Clinical trials group Icon has reported record new business in the second three months of the year as it beds in the acquisition of ClinicalRM.

The Dublin-based company won $502 million in new business over the period even after allowing for the cancellation of $120 million of contracts.

Profit after tax jumped 10.4 per cent on the same period last year to $64.7 million before an exceptional restructuring charge as turnover rose 5.7 per cent year on year to $410.6 million. Including the $4.1 million cost of restructuring, diluted earnings per share rose almost 14 per cent to $1.08 from 95 US cents at the same point in 2015.

The company said its purchase of peer ClinicalRM had boosted its presence in the vaccines and infectious diseases sector. The company is currently working with the US government on the Zika emergency response plan as it was also involved in a series of clinical trials at the height of the Ebola crisis in west Africa.

Icon also renewed a service agreement with Pfizer, first signed in 2011, which will see it working with the US drug giant on its clinical trials programme.

The company, which secured investor backing for a share repurchase programme at its recent annual general meeting, said it would buy back up to $400 million of stock over the next 18 months to two years.

Chief executive Ciarán Murray said the company’s delivery of record figures was down to a “consistent focus on our strategic plan”.

The Irish group currently employs about 12,300 people in 37 countries worldwide, including more than 1,000 in Dublin and Limerick.