On a day when contract research organization (CRO) Covance announced a blockbuster $1.6 billion deal with Eli Lilly, the global CRO growth story got another big boost when Kendle reported record financial results for its second quarter.

Kendle’s shares closed up 11.7% Wednesday at $45.36.

Net service revenues for the three months ended June 30 jumped 30% to $127 million, compared with $97.8 million for the same period a year ago. The acquisition of DecisionLine Clinical Research accounted for approximately 2% of the growth.

Net income per diluted share for the second quarter 2008 was $0.52 per share, up 79% from $0.29 for the same period of the prior year.

New business awards for second quarter 2008 were $204 million, a 24% increase compared with the same quarter last year. Contract cancellations for the quarter were $27 million.

"Kendle delivered a strong performance for the second quarter," said Candace Kendle, PharmD, chairman and CEO of Kendle. "We remain focused on our strategic customer development and business expansion initiatives to drive continued growth in our business and increased profitability and value for our shareholders."