferred tax liabilities by $12.6 million with an offsetting increase to the valuation allowance of $12.6 million. As such, the net impact to retained earnings was zero. This adjustment relates to tax assets that had previously arisen from tax deductions for equity compensation expenses that were greater than the compensation recognized for financial reporting. During the year ended December 31, 2017, the Company recorded $33.7 million in 2017 excess tax benefits associated with equity awards within (benefit from) provision for income taxes on the consolidated statement of operations.
 
Forfeitures – The standard provides an accounting policy election to account for forfeitures as they occur. The Company made this accounting policy election and the modified retrospective adoption for this component of the standard did not have a material impact on its financial statements.

Statements of Cash Flows - Cash flows related to excess tax benefits are no longer separately classified as a financing activity apart from other income tax cash flows. The Company adopted this component of the standard on a prospective basis. 
 
Earnings Per Share - The Company uses the treasury stock method to compute diluted earnings per share, unless the effect would be anti-dilutive. Under this method, the Company is no longer required to estimate the tax rate and apply it to the

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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

dilutive share calculation for determining the dilutive earnings per share. The Company adopted this component of the standard on a prospective basis.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements
 
In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, "Revenue from Contracts with Customers” (ASC 606). The new revenue standard establishes a single revenue recognition model for recognizing contracts from customers. Under ASC 606, revenue is recognized when a customer obtains control of promised goods or services and is recognized in an amount that reflects the consideration which the entity expects to receive in exchange for those goods or services. In addition, the standard requires disclosure of the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers. The new standard is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within that reporting period.

The standard permits the use of either the retrospective or modified retrospective (cumulative effect) transition method. The Company will adopt the new standard effective January 1, 2018 using the modified retrospective transition method. Under this approach, the cumulative earnings effect of adoption of ASC 606 applied to all open contracts will be recorded as an adjustment to opening retained earnings as of January 1, 2018.

For the Clinical Research segment, the identification of the number of performance obligations implicit within an arrangement is critical to the application of ASC 606. Currently, the Company considers investigator fees and reimbursable out-of-pocket costs distinct from the service portion of the arrangements. Investigator fees have historically been netted against the related costs and out-of-pocket costs are recognized as revenue and expense to the extent incurred. With the adoption of ASC 606, the Company’s long-term arrangements currently accounted for using the proportional performance method will be considered a single performance obligation which requires the inclusion of investigator fees and out-of-pocket costs in both the contract revenue value and in the cost used to measure performance.

Upon adoption of ASC 606, total revenue will be presented as one line item in the consolidated statements of operations. Total revenue will now include service revenue, out-of-pocket costs, and investigator fees that were previously recorded net of the associated cost. As a result of the change in presentation for investigator fees, total revenue and total costs will materially increase.

The inclusion of investigator fees and out-of-pocket costs in the measurement of progress under these contracts as part of one performance obligation may create a timing difference between amounts the Company is entitled to receive in reimbursement for costs incurred and the amount of revenue recognized related to such costs on individual projects. This represents a change from current accounting treatment. The magnitude of this timing item compared to current accounting is dependent on the relative size and progress of the direct service portion of the arrangement compared to the progress of the investigator fees and reimbursable out-of-pocket costs relative to their respective forecasted costs over the life of the project. The Company is finalizing its assessment of the cumulative impact but anticipates a material deferral of revenue to be recorded as a cumulative adjustment upon adoption.

The accounting for contracts within the Data Solutions segment and for short-term contracts within the Clinical Research segment is expected to remain materially consistent with the current accounting treatment.
 
In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, “Leases,” which revises the accounting related to lessee accounting. Under the new guidance, lessees will be required to recognize a lease liability and a right-of-use asset for all leases with terms greater than 12 months. Leases will be classified as either finance or operating, with classification affecting the pattern of expense recognition in the statement of operations. The provisions of ASU No. 2016-02 are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018 and should be applied through a modified retrospective transition approach for leases existing at, or entered into after, the beginning of the earliest comparative period presented in the financial statements. Early adoption is permitted. The Company has established an implementation team to assist with the adoption of the new standard. The evaluation and implementation process is ongoing and is expected to continue through 2018 as the Company performs an analysis of its lease portfolio to identify potential differences from its current accounting policies, and as it reviews the business processes, systems and controls required to support recognition and disclosure under the new standard. The Company expects to recognize substantially all of its leases on the balance sheet by recording a right-to-use asset and a corresponding lease liability.
 

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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-01, “Business Combinations: Clarifying the Definition of a business,” which clarifies that when substantially all of the fair value of the gross assets acquired (or disposed of) is concentrated in a single identifiable asset or group of similar identifiable assets, it should be treated as an acquisition or disposal of an asset. The amendments to ASU No. 2017-01 are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, with early adoption permitted. The adoption of ASU No. 2017-01 is not expected to have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04, “Intangibles-Goodwill and Other: Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment,” in order to simplify the subsequent measurement of goodwill by eliminating the Step 2 goodwill impairment test. Under the amendments in this ASU, an entity should perform its annual or interim goodwill impairment test by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount. An entity will then recognize an impairment charge for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value; however the loss recognized should not exceed the total amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit. The amendments to ASU No. 2017-04 are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted. The adoption of ASU No. 2017-04 is not expected to have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

In May 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-09, “Compensation-Stock Compensation: Scope of Modification Accounting,” which provides guidance about what changes to the terms or conditions of a share-based payment award require an entity to apply modification accounting in ASC Topic 718, “Stock Compensation.” The amendments to ASU No. 2017-09 are effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, with early adoption permitted. The adoption of ASU No. 2017-09 is not expected to have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

In August 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-12, "Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities," in order to simplify certain aspects of hedge accounting and improve disclosures of hedging arrangements. ASU No. 2017-12 eliminates the need to separately measure and report hedge ineffectiveness and generally requires the entire change in fair value of a hedging instrument to be presented in the same income statement line as the hedged item. Entities must apply the amendments to cash flow and net investment hedge relationships that exist on the date of adoption using a modified retrospective approach. The presentation and disclosure requirements must be applied prospectively. The amendments to ASU No. 2017-12 are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, with early adoption permitted. The adoption of ASU No. 2017-12 is not expected to have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

In February 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-02, "Income Statement - Reporting Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income." The amendments in this update allow a reclassification from accumulated other comprehensive income to retained earnings for stranded tax effects resulting from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The amendments in this update also require entities to disclose their accounting policy for releasing income tax effects from accumulated other comprehensive income. The Amendment to ASU No. 2018-02 are effective for the reporting period beginning after December 15, 2018, and interim periods therein. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently assessing the potential impact of ASU No. 2018-02 on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

(3) Joint Ventures
 
The Company entered into a joint venture with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd. during 2017. For further discussion on the joint venture, refer to Note 4, Business Combinations.

On May 6, 2016, the Company and WuXi AppTec (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., or WuXi, finalized an agreement to dissolve the WuXiPRA joint venture. Under the agreement, the Company sold its 49% portion of the joint venture located in mainland China for $4.0 million, which subsequently became a wholly owned subsidiary of WuXi. The portion of the joint venture located in Hong Kong became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company and was acquired for $0.3 million. As a result of the transaction, the Company recognized a $3.3 million gain on the sale, which is recorded in the equity in income (losses) of unconsolidated joint ventures in the accompanying consolidated statement of operations.
 
During April 2015, prior to the dissolution of the WuXiPRA joint venture, both the Company and WuXi made a $3.0 million contribution to WuXiPRA to fund the joint venture’s working capital needs. The Company’s interest in WuXiPRA remained at 49% after the capital contribution. The Company recorded reductions to the investment balance of $0.7 million

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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(excluding the gain on the sale) and $2.9 million during the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively, for the Company's equity in the venture’s net loss for the period, which is recorded in the equity in income (losses) of unconsolidated joint ventures, net of tax in the consolidated statement of operations. The investment was adjusted for the Company's equity in the venture’s net income (loss), cash contributions, distributions, and other adjustments required by the equity method of accounting.
 
The Company entered into a joint venture agreement with A2 Healthcare Corporation (formerly part of Asklep, Inc.). The joint venture provides research and development outsourcing solutions in Japan to the biopharmaceutical and medical device industries. This joint venture is based in Tokyo, Japan and is owned by the Company (49%) and Asklep (51%). On October 17, 2014, the joint venture changed its name from RPS Asklep, Inc. to A2PRA Corporation, or A2PRA. The Company recorded changes to the investment balance totaling $0.1 million, $0.1 million, and $0.0 million during the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively, for the Company’s equity in the venture’s net income (loss) for the period, which is recorded in the equity in income (losses) of unconsolidated joint venture, net of tax in the Company's consolidated statement of operations. The investment will be adjusted for the Company’s equity in the venture’s net income (loss), cash contributions, distributions, and other adjustments required by the equity method of accounting. The investment in A2PRA totaled $0.4 million and $0.3 million at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.
 
In August 2015, the Company and an affiliate of KKR entered into a joint venture. The joint venture was dissolved in December 2015. The purpose of the joint venture included, among other things, the evaluation of investments or acquisitions to enhance the strategic objectives of the Company. The joint venture was jointly owned by the Company (11%) and KKR (89%). The Company contributed $20.0 million to the joint venture in August 2015 and received $19.5 million in December 2015 when the joint venture was dissolved. The Company recorded the $0.5 million reduction to the investment balance in equity in income (losses) of unconsolidated joint ventures, net of tax in the consolidated statement of operations. The investment in the joint venture was adjusted for the Company’s equity in the venture’s net income (loss), cash contributions, distributions, and other adjustments required by the equity method of accounting.
 
(4) Business Combinations
 
Symphony Health Solutions, Inc.

On September 6, 2017, the Company acquired all of the outstanding equity interest of Symphony Health, a provider of data and analytics to help professionals understand the full market lifecycle of products offered for sale by companies in the pharmaceutical industry, for $539.4 million in cash and contingent consideration, which was not capped, in the form of potential earn-out payments based on a multiple of future earnings for the twelve-month periods ending December 2017 and December 2018. With this acquisition, the Company expects to enhance its ability to serve customers throughout the clinical research process with technologies that provide data and analytics.

The liability associated with the expected payment of the earn-out was preliminarily valued at $108.8 million at the acquisition date. During the fourth quarter of 2017, the Company recorded a measurement period adjustment to increase the fair value of the contingent consideration at the acquisition date to $147.5 million based on the Company's finalized assessment of earnings forecasts as of the acquisition date. This measurement period adjustment was reflected as a corresponding increase to goodwill as of the acquisition date. The fair value of the contingent consideration was determined by using a Monte Carlo simulation that includes significant unobservable inputs such as a risk-adjusted discount rate and projected future earnings over the earn-out periods. As the fair value was based on significant inputs not observed in the market and thus represented a Level 3 measurement.

The Company reassesses the fair value of expected contingent consideration and the corresponding liability each reporting period using a Monte Carlo simulation, which is consistent with the initial measurement of the expected liability. Changes in the fair value of the contingent consideration subsequent to the acquisition date, excluding adjustments that qualify as measurement period adjustments, are recognized in earnings in the period of such change. The Company recorded $85.7 million to transaction-related costs in the consolidated statements of operations during the year ended December 31, 2017, associated with changes in the fair value of the earn-out. The Company made a preliminary 2017 earn-out payment, totaling $67.8 million, to the former owners of Symphony Health during the fourth quarter of 2017. As of December 31, 2017, the earn-out liability totaled $165.3 million; $114.7 million is included in accrued expenses and other current liabilities and $50.6 million is included in other long-term liabilities in the consolidated balance sheet. During February 2018, the Company made

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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

the year-end 2017 earn-out payment, which totaled $114.7 million. The 2018 earn-out payment, which is based on 2018 earnings and is payable in the first quarter of 2019, could range from $0 to approximately $110.8 million.
 
The acquisition of Symphony Health was accounted for as a business combination and, accordingly, the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed have been recorded at their respective fair values as of the acquisition date. In connection with the acquisition, the Company recorded approximately $476.0 million of goodwill, which was assigned to the Data Solutions segment and is not deductible for income tax purposes. The goodwill is attributable to the workforce of the acquired business and expected synergies with the Company’s existing operations. The Company incurred $6.4 million in acquisition related costs that are included in transaction-related costs in the consolidated statements of operations.
 
Due to the timing of the acquisition, the valuation of net assets acquired has not been finalized and is expected to be completed by the end of March 2018, and in any case, no later than one year from the acquisition date in accordance with GAAP.

The Company’s preliminary estimate of the purchase price allocation is as follows (in thousands):
 
 
Purchase Price Allocation
 
Weighted Amortization Period
Cash and cash equivalents
 
$
26,297

 
 
Accounts receivable and unbilled services
 
39,132

 
 
Other current assets
 
23,726

 
 
Fixed assets
 
12,340

 
 
Customer relationships
 
190,100

 
10 years
Database
 
137,100

 
3 years
Tradename
 
2,000

 
2 years
Accounts payable and accrued expenses
 
(42,222
)
 
 
Advanced billings
 
(65,968
)
 
 
Deferred tax liabilities
 
(104,869
)
 
 
Other long-term liabilities
 
(6,740
)
 
 
   Estimated fair value of net assets acquired
 
210,896

 
 
   Purchase price, including contingent consideration and working capital adjustment
 
686,877

 
 
Total goodwill
 
$
475,981

 
 

The results of operations for Symphony Health are included in the consolidated financial statements of the Company from the date of acquisition. During this period, Symphony Health's service revenues and net income totaled $90.5 million and $6.3 million, respectively.

Since the acquisition date, goodwill decreased by $24.5 million. The change is primarily related to a $90.6 million increase in the allocation of the purchase price to acquired finite-lived intangible assets, offset by a $38.7 million measurement period adjustment to increase the fair value of the contingent consideration and a $29.8 million adjustment to the acquired income tax balances.


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PRA HEALTH SCIENCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

The following unaudited pro-forma information assumes the acquisition of Symphony Health occurred as of the beginning of 2016. This pro-forma financial information is not necessarily indicative of operating results if the acquisition had been completed at the date indicated, nor is it necessarily an indication of future operating results.

 
December 31,
(in thousands, except per share amounts)
2017
 
2016
Total revenue
$
2,408,770

 
$
2,011,544

Net income attributable to PRA Health Sciences, Inc.
104,700

 
45,836

Net income per share:
 
 
 
   Basic
$
1.68

 
$
0.75

   Diluted
$
1.59

 
$
0.71


The unaudited pro-forma financial information for the year ended December 31, 2017 includes the following non-recurring adjustments:

a $6.4 million increase to transaction-related costs incurred by the Company during the year ended December 31, 2017 attributable to the transaction, with a corresponding $2.5 million increase to the benefit from income taxes.

a $3.1 million increase to loss on the modification or extinguishment of long-term debt incurred by the Company during the year ended December 31, 2017 attributable to the above transaction, with a corresponding $1.2 million increase to the benefit from income taxes.

Takeda Transactions

On June 1, 2017, the Company acquired all of the outstanding shares of Takeda Pharmaceutical Data Services, Ltd., or TDS, from Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd., or Takeda, for $0.7 million in cash. The Company recorded approximately $1.0 million of goodwill, which is assigned to the Clinical Research segment and is not deductible for income tax purposes. Pro-forma results of operations and a complete purchase price allocation have not been presented because the results of this acquisition did not have a material effect on the Company's consolidated financial statements.

On June 1, 2017, the Company and Takeda also closed on a joint venture transaction that enables the Company to provide clinical trial delivery and pharmacovigilance services as a strategic partner of Takeda in Japan. The joint venture transaction was effectuated through the creation of a new legal entity, Takeda PRA Development Center KK, or the TDC joint venture. The Company paid $5.4 million for a 50% equity interest in the TDC joint venture, which represents 50% of the fair value of the net assets and workforce that Takeda contributed to the joint venture. The joint venture provides services including clinical trial monitoring, project management, regulatory strategy and submissions, data management, biostatistics, drug safety reporting, and medical monitoring. The Company is required to buy-out Takeda’s 50% interest in the TDC joint venture in two years. The Company also has an early buy-out option of Takeda’s 50% interest in December 2018, if both parties agree.

The Company determined that the TDC joint venture is a VIE in which the Company is the primary beneficiary. Accordingly, the Company accounted for the $5.4 million contribution to the TDC joint venture as a business combination and consolidated the VIE in its financial statements with a noncontrolling interest for the 50% portion owned by Takeda. The assets acquired and the liabilities assumed have been recorded at their respective estimated fair values as of June 1, 2017. The Company recorded approximately $2.7 million of goodwill, which is assigned to the Clinical Research segment and is not deductible for income tax purposes. The goodwill is primarily attributable to the assembled workforce. The Company incurred $0.6 million in acquisition related costs that are included in selling, general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statements of operations.


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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

The Company’s fair value of the net assets acquired as part of the TDC joint venture transaction at the closing date of the business combination is as follows (in thousands):
 
 
 
Purchase Price Allocation
Cash and cash equivalents
 
$
8,120

Other current assets
 
1,671

Other non-current assets
 
799

Accounts payable and accrued expenses
 
(2,380
)
Estimated fair value of net assets acquired
 
8,210

PRA purchase price
 
5,440

Fair value of Takeda's noncontrolling interest
 
5,440

Total goodwill
 
$
2,670

 
The Company has not disclosed post-acquisition or pro-forma revenue and earnings attributable to the TDC joint venture as they did not have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
 
Parallel 6, Inc.
 
On May 10, 2017, the Company acquired all of the outstanding equity interest of Parallel 6, Inc., or Parallel 6, a developer of technologies for improving patient enrollment, engagement, and management of clinical trials, for $39.0 million in cash and contingent consideration in the form of a potential earn-out payment of up to $10.0 million. The earn-out payment is contingent upon the achievement of certain external software sales targets during the 18-month period following closing. With this acquisition, the Company expects to enhance its ability to serve customers throughout the clinical research process with technologies that provide improved efficiencies by reducing study durations and costs through integrated operational management.

The fair value of the earn-out as of the acquisition date was $8.4 million, which was determined by using a Monte Carlo simulation that includes significant unobservable inputs such as a risk-adjusted discount rate and projected external software sales of Parallel 6 over the earn-out period. As the fair value was based on significant inputs not observed in the market and thus represented a Level 3 measurement. During the fourth quarter of 2017, the Company determined that the external software sales targets likely would not be met; therefore the Company released the $8.4 million contingent consideration liability, which is recorded within transaction-related costs in the consolidation statements of operations.

The acquisition of Parallel 6 was accounted for as a business combination and, accordingly, the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed have been recorded at their respective fair values as of the acquisition date. In connection with the acquisition, the Company recorded approximately $32.5 million of goodwill, which was assigned to the Clinical Research segment and is not deductible for income tax purposes. The goodwill is attributable to the workforce of the acquired business and expected synergies with the Company’s existing information technology operations. The Company incurred $1.3 million in acquisition related costs that are included in selling, general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statements of operations. 


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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

The Company’s purchase price allocation is as follows (in thousands):
 
 
Purchase Price Allocation
 
Weighted Amortization Period
Cash and cash equivalents
 
$
132

 
 
Accounts receivable and unbilled services
 
929

 
 
Other current assets
 
26

 
 
Software intangible
 
15,500

 
5 years
Other intangibles
 
920

 
5 years
Accounts payable and accrued expenses
 
(780
)
 
 
Advanced billings
 
(692
)
 
 
Other long-term liabilities
 
(1,148
)
 
 
Estimated fair value of net assets acquired
 
14,887

 
 
Purchase price, including contingent consideration
 
47,339

 
 
Total goodwill
 
$
32,452

 
 
 
Since the acquisition date, goodwill decreased by $1.2 million, primarily as a result of adjustments to acquired balances. The Company has not disclosed post-acquisition or pro-forma revenue and earnings attributable to Parallel 6 as they did not have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

Acquisition of Nextrials
 
On March 18, 2016, the Company acquired all of the outstanding shares of Nextrials, Inc., or Nextrials, a developer of web-based software which integrates electronic health records with clinical trials, for $4.8 million in cash and contingent consideration in the form of potential earn-out payments of up to $3.0 million. Earn-out payments of $2.0 million and $1.0 million were contingent upon the achievement of project milestones and certain external software sales targets, respectively, during the 30-month period following closing. The Company recognized a liability of approximately $2.3 million as the estimated acquisition date fair value of the earn-out. The fair value was based on significant inputs not observed in the market and thus represented a Level 3 measurement. Changes in the fair value of the earn-out subsequent to the acquisition date were recognized in earnings in the period of the change. The Company made a payment of $0.4 million during the year ended December 31, 2017 as a result of the achievements of certain project milestones. During the fourth quarter of 2017, the Company determined that the remaining project milestone and external software sales targets likely would not be met; therefore, the Company released the remaining $1.4 million contingent consideration liability, which is recorded within transaction-related costs in the consolidated statements of operations. With this acquisition, the Company expects to enhance its ability to serve customers throughout the clinical research process with technologies that include improved efficiencies by reducing study durations and costs through integrated operational management.
 
The acquisition of Nextrials was accounted for as a business combination and, accordingly, the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed have been recorded at their respective fair values as of the acquisition date. In connection with the acquisition, the Company recorded approximately $4.3 million of goodwill, which is not deductible for income tax purposes. The goodwill is attributable to the workforce of the acquired business and expected synergies with the Company’s existing information technology operations.


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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

The Company’s purchase price allocation is as follows (in thousands): 
 
Purchase
Price
Allocation
 
Weighted
Amortization
Period
Cash and cash equivalents
$
94

 
 
Accounts receivable and unbilled services
211

 
 
Other current assets
96

 
 
Property, plant and equipment
111

 
 
Software intangible
5,574

 
5 years
Accounts payable and accrued expenses
(1,585
)
 
 
Other long-term liabilities
(1,663
)
 
 
Estimated fair value of net assets acquired
2,838

 
 
Purchase price, including contingent consideration
7,145

 
 
Total goodwill
$
4,307

 
 
 
Since the acquisition date, goodwill increased by $2.0 million, primarily as a result of adjustments to the acquired income tax balances. Pro forma information is not provided as the acquisition did not have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated results.
 
Acquisition of WuXiPRA’s Hong Kong Operations 
 
As noted in Note 3, the Company acquired WuXiPRA’s Hong Kong operations for $0.3 million when the joint venture was dissolved on May 6, 2016. The acquisition was accounted for as a business combination and, accordingly, the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed were recorded at their respective fair values as of the acquisition date. In connection with the acquisition, the Company recorded approximately $0.6 million of goodwill, which is attributable to the workforce of the acquired business. Pro forma information is not provided as the acquisition did not have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated results.

Acquisition of VHS
 
On June 8, 2015, the Company purchased the assets of Value Health Solutions Inc., or VHS, a software development firm, for $0.5 million in cash and 47,598 unregistered shares of the Company’s common stock with a fair market value of $1.6 million. In June 2017 an additional 4,998 shares of the Company's common stock with a fair market value of $0.4 million were issued to VHS in accordance with the asset purchase agreement. The asset purchase agreement also includes contingent consideration in the form of potential earn-out payments of up to $16.0 million. Earn-out payments of $1.0 million and $15.0 million are contingent upon the achievement of project milestones and certain external software sales targets, respectively, during the 48-month period following closing. The Company recognized a liability of approximately $1.0 million as the estimated acquisition date fair value of the earn-out; this amount is included in the accrued expenses and other current liabilities in the consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2016. The fair value of the contingent consideration was based on significant inputs not observed in the market and thus represented a Level 3 measurement. Changes in the fair value of the contingent consideration subsequent to the acquisition date were recognized in earnings in the period of the change. During the year ended December 31, 2017, the Company released the remaining $1.0 million contingent consideration liability, which is recorded within transaction-related costs in the consolidation statements of operations as the earn-out targets were not met. With this acquisition, the Company expects to enhance its ability to serve customers throughout the clinical research process with technologies that include improved efficiencies by reducing study durations and costs through integrated operational management.
 
The acquisition of VHS was accounted for as a business combination and, accordingly, the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed have been recorded at their respective fair values as of the acquisition date. In connection with the acquisition, the Company recorded approximately $1.0 million of goodwill, which is deductible for income tax purposes. The goodwill is attributable to the workforce of the acquired business and expected synergies with the Company’s existing information technology operations.
 


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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

The Company’s purchase price allocation is as follows (in thousands):
 
Purchase
Price
Allocation
 
Weighted
Amortization
Period
Software intangible
$
2,500

 
5 years
Property, plant and equipment
43

 
 
Estimated fair value of net assets acquired
2,543

 
 
Purchase price, including contingent consideration
3,499

 
 
Total goodwill
$
956

 
 
 
Pro forma information is not provided as the acquisition did not have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated results.
 
(5) Accounts Receivable and Unbilled Services
 
Accounts receivable and unbilled services include service revenue, reimbursement revenue, and amounts associated with work performed by investigators. Accounts receivable and unbilled services were (in thousands): 
 
December 31,
 
2017
 
2016
Accounts receivable
$
457,676

 
$
284,647

Unbilled services
170,760

 
155,609

Total accounts receivable and unbilled services
628,436

 
440,256

Less allowance for doubtful accounts
(1,433
)
 
(1,203
)
Total accounts receivable and unbilled services, net
$
627,003

 
$
439,053

 
A rollforward of the allowance for doubtful accounts is as follows (in thousands):
 
Years Ended December 31,
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
Beginning balance
$
1,203

 
$
2,641

 
$
1,819

Charged (credited) to income from operations
255

 
(652
)
 
443

Write-offs, recoveries and the effects of foreign currency exchange
(25
)
 
(786
)
 
379

Ending balance
$
1,433

 
$
1,203

 
$
2,641

 
(6) Fixed Assets
 
The carrying amount of fixed assets is as follows (in thousands):
 
December 31, 
 
2017
 
2016
Leasehold improvements
$
49,548

 
$
25,083

Computer hardware and software
139,861

 
92,095

Furniture and equipment
44,325

 
33,751

Total fixed assets
233,734

 
150,929

Accumulated depreciation
(90,664
)
 
(63,352
)
Total fixed assets, net
$
143,070

 
$
87,577

 
All fixed assets are included as collateral for the payment and performance in full of the term loans pledged by the Company and its subsidiaries.
 

86

PRA HEALTH SCIENCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

Depreciation expense was $29.0 million, $24.1 million, and $21.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.
 
(7) Goodwill and Intangible Assets
 
Goodwill
 
The changes in the carrying amount of goodwill are as follows (in thousands):
 
Clinical Research
 
Data Solutions
 
Consolidated
Balance at December 31, 2015
$
1,014,798

 
$

 
$
1,014,798

Acquisition of Nextrials
4,307

 

 
4,307

Acquisition of the WuXiPRA joint venture’s Hong Kong operations
570

 

 
570

Currency translation
(47,695
)
 

 
(47,695
)
Balance at December 31, 2016
971,980

 

 
971,980

Acquisition of Symphony Health

 
475,981

 
475,981

Acquisition of Parallel 6
32,452

 

 
32,452

Acquisition of TDC joint venture
2,670

 

 
2,670

Acquisition of TDS
966

 

 
966

Currency translation
28,375

 

 
28,375

Balance at December 31, 2017
$
1,036,443

 
$
475,981

 
$
1,512,424

 
There are no accumulated impairment charges as of December 31, 2017 and 2016.
 
Intangible Assets
 
Intangible assets consist of the following (in thousands): 
 
December 31, 2017
 
December 31, 2016
 
Gross Amount
 
Accumulated Amortization
 
Net Amount
 
Gross Amount
 
Accumulated Amortization
 
Net Amount
Customer relationships
$
565,638

 
$
(72,133
)
 
$
493,505

 
$
360,328

 
$
(44,886
)
 
$
315,442

Customer backlog
123,746

 
(120,583
)
 
3,163

 
119,223

 
(108,847
)
 
10,376

Trade names (finite-lived)
28,558

 
(9,265
)
 
19,293

 
25,740

 
(6,544
)
 
19,196

Patient list and other intangibles
44,474

 
(24,226
)
 
20,248

 
28,974

 
(18,442
)
 
10,532

Database
137,100

 
(7,544
)
 
129,556

 

 

 

Non-competition agreements
2,767

 
(2,706
)
 
61

 
2,737

 
(2,317
)
 
420

Total finite-lived intangible assets
902,283

 
(236,457
)
 
665,826

 
537,002

 
(181,036
)
 
355,966

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Trade names (indefinite-lived)
118,010

 

 
118,010

 
118,010

 

 
118,010

Total intangible assets
$
1,020,293

 
$
(236,457
)
 
$
783,836

 
$
655,012

 
$
(181,036
)
 
$
473,976

 
The Company conducts its annual impairment test of indefinite‑lived intangibles during the fourth quarter of the fiscal year. For the periods ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, the Company concluded that the fair value of indefinite‑lived intangibles exceeded the carrying value and, therefore, no impairment exists. Amortization expense was $49.2 million, $45.4 million and $56.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.
 

87

PRA HEALTH SCIENCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

Estimated amortization expense related to finite‑lived intangible assets for the next five years and thereafter is as follows (in thousands):
 
2018
$
71,773

2019
69,130

2020
69,502

2021
64,380

2022
49,980

2023 and thereafter
341,061

Total
$
665,826

 
(8) Accrued Expenses and Other Current Liabilities
 
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities consisted of the following (in thousands):
 
December 31,
 
2017
 
2016
Compensation, including bonuses, fringe benefits and payroll taxes
$
125,658

 
$
86,160

Acquisition-related contingent considerations
114,692

 
1,735

Accrued data costs
15,669

 

Other
44,591

 
32,078

Interest
3,265

 
3,616

Total accrued expenses and other current liabilities
$
303,875

 
$
123,589


(9) Revolving Credit Facilities and Long‑Term Debt
 
Long‑term debt consists of the following (in thousands):
 
December 31,
 
2017
 
2016
Term loans, first lien
$
1,140,927

 
$
625,000

Senior notes

 
91,441

Accounts receivable financing agreement
120,000

 
120,000

Total debt
1,260,927

 
836,441

Less current portion of long-term debt
(28,789
)
 
(31,250
)
Total long-term debt
1,232,138

 
805,191

Less debt issuance costs and discount
(6,741
)
 
(8,139
)
Total long-term debt, net
$
1,225,397

 
$
797,052

 
Principal payments on long‑term debt are due as follows (in thousands):
Current maturities of long-term debt:
 
2018
$
28,789

2019
148,789

2020
28,789

2021
1,054,560

Total
$
1,260,927

 

88

PRA HEALTH SCIENCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

2016 Credit Facilities
 
On December 6, 2016, the Company through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Pharmaceutical Research Associates, Inc., entered into a credit agreement providing for senior secured credit facilities, or the 2016 Credit Facilities, totaling $750.0 million. The 2016 Credit Facilities were comprised of a $625.0 million first lien term loan due 2021, or the 2016 First Lien Term Loan, and a five-year $125.0 million revolving line of credit, or the 2016 Revolver.
 
The proceeds from the 2016 Credit Facilities were used to repay the then outstanding 2013 First Lien Term Loan (defined below). In accordance with the guidance in ASC 470‑50, “Debt—Modifications and Extinguishments,” the debt repayment was accounted for as a partial debt extinguishment. The repayment resulted in a $16.7 million loss on extinguishment of debt, consisting of $15.8 million write-off of unamortized debt issuance costs and $0.9 million of fees associated with the transaction, which is included in loss on modification or extinguishment of debt in the consolidated statements of operations for the year ended December 31, 2016.

On September 6, 2017, the Company borrowed $550.0 million, or the Incremental Borrowing, pursuant to an incremental amendment to the credit agreement governing the 2016 Credit Facilities. The incremental borrowing provisions of the credit agreement allow for, among other things, additional borrowings in the event of a material acquisition by the Company. The proceeds of the Incremental Borrowing were primarily used to fund the acquisition of Symphony Health. In accordance with the guidance in FASB’s ASC 470-50, the Incremental Borrowing was accounted for as a debt modification. The Incremental Borrowing resulted in a $3.1 million loss on modification of debt, which consists of fees associated with the transaction for the year ended December 31, 2017.

On December 28, 2017, the Company amended the credit agreement governing the 2016 Credit Facilities, or the 2017 Refinancing, to refinance the 2016 First Lien Term Loan which reduced the interest rate margin and amended the payment schedule applicable to the 2016 First Lien Term Loan. The 2017 Refinancing also increased the Company's borrowing capacity under the 2016 Revolver from $125.0 million to $225.0 million and modified the definition of permitted investments and refreshed the capacity for incremental credit facilities under the Credit Agreement. In accordance with the guidance in ASC 470-50, the 2017 Refinancing was accounted for as a debt modification. As a result of the debt modification, the Company recognized a loss of modification of debt totaling $0.6 million, which was recorded during the year ended December 31, 2017.
 
As collateral for borrowings under the 2016 Credit Facilities, the Company granted a pledge on primarily all of its assets, and the stock of wholly‑owned U.S. restricted subsidiaries. The Company is also subject to certain financial covenants, which require the Company to maintain certain debt‑to‑EBITDA and interest expense-to-EBITDA ratios. The 2016 Credit Facilities also contain covenants that, among other things, restrict the Company’s ability to create liens, make investments and acquisitions, incur or guarantee additional indebtedness,  enter into mergers or consolidations and other fundamental changes, conduct sales and other dispositions of property or assets, enter into sale-leaseback transactions or hedge agreements, prepay subordinated debt, pay dividends or make other payments in respect of capital stock, change the line of business, enter into transactions with affiliates, enter into burdensome agreements with negative pledge clauses, and make subsidiary distributions. After giving effect to the applicable restrictions on the payment of dividends under the 2016 Credit Facilities, subject to compliance with applicable law, as of December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, all amounts in retained earnings were free of restriction and were available for the payment of dividends. The Company does not expect to pay dividends in the foreseeable future. The Company does not expect these covenants to restrict its liquidity, financial condition or access to capital resources in the foreseeable future. The 2016 Credit Facilities also contains customary representations, warranties, affirmative covenants, and events of default.
 
2016 First Lien Term Loan
 
The 2016 First Lien Term Loan, including the Incremental Borrowing and as modified by the 2017 Refinancing, is a floating rate term loan with scheduled, fixed quarterly principal payments of $7.2 million to be made quarterly until September 30, 2021, with the remaining $1,033.0 million principal payment due at December 6, 2021.
 
The variable interest rate is a rate equal to the London Interbank Offered Rate, or LIBOR, or the adjusted base rate, or ABR, at the election of the Company, plus a margin based on the ratio of total indebtedness to EBITDA. The margin ranges from 1.00% to 2.00%, in the case of LIBOR loans, and 0.00% to 1.00%, in the case of ABR loans. The Company has the option of 1, 2, 3 or 6 month base interest rates. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, the weighted average interest rate on the first lien term loan was 3.45% and 2.70%, respectively. There are no prepayment penalties.

89

PRA HEALTH SCIENCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

 
2016 Revolver
 
The Company’s 2016 Revolver, as modified by the 2017 Refinancing, provides for $225.0 million of potential borrowings and expires on December 6, 2021. The interest rate on the 2016 Revolver is based on the LIBOR with a 0% LIBOR floor or ABR, at the election of the Company, plus an applicable margin based on the leverage ratio of the Company. The Company, at its discretion, may elect interest periods of 1, 2, 3 or 6 months. The Company is required to pay to the lenders a commitment fee for unused commitments of 0.2% to 0.4% based on the Company’s debt-to-EBITDA ratio. At December 31, 2017, the Company had $91.5 million in outstanding borrowings under the 2016 Revolver at a weighted average interest rate of 3.56%; there were no outstanding borrowings under the 2016 Revolver at December 31, 2016. In the next twelve months, the Company has the ability and intends to repay the outstanding line of credit obligations; therefore, borrowings under the line of credit have been classified as a current liability. In addition, at December 31, 2017 and 2016, the Company had $4.9 million and $7.0 million, respectively, in letters of credit outstanding, which are secured by the 2016 Revolver.
 
2013 Credit Facilities
 
In September 2013, the Company entered into senior secured credit facilities, or the 2013 Credit Facilities, for an aggregate principal amount of $825.0 million of first lien term loan, or 2013 First Lien Term Loan, and a $125.0 million revolving line of credit, or 2013 Revolver. In September 2013, the Company also issued $375.0 million in senior notes, or Senior Notes. The proceeds from the 2013 Credit Facilities and the Senior Notes issuances were used in conjunction with the acquisition by KKR, to fund the acquisition of RPS, repay existing debt, and pay for fees and expenses related to the aforementioned events.
  
As collateral for borrowings under the 2013 Credit Facilities, the Company granted a pledge on primarily all of its assets, and the stock of designated subsidiaries. The Company was subject to certain financial covenants, which required the Company to maintain certain debt‑to‑EBITDA ratios. The 2013 Credit Facilities also contained covenants that, among other things, restricted the Company’s ability to incur additional indebtedness, grant liens, make investments, loans, guarantees or advances, make restricted junior payments, including dividends, redemptions of capital stock and voluntary prepayments or repurchase of certain other indebtedness, engage in mergers, acquisitions or sales of assets, enter into sale and leaseback transactions or engage in certain transactions with affiliates and otherwise restrict certain corporate activities.
 
2013 First Lien Term Loan
 
The 2013 First Lien Term Loan was a floating rate term loan with scheduled, fixed quarterly principal payments of 0.25% of the original principal balance through September 2020. The voluntary prepayments made during 2014, using proceeds from the IPO, fully satisfied all required quarterly principal payments through maturity. The variable interest rate was based on the LIBOR, with a 1.0% LIBOR floor, plus an applicable margin of 3.5%. The applicable margin was dependent upon the Company’s debt to consolidated EBITDA ratio as defined in the 2013 Credit Facilities. The 2013 Credit Facilities required the Company to prepay outstanding term loans, subject to certain exceptions, with 50% of the Company's annual Excess Cash Flow, which percentage would be reduced to 25% if PRA achieves a debt‑to‑EBITDA ratio of less than or equal to 3.75 to 1.0, but greater than 3.25 to 1.0 on the date of prepayment for the most recent test period and no prepayment would be required if PRA achieves a debt‑to‑EBITDA ratio of less than or equal to 3.25 to 1.0 on the date of prepayment for the most recent test period, commencing in 2014. The Company had the option of 1, 2, 3 or 6 month base interest rates. There were no prepayment penalties. 
 
2013 Revolver
 
The Company’s 2013 Revolver provided for $125.0 million of potential borrowings and would have expired on September 23, 2018. The interest rate on the 2013 Revolver was based on the LIBOR plus an applicable rate, based on the leverage ratio of the Company. The Company, at its discretion, may have chosen interest periods of 1, 2, 3 or 6 months. In addition, the Company was required to pay to the lenders a commitment fee of 0.5% quarterly for unused commitments on the revolver, subject to a step‑down to 0.375% based upon achievement of a certain leverage ratio.


90

PRA HEALTH SCIENCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

Senior Notes
 
In September 2013, the Company issued $375 million of Senior Notes at a rate of 9.50% per year payable on April 1, and October 1 of each year, beginning April 1, 2014. The Senior Notes did not require principal payments and were set to mature on October 1, 2023.
 
The Company could redeem the Senior Notes, in whole or in part, at any time prior to October 1, 2018 subject to a prepayment premium calculated in accordance with the Senior Notes indenture. From October 1, 2018 through October 1, 2019, the prepayment premium was 4.75% declining ratably to 0% beginning on October 1, 2021. In the event of a change in control, the Company could have been required to offer to repurchase the Senior Notes at a price equal to the outstanding principal balance and a 1% prepayment premium plus accrued and unpaid interest.
 
The Senior Notes included covenants which place limitations on incurring additional indebtedness, selling certain assets, and making certain distributions.

On March 17, 2016, the Company repurchased $133.6 million aggregate principal amount of its Senior Notes as part of a cash tender offer. In accordance with the guidance in ASC 470-50, the debt repurchase was accounted for as a partial debt extinguishment. The repurchase resulted in a $21.5 million loss on extinguishment of debt, which consists of a $17.4 million early tender premium, a $3.7 million write-off of unamortized debt issuance cost and $0.4 million of fees associated with the transaction which is included in loss on modification or extinguishment of debt in the consolidated statement of operations during the year ended December 31, 2016.

On December 29, 2017, the Company redeemed the remaining $91.4 million aggregate principal amount of its Senior Notes. In accordance with the guidance in ASC 470-50, the debt redemption was accounted for as a debt extinguishment. The redemption resulted in an $11.3 million loss on extinguishment of debt, which consisted of a $9.2 million early payment premium and $2.1 million write-off of unamortized debt issuance cost which is included in loss on modification or extinguishment of debt in the consolidated statement of operations during the year ended December 31, 2017.
 
Accounts Receivable Financing Agreement
 
In March 2016, the Company entered into a $140.0 million accounts receivable financing agreement, of which $120.0 million was outstanding as of December 31, 2017. The initial borrowings in 2016 were used to repay amounts outstanding on the Company’s revolving credit facility that were used to fund the cash tender offer for the Senior Notes.
 
Loans under the accounts receivable financing agreement accrue interest at either a reserve-adjusted LIBOR or a base rate, plus 1.6%. The Company may prepay loans upon one business day prior notice and may terminate the accounts receivable financing agreement with 15 days’ prior notice. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, the weighted average interest rate on the accounts receivable financing agreement was 2.96% and 2.31%, respectively.
 
The accounts receivable financing agreement contains various customary representations and warranties and covenants, and default provisions which provide for the termination and acceleration of the commitments and loans under the agreement in circumstances including, but not limited to, failure to make payments when due, breach of representations, warranties or covenants, certain insolvency events or failure to maintain the security interest in the trade receivables, and defaults under other material indebtedness.
 
The accounts receivable financing agreement terminates on March 22, 2019, unless terminated earlier pursuant to its terms. At December 31, 2017, there was $20.0 million of remaining capacity available under the accounts receivable financing agreement.
 
Fair Value of Debt
 
The estimated fair value of the Company’s debt and outstanding borrowings under its revolving credit facilities was $1,352.4 million and $844.2 million at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. The fair value of the term loans, borrowings under credit facilities, and accounts receivable financing agreement which totaled $1,352.4 million and $678.7 million at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, was determined based on Level 3 inputs, which is primarily based on rates at which the debt is traded among financial institutions adjusted for the Company’s credit standing. The fair value of the Senior Notes

91

PRA HEALTH SCIENCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

totaled $99.2 million at December 31, 2016, was determined based on Level 2 inputs using the market approach, which is primarily based on rates at which the debt is traded among financial institutions.
 
(10) Stockholders’ Equity
 
Authorized Shares
 
The Company is authorized to issue up to one billion shares of common stock, with a par value of $0.01. The Company is authorized to issue up to one hundred million shares of preferred stock, with a par value of $0.01.
 
(11) Stock-Based Compensation
 
On September 23, 2013 and in connection with the acquisition of the Company by KKR, the Board of Directors approved the formation of the 2013 Stock Incentive Plan for Key Employees of Pinnacle Holdco Parent, Inc. and its subsidiaries, or the Plan. The Plan allowed for the issuance of stock options and other stock-based awards as permitted by applicable laws. The number of shares available for grant under the Plan is 12.5% of the outstanding shares at closing on a fully diluted basis. The Company rolled over 2,052,909 stock options under the Plan. The fair value of the options that were rolled over equaled the fair value of the options in the Predecessor Company and, therefore, there was no additional stock-based compensation expense recorded.
 
All stock options granted under the Plan are subject to transfer restrictions of the stock option’s underlying shares once vested and exercised. This lack of marketability was included as a discount, calculated using the Finnerty Model, when determining the grant date value of these options. In conjunction with the secondary offerings during 2017 and 2016, the transfer restrictions on a portion of such shares issuable upon exercise of vested options granted under the Plan were released. The release of the transfer restrictions is considered a modification under ASC 718, “Stock Compensation.” As a result of these modifications, the Company incurred approximately $3.7 million and $10.1 million of incremental compensation expense associated with service-based options during the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, which is included in transaction-related costs in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations.
 
On November 23, 2014 and in connection with the Company’s IPO, the Board of Directors approved the formation of the 2014 Omnibus Plan for Key Employees, or the 2014 Omnibus Plan. The 2014 Omnibus Plan allows for the issuance of stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted shares and restricted stock units, other stock-based awards, and performance compensation awards as permitted by applicable laws. The number of shares available for grant under the 2014 Omnibus Plan is 3,200,000.
 
Generally, the Company grants stock options with exercise prices greater than or equal to the fair market value of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant. The stock option compensation cost calculated under the fair value approach is recognized on a pro-rata basis over the vesting period of the stock options (usually five years under the Plan and four years under the 2014 Omnibus Plan). Most stock option grants are subject to graded vesting as services are rendered and have a contractual life of ten years. The Board and the Compensation Committee have the discretion to determine different vesting schedules.
 
In December 2013, the Company granted certain employees market-based options under the Plan that vest only upon the achievement of a specified internal rate of return from a liquidity event (“2.0x Options” and “2.5x Options”). At the time of grant, no compensation expense was recorded as the 2.0x Options and 2.5x Options vest upon a liquidity event, which is not considered probable until the date it occurs. On January 20, 2016, the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors adopted a resolution to adjust the vesting criteria for all 2.0x Options granted and still outstanding on such date. Under the revised vesting criteria, the 2.0x Options vest upon the announcement of a secondary offering. The Company did not record compensation expense on the January 20, 2016 modification date as the Company determined the modification resulted in Type IV Improbable-to-Improbable modification as the secondary offering was deemed improbable since the event was outside of the Company’s control and could not be considered probable until the date it occurred. On March 2, 2016, the Company announced a secondary offering of shares by KKR and certain management stockholders, and it became probable that the 2.0x Options would vest. Due to the modification of the terms of the 2.0x Options, the Company calculated the fair value of these options using the Black-Scholes option pricing model with the following assumptions: expected life of 2.92 years; risk-free rate of 1.04%; volatility of 45%; dividend yield of 0%; and a Finnerty discount of approximately 16%. In total, 835,551 2.0x Options held by current employees were modified. As a result of this modification, and the modifications associated with the transfer

92

PRA HEALTH SCIENCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

restrictions releases noted above, the Company incurred approximately $0.8 million and $25.7 million of incremental compensation expense associated with the 2.0x Options during the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, which is included in transaction-related costs in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations.
 
On November 16, 2016, the 2.5x Options vested upon the achievement of a specified internal rate of return and multiple on invested capital in connection with the closing of a secondary offering of shares by KKR. In total, 809,755 2.5x Options held by current employees vested. The Company incurred approximately $0.8 million and $6.4 million of incremental compensation expense associated with the vesting and transfer restriction release of the 2.5x Options during the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, which is included in transaction-related costs in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations.
 
As of December 31, 2017, there was $59.4 million of unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested stock-based compensation, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 2 years. The total fair value of options vested during the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015 was $5.2 million, $27.3 million and $3.1 million, respectively.
 
Aggregated information regarding the Company’s option plans is summarized below:
 
Options
 
Wtd. Average
Exercise Price
 
Wtd. Average
Remaining
Contractual Life
 
Intrinsic Value
(in millions)
Outstanding at December 31, 2016
5,507,347

 
$
15.38

 
6.7
 
$
218.9

Granted
1,921,000

 
75.21

 
 
 
 
Exercised (1)
(2,094,886
)
 
10.19

 
 
 
 
Expired/forfeited
(87,836
)
 
28.47

 
 
 
 
Outstanding at December 31, 2017
5,245,625

 
$
39.14

 
7.6
 
$
272.4

Exercisable at December 31, 2017
2,247,920

 
$
14.12

 
6.0
 
$
173.0



(1) During the year ended December 31, 2017, of the 2,094,886 shares exercised, 190,683 were withheld from the option holders to cover the exercise price of the options being exercised.

The weighted average fair value of service-based options granted was $25.24, $15.57 and $10.87 during the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.
 
Selected information regarding the Company’s stock options as of December 31, 2017 is as follows:
 
Options Outstanding
 
Options Exercisable
Exercise Price
 
Number of
Options
 
Wtd Average
Remaining Life
(in Years)
 
Wtd. Average
Exercise Price
 
Number of
Options
 
Wtd. Average
Remaining Life
(in Years)
 
Wtd. Average
Exercise Price
$
2.94

 
27,304

 
5.0
 
$
2.94

 
27,304

 
5.0
 
$
2.94

$
11.73 - 16.42

 
2,441,121

 
5.9
 
$
11.89

 
1,971,291

 
5.9
 
$
11.82

$
25.35 - 74.13

 
1,058,700

 
8.1
 
$
42.93

 
249,325

 
7.4
 
$
33.51

$
75.01 - 83.37

 
1,718,500

 
9.7
 
$
76.08

 

 
 
$


The Company recorded a receivable of $2.7 million from the Company's brokerage services provider associated with certain stock option exercises, which was included in the "Prepaid expenses and other current assets" line item on the accompanying consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2017. The full amount was received in January 2018.
 
Restricted Stock Awards and Units
 
The Company’s RSAs/RSUs will settle in shares of the Company’s common stock on the applicable vesting date. RSAs/RSUs granted to employees vest 100% on the third anniversary of the date of grant. RSAs/RSUs granted to the Company's non-employee directors vest 50% on the first anniversary of the date of grant and 50% on the second anniversary of the date of grant.
 

93

PRA HEALTH SCIENCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

Activity related to the Company’s RSAs/RSUs in 2017 is as follows:
 
Awards
 
Wtd. Average
Grant-Date
Fair Value
 
Intrinsic
Value
(millions)
Unvested at December 31, 2016
188,590

 
$
32.63

 
$
10.4

Granted
140,044

 
64.18

 
 
Expired/Forfeited
(12,000
)
 
32.81
 
 
Vested
(7,096
)
 
38.80

 
 
Unvested at December 31, 2017
309,538

 
$
46.76

 
$
28.2

 
Stock-based compensation expense related to employee stock options and RSAs/RSUs is summarized below (in thousands): 
 
Years Ended December 31,
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
Direct costs
$
3,552

 
$
1,813

 
$
1,218

Selling, general and administrative
9,064

 
5,254

 
4,058

Transaction-related costs
5,294

 
42,166

 

Total stock-based compensation expense
$
17,910

 
$
49,233

 
$
5,276

 
Employee Stock Purchase Plan 

In April 2017, the Board of Directors approved the PRA Health Sciences, Inc. 2017 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, or ESPP, which was approved by the Company’s shareholders on June 1, 2017. The ESPP allows eligible employees to authorize payroll deductions of up to 15% of their base salary or wages to be applied toward the purchase of shares of the Company’s common stock on the last trading day of the offering period. Participating employees will purchase shares of the Company's common stock at a discount of up to 15% on the lesser of the closing price of the Company's common stock on the NASDAQ Global Select Market (i) on the first trading day of the offering period or (ii) the last day of any offering period. The aggregate number of shares of the Company’s common stock that may be issued under the ESPP may not exceed three million shares and no one employee may purchase any shares under the ESPP having a collective fair market value greater than $25,000 in any one calendar year. Offering periods under the ESPP will generally be in six month increments, commencing on January 1 and July 1 of each calendar year with the compensation committee having the right to establish different offering periods. The Company's first offering period will commence on January 1, 2018.

(12) Income Taxes
 
The components of income before income taxes and equity in income (losses) of unconsolidated joint ventures are as follows (in thousands):
 
Years Ended December 31,
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
Domestic
$
(52,083
)
 
$
(61,226
)
 
$
(23,400
)
Foreign
126,630

 
155,120

 
138,565

 
$
74,547

 
$
93,894

 
$
115,165


94

PRA HEALTH SCIENCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

 
The components of the (benefit from) provision for income taxes were as follows (in thousands): 
 
Years Ended December 31,
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
Current:
 
 
 
 
 
Federal
$
30,084

 
$
151

 
$
1,132

State
2,607

 
1,842

 
1,507

Foreign
30,601

 
36,970

 
30,584

Total current income tax expense
63,292

 
38,963

 
33,223

Deferred:
 
 
 
 
 
Federal
(70,041
)
 
(2,230
)
 
(1,349
)
State
(1,203
)
 
(451
)
 
1,564

Foreign
(4,671
)
 
(7,788
)
 
(3,434
)
Total deferred income tax benefit
(75,915
)
 
(10,469
)
 
(3,219
)
Total income tax expense (benefit)
$
(12,623
)
 
$
28,494

 
$
30,004

 
Income taxes computed at the statutory U.S. federal income tax rate of 35.0% are reconciled to the benefit from income taxes as follows:
 
Years Ended December 31,
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
Statutory federal income tax rate
35.0
 %
 
35.0
 %
 
35.0
 %
Federal tax rate change
(56.0
)%
 
 %
 
 %
State income taxes, net of federal benefit
(5.5
)%
 
0.3
 %
 
2.0
 %
Tax on foreign earnings:
 
 
 
 
 
Foreign rate differential
(20.3
)%
 
(17.7
)%
 
(13.6
)%
Foreign earnings taxed in the U.S.
60.7
 %
 
17.5
 %
 
7.3
 %
Foreign dividends
5.2
 %
 
 %
 
 %
Non-U.S. research and development credits
(3.3
)%
 
(3.9
)%
 
(4.4
)%
Stock-based compensation
(39.9
)%
 
1.9
 %
 
0.2
 %
Nondeductible contingent consideration
35.4
 %
 
 %
 
 %
Valuation allowance
(28.0
)%
 
 %
 
 %
Change in liability for uncertain tax positions
(3.2
)%
 
 %
 
(0.6
)%
Nondeductible expenses
2.2
 %
 
0.1
 %
 
0.3
 %
Other
0.8
 %
 
(2.9
)%
 
(0.1
)%
Effective income tax rate
(16.9
)%
 
30.3
 %
 
26.1
 %


95

PRA HEALTH SCIENCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

Components of the deferred tax assets and liabilities were as follows (in thousands):
 
December 31,
 
2017
 
2016
Net operating loss carryforwards
$
48,603

 
$
29,470

Accruals and reserves
15,943

 
12,986

Equity based compensation
7,447

 
17,392

Prepaid expenses and other
13,492

 
25,232

Deferred and unbilled revenue
24,937

 
25,718

Tax credits
15,111

 
5,295

 
125,533

 
116,093

Valuation allowance
(25,226
)
 
(21,689
)
Total deferred tax assets (net of valuation allowance)
100,307

 
94,404

Identified intangibles
(190,115
)
 
(148,576
)
Depreciable, amortizable and other property
(13,434
)
 
(12,963
)
Deferred tax liabilities
(203,549
)
 
(161,539
)
Net deferred tax liability
$
(103,242
)
 
$
(67,135
)
Long-term deferred tax asset
$
8,939

 
$
6,568

Long-term deferred tax liability
$
(112,181
)
 
$
(73,703
)
 
The Company’s foreign subsidiaries are taxed separately in their respective jurisdictions. As of December 31, 2017, the Company has cumulative foreign net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $7.4 million. In addition, the Company has federal net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $165.6 million and state net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $506.8 million.
 
The carryforward periods for the Company’s net operating losses vary from five years to an indefinite number of years depending on the jurisdiction. The Company’s ability to offset future taxable income with net operating loss carryforwards may be limited in certain instances, including changes in ownership.
 
On December 22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the “Act”) was signed into law making significant changes to the Internal Revenue Code. Changes include, but are not limited to, a corporate tax rate decrease from 35% to 21% effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017, the transition of U.S international taxation from a worldwide tax system to a territorial system, and a one-time transition tax on the mandatory deemed repatriation of cumulative foreign earnings as of December 31, 2017. The Company has calculated our best estimate of the impact of the Act in our year end income tax provision in accordance with our understanding of the Act and guidance under SAB 118 available as of the date of this filing and as a result has recorded $0.2 million as additional income tax expense in the fourth quarter of 2017, the period in which the legislation was enacted. The provisional amount related to the remeasurement of certain deferred tax assets, deferred tax liabilities, and U.S. uncertain tax positions, based on the rates at which they are expected to reverse in the future, was a benefit of $41.7 million. The provisional amount related to the one-time transition tax on the mandatory deemed repatriation of foreign earnings was $77.6 million based on cumulative foreign earnings of $392.5 million. The Company also recorded a provisional tax benefit of $35.7 million related to the utilization of foreign tax credits against the one-time transition tax. In addition, the Company has recorded a valuation allowance against an estimated $12.8 million of excess foreign tax credits related to the transition tax inclusion. The Company is continuing to analyze the overall impact of the transition tax inclusion, including its foreign tax credit limitation position and will update the provisional estimate as it completes its analysis during the measurement period. Due to the complexity of the new law, the Company is still in the process of investigating the related accounting implications. Specifically, for the Global Intangible Low Tax Income (“GILTI”) tax the Company intends to make an accounting policy decision around whether to account for GILTI as a period cost in the relevant period, or to record deferred taxes related to the basis in the Company’s foreign subsidiaries once additional guidance is available for assessment.
The Company also has federal and state income tax credit carryforwards available to potentially offset future federal and state income tax of $12.8 million and $1.9 million, respectively. The federal credits expiring in ten years. The state credits begin expiring in 2022. The Company has provided a full valuation allowance against the benefits of these credits.
 

96

PRA HEALTH SCIENCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

In determining the extent to which a valuation allowance for deferred tax assets is required, the Company evaluates all available evidence including projections of future taxable income, carry back opportunities, reversal of certain deferred tax liabilities, and other tax‑planning strategies. The valuation allowance at December 31, 2017 relates to the U.S. foreign tax credit carryforwards, certain foreign net operating losses, state net operating losses and state tax credit carryforwards. As of December 31, 2017, the Company has a U.S. net federal deferred tax liability. The Company has concluded that it no longer requires a valuation allowance that existed at the beginning of the year on its net federal deferred tax assets. As such, the valuation allowance of $21.2 million has been released during the year ended December 31, 2017.

A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of gross unrecognized income tax benefits is presented below (in thousands): 
 
Years Ended December 31,
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
Beginning balance
$
12,432

 
$
11,729

 
$
16,207

Additions based on tax positions related to current year
1,641

 
1,196

 
1,333

Additions for income tax positions of prior years
400

 
542

 
95

Impact of changes in exchange rates
427

 
(127
)
 
(594
)
Impact of change in federal tax rate
(3,536
)
 

 

Settlements with tax authorities
(108
)
 
(559
)
 

Reductions for income tax positions for prior years
(3,174
)
 
(349
)
 
(4,308
)
Reductions due to lapse of applicable statute of limitations
(171
)
 

 
(1,004
)
Ending balance
$
7,911

 
$
12,432

 
$
11,729

 
As of December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015, the total gross unrecognized tax benefits were $7.9 million, $12.4 million, and $11.7 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2017, the total amount of gross unrecognized tax benefits which, if recognized, would impact the Company’s effective tax rate is $7.9 million. The Company anticipates changes in total unrecognized tax benefits due to the expiration of statute of limitations within the next 12 months and an income tax audit resolution. Specifically, adjustments related to transfer pricing and foreign tax exposures are expected to be resolved in various jurisdictions. A reasonable estimate of the change in the total gross unrecognized tax benefit expected to be recognized as a result is $0.5 million as of the balance sheet date.
 
The Company’s policy for recording interest and penalties associated with uncertain tax positions is to record such items as a component of income tax expense. The Company recorded a decrease of $0.8 million, an increase of $0.1 million, and a decrease of $0.1 million during the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively. As of December 31, 2017, the Company has a total of $1.6 million recognized on uncertain tax positions. To the extent interest and penalties are not incurred with respect to uncertain tax positions, amounts accrued will be reduced and reflected as a reduction in income tax expense.
 
The Company has analyzed filing positions in all of the significant federal, state and foreign jurisdictions where the Company is required to file income tax returns. The only periods subject to examination by the major tax jurisdictions where the Company does business are the 2009 through 2016 tax years.
 
As of December 31, 2017, there are no untaxed undistributed earnings of its foreign subsidiaries. This is due to the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enacted December 22, 2017 that requires all untaxed foreign earnings to be currently taxed in the 2017 U.S. federal income tax return. With respect to the previously taxed income, as of December 31, 2017, an asset of $1.0 million was recorded for the effect of repatriating a portion of those foreign earnings. Aside from the portion expected to be actually repatriated in future years the Company has not provided for U.S. federal and foreign withholding taxes on those previously taxed earnings of its foreign subsidiaries. The Company is in the process of evaluating the impact of the new U.S. tax law on its permanent reinvestment assertion. No additional U.S. federal income taxes or foreign withholding taxes have been provided on accumulated earnings of foreign subsidiaries deemed to have been repatriated as part of the one-time transition tax. The Company's evaluation of the impact of the new U.S. tax law on its permanent reinvestment assertion is expected to be completed within the one-year measurement period as allowed by SAB 118.


97

PRA HEALTH SCIENCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

A rollforward of the deferred tax asset valuation allowance accounts is as follows (in thousands):
 
 
Years Ended December 31,
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
Beginning balance
$
21,689

 
$
23,205

 
$
16,142

Additions - excess benefit offset to NOL change
12,623

 

 

Additions - purchase accounting
219

 

 

Additions - other comprehensive income

 

 
3,892

Additions - charged to expense
12,863

 
3,421

 
3,770

Additions - U.S. federal tax rate change
1,330

 

 

Deductions - charged to expense (including translation adjustments)
(23,498
)
 
(4,937
)
 
(599
)
Ending balance
$
25,226

 
$
21,689

 
$
23,205

 
The valuation allowance at December 31, 2017 is primarily related to U.S. foreign tax credit carryforwards, state loss carryforwards, state credit carryforwards, and loss carryforwards in various foreign jurisdictions.
 
(13) Commitments and Contingencies
 
Operating Leases
 
The Company leases office space under operating lease agreements expiring at various times through 2036. The Company has sublease agreements for certain facilities to reduce rent expense and accommodate expansion needs. The subleases expire at various times through 2022. The Company also leases certain office equipment under the terms of operating leases expiring at various times through 2023.
 
Rent expense under operating leases, net of sublease rental income, was $37.0 million, $31.9 million and $30.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.
 
Future minimum lease commitments on non‑cancelable operating leases are as follows (in thousands): 
Years Ended December 31,
Leases
 
Sublease
Rental
Income
 
Net Total
2018
$
44,071

 
$
(181
)
 
$
43,890

2019
38,871

 
(125
)
 
38,746

2020
35,494

 
(125
)
 
35,369

2021
31,783

 
(124
)
 
31,659

2022
25,970

 
(41
)
 
25,929

2022 and thereafter
110,394

 

 
110,394

Total
$
286,583

 
$
(596
)
 
$
285,987

 
Employment Agreements
 
The Company has entered into employment and non‑compete agreements with certain management employees. In the event of termination of employment for certain instances, employees will receive severance payments for base salary and benefits for a specified period (six months for vice presidents, nine months for senior vice presidents and twelve months for executive vice presidents, the president and chief executive officer). Each employment agreement also contains provisions that restrict the employee’s ability to compete directly with the Company for a comparable period after employment terminates. In addition, stock option grant agreements for these employees provide the Company with the right to repurchase from the employee, or the employee with the right to sell to the Company, stock owned by the employee in certain limited instances of termination.
 

98

PRA HEALTH SCIENCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

Legal Proceedings
 
The Company is involved in legal proceedings from time to time in the ordinary course of its business, including employment claims and claims related to other business transactions. Although the outcome of such claims is uncertain, management believes that these legal proceedings will not have a material adverse effect on the financial condition or results of future operations of the Company.
 
The Company is currently a party to litigation with the City of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The dispute relates to whether the export of services provided by the Company is subject to a local tax on services. The Company has not recorded a liability associated with the claim, which totaled $5.2 million at December 31, 2017, given that it is not deemed probable the Company will incur a loss related to this case. However, a deposit totaling $5.2 million has been made to the Brazilian court in order to annul the potential tax obligation and to avoid the accrual of additional interest and penalties. This balance is recorded in other assets on the consolidated balance sheets. In June 2015, the Judiciary Court of Justice of the State of Sao Paulo ruled in the favor of the Company, however, the judgment was appealed by the City of Sao Paulo. The Company expects to recover the full amount of the deposit when the case is settled. In September 2017, a judge from the Superior Court of Justice of Brazil denied relief to the City of Sao Paulo's appeal and upheld the lower court's ruling in the favor of the Company for the years 2005 to 2012, and in the period from January to October 2013. The judge from the Superior Court of Justice of Brazil also ruled that the Company must appeal the lower court's verdict for October 2013 and the subsequent periods as the Judiciary Court of Justice of the State of Sao Paulo only reviewed the facts that pertained to the period before October 2013.
 
Insurance
 
The Company currently maintains insurance for risks associated with the operation of its business, provision of professional services, and ownership of property. These policies provide coverage for a variety of potential losses, including, without limitation, loss or damage to property, bodily injury, general commercial liability, professional errors and omissions, and medical malpractice.
 
The Company’s retentions and deductibles associated with these insurance policies range up to a maximum of $0.5 million.
 
Employee Health Insurance
 
The Company is self‑insured for health insurance for employees within the United States. The Company maintains stop‑loss insurance on a “claims made” basis for expenses in excess of $0.3 million per member per year. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, the Company maintained a reserve of approximately $5.0 million and $4.1 million, respectively, included in accrued expense and other current liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets, to cover open claims and estimated claims incurred but not reported.
 
(14) Employee Benefit Plans
 
Defined contribution or profit sharing style plans are offered in Australia, Belgium, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, and the United Kingdom. In some cases these plans are required by local laws or regulations.
 
The Company maintains 401(k) plans in the United States, which cover substantially all employees of its U.S. subsidiaries. The Company matches participant's contributions at varying amounts, subject to a maximum contribution of 6% of the participant's compensation. The employer contributions to the 401(k) plans were approximately $11.9 million, $9.9 million and $6.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

As a result of the Takeda transactions during 2017, the Company maintains defined benefit pension plans sponsored by certain TDC and TDS subsidiaries in Japan and Germany. The funded status of the defined benefit pension plans, which represents the difference between the projected benefit obligation and the fair value of plan assets, is calculated on a plan-by-plan basis. The funded status of the plan in Japan, which covers approximately 130 employees, totaled $0.8 million at December 31, 2017 and was recorded in other assets on the consolidated balance sheets. The unfunded status of the plan in Germany, which covers eight employees, totaled $0.7 million at December 31, 2017 and was recorded in other long-term

99

PRA HEALTH SCIENCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets. Additional disclosures regarding these defined benefit pension plans have been excluded due to their immateriality. The Company did not have defined benefit pension plans prior to 2017.

(15) Derivatives
 
The Company is exposed to certain risks relating to its ongoing business operations. The primary risk that the Company seeks to manage by using derivative instruments is interest rate risk. Accordingly, the Company has instituted interest rate hedging programs that are accounted for in accordance with ASC 815, “Derivatives and Hedging.” The interest rate hedging program is a cash flow hedge program designed to minimize interest rate volatility. The Company swaps the difference between fixed and variable interest amounts calculated by reference to an agreed-upon notional principal amount, at specified intervals. The Company also employed an interest rate cap that would have compensated the Company if variable interest rates had risen above a pre-determined rate. The Company’s interest rate contracts are designated as hedging instruments.
 
On October 2, 2013, the Company entered into interest rate swap agreements with an aggregate notional principal amount of $620.0 million, or the 2013 Swaps. The interest rate swaps were set to begin on September 23, 2015. The interest rate swaps were to be used to hedge the Company’s variable rate debt. The interest rate swaps had maturity dates ranging from one to five years. During the third quarter of 2015, the Company paid $32.9 million to terminate the 2013 Swaps. Amounts previously recorded in accumulated other comprehensive loss related to these interest rate swaps, totaling $29.6 million, are being reclassified into earnings over the term of the previously hedged borrowing using the swaplet method. For the terminated swaps, the Company reclassified $6.3 million, $4.7 million and $0.7 previously recorded in accumulated other comprehensive loss into interest expense during the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.
 
Subsequent to the termination of all existing interest rate swaps, the Company entered into a new interest rate swap agreement with a notional principal amount of $250.0 million and a fixed three month LIBOR of 1.48%, or the 2015 Swap. The interest rate swap began on September 23, 2015 and will mature on September 23, 2018. The interest rate swap is being used to hedge the Company’s variable rate debt.
 
In conjunction with the closing of the 2016 Credit Facilities in December 2016, the 2015 Swap was amended to modify the fixed rate, repricing dates and embedded floor, or the Modified 2015 Swap. The Company re-designated the Modified 2015 Swap against the refinanced debt under the 2016 Credit Facilities. As a result of the re-designation, all amounts previously recorded in accumulated other comprehensive loss related to the 2015 Swap, totaling $0.8 million, were frozen and are being amortized into earnings over the term of the previously hedged borrowing using the swaplet method. The Company reclassified $0.4 million previously recorded in accumulated other comprehensive loss into interest expense associated with the 2015 Swap during the year ended December 31, 2017. The closing of the 2016 Credit Facilities did not impact the amortization of the losses frozen in accumulated other comprehensive loss associated with the 2013 Swaps.
 
The following table presents the notional amounts and fair values (determined using level 2 inputs) of the Company’s derivatives as of December 31, 2017 and 2016 (in thousands):
 
Balance Sheet
Classification
 
December 31, 2017
 
December 31, 2016
 
 
Notional amount
 
Asset/(Liability)
 
Notional amount
 
Asset/(Liability)
Derivatives in an asset position:
Other current assets
 
$
250,000

 
$
428

 
$

 
$

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Derivatives in a liability position:
Other long-term liabilities
 

 

 
250,000

 
(590
)
 
The Company records the effective portion of any change in the fair value of derivatives designated as hedging instruments under ASC 815 to other accumulated comprehensive loss in the consolidated balance sheets, net of deferred taxes, and will later reclassify into earnings when the hedged item affects earnings or is no longer expected to occur. Gains and losses from the ineffective portion of any hedge are recognized in earnings immediately. For other derivative contracts that do not qualify or no longer qualify for hedge accounting, changes in the fair value of the derivatives are recognized in earnings each period. 

 

100

PRA HEALTH SCIENCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

The table below presents the effect of the Company's derivatives on the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive (loss) income (in thousands):
 
 
Years Ended December 31,
Derivatives in Cash Flow Hedging Relationships (Interest Rate Contracts)
2017
 
2016
 
2015
Amount of pre-tax gain (loss) recognized in other comprehensive income (loss) on derivatives
$
245

 
$
(1,600
)
 
$
(11,851
)
Amount of loss recognized in other (expense) income, net on derivatives (ineffective portion)

 
1

 
(444
)
Amount of loss recognized in other (expense) income, net on derivatives (no longer qualify for hedge accounting)

 

 
(1,137
)
Amount of loss reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive loss into interest expense, net on derivatives
(6,855
)
 
(5,921
)
 
(908
)
 
The Company expects that $6.3 million of unrealized losses will be reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive loss and into interest expense, net over the next 12 months.

In January 2018, the Company entered into two new interest rate derivative agreements. Refer to Note 22 for further details.

(16) Accumulated Other Comprehensive (Loss) Income
 
Below is a summary of the components of accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income (in thousands): 
 
Foreign
Currency
Translation
 
Derivative
Instruments
 
Total
Balance at December 31, 2014
$
(53,639
)
 
$
(15,870
)
 
$
(69,509
)
Other comprehensive loss before reclassifications, net of tax
(52,433
)
 
(11,273
)
 
(63,706
)
Reclassification adjustments, net of tax

 
908

 
908

Balance at December 31, 2015
(106,072
)
 
(26,235
)
 
(132,307
)
Other comprehensive loss before reclassifications, net of tax
(95,019
)
 
(978
)
 
(95,997
)
Reclassification adjustments, net of tax

 
3,618

 
3,618

Balance at December 31, 2016
(201,091
)
 
(23,595
)
 
(224,686
)
Other comprehensive income before reclassifications, net of tax
83,911

 
149

 
84,060

Reclassification adjustments, net of tax

 
4,156

 
4,156

Balance at December 31, 2017
$
(117,180
)
 
$
(19,290
)
 
$
(136,470
)
 
Foreign Currency Translation
 
The change in the foreign currency translation adjustment during the year ended December 31, 2017 was primarily due to the movements in the British pound, or GBP, Euro, or EUR, Canadian dollar, or CAD, and Russian ruble, or RUB, exchange rates against the U.S. dollar, or USD. The USD depreciated by 9.3%, 13.7%, 7.1% and 6.2% versus the GBP, EUR, CAD and RUB respectively, during the year ended December 31, 2017. The movement in the GBP, EUR, CAD and RUB represented $46.0 million, $31.0 million, $3.5 million and $1.9 million, respectively, of the $83.9 million income recorded to accumulated other comprehensive loss during the year ended December 31, 2017.

The change in the foreign currency translation adjustment during the year ended December 31, 2016 was primarily due to the movements in the GBP, EUR, CAD, and RUB, exchange rates against the USD. The USD strengthened by 16.7% and 3.6% versus the GBP and EUR, respectively, during the year ended December 31, 2016, and the USD depreciated by 3.1% and 19.5% against the CAD and RUB, respectively, during the same period. The movement in the GBP and EUR represented $90.2 million and $8.4 million, respectively, of the $95.0 million loss recorded to accumulated other comprehensive loss during the year ended December 31, 2016. The overall change was partially offset by gains in the CAD and RUB, representing $1.1 million and $4.0 million of the adjustment, respectively. 
 

101

PRA HEALTH SCIENCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

The change in the foreign currency translation adjustment during the year ended December 31, 2015 was primarily due to the movements in the GBP, EUR, and CAD exchange rates against the USD. The USD strengthened by 4.6%, 10.1%, and 16.1% against the GBP, EUR, and CAD, respectively. The movement of the GBP, EUR, and CAD represented $25.8 million, $16.4 million, and $7.1 million, respectively, of the $52.4 million loss recorded to accumulated other comprehensive loss during the year ended December 31, 2015.
 
Derivative Instruments
 
See Note 15 for further information on changes to accumulated other comprehensive income related to the derivative instruments.
 
(17) Net Income Per Share
 
Basic net income per share is calculated by dividing net income by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the applicable period. Diluted net income per share is calculated after adjusting the denominator of the basic net income per share calculation for the effect of all potentially dilutive common shares, which in the Company’s case, includes shares issuable under the stock option and incentive award plan.

The following table reconciles the basic to diluted weighted average shares outstanding (in thousands):
 
 
Years Ended December 31,
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
Basic weighted average common shares outstanding
62,437

 
60,759

 
59,965

Effect of dilutive stock options and RSAs/RSUs
3,336

 
3,693

 
3,242

Diluted weighted average common shares outstanding
65,773

 
64,452

 
63,207

Anti-dilutive shares
741

 
305

 
115

 
The anti-dilutive shares disclosed above were calculated using the treasury stock method. The treasury stock method calculates dilution assuming the exercise of all in-the-money options and vesting of RSAs/RSUs, reduced by the repurchase of shares with the proceeds from the assumed exercises, and unrecognized compensation expense for outstanding awards.
 
(18) Related Party Transactions
 
The Company entered into a joint venture with an affiliate of KKR during 2015. The joint venture was dissolved during the same year. For further discussion on the related party transaction, refer to Note 3.

(19) Supplemental Cash Flow Information
 
The following table presents the Company’s supplemental cash flow information (in thousands):
 
Years Ended December 31,
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
Cash paid during the period for:
 
 
 
 
 
Income taxes, net of refunds
$
47,829

 
$
27,644

 
$
17,148

Interest
48,330

 
48,156

 
54,632

Non-cash investing and financing activities:
 
 
 
 
 
Issuance of common stock for the acquisition of Value Health Solutions, Inc.
369

 

 
1,582

Accrued fixed assets purchases
3,962

 
2,644

 
2,733

Cashless exercises of stock options
13,252

 
9,456

 
1,672


Additionally, the acquisition date fair value of contingent consideration liabilities recorded during the year ended December 31, 2017 totaled $155.8 million. Refer to Note 2 - Significant Accounting Polices and Note 4 - Business Combinations for further information.

102

PRA HEALTH SCIENCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)


(20) Operations by Geographic Area
 
The table below presents certain enterprise‑wide information about the Company’s operations by geographic area for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015. The Company attributes revenues to geographical locations based upon where the services are performed.
 
The Company’s operations within each geographical region are further broken down to show each country which accounts for 10% or more of the totals (in thousands):
 
Years Ended December 31,
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
Service revenue:
 
 
 
 
 
Americas:
 
 
 
 
 
United States
$
1,310,772

 
$
1,063,625

 
$
898,637

Other
42,227

 
33,320

 
32,802

Americas
1,352,999

 
1,096,945

 
931,439

Europe, Africa, and Asia-Pacific
 
 
 
 
 
United Kingdom
479,623

 
394,363

 
364,476

Netherlands
79,555

 
68,118

 
57,739

Other
36,197

 
20,597

 
22,193

Europe, Africa, and Asia-Pacific
595,375

 
483,078

 
444,408

Total service revenue
1,948,374

 
1,580,023

 
1,375,847

Reimbursement revenues
311,015

 
231,688

 
238,036

Total revenue
$
2,259,389

 
$
1,811,711

 
$
1,613,883

 
December 31,
 
2017
 
2016
Long-lived assets:
 
 
 
Americas:
 
 
 
United States
$
107,952

 
$
60,462

Other
1,714

 
802

Americas
109,666

 
61,264

Europe, Africa, and Asia-Pacific
 
 
 
United Kingdom
4,182

 
3,569

Netherlands
15,876

 
13,313

Other
13,346

 
9,431

Europe, Africa, and Asia-Pacific
33,404

 
26,313

Total long-lived assets
$
143,070

 
$
87,577

 
(21) Segments

Historically, the Company has had one reportable segment. In conjunction with the acquisition of Symphony Health, the Company expanded its reporting segments. The Company is now managed through two reportable segments, (i) Clinical Research and (ii) Data Solutions. In accordance with the provisions of ASC 280, "Segment Reporting", the Company's chief operating decision-maker has been identified as the Chief Executive Officer, who reviews operating results to make decisions about allocating resources and assessing performance for the entire company.

Clinical Research Segment: The Clinical Research segment, which primarily serves biopharmaceutical clients, provides outsourced clinical research and clinical trial related services.


103

PRA HEALTH SCIENCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

Data Solutions Segment: The Data Solutions segment provides data and analytics, technology solutions and real-world insights and services primarily to the Company’s life science clients.

The Company's chief operating decision maker uses gross profit as the primary measure of each segment's operating results in order to allocate resources and in assessing the Company's performance. Reimbursement revenue and reimbursable out-of-pocket costs are not allocated to the Company's segments. Asset information by segment is not presented, as this measure is not used by the chief operating decision maker to assess the Company's performance. The Company’s reportable segment information is presented below (in thousands):
 
Years Ended December 31,
 
2017
 
2016
 
2015
Service revenue:
 
 
 
 
 
Clinical Research
$
1,857,876

 
$
1,580,023

 
$
1,375,847

Data Solutions
90,498

 

 

Total service revenue
1,948,374

 
1,580,023

 
1,375,847

Direct costs:
 
 
 
 
 
Clinical Research
1,231,690

 
1,032,688

 
886,528

Data Solutions
52,178

 

 

Total direct costs
1,283,868

 
1,032,688

 
886,528

Gross profit:
 
 
 
 
 
Clinical Research
626,186

 
547,335

 
489,319

Data Solutions
38,320

 

 

Total gross profit
$
664,506

 
$
547,335

 
$
489,319

Less expenses not allocated to segments:
 
 
 
 
 
Selling, general and administrative
321,987

 
269,893

 
246,417

Transaction-related costs
87,709

 
44,834

 

Depreciation and amortization
78,227

 
69,506

 
77,952

Loss on disposal of fixed assets, net
358

 
753

 
652

Consolidated income from operations
176,225

 
162,349

 
164,298

Interest expense, net
(46,729
)
 
(54,913
)
 
(61,747
)
Loss on modification or extinguishment of debt
(15,023
)
 
(38,178
)
 

Foreign currency (losses) gains, net
(39,622
)
 
24,029

 
14,048

Other (expense) income, net
(304
)
 
607

 
(1,434
)
Consolidated income before income taxes and equity in income (losses) of unconsolidated joint ventures
$
74,547

 
$
93,894

 
$
115,165



104

PRA HEALTH SCIENCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

(22) Quarterly Financial Data (unaudited)
 
The following table summarizes the Company’s unaudited quarterly results of operations (in thousands, except per share data: 
 
2017
 
First Quarter
 
Second Quarter
 
Third Quarter
 
Fourth Quarter
Service revenue
$
427,080

 
$
457,942

 
$
494,550

 
$
568,802

Reimbursement revenue
60,680

 
75,782

 
87,459

 
87,094

Total revenue
487,760

 
533,724

 
582,009

 
655,896

Income from operations (1)
49,986

 
64,850

 
57,776

 
3,613

Provision for (benefit from) income taxes (2)
7,883

 
10,193

 
(18,241
)
 
(12,458
)
Income (loss) before equity in gains of unconsolidated joint ventures (3)
25,182

 
29,632

 
48,582

 
(16,226
)
Equity in gains of unconsolidated joint ventures
42

 
26

 
24

 
31

Net income (loss)
25,224

 
29,658

 
48,606

 
(16,195
)
Net (income) loss attributable to non-controlling interests

 
(112
)
 
(401
)
 
147

Net income (loss) attributable to PRA Health Sciences, Inc.
25,224

 
29,546

 
48,205

 
(16,048
)
Comprehensive income (loss)
42,552

 
63,892

 
75,348

 
(6,380
)
Comprehensive income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interest


 
(50
)
 
(373
)
 
154

Comprehensive income (loss) attributable to PRA Health Sciences, Inc.

$
42,552

 
$
63,842

 
$
74,975

 
$
(6,226
)
Basic earnings (loss) per share (4)
$
0.41

 
$
0.47

 
$
0.77

 
$
(0.25
)
Diluted earnings (loss) per share (4)
$
0.39

 
$
0.45

 
$
0.73

 
$
(0.25
)
 
 
2016
 
First Quarter
 
Second Quarter
 
Third Quarter
 
Fourth Quarter
Service revenue
$
372,320

 
$
394,249

 
$
399,841

 
$
413,613

Reimbursement revenue
57,903

 
61,598

 
53,414

 
58,773

Total revenue
430,223

 
455,847

 
453,255

 
472,386

Income from operations (5)
18,946

 
50,348

 
54,814

 
38,241

(Benefit from) provision for income taxes
(5,264
)
 
12,312

 
10,821

 
10,625

(Losses) income before equity in (losses) gains of unconsolidated joint ventures (6)
(15,431
)
 
35,423

 
31,416

 
13,992

Equity in (losses) gains of unconsolidated joint ventures
(538
)
 
3,247

 
33

 
33

Net (loss) income
(15,969
)
 
38,670

 
31,449

 
14,025

Comprehensive (loss) income
$
(22,251
)
 
$
567

 
$
21,982

 
$
(24,502
)
Basic (losses) earnings per share (4)
$
(0.27
)
 
$
0.64

 
$
0.52

 
$
0.23

Diluted (losses) earnings per share (4)
$
(0.27
)
 
$
0.60

 
$
0.49

 
$
0.22



(1)
During the three months ended December 31, 2017, the Company recorded $75.0 million of transaction-related costs associated with the change in fair value of contingent consideration. During the three months ended September 30, 2017, transaction-related costs consisted of $6.4 million of fees incurred in connection with the acquisition of Symphony Health, $5.3 million of stock-based compensation expense related to the release of the transfer restrictions on vested options, and $1.0 million of third-party fees incurred in connection with the August 2017 secondary offering; these amounts were offset by a $1.0 million adjustment to the change in fair value of contingent consideration.
As discussed in Note 2 - Significant Accounting Policies, the Company made an accounting policy election to present changes in the fair value of contingent consideration as part of income from operations during the fourth quarter of 2017. As a result, the Company reclassified $0.1 million of costs in both the three months ended March 31, 2017 and June 30, 2017, as well as a $1.0 million benefit during the three month ended September 30, 2017, into income from operations.

(2)
During the three months ended September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2017, the Company recorded a benefit from income taxes of $18.2 million and $12.5 million, respectively. The benefit was due primarily to (i) the benefit realized from the tax deduction of stock awards in excess of the amount recognized in the financial statements per guidance under ASU No. 2016-09, “Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting”, (ii) the release of the valuation allowance

105

PRA HEALTH SCIENCES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

against the federal net deferred tax assets, and additionally during the three months ended December 31, 2017 (iii) the U.S. federal rate decrease effect on an overall net deferred tax liability due to the recent law changes in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
(3)
During the three months ended September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2017, the Company recorded a loss on extinguishment of debt of $3.1 million and $11.9 million, respectively. The loss on extinguishment of debt recorded during the three months ended September 30, 2017 related to the Incremental Borrowings on the Company’s term debt. The loss on extinguishment of debt recorded during the three months ended December 31, 2017 related to the refinancing of the Company’s 2016 Credit Facilities and the redemption of the Company's Senior Notes. Refer to Note 9, Current Borrowings and Long-Term Debt, for additional information regarding the items noted above.
(4)
The sum of the quarterly per share amounts may not equal per share amounts reported for year‑to‑date periods. This is due to changes in the number of weighted average shares outstanding and the effects of rounding for each period.
(5)
Transaction-related costs for the three months ended March 31, 2016, June 30, 2016 and December 31, 2016 were $28.9 million, $2.9 million and $13.0 million, respectively. There were no transaction-related costs for the three months ended September 30, 2016. Transaction-related costs primarily relate to costs incurred in connection with the March, May and November 2016 secondary offerings and receivables financing agreement. These costs include $42.2 million of non-cash stock-based compensation expense and $2.7 million of third-party fees.
(6)
During the three months ended March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2016, the Company recorded a loss on extinguishment of debt of $21.5 million and $16.7 million, respectively. The loss on extinguishment of debt recorded during the three months ended March 31, 2016 related to the cash tender offer on the Company’s Senior Notes. The loss on extinguishment of debt recorded during the three months ended December 31, 2016 related to the refinancing of the Company’s 2013 Credit Facilities. Refer to Note 9, Current Borrowings and Long-Term Debt, for additional information regarding the cash tender on the Senior Notes and the 2013 Credit Facilities refinancing.

(23) Subsequent Events

On January 5, 2018, the Company entered into two new interest rate swaps in order to minimize its exposure to variable rate debt and also to replace interest rate swaps maturing in September 2018. The first interest rate swap has an aggregate notional amount of $375.0 million, an effective date of January 8, 2018, and a maturity date of December 6, 2020. The second interest rate swap has an aggregate notional amount of $250.0 million, an effective date of September 6, 2018, and a maturity date of September 6, 2020.

In February 2018, the Company made an earn-out payment of $114.7 million to the former shareholders of Symphony Health. For further discussion of the earn-out liability, refer to Note 4 - Business Combinations.


106


Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
 
None.
 
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures
 
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
 
As of December 31, 2017, we carried out an evaluation under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures. Regulations under the Exchange Act require public companies, including us, to maintain “disclosure controls and procedures,” which are defined in Rule 13a‑15(e) and Rule 15d‑15(e) of the Exchange Act to mean a company’s controls and other procedures that provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed in reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms and that such information is accumulated and communicated to management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures. There are inherent limitations to the effectiveness of any system of disclosure controls and procedures, including the possibility of human error and the circumvention or overriding of the controls and procedures. Accordingly, even effective disclosure controls and procedures can only provide reasonable assurance of achieving their control objectives. Based upon our evaluation, our principal executive officer and principal financial officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of the end of the period covered by this report to accomplish their objectives at a reasonable assurance level.
 
Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
 
Our management’s report on internal control over financial reporting is set forth in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and is incorporated herein by reference.
 
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
 
There has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended December 31, 2017 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
 
Item 9B. Other Information
 
Annual Meeting Date
 
The Board of Directors of the Company has fixed the date of the 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders for May 31, 2018.

PART III
 
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
 
The information required by this item will be included in our definitive proxy statement (or the “2018 Proxy Statement”) to be filed with the SEC within 120 days of the end of our fiscal year covered by this Annual Report and is incorporated herein by reference.
 
Item 11. Executive Compensation
 
The information required by this item will be included in our 2018 Proxy Statement to be filed with the SEC within 120 days of the end of our fiscal year covered by this Annual Report and is incorporated herein by reference.
 
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters
 
The information required by this item will be included in our 2018 Proxy Statement to be filed with the SEC within 120 days of the end of our fiscal year covered by this Annual Report and is incorporated herein by reference.
 

107


Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence
 
The information required by this item will be included in our 2018 Proxy Statement to be filed with the SEC within 120 days of the end of our fiscal year covered by this Annual Report and is incorporated herein by reference.
 
Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services
 
The information required by this item will be included in our 2018 Proxy Statement to be filed with the SEC within 120 days of the end of our fiscal year covered by this Annual Report and is incorporated herein by reference.
 
PART IV
 
Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules

(1) Financial Statements
 
The following financial statements and supplementary data are included in Item 8 of this annual report:

(2) Financial Statement Schedules
 
The information required to be submitted in the Financial Statement Schedules for PRA Health Sciences, Inc. and subsidiaries has either been shown in the financial statements or notes, or is not applicable or required under Regulation S‑X; therefore, those schedules have been omitted.

(3) Exhibits
 
The exhibits listed in the accompanying Exhibit Index following the signature page are filed or furnished as a part of this report and are incorporated herein by reference.

Item 16. Form 10-K Summary
 
None.


108


EXHIBIT INDEX
 
Exhibit
Number
 
Description of Exhibit
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

109


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


110


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
101*
 
The following financial information from PRA Health Sciences, Inc.’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 formatted in XBRL: (i) Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, (ii) Consolidated Statements of Operations for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, (iii) Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss) for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, (iv) Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, and (v) Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

 
 
*      Filed herewith.
 
**    This document has been identified as a management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement.

SIGNATURES
 
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf on February 22, 2018 by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
 
PRA Health Sciences, Inc.
 
By:
/s/ Linda Baddour
 
 
Name:
Linda Baddour
 
 
Title:
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
 
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities indicated on February 22, 2018.
 

111


Signature
 
Capacity
 
 
 
/s/ Colin Shannon
 
 
Colin Shannon
 
President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors (Principal Executive Officer)
 
 
 
/s/ Linda Baddour
 
 
Linda Baddour
 
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)
 
 
 
/s/ Jeffrey T. Barber
 
 
Jeffrey T. Barber
 
Director
 
 
 
/s/ Max C. Lin
 
 
Max C. Lin
 
Director
 
 
 
/s/ James C. Momtazee
 
 
James C. Momtazee
 
Director
 
 
 
/s/ Ali J. Satvat
 
 
Ali J. Satvat
 
Director
 
 
 
/s/ Matthew P. Young
 
 
Matthew P. Young
 
Director
 
 
 
/s/ Linda S. Grais
 
 
Linda S. Grais
 
Director
 
 
 
/s/ Alexander G. Dickinson
 
Director
Alexander G. Dickinson
 
 


112