The US-based contract research organisation (CRO) also reported a 23 per cent rise in operating profit to $58m (€45m) and a pre-tax profit jump of 32 per cent to $62.3m.
These increases are typical of business performances being achieved by other large international CROs as this sector of pharmaceutical outsourcing remains buoyant.
Rival firm Parexel, for example, recently reported that its sales for the three months ending 31 December rose 21 per cent to $180.5m, while also recording a substantial 31 per cent increase in operating income to $13.9m, from $10.6m in the same quarter last year.
Meanwhile, all was not well with PPD in Q4. Despite a revenue increase of 23 per cent to $5.2m, the company's small Discovery Sciences segment continued to remain loss-making, with a loss from operations of $700,000, a slight improvement on the $1.2m loss posted in the comparable 2005 quarter.
Direct spending on the segment was also kept to a minimum by the firm, increasing only 10 per cent.
The company was unavailable for comment.