ICON posted first-quarter results today that beat the consensus forecast on Wall Street, sending share prices up in the premarket.

The Dublin, Ireland-based company reported profits of $88.3 million, or $1.63 per share, on sales of $674,852,000 for the three months ending March 31, for a bottom-line gain of 13.1% sales growth of 8.8% compared with Q4 last year.

Earnings per share were $1.63, 3¢ ahead of Wall Street where analysts were looking for $668.2 million in sales.

“I’m pleased with our results in quarter one which represents a good start to 2019. Supported by a strong book to bill of 1.31x, our backlog of business increased by 11% year over year to $7.9 billion. Revenue grew by 11% on a constant currency basis over the same period last year and combined with further leverage of our cost base enabled us to deliver earnings per share of $1.63, a 15% increase,” CEO Steve Cutler said in prepared remarks. “With new business opportunities continuing to be robust and our strong balance sheet enhanced by solid cash collection during the quarter, we look to the future with optimism. We are therefore increasing our 2019 revenue guidance from a range of $2,735 – $2,835 million to a range of $2,760 – $2,840 million and we are increasing earnings guidance from a range of $6.69 – $6.89 to $6.75 – $6.95.”

ICLR shares, which closed down -1.54% at $134.47 apiece yesterday, were up 0.5% to $135.18 per share today in pre-market trading.