Quintiles, the world’s largest life science company, says new business surged 21 percent in its most recent quarter, driving revenues to $1.035 billion compared to $944 million a year ago, and leading the company to up its financial guidance for the year.

It’s the third consecutive quarter that service revenues have topped $1 billion.

Earnings jumped 30 percent to 65 cents per share, beating Wall Street estimates by 5 cents according to Zack’s financial research.

Quintiles (NYSE: Q), which last month joined the Fortune 500, adjusted upward its financial expectations for 2014. Quintiles also upped its guidance in May based on first-quarter growth and its sales pipeline. 

Quintiles shares closed at $56.82 on Wednesday after reaching a 52-week high of $57.33 earlier in the day. Shares climbed 88 cents, or 1.57 percent, for the day. The company went public last year. 

“I am pleased with our continued strong performance this quarter. Our IHS [Integrated Healthcare Services] segment generated revenue growth of 15.6 percent in the second quarter and 10.8 percent during the first half of the year compared to the same periods last year. We believe our service revenue growth of 9.7 percent and our improved operating margin reflects Quintiles’ progress as the industry leader,” said Chief Executive Officer Tom Pike in a statement.

“In June we marked a major milestone for the organization as Quintiles was named to the Fortune 500,” Pike continued. “Also this July, we completed the acquisition of Encore Health Resources. This acquisition extends Quintiles’ capabilities and enhances our electronic health records (EHR) advisory expertise, an area that continues to grow in importance as payers, providers and biopharmaceutical customers increase their focus on real-world evidence.”

Quintiles released earnings at 6 a.m.

Guidance for 2014 was increased to a range of $4-4.24 billion in revenue with earnings of $2.57-2.67 per share. If Quintiles hits that target, earnings growth would range between 22.4-27.1 percent for the year. 

Those numbers are up from $4.13-4.19 billion in revenue and $2.38-2.52 in earnings per share from May. 

Overall new business in the second quarter surged 21 percent to $1.23 billion. 

The company is based in Durham. 

The full earnings report can be read online.