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Pitney Bowes Announces Third Quarter 2018 Financial Results

November 1, 2018 7:00 AM

STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE: PBI), a global technology company that provides commerce solutions in the areas of ecommerce, shipping, mailing, and data, today announced its financial results for the third quarter 2018.

Quarterly Financial Results:

“Through the first nine months of the year, revenue is up, spending is down, and we have substantially reduced our debt,” said Marc B. Lautenbach, President and CEO, Pitney Bowes. “In the same period, we have introduced several new innovative shipping, mailing, software and data solutions, delivered new shipping capabilities through contemporary API technology, and most recently, opened up a highly automated Fulfillment, Delivery and Returns Super Center in Greenwood, Indiana. Today, shipping revenues represent more than 30 percent of our overall revenue and that number continues to grow.”

Third Quarter 2018 Results

Revenue totaled $833 million, which was an increase of 14 percent versus prior year.

Commerce Services revenue grew 59 percent. Small and Medium Business (SMB) Solutions revenue declined 4 percent as reported and 3 percent at constant currency. Software Solutions revenue decreased 19 percent.

GAAP earnings per diluted share (GAAP EPS) were $0.41, which included a net benefit of $0.16 from discontinued operations primarily relating to the gain on the sale of DMT Production Mail and supporting software, $0.04 benefit related to the 2017 Tax Legislation, offset by a $0.03 loss related to the early extinguishment of debt and $0.03 for restructuring charges. Adjusted earnings per diluted share (Adjusted EPS) were $0.27. GAAP and adjusted EPS included a net benefit of $0.03 largely from the resolution of tax examinations.

The Company’s earnings per share results for the third quarter are summarized in the table below:

Third Quarter*
2018 2017
GAAP EPS $0.41 $0.31
Discontinued operations ($0.16) ($0.06)
GAAP EPS from continuing operations $0.25 $0.24
Tax Legislation ($0.04) -
Loss on Extinguishment of Debt $0.03 -
Restructuring charges, net $0.03 $0.01
Transaction costs - $0.02
Adjusted EPS $0.27 $0.26

* The sum of the earnings per share may not equal the totals above due to rounding.

GAAP Cash from Operations and Free Cash Flow Results

GAAP cash from operations during the quarter was $116 million and free cash flow was $94 million. Compared to the prior year, free cash flow declined by $11 million largely due to the timing of accounts payable and improvement in finance receivables. This was partly offset by the timing of accounts receivable.

The Company used cash to pay down $305 million of debt, return $35 million in dividends to shareholders and to pay $12 million for restructuring payments.

Third Quarter 2018 Business Segment Reporting

The business reporting groups reflect how the Company manages these groups and the clients served in each market.

The Commerce Services group includes the Global Ecommerce and Presort Services segments. Global Ecommerce facilitates global cross-border ecommerce transactions and domestic retail and ecommerce shipping solutions, including fulfillment and returns. Presort Services provides sortation services to qualify large volumes of First Class Mail; Marketing Mail; and Bound and Packet Mail (Standard Flats and Bound Printed Matter) for postal workshare discounts.

The SMB Solutions group offers mailing and shipping solutions, financing, services, and supplies for small and medium businesses to help simplify and save on the sending, tracking and receiving of letters, parcels and flats. This group includes the North America Mailing and International Mailing segments.

Software Solutions provide customer engagement, customer information, location intelligence software and data.

The results for each segment within the group may not equal the subtotals for the group due to rounding.

Commerce Services

($ millions) Third Quarter
Revenue

2018

2017

Y/Y

Reported

Y/Y

Ex Currency

Global Ecommerce $233 $106 119% 120%
Presort Services

125

119

5%

5%

Commerce Services $358 $225 59% 59%
EBIT
Global Ecommerce

($14)

($10)

(49%)
Presort Services

17

19

(10%)

Commerce Services $3 $10 (69%)
EBITDA
Global Ecommerce $1 ($2) 142%
Presort Services

24

26

(6%)

Commerce Services $25 $24 6%

Global Ecommerce

Results for 2018 include a full quarter of Newgistics. Newgistics delivered 19 percent proforma revenue growth, which was driven by strong performance in both parcel and fulfillment revenue. On a proforma basis, the segment’s revenue grew 10 percent over prior year driven by Newgistics along with continued growth in domestic shipping solutions partly offset by lower cross border revenue.

The EBIT loss was driven primarily by investments in market growth opportunities, operational excellence initiatives and higher transportation and labor costs, as well as the amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets. EBITDA improved from prior year as a result of the higher revenue.

Presort Services

Revenue growth was driven by higher volumes of First Class mail but partly offset by lower Standard Class mail volumes processed. EBIT and EBITDA margins declined from prior year primarily due to higher labor and transportation costs along with lower revenue per piece.

SMB Solutions

($ millions) Third Quarter
Revenue

2018

2017

Y/Y

Reported

Y/Y

Ex Currency

North America Mailing $314 $320 (2%) (2%)
International Mailing

85

94

(9%)

(7%)

SMB Solutions $399 $414 (4%) (3%)
EBIT
North America Mailing $118 $108 9%
International Mailing

13

9

45%

SMB Solutions $131 $117 12%
EBITDA
North America Mailing $135 $125 9%
International Mailing

16

13

21%

SMB Solutions $152 $138 10%

North America Mailing

Equipment sales grew over prior year largely due to placements of the SendPro C-Series product. Recurring revenue streams declined largely around rentals, financing and supplies, partially offset by growth in business services. The year-over-year decline in the recurring revenue streams continues to moderate. EBIT and EBITDA margins were higher than prior year due to lower expenses.

International Mailing

Equipment sales and recurring revenue streams both contributed to the revenue decline. The equipment sales decline was driven by weakness in the UK and France, partially offset by growth in Japan and Australia. EBIT and EBITDA margins increased versus prior year primarily driven by lower expenses.

Software Solutions

($ millions) Third Quarter

2018

2017

Y/Y

Reported

Y/Y

Ex Currency

Revenue $76 $94 (19%) (19%)
EBIT $4 $19 (81%)
EBITDA $6 $21 (71%)

Software Solutions

Revenue declined from prior year driven by lower license revenue, primarily in Location Intelligence and Customer Information Management. License revenue benefited last year from a large Location Intelligence deal. EBIT and EBITDA margins decreased from prior year largely driven by the lower revenue.

2018 Guidance

The Company is reaffirming its prior annual guidance for 2018.

This guidance discusses future results, which are inherently subject to unforeseen risks and developments. As such, discussions about the business outlook should be read in the context of an uncertain future, as well as the risk factors identified in the safe harbor language at the end of this release and as more fully outlined in the Company's 2017 Form 10-K Annual Report and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This guidance excludes any unusual items that may occur or additional portfolio or restructuring actions, not specifically identified, as the Company implements plans to further streamline its operations and reduce costs. Revenue guidance is provided on a constant currency basis. The Company cannot reasonably predict the impact that future changes in currency exchange rates will have on revenue and net income. Additionally, the Company cannot provide GAAP EPS and GAAP cash from operations guidance due to the uncertainty of future potential restructurings, goodwill and asset write-downs, unusual tax settlements or payments and special contributions to its pension funds, acquisitions, divestitures and other potential adjustments, which could (individually or in the aggregate) have a material impact on the Company’s performance. The Company’s guidance is based on an assumption that the global economy and foreign exchange markets in 2018 will not change significantly. The Company’s guidance also includes changes in accounting standards implemented at the beginning of the year.

Conference Call and Webcast

Management of Pitney Bowes will discuss the Company’s results in a broadcast over the Internet today at 8:00 a.m. ET. Instructions for listening to the earnings results via the Web are available on the Investor Relations page of the Company’s web site at www.pitneybowes.com.

About Pitney Bowes

Pitney Bowes (NYSE: PBI) is a global technology company providing commerce solutions that power billions of transactions. Clients around the world, including 90 percent of the Fortune 500, rely on the accuracy and precision delivered by Pitney Bowes solutions, analytics, and APIs in the areas of ecommerce fulfillment, shipping and returns; cross-border ecommerce; presort services; office mailing and shipping; location data; and software. For nearly 100 years Pitney Bowes has been innovating and delivering technologies that remove the complexity of getting commerce transactions precisely right. For additional information visit Pitney Bowes, the Craftsmen of Commerce, at www.pitneybowes.com.

Use of Non-GAAP Measures

The Company's financial results are reported in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP); however, in its disclosures the Company uses certain non-GAAP measures, such as adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT), adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), adjusted earnings per share (EPS), revenue growth on a constant currency basis and free cash flow.

The Company reports measures such as adjusted EBIT, adjusted EPS and adjusted net income to exclude the impact of special items like restructuring charges, tax adjustments, goodwill and asset write-downs, and costs related to dispositions and acquisitions. While these are actual Company expenses, they can mask underlying trends associated with its business. Such items are often inconsistent in amount and frequency and as such, the adjustments allow an investor greater insight into the current underlying operating trends of the business.

In addition, revenue growth is presented on a constant currency basis to exclude the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates since the prior period under comparison. Constant currency measures are intended to help investors better understand the underlying operational performance of the business excluding the impacts of shifts in currency exchange rates over the period. Constant currency is calculated by converting our current quarter reported results using the prior year’s exchange rate for the comparable quarter. This comparison allows an investor insight into the underlying revenue performance of the business and true operational performance from a comparable basis to prior period. A reconciliation of reported revenue to constant currency revenue can be found in the Company’s attached financial schedules.

The Company reports free cash flow in order to provide investors insight into the amount of cash that management could have available for other discretionary uses. Free cash flow adjusts GAAP cash from operations for capital expenditures, restructuring payments, unusual tax settlements, special contributions to the Company’s pension fund and cash used for other special items. A reconciliation of GAAP cash from operations to free cash flow can be found in the Company’s attached financial schedules.

Segment EBIT is the primary measure of profitability and operational performance at the segment level. Segment EBIT is determined by deducting from segment revenue the related costs and expenses attributable to the segment. Segment EBIT excludes interest, taxes, general corporate expenses not allocated to a particular business segment, restructuring charges and goodwill and asset impairments, which are recognized on a consolidated basis. The Company has also included segment EBITDA as a useful measure for profitability and operational performance, and an additional way to look at the economics of the segments, especially in light of some of the Company’s more recent, larger acquisitions. Segment EBITDA further excludes depreciation and amortization expense for the segment. A reconciliation of segment EBIT and EBITDA to total net income can be found in the attached financial schedules.

Pitney Bowes has provided a quantitative reconciliation to GAAP in supplemental schedules. This information can be found at the Company's web site www.pb.com/investorrelations.

This document contains “forward-looking statements” about the Company’s expected or potential future business and financial performance. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about its future revenue and earnings guidance and other statements about future events or conditions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: declining physical mail volumes; competitive factors, including pricing pressures, technological developments and the introduction of new products and services by competitors; our success in developing new products and services, including digital-based products and services; obtaining regulatory approvals, if required, and the market’s acceptance of these new products and services; changes in postal or banking regulations; changes in, or loss of, our contractual relationships with the United States Postal Service or posts in our other major markets; changes in labor conditions and transportation costs; macroeconomic factors, including global and regional business conditions that adversely impact customer demand, foreign currency exchange rates, interest rates and tariffs; economic tensions between governments and changes in international trade policies and other factors as more fully outlined in the Company's 2017 Form 10-K Annual Report and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Pitney Bowes assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this document as a result of new information, events or developments.

Note: Consolidated statements of income; revenue and EBIT by business segment; and reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP measures for the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017, and consolidated balance sheets as of September 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017 are attached.

Pitney Bowes Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Income
(Unaudited; in thousands, except share and per share amounts)
Three months ended Nine months ended
September 30, September 30,
2018 2017 2018 2017
Revenue:
Equipment sales $ 100,937 $ 103,514 $ 317,058 $ 349,401
Supplies 50,403 53,627 165,853 173,321
Software 76,026 94,226 244,022 248,391
Rentals 91,115 95,333 277,550 290,087
Financing 76,730 81,079 233,504 250,477
Support services 74,117 75,783 219,311 223,056
Business services 363,528 229,711 1,117,942 672,133
Total revenue 832,856 733,273 2,575,240 2,206,866
Costs and expenses:
Cost of equipment sales 39,353 49,328 132,513 145,450
Cost of supplies 13,967 15,209 46,652 48,277
Cost of software 24,743 24,107 75,257 70,622
Cost of rentals 21,827 20,447 66,959 61,869
Financing interest expense 11,954 12,629 36,525 38,446
Cost of support services 43,259 39,468 125,995 122,889
Cost of business services 291,650 166,984 882,529 470,890
Selling, general and administrative (1) 269,387 288,093 847,281 861,738
Research and development 32,760 29,316 94,155 88,598
Restructuring charges and asset impairments, net 7,232 1,470 19,639 29,109
Other components of net pension and postretirement cost (1) (1,852 ) 1,356 (6,070 ) 4,079
Interest expense, net 25,483 28,601 85,959 81,877
Other expense, net 7,964 - 7,964 -
Total costs and expenses 787,727 677,008 2,415,358 2,023,844
Income from continuing operations before taxes 45,129 56,265 159,882 183,022

(Benefit) provision for income taxes

(1,976 ) 10,828 20,745 38,700
Income from continuing operations 47,105 45,437 139,137 144,322
Income from discontinued operations, net of tax 29,848 11,921 39,543 27,070
Net income $ 76,953 $ 57,358 $ 178,680 $ 171,392
Basic earnings per share attributable to common stockholders (2):
Continuing operations $ 0.25 $ 0.24 $ 0.74 $ 0.77
Discontinued operations 0.16 0.06 0.21 0.15
Net income $ 0.41 $ 0.31 $ 0.95 $ 0.92
Diluted earnings per share attributable to common stockholders (2):
Continuing operations $ 0.25 $ 0.24 $ 0.74 $ 0.77
Discontinued operations 0.16 0.06 0.21 0.14
Net income $ 0.41 $ 0.31 $ 0.95 $ 0.92
Weighted-average shares used in diluted earnings per share 188,414,719 187,756,543 188,190,057 187,200,225
(1) Effective January 1, 2018, components of net periodic pension and postretirement costs, other than service costs, are required to be reported separately. Accordingly, for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017, $1.4 million and $4.1 million of costs have been reclassified from selling, general and administrative expense to other components of net pension and postretirement cost.
(2) The sum of the earnings per share amounts may not equal the totals due to rounding.

Pitney Bowes Inc.
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(Unaudited; in thousands, except share amounts)

Assets

September 30,

2018

December 31,

2017

Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $ 759,231 $ 1,009,021
Short-term investments 55,929 48,988
Accounts receivable, net 378,036 427,022
Short-term finance receivables, net 787,121 828,003
Inventories 48,199 40,769
Current income taxes 11,395 58,439
Other current assets and prepayments 92,916 74,589
Assets of discontinued operations 18,273 334,848
Total current assets 2,151,100 2,821,679
Property, plant and equipment, net 399,347 373,503
Rental property and equipment, net 179,058 183,956
Long-term finance receivables, net 600,129 652,087
Goodwill 1,765,083 1,774,645
Intangible assets, net 238,167 272,186
Noncurrent income taxes 54,114 59,909
Other assets 526,937 540,750
Total assets $ 5,913,935 $ 6,678,715

Liabilities and stockholders' equity

Current liabilities:
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities $ 1,342,097 $ 1,450,149
Current income taxes 40,018 8,823
Current portion of long-term debt 192,649 271,057
Advance billings 224,141 257,766
Liabilities of discontinued operations 10,446 72,808
Total current liabilities 1,809,351 2,060,603
Deferred taxes on income 230,663 234,643
Tax uncertainties and other income tax liabilities 101,362 116,551
Long-term debt 3,076,968 3,559,278
Other noncurrent liabilities 443,925 519,079
Total liabilities 5,662,269 6,490,154
Stockholders' equity:
Cumulative preferred stock, $50 par value, 4% convertible 1 1
Cumulative preference stock, no par value, $2.12 convertible 403 441
Common stock, $1 par value 323,338 323,338
Additional paid-in-capital 117,918 138,367
Retained earnings 5,290,761 5,229,584
Accumulated other comprehensive loss (804,609 ) (792,173 )
Treasury stock, at cost (4,676,146 ) (4,710,997 )
Total stockholders' equity 251,666 188,561
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $ 5,913,935 $ 6,678,715

Pitney Bowes Inc.

Business Segments

(Unaudited; in thousands)

Three months ended September 30, Nine months ended September 30,
2018 2017 % Change 2018 2017 % Change
REVENUE
Global Ecommerce $ 232,845 $ 106,181 >100% $ 718,535 $ 288,839 >100%
Presort Services 125,334 119,074 5 % 382,522 370,203 3 %
Commerce Services 358,179 225,255 59 % 1,101,057 659,042 67 %
North America Mailing 313,965 320,091 (2 %) 954,080 1,016,993 (6 %)
International Mailing 84,970 93,858 (9 %) 276,365 282,482 (2 %)
Small & Medium Business Solutions 398,935 413,949 (4 %) 1,230,445 1,299,475 (5 %)
Software Solutions 75,742 94,069 (19 %) 243,738 248,349 (2 %)
Total revenue $ 832,856 $ 733,273 14 % $ 2,575,240 $ 2,206,866 17 %
EBIT
Global Ecommerce $ (14,330 ) $ (9,594 ) (49 %) $ (28,034 ) $ (17,894 ) (57 %)
Presort Services 17,435 19,474 (10 %) 57,026 69,461 (18 %)
Commerce Services 3,105 9,880 (69 %) 28,992 51,567 (44 %)
North America Mailing 118,070 107,963 9 % 352,833 370,004 (5 %)
International Mailing 12,794 8,809 45 % 42,040 36,239 16 %
Small & Medium Business Solutions 130,864 116,772 12 % 394,873 406,243 (3 %)
Software Solutions 3,525 18,531 (81 %) 24,450 24,928 (2 %)
Segment EBIT (1) $ 137,494 $ 145,183 (5 %) $ 448,315 $ 482,738 (7 %)
EBITDA
Global Ecommerce $ 820 $ (1,970 ) >100% $ 17,013 $ 4,240 >100%
Presort Services 24,302 25,778 (6 %) 76,678 89,889 (15 %)
Commerce Services 25,122 23,808 6 % 93,691 94,129 (0 %)
North America Mailing 135,332 124,516 9 % 404,328 418,943 (3 %)
International Mailing 16,204 13,372 21 % 54,225 49,847 9 %
Small & Medium Business Solutions 151,536 137,888 10 % 458,553 468,790 (2 %)
Software Solutions 6,042 20,754 (71 %) 31,774 31,529 1 %
Segment EBITDA (2) $ 182,700 $ 182,450 0 % $ 584,018 $ 594,448 (2 %)

Reconciliation of segment EBITDA to net income

Segment EBITDA $ 182,700 $ 182,450 $ 584,018 $ 594,448
Less: Segment depreciation and amortization (3) (45,206 ) (37,267 ) (135,703 ) (111,710 )
Segment EBIT 137,494 145,183 448,315 482,738
Corporate expenses (39,696 ) (41,322 ) (137,257 ) (151,473 )
Adjusted EBIT 97,798 103,861 311,058 331,265
Interest, net (4) (37,437 ) (41,230 ) (122,484 ) (120,323 )
Restructuring charges and asset impairments, net (7,232 ) (1,470 ) (19,639 ) (29,109 )
Loss on debt extinguishment (7,964 ) - (7,964 ) -
Gain on sale of technology - - - 6,085
Transaction costs (36 ) (4,896 ) (1,089 ) (4,896 )
Benefit (provision) for income taxes 1,976 (10,828 ) (20,745 ) (38,700 )
Income from continuing operations 47,105 45,437 139,137 144,322
Income from discontinued operations, net of tax 29,848 11,921 39,543 27,070
Net income $ 76,953 $ 57,358 $ 178,680 $ 171,392
(1) Segment EBIT excludes interest, taxes, general corporate expenses, restructuring charges, and other items that are not allocated to a particular business segment.
(2) Segment EBITDA is calculated as Segment EBIT plus segment depreciation and amortization expense.
(3) Includes depreciation and amortization expense of reporting segments only. Does not include corporate depreciation and amortization expense.
(4) Includes financing interest expense and interest expense, net.

Pitney Bowes Inc.
Reconciliation of Reported Consolidated Results to Adjusted Results
(Unaudited; in thousands, except per share amounts)

Three months ended

September 30,

Nine months ended

September 30,

2018 2017 Y/Y Chg. 2018 2017 Y/Y Chg.
Reconciliation of reported revenue to revenue excluding currency
Revenue, as reported $ 832,856 $ 733,273 $ 2,575,240 $ 2,206,866
Currency impact on revenue 4,023 - (19,586 ) -
Revenue, at constant currency $ 836,879 $ 733,273 14 % $ 2,555,654 $ 2,206,866 16 %
Reconciliation of reported net income to adjusted earnings
Net income $ 76,953 $ 57,358 $ 178,680 $ 171,392
Income from discontinued operations, net of tax (29,848 ) (11,921 ) (39,543 ) (27,070 )
Restructuring charges and asset impairments, net 5,290 999 14,422 19,434
Loss on debt extinguishment 5,933 - 5,933 -
Transaction costs 27 3,099 813 3,099
Gain on sale of technology - - - (5,605 )
Tax legislation (7,986 ) - (13,966 ) -
Adjusted net income 50,369 49,535 146,339 161,250
Provision for income taxes, as adjusted 9,992 13,096 42,235 49,692
Interest, net 37,437 41,230 122,484 120,323
Adjusted EBIT 97,798 103,861 311,058 331,265
Depreciation and amortization 50,319 43,178 152,181 129,888
Adjusted EBITDA $ 148,117 $ 147,039 $ 463,239 $ 461,153
Reconciliation of reported diluted earnings per share to adjusted diluted earnings per share
Diluted earnings per share $ 0.41 $ 0.31 $ 0.95 $ 0.92
Income from discontinued operations, net of tax (0.16 ) (0.06 ) (0.21 ) (0.14 )
Restructuring charges and asset impairments, net 0.03 0.01 0.08 0.10
Loss on debt extinguishment 0.03 - 0.03 -
Transaction costs - 0.02 - 0.02
Gain on sale of technology - - - (0.03 )
Tax legislation (0.04 ) - (0.07 ) -
Adjusted diluted earnings per share $ 0.27 $ 0.26 $ 0.78 $ 0.86
Note: The sum of the earnings per share amounts may not equal the totals due to rounding.
Reconciliation of reported net cash from operating activities to free cash flow
Net cash provided by operating activities $ 115,592 $ 145,930 $ 290,626 $ 330,577
Net cash provided by operating activities - discontinued operations (2,428 ) (3,924 ) (44,200 ) (18,020 )
Capital expenditures (40,511 ) (42,507 ) (140,533 ) (118,351 )
Restructuring payments 11,572 10,791 39,100 28,442
Reserve account deposits 905 (5,022 ) 6,864 (2,508 )
Transaction costs paid 9,205 - 13,242 -
Free cash flow $ 94,335 $ 105,268 $ 165,099 $ 220,140

Pitney Bowes Inc.

Editorial

Bill Hughes, 203-351-6785

Chief Communications Officer

or

Financial

Adam David, 203-351-7175

VP, Investor Relations

Source: Pitney Bowes Inc.

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