ICF International (NASDAQ: ICFI) reported Q1 EPS of $1.13, $0.27 better than the analyst estimate of $0.86. Revenue for the quarter came in at $378 million versus the consensus estimate of $362.07 million.

Commenting on the results, John Wasson, chairman and chief executive officer, said, "This was an excellent quarter for ICF, underscoring our positioning in high-growth markets within both the government and commercial arenas, and representing efficient execution on client programs. Additionally, this was another quarter of robust contract awards that indicate how well ICF\'s domain expertise and implementation capabilities are aligned with market demand.

"Results exceeded our expectations, led by double-digit revenue increases in our government and commercial energy businesses, where IT modernization, public health, mitigation/resilience, energy efficiency and utility advisory work remained major growth catalysts.

"Strong service revenue growth of 9.5%, together with higher utilization, drove substantial operating leverage. Earnings and EBITDA¹ increased at considerably higher rates than revenue, even as we moved ahead with investments in people and technologies to expand our capabilities in the high-growth markets we have identified. Gross margin of 38.7% included a significant quarter-specific benefit primarily related to the timing of several recently awarded fixed price energy efficiency contracts on which certain program costs will be incurred in upcoming quarters and the timing of energy efficiency incentive fees on several contracts.

"This was ICF's third consecutive quarter of record contract awards, with strong year-on-year increases in federal, state and local and commercial energy wins, virtually all in response to RFPs that were issued prior to the arrival of the new administration. At the end of the first quarter, our pipeline remained over $6 billion, representing diversified growth opportunities across our government and commercial client sets," Mr. Wasson noted.

GUIDANCE:

ICF International sees FY2021 EPS of $4.35-$4.65, versus the consensus of $4.50. ICF International sees FY2021 revenue of $1.525-1.575 billion, versus the consensus of $1.55 billion.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on ICF International (ICFI) click here.