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Cerner Reports First Quarter 2018 Results

May 2, 2018 4:01 PM

KANSAS CITY, Mo., May 02, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cerner Corporation (Nasdaq: CERN) today announced results for the 2018 first quarter that ended March 31, 2018.

Bookings in the first quarter of 2018 were $1.398 billion, an increase of 12 percent compared to $1.250 billion in the first quarter of 2017.

First quarter revenue was $1.293 billion, an increase of 3 percent compared to $1.260 billion in the first quarter of 2017.

On a U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) basis, first quarter 2018 net earnings were $160.0 million and diluted earnings per share were $0.48. First quarter 2017 GAAP net earnings were $173.2 million and diluted earnings per share were $0.52.

Adjusted Net Earnings for first quarter 2018 were $193.9 million, compared to $197.8 million of Adjusted Net Earnings in the first quarter of 2017. Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share (EPS) were $0.58 in the first quarter of 2018 compared to $0.59 of Adjusted Diluted EPS in the year-ago quarter. Analysts’ consensus estimate for first quarter 2018 Adjusted Diluted EPS was $0.58.

Adjusted Net Earnings and Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share are not recognized terms under GAAP. These non-GAAP financial measures should not be substituted for GAAP net earnings or GAAP diluted earnings per share, respectively, as measures of Cerner’s performance, but instead should be utilized as supplemental measures of financial performance in evaluating our business. Please see the accompanying schedule, titled “Reconciliation of GAAP Results to Non-GAAP Results,” where our non-GAAP financial measures are defined and reconciled to the most comparable GAAP measures.

Other Highlights:

“Our results in the first quarter included strong bookings and cash flow and in-line earnings, but our revenue was below expected levels,” said Zane Burke, President. “Our mixed results and revised outlook reflect the delay of a large contract and a less predictable end market. However, we remain optimistic about our long-term growth opportunities due to our strong market position and portfolio of solutions and tech-enabled services that align with the pressures health care stakeholders are facing.”

Future Period Guidance
Cerner currently expects:

Earnings Conference Call
Cerner will host an earnings conference call to provide additional detail on the Company’s results and outlook at 3:30 p.m. CT on May 2, 2018. On the call, Cerner will discuss its first quarter 2018 results and answer questions from the investment community. The call may also include discussion of Cerner developments, and forward-looking and other material information about business and financial matters. The dial-in number for the conference call is (678)-509-7542; the passcode is Cerner. Cerner recommends joining the call 15 minutes early for registration. The re-broadcast of the call will be available from 6:30 p.m. CT, May 2, 2018 through 11:59 p.m. CT, May 5, 2018. The dial-in number for the re-broadcast is (855)-859-2056; the passcode is 8795987.

An audio webcast will be available live and archived on Cerner’s website at www.cerner.com under the About Us section (click Investor Relations, then Presentations and Webcasts).

About Cerner
Cerner’s health information technologies connect people and information systems at more than 27,000 contracted provider facilities worldwide dedicated to creating smarter and better care for individuals and communities. Recognized globally for innovation, Cerner assists clinicians in making care decisions and assists organizations in managing the health of their populations. The company also offers an integrated clinical and financial system to help manage day-to-day revenue functions, as well as a wide range of services to support clinical, financial and operational needs, focused on people. For more information, visit Cerner.com, The Cerner Blog or connect on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter or The Cerner Podcast. Nasdaq: CERN. Smarter Care. Better Outcomes. Healthier You.

Certain trademarks, service marks and logos set forth herein are property of Cerner Corporation and/or its subsidiaries.

All statements in this press release that do not directly and exclusively relate to historical facts constitute forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on the current beliefs, expectations and assumptions of Cerner's management with respect to future events and are subject to a number of significant risks and uncertainties. It is important to note that Cerner's performance, and actual results, financial condition or business could differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. The words “expects”, “expectations”, “guidance”, “position”, “believe”, “plan”, “opportunity”, “forecasted”, “estimate”, “would”, “should”, “could”, “target”, “outlook”, “anticipate” or the negative of these words, variations thereof or similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: possibility of significant costs and reputational harm related to product-related liabilities; potential claims for system errors and warranties; the possibility of interruption at our data centers or client support facilities that could expose us to significant costs and reputational harm; the possibility of increased expenses, exposure to legal claims and regulatory actions and reputational harm associated with a cyberattack or other breach in our IT security; our proprietary technology may be subject to claims for infringement or misappropriation of intellectual property rights of others, or may be infringed or misappropriated by others; potential claims or other risks associated with relying on open source software in our proprietary software, solutions or services; material adverse resolution of legal proceedings; risks associated with our global operations, including without limitation greater difficulty in collecting accounts receivable; risks associated with fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; changes in tax laws, regulations or guidance that could adversely affect our tax position and/or challenges to our tax positions in the U.S. and non-U.S. countries; the uncertainty surrounding the impact of the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union (commonly referred to as Brexit) on our global business; risks associated with the unexpected loss or recruitment and retention of key personnel or the failure to successfully develop and execute succession planning to assure transitions of key associates and their knowledge, relationships and expertise; risks related to our dependence on strategic relationships and third party suppliers; risks inherent with business acquisitions and combinations and the integration thereof into our business; risks associated with volatility and disruption resulting from global economic or market conditions; significant competition and our ability to quickly respond to market changes and changing technologies and to bring competitive new solutions, devices, features and services to market in a timely fashion; managing growth in the new markets in which we offer solutions, health care devices or services; long sales cycles for our solutions and services; risks inherent in contracting with government clients, including without limitation, complying with strict compliance and disclosure obligations, navigating complex procurement rules and processes and defending against bid protests; risks associated with our outstanding and future indebtedness, such as compliance with restrictive covenants, which may limit our flexibility to operate our business; changes in accounting standards issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board or other standard-setting bodies may adversely affect our financial statements; the potential for losses resulting from asset impairment charges; changing political, economic, regulatory and judicial influences, which could impact the purchasing practices and operations of our clients and increase costs to deliver compliant solutions and services; non-compliance with laws, government regulation or certain industry initiatives; variations in our quarterly operating results; potential variations in our sales forecasts compared to actual sales; volatility in the trading price of our common stock and the timing and volume of market activity; and our directors’ authority to issue preferred stock and the anti-takeover provisions in our corporate governance documents. Additional discussion of these and other risks, uncertainties and factors affecting Cerner's business is contained in Cerner's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The reader should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, since the statements speak only as of the date that they are made. Except as required by law, Cerner undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events, or changes in our business, results of operations or financial condition over time.

Investor Contact: Allan Kells, (816) 201-2445, [email protected]
Media Contact: Dan Smith, (913) 304-3991, [email protected]
Cerner’s Internet Home Page: www.cerner.com


CERNER CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
For the three months ended March 31, 2018 and April 1, 2017
(unaudited)
(In thousands, except per share data) Three Months Ended
2018 2017
Revenues $1,292,861 $1,260,486
Costs of revenue 231,278 198,993
Margin 1,061,583 1,061,493
Operating expenses
Sales and client service 589,948 560,200
Software development 161,617 145,901
General and administrative 92,294 88,392
Amortization of acquisition-related intangibles 22,509 22,874
Total operating expenses 866,368 817,367
Operating earnings 195,215 244,126
Other income (expense), net 4,864 (1,116)
Earnings before income taxes 200,079 243,010
Income taxes (40,078) (69,797)
Net earnings $160,001 $173,213
Basic earnings per share $0.48 $0.52
Basic weighted average shares outstanding 332,395 329,973
Diluted earnings per share $0.48 $0.52
Diluted weighted average shares outstanding 336,534 336,190
Note 1: Our revenues by business model for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and April 1, 2017 were as follows:
(In thousands) Three Months Ended
2018 2017
Licensed software $134,819 $142,328
Technology resale 63,376 64,107
Subscriptions 76,636 113,421
Professional services 441,268 396,315
Managed services 268,305 259,819
Support and maintenance 284,564 262,104
Reimbursed travel 23,893 22,392
Total revenues $1,292,861 $1,260,486

CERNER CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
RECONCILIATION OF GAAP RESULTS TO NON-GAAP RESULTS
For the three months ended March 31, 2018 and April 1, 2017
(unaudited)
ADJUSTED OPERATING EARNINGS
(In thousands) Three Months Ended
2018 2017
Operating earnings (GAAP) $195,215 $244,126
Share-based compensation expense 26,457 18,855
Health Services acquisition-related amortization 21,208 21,028
Acquisition-related deferred revenue adjustment — 4,484
Other acquisition-related adjustments — 30
Adjusted Operating Earnings (non-GAAP) $242,880 $288,523
ADJUSTED NET EARNINGS AND ADJUSTED DILUTED EARNINGS PER SHARE
(In thousands, except per share data) Three Months Ended
2018 2017
Net earnings (GAAP) $160,001 $173,213
Pre-tax adjustments for Adjusted Net Earnings:
Share-based compensation expense 26,457 18,855
Health Services acquisition-related amortization 21,208 21,028
Acquisition-related deferred revenue adjustment — 4,484
Other acquisition-related adjustments — 30
After-tax adjustments for Adjusted Net Earnings:
Income tax effect of pre-tax adjustments (9,548) (12,751)
Share-based compensation permanent tax items (4,189) (7,062)
Adjusted Net Earnings (non-GAAP) $193,929 $197,797
Diluted weighted average shares outstanding 336,534 336,190
Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share (non-GAAP) $0.58 $0.59
FREE CASH FLOW
(In thousands) Three Months Ended
2018 2017
Cash flows from operating activities (GAAP) $408,965 $303,585
Capital purchases (79,711) (88,065)
Capitalized software development costs (73,602) (71,092)
Free Cash Flow (non-GAAP) $255,652 $144,428
Cash flows from investing activities (GAAP) $(211,498)$(103,852)
Cash flows from financing activities (GAAP) $(154,311)$4,369
Explanation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
We report our financial results in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP"). However, we supplement our GAAP results with certain non-GAAP financial measures, which we believe enable investors to better understand and evaluate our ongoing operating results and allows for greater transparency in the review and understanding of our overall financial, operational and economic performance. These non-GAAP financial measures are not meant to be considered in isolation, as a substitute for, or superior to GAAP results and investors should be aware that non-GAAP measures have inherent limitations and should be read only in conjunction with Cerner's consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. These non-GAAP measures may also be different from similar non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies and may not be comparable to similarly titled captions of other companies due to potential inconsistencies in the method of calculations. We provide the measures of Adjusted Operating Earnings, Adjusted Net Earnings and Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share as such measures are used by management, along with GAAP results, to analyze Cerner's business, make strategic decisions, assess long-term trends on a comparable basis, and for management compensation purposes. We provide the measure of Free Cash Flow as such measure takes into account certain capital expenditures necessary to operate our business. Free Cash Flow is used by management, along with GAAP results, to analyze our earnings quality and overall cash generation of the business.
We calculate each of our non-GAAP financial measures as follows:
Adjusted Operating Earnings - Consists of GAAP operating earnings adjusted for: (i) share-based compensation expense, (ii) Health Services acquisition-related amortization, (iii) acquisition-related deferred revenue adjustment, and (iv) other acquisition-related adjustments.
Adjusted Net Earnings - Consists of GAAP net earnings adjusted for: (i) share-based compensation expense, (ii) Health Services acquisition-related amortization, (iii) acquisition-related deferred revenue adjustment, (iv) other acquisition-related adjustments, (v) the income tax effect of the aforementioned items, and (vi) share-based compensation permanent tax items.
Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share - Consists of Adjusted Net Earnings, as defined above, divided by diluted weighted average shares outstanding, in the applicable period.
Free Cash Flow - Consists of cash flows from operating activities, less capital purchases and capitalized software development costs.
Adjustments included in the calculations of Adjusted Operating Earnings and Adjusted Net Earnings are described below:
Share-based compensation expense - Non-cash expense arising from our equity compensation and stock purchase plans available to our associates and directors. We exclude share-based compensation expense as we believe the amount of such non-cash expenses in any specific period may not directly correlate to the underlying performance of our business operations. Share-based compensation expense is included in our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations as follows:
(In thousands) Three Months Ended
2018 2017
Sales and client service $12,579 $9,671
Software development 5,425 4,227
General and administrative 8,453 4,957
Total share-based compensation expense $26,457 $18,855
Health Services acquisition-related amortization - Non-cash expense consisting of the amortization of customer relationships, acquired technology, and trade name intangible assets recorded in connection with our acquisition of the Health Services business in February 2015. We exclude Health Services acquisition-related amortization as we believe the amount of such non-cash expenses in any specific period may not directly correlate to the underlying performance of our business operations. Such amount is included in our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations in the caption "Amortization of acquisition-related intangibles."
Acquisition-related deferred revenue adjustment - Consists of acquisition-related deferred revenue adjustments in connection with our acquisition of the Health Services business in February 2015. Accounting guidance requires that deferred revenue acquired in a business combination be written-down to an estimate of fulfillment cost, plus a normal profit margin, as a part of the allocation of purchase price to assets acquired and liabilities assumed. We add back the amount of the write-down applicable to the period as we believe such amount directly correlates to the underlying performance of our business operations.
Other acquisition-related adjustments - Consists of acquisition, employee separation, and other costs associated with our acquisition of the Health Services business in February 2015. We exclude other acquisition-related adjustments as they are non-recurring charges, and we believe the amount of such expenses in any specific period may not directly correlate to the underlying performance of our business operations. Such amount is included in our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations in the caption "General and administrative" expense.
Income tax effect of pre-tax adjustments - The GAAP effective income tax rate for the applicable quarterly period is applied to pre-tax adjustments for Adjusted Net Earnings.
Share-based compensation permanent tax items - Consists of permanent items impacting the Company's income tax provision related to our share-based compensation arrangements, including net excess tax benefits recognized upon the exercise of stock options. We exclude such items as we believe the amount of such items in any specific period may not directly correlate to the underlying performance of our business operations. Such amount is included in our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations in the caption "Income taxes."
Cerner's future period guidance in this release includes adjustments for items not indicative of our core operations, which may include without limitation share-based compensation expense and acquisition-related expenses, such as integration expenses, and may be affected by changes in ongoing assumptions and judgments relating to the Company's acquired businesses, and may also be affected by nonrecurring, unusual or unanticipated charges, expenses or gains, all of which are excluded in the calculation of non-GAAP Adjusted Operating Earnings, Adjusted Net Earnings and Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share as described above. The exact amount of these adjustments are not currently determinable, but may be significant. It is therefore not practicable to reconcile this non-GAAP guidance to the most comparable GAAP measures.

CERNER CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
As of March 31, 2018 and December 30, 2017
(unaudited)
(In thousands) 2018 2017
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents$413,399 $370,923
Short-term investments 507,965 434,844
Receivables, net 1,040,741 1,042,781
Inventory 14,301 15,749
Prepaid expenses and other 388,809 515,930
Total current assets 2,365,215 2,380,227
Property and equipment, net 1,600,876 1,603,319
Software development costs, net 847,984 822,159
Goodwill 853,834 853,005
Intangible assets, net 460,564 479,753
Long-term investments 172,007 196,837
Other assets 211,158 134,011
Total assets$6,511,638 $6,469,311
Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable$210,046 $218,996
Current installments of long-term debt and capital lease obligations 6,804 11,585
Deferred revenue 311,015 311,337
Accrued payroll and tax withholdings 211,716 183,770
Other accrued expenses 63,361 63,907
Total current liabilities 802,942 789,595
Long-term debt and capital lease obligations 438,773 515,130
Deferred income taxes and other liabilities 362,538 365,674
Deferred revenue 6,891 13,564
Total liabilities 1,611,144 1,683,963
Shareholders’ Equity:
Common stock 3,599 3,592
Additional paid-in capital 1,413,637 1,380,371
Retained earnings 5,106,467 4,938,866
Treasury stock (1,551,723) (1,464,099)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net (71,486) (73,382)
Total shareholders’ equity 4,900,494 4,785,348
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity$6,511,638 $6,469,311

CERNER CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
For the three months ended March 31, 2018 and April 1, 2017
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended
(In thousands) 2018 2017
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:
Net earnings $160,001 $173,213
Adjustments to reconcile net earnings to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization 152,592 134,833
Share-based compensation expense 24,935 17,500
Provision for deferred income taxes (3,047) 11,214
Changes in assets and liabilities:
Receivables, net (70,608) (34,236)
Inventory 1,445 (4,266)
Prepaid expenses and other 125,550 27,270
Accounts payable 7,608 (21,908)
Accrued income taxes 7,195 768
Deferred revenue (7,205) 24,269
Other accrued liabilities 10,499 (25,072)
Net cash provided by operating activities 408,965 303,585
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES:
Capital purchases (79,711) (88,065)
Capitalized software development costs (73,602) (71,092)
Purchases of investments (151,387) (53,340)
Sales and maturities of investments 101,674 115,030
Purchase of other intangibles (8,472) (6,385)
Net cash used in investing activities (211,498) (103,852)
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
Repayment of long-term debt (75,000) —
Proceeds from exercises of stock options 10,036 10,683
Payments to taxing authorities in connection with shares directly withheld from associates (1,723) (5,314)
Treasury stock purchases (87,624) —
Contingent consideration payments for acquisition of businesses — (1,000)
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities (154,311) 4,369
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents (680) 3,489
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents 42,476 207,591
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 370,923 170,861
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period $413,399 $378,452

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