InnerWorkings (INWK) Misses Q4 EPS by 5c, Revenues Beat; Offers FY20 Revenue Guidance Below Consensus

InnerWorkings (NASDAQ: INWK) reported Q4 EPS of ($0.01), $0.05 worse than the analyst estimate of $0.04. Revenue for the quarter came in at $319.07 million versus the consensus estimate of $303.82 million.

Financial and Business Highlights

• Gross revenue was $319.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2019, an increase of 9% compared to $294.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2018. Fourth quarter 2019 gross revenue included $15 million of incremental revenue on bill and hold arrangements, as discussed below. Gross revenue of $1,157.8 million for the full year 2019 increased 3% over 2018, or 5% excluding currency impact.
• Gross profit was $62.1 million, or 19.5% of gross revenue in the fourth quarter of 2019, compared to $59.1 million, or 20.1% of gross revenue, in the same period of last year. Gross profit for the full year 2019 was $262.0 million, or 22.6% of gross revenue, compared to $253.8 million, or 22.6% of gross revenue, for the full year 2018. Fourth quarter and full year 2019 gross profit includes $3.1 million of incremental gross profit on bill and hold arrangements, as discussed below. Also see below for discussion of warehousing and other service costs and the impact on fourth quarter gross profit.
• Net loss for the fourth quarter of 2019 was $(6.5) million, or $(0.12) per diluted share, an improvement compared to net loss of $(29.4) million, or $(0.57) per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2018. Net loss for the full year 2019 was $(10.1) million, or $(0.19) per share, an improvement compared to net loss of $(76.7) million or $(1.47) per diluted share for the full year 2018. The Company\'s net loss in the fourth quarter contained higher than expected foreign exchange losses, restructuring charges, and income tax expense, including the impact of valuation allowances recorded on state tax loss carryforwards.
• Adjusted diluted earnings (loss) per share for the fourth quarter of 2019 was $(0.01), compared to $(0.14) in the fourth quarter of 2018. Full-year adjusted diluted earnings (loss) per share was $0.14, compared to $(0.11) in the full-year 2018. The impacts of foreign exchange losses and income taxes discussed above are not adjusted out of adjusted diluted earnings (loss) per share and are more pronounced as the Company is operating near break even on an adjusted basis.
• Adjusted EBITDA was $15.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2019, compared to $(0.2) million in the fourth quarter of 2018. Fourth quarter 2019 adjusted EBITDA includes $2.8 million of incremental adjusted EBITDA on bill and hold arrangements, as discussed below. Full year adjusted EBITDA was $49.0 million, an increase of 80% compared to the full year 2018.
• Additional work from new and existing clients awarded in 2019 amounts to approximately $159 million of annual revenue at full run-rate, a new annual record.

“As a result of the material weaknesses previously disclosed, insufficient evidence existed to support the recognition of revenue in arrangements containing bill and hold provisions. Therefore, we deferred the related revenue until product shipped from our warehouse. In connection with the remediation of those material weaknesses, we are now able to support earlier revenue recognition for bill and hold arrangements. Disregarding this benefit, adjusted EBITDA increased 70% in 2019 and our plan reflects at least 15% growth in 2020, excluding the impact from COVID-19,” said Don Pearson, Chief Financial Officer.

GUIDANCE:

InnerWorkings sees FY2020 revenue of $1.15-1.175 billion, versus the consensus of $1.19 billion.

The Company's 2020 outlook excludes the impact from COVID-19, as it is a rapidly evolving situation that is difficult to predict at this time. Gross revenue is expected to be in a range of $1.150 to $1.175 billion for 2020, which reflects approximately $100 million of new revenue from the ramp up of recently signed contracts, partially offset by a reduction in revenue from work being exited as well as revenue headwinds mainly outside North America. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of $54 to $58 million, mainly driven by the success of the Company's cost initiatives and high-quality revenue growth. Excluding the 2019 benefit from earlier revenue recognition of bill and hold arrangements, 2020 gross revenue is expected to grow 1% to 3% and 2020 adjusted EBITDA is expected to increase approximately $8 to $12 million compared to 2019.

Rich Stoddart concluded, “As we look forward, we remain committed to driving higher quality revenue to deliver an improved profitability profile. This will include better discipline regarding new clients and client renewals. It will also include an evaluation of our international operations and their ability to reach the profitability level we have achieved in North America. With a more disciplined cost culture, a focus on more profitable revenue, and a continued opportunity to welcome new enterprise clients to our solution, we believe we can significantly enhance our profitability profile over the next few years.”

For earnings history and earnings-related data on InnerWorkings (INWK) click here.

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