Amdocs (NASDAQ: DOX) reported Q1 EPS of $0.98, $0.01 worse than the analyst estimate of $0.99. Revenue for the quarter came in at $1.01 billion versus the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion.

• Revenue of $1,012 million, slightly above the midpoint of the $990-$1,030 million guidance range including a negative impact from foreign currency movements of approximately $4 million relative to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 and also relative to our first quarter guidance
• GAAP diluted EPS of $0.72, above the midpoint of the $0.67-$0.75 guidance range
• Non-GAAP diluted EPS of $0.98, at the midpoint of the $0.95-$1.01 guidance range
• GAAP operating income of $133 million; GAAP operating margin of 13.2%
• Non-GAAP operating income of $175 million; non-GAAP operating margin of 17.3%
• Quarterly free cash flow of $72 million, comprised of cash flow from operations of $110 million, less $37 million in net capital expenditures and other, and normalized free cash flow of $136 million, excluding non-recurring payments of $55 million incurred to settle a previously disclosed long-running legal dispute, payments for previously expensed restructuring charges of $7 million and net capital expenditures related to the new campus development of $2 million
• Twelve-month backlog of $3.37 billion, up $10 million sequentially
• The board of directors approved a quarterly cash dividend at the new increased rate of $0.285 per share, as approved at the January 2019 annual general meeting of shareholders, to be paid on April 19, 2019

“We are pleased to report a solid start to the fiscal year, with first quarter revenue above the midpoint of our guidance. North America grew year-over-year as we supported the digital modernization requirements of many of our communications, Pay TV and media customers, while Europe delivered another solid quarter adjusting for foreign currency headwinds. At the operating level, we delivered another quarter of stable profitability which reflects such factors as our highly recurring revenue stream, the scalability of our global delivery model and our constant drive to improve efficiency,” said Shuky Sheffer, president and chief executive officer of Amdocs Management Limited.

Sheffer continued, “During Q1, we won several new deals that demonstrate the execution of our strategy, our market leadership and extend our penetration across regions. We signed a multi-year agreement to accelerate Altice USA’s digital and mobile offerings, while in Europe we won a significant digital modernization project and managed services agreement with PJSC VimpelCom in Russia, and a new managed transformation deal with a Tier-1 service provider in Spain. Over in Rest of World, we signed a 5-year digital transformation and cloud migration deal with a leading Southeast Asian content and consumer provider. We also made exciting progress with Globe Telecom in the Philippines which has selected our Network Functions Virtualization solution to automate the operations and management of its Networks-as-a-Service offering for enterprise customers.”

Sheffer concluded, “Winning and delivering transformation projects requires the breadth of innovative solutions and track-record of execution that we believe can only be met with our unique capabilities and business model. Moreover, such projects provide important footholds in the market which over time translate to long-lasting customer relationships, ongoing service revenues and a base for future growth. Overall, we believe our market position is strong as we enter our second fiscal quarter, the outlook for which is supported by the visibility of our record 12-month backlog.”

GUIDANCE:

Amdocs sees Q2 2019 EPS of $1.00-$1.06, versus the consensus of $1.06. Amdocs sees Q2 2019 revenue of $995-1.035 billion, versus the consensus of $1.02 billion.

Second Quarter Fiscal 2019 Outlook

• Revenue of approximately $995-$1,035 million, assuming an immaterial sequential impact from foreign currency fluctuations as compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2019
• GAAP diluted EPS of approximately $0.75-$0.83
• Non-GAAP diluted EPS of approximately $1.00-$1.06, excluding amortization of purchased intangible assets and other acquisition-related costs, changes in certain acquisitions related liabilities measured at fair value, and approximately $0.05-$0.07 per share of equity-based compensation expense, net of related tax effects.

Full Year Fiscal 2019 Outlook

• Expects revenue growth of 0.5%-4.5% year-over-year on a reported basis as compared with 1.0%-5.0% year-over-year previously
• Reiterates revenue growth of 2.0%-6.0% year-over-year on a constant currency basis
• Full year fiscal 2019 revenue guidance incorporates an expected negative impact from foreign currency fluctuations of about 1.5% year-over-year as compared with a negative impact of about 1.0% year-over-year previously
• Reiterates GAAP diluted earnings per share growth of roughly 29.0%-38.0% year-over-year
• Reiterates non-GAAP diluted earnings per share growth of roughly 3.0%-7.0% year-over-year, excluding amortization of purchased intangible assets and other acquisition-related costs, changes in certain acquisitions related liabilities measured at fair value, and approximately $0.22-$0.28 per share of equity-based compensation expense, net of related tax effects

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Amdocs (DOX) click here.