Perion Network (NASDAQ: PERI) reported Q2 EPS of $0.07, $0.16 better than the analyst estimate of ($0.09). Revenue for the quarter came in at $60.3 million versus the consensus estimate of $53.6 million.

Q2 2020 Highlights:

• Total Revenues of $60.3 million, declined 5% year-over-year;
• GAAP Net Loss of $2.2 million, compared to Net Income of $2.9 million in the same period last year;
• Non-GAAP Net Income of $1.9 million, compared to $4.5 million in the same period last year;
• GAAP Loss Per Share of $0.08, compared to Earnings Per Share of $0.11 in the same period last year;
• Adjusted EBITDA of $2.5 million, compared to $7.4 million in the same period last year;
• Net Cash provided from operations was $0.2 million inclusive of approximately $2 million decrease due to working capital needs in connection with the acquisition of CIQ;
• Net Cash decreased from $45.0 million as of 12/31/19 to $35.4 million.

Gerstel continued, “Despite a more than 15% industry wide decline in paid search advertising in the first half of 2020, our Search business grew by 8% year over year. We continue to grow the number of monetizable search queries we deliver to Microsoft Bing. While the decline in paid search rates has overshadowed the continued and growing momentum in our Search business, we are confident that as paid search rates begin to show signs of stabilization, our search business results will improve in the second half of this year.”

“Reductions in ad spending across all sectors and travel and automobile in particular, negatively impacted our Advertising business in the second quarter, but we are now seeing early indicators of recovery,” Gerstel added. “Additionally, we have completed all the necessary operating steps to assure we realize the benefits of our cost savings plan during 2020, which should yield $10 million of annualized savings on a proforma basis. Combined, our business is well prepared to take advantage of the recovery, as it unfolds differently across various industries.”

“The pandemic has not interrupted the implementation of our fundamental strategy of driving additional topline growth and profitability through accretive M&A’s,” Gerstel continued. “The integration of CIQ has gone extremely well and is now complete. We are very happy with CIQ’s performance, and are embarking aggressively on the post-implementation phase with the acquisition of Pub Ocean which offers significant and immediate synergies to CIQ and expected to drive incremental revenue and profitability gains during the second half of 2020 and beyond.”

Maoz Sigron, Perion’s CFO added, “Our momentum, cost-savings and improved KPIs in both our Advertising and Search businesses, lead us to believe that the worst is behind us, and give us the confidence to provide an outlook for the second half of the year, though we believe the trajectory of the recovery will be gradual and uneven. Based on our current visibility, we expect to generate revenue of $150-$160 million in the second half of 2020 versus $126.4 million generated in the first half, and Adjusted EBITDA of $11-$13 million in the second half of 2020 versus $8.7 million in the first half of the year. With our balance sheet and earnings power, Perion is uniquely positioned to emerge from these unprecedented times as a recognized leader in the digital advertising ecosystem, and to generate attractive returns for our shareholders.”

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Perion Network (PERI) click here.