Emerald Holding (NYSE: EEX) reported Q4 EPS of ($0.02), $0.07 worse than the analyst estimate of $0.05. Revenue for the quarter came in at $12.2 million versus the consensus estimate of $27.53 million.

Highlights

• Fourth quarter and full year results negatively impacted by event cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic
• Impact of revenue declines on operating income partially offset by claim payments received under Emerald’s event cancellation insurance policy. Emerald is actively pursuing collection of the remaining unpaid amounts of filed insurance claims for its cancelled 2020 events, in addition to claims for its cancelled 2021 events.
  • To date, Emerald has submitted $167.4 million in claims, which represents the net amount of budgeted gross revenues less avoided costs for impacted or cancelled events previously scheduled to take place in 2020
  • Insurance claim payments received to date total $107.0 million, of which $89.1 million was received in 2020 and $17.9 million was received in the first quarter of 2021
  • Additional $5.3 million in insurance claim payments recently approved and pending receipt
  • Emerald expects to submit incremental event cancellation insurance claims for events that were originally scheduled to take place in the first half of 2021, but have been cancelled or otherwise impacted
• Net loss of $633.6 million for full year 2020, compared to net loss of $50.0 million for full year 2019
• Full year 2020 and 2019 net loss included non-cash charges of $680.2 million and $86.1 million, respectively, related to impairment of goodwill and certain intangible assets
• Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure, of $71.9 million for full year 2020, compared to $127.8 million for full year 2019 (Refer to Schedule 2 for a reconciliation to net income, the most directly comparable GAAP measure)
• Adjusted Net income, a non-GAAP measure, of $40.4 million for full year 2020, compared to $67.3 million for full year 2019 (Refer to Schedule 3 for a reconciliation to net income, the most directly comparable GAAP measure)
• Completed the acquisition of PlumRiver, LLC (“PlumRiver”) on December 31, 2020, for initial consideration of $30.0 million in cash and $4.4 million in stock, plus deferred and potential contingent consideration of up to $13.0 million, subject to achievement of milestones and financial performance targets. PlumRiver, a leading provider of SaaS technology that streamlines the wholesale buying process for both brands and retail buyers, is expected to create a digital, year-round transactional platform for Emerald’s customers
• Emerald ended 2020 with $295.3 million in cash and full availability of its $150 million revolving credit facility

Hervé Sedky, Emerald’s President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “I am thrilled to have joined Emerald given its portfolio of industry leading shows combined with the opportunity that I see for the business and the trade show industry in the years to come. Additionally, the strategic initiatives implemented by our management team over the last 18 months are exactly what I believe was necessary to position Emerald for a return to organic growth while expanding the business into new, digital offerings to enhance customer engagement. I am excited to build on these initiatives as we focus Emerald on three key pillars to drive value. First, we will continue to keep our customers at the center of everything that we do as we work to deliver solutions that meet their needs. Second, we must ensure that we engage with our customers 365 days a year and our acquisition of PlumRiver will enhance the meaningful steps that Emerald has taken to expand its digital presence this past year. Lastly, we will continue to thoughtfully grow our portfolio through both new show launches and acquisitions that expand our scale in those sectors and solutions that are complementary to our existing portfolio.”

David Doft, Emerald’s Chief Financial Officer, added, “Over the last year, we have taken meaningful steps to improve our operations. We reorganized our sales and marketing functions, developed a consolidated customer data hub so that we can better understand and serve our customers’ interests and needs, reduced our expense structure, and meaningfully improved our liquidity through our $400 million capital raise. This has positioned Emerald for the next phase of our strategic turnaround plan focused on investment and growth. Our acquisition of PlumRiver is a key step in our plan to bring buyers and sellers together in a digital environment, year-round, and provide them with a platform where they can transact. PlumRiver is expected to meaningfully enhance our digital initiatives and is just one of the exciting investment opportunities that we have in front of us as we work to expand our business in the year ahead. That said, we will remain disciplined on expenses and manage our liquidity carefully as the trade show industry slowly recovers.”

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Emerald Holding (EEX) click here.