Interactive Data Corporation Reports 22% Increase in Pro Forma EBITDA to $32 Million for the Fourth Quarter
(poster's note: Seems ok. Starting to get a little boring<g>. But considering it included the period after 9/11, one has to say it is pretty good. So can they take it to the next level?)
BEDFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 11, 2002--Interactive Data Corporation (Nasdaq NM: IDCO) today announced results for the
fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2001.
This is the company's seventh full reporting period since the completion of the Interactive Data (now known as FT Interactive Data) merger with
Data Broadcasting Corporation on March 1, 2000.
On a pro forma basis, reported as if the merged businesses had been combined on January 1, 2000 and excluding the financial results from the
Federal News Service and MarketWatch.com businesses that were sold in January 2001, revenues for the fourth quarter of 2001 increased by
2.1% to $86.5 million from $84.7 million in the comparable period in 2000. Excluding the effects of foreign exchange, revenues increased by
3.2%. Pro forma EBITDA for the fourth quarter of 2001 increased by 22% to $32.3 million, or $0.36 per diluted share, from $26.4 million, or
$0.29 per share, for the same period in 2000. EBITDA in the quarter was increased by a one-time recovery of previously written-off debt from
Bridge Information Systems Inc. following the completion of its liquidation process. Without this increase of approximately $2 million, EBITDA for
the quarter would have grown by 15%. The company reported a net loss of $1.0 million, or $0.01 per share, for the quarter compared to a loss of
$1.9 million, or $0.02 per share, in last year's fourth quarter.
Stuart Clark, president and chief executive officer, commented, "In a period characterized by economic slowdown and uncertainty following the
events of September 11th, we are pleased to deliver another quarter of strong performance. Our institutional business, which accounted for 88%
of our fourth quarter revenues, continued to be extremely resilient. This segment grew by 8.1% before the effects of foreign exchange. Within this
segment, growth came primarily from FT Interactive Data, our data content business, which continued to achieve strong levels of new sales across
all geographic regions. Mitigating this, we saw a slowdown in sales at our CMS BondEdge division in the US, where revenue growth slowed to
just over 3%. We believe this reduction in growth to be primarily attributable to cost-cutting across financial institutions, which, when linked to
some business fall-out from the events of September 11th, caused cancellations generally to rise slightly.
"Revenues from our retail segment, which accounted for 12% of our fourth quarter revenues, decreased by 23%, primarily due to the continuing
and expected decline in our legacy broadcast business. Nonetheless, this segment was again EBITDA positive, as it has been throughout the year.
This is an impressive achievement, driven by an aggressive control of costs that did not weaken our efforts to improve eSignal's competitive
standing. In fact, we are pleased to report that net subscriber levels to our retail products increased during each of the quarter's three months, and
that the growth has continued into 2002.
"Looking at the prospects for 2002, we continue to be encouraged by the outlook," Mr. Clark said. "We started the year with a valuable addition
to our FT Interactive Data business - the acquisition of the Merrill Lynch Securities Pricing Service. This acquisition, completed on January 31st, is
expected to bring approximately $20 million of new revenues and a small positive EBITDA contribution this year, with a much more significant
contribution to EBITDA in 2003. In addition, we are focused on making further progress in our European expansion efforts and in other new
product initiatives. We launched the BondEdge analytics product in Europe in October 2001, and I am pleased to report that we signed up two
customers in the UK for the product in the past few days. Our addition of European real-time streaming financial market data to eSignal will also
boost our prospects in the region.
"Another important development for 2002 is our introduction of TurboFeed(TM) to FT Interactive Data's clients. TurboFeed, whose advanced
technology meets the needs of clients looking for intra-day and real-time pricing data, is a strategic extension of our existing product line. Bringing
this product to our institutional customers is the start of our initiatives to meet the needs of clients as they prepare for Straight Through Processing
and settling trades within one day, beginning in mid-2005."
Mr. Clark concluded, "We are pleased that, following our efforts to simplify the structure of our business, the imminent accounting changes
affecting the treatment of goodwill will enable us to simplify our income statement through the removal of the majority of amortization. This will
make our operating income look more sensible in relation to the wonderful cash generation Interactive Data Corporation consistently delivers."
Financial Results
Actual
For the quarter ended December 31, 2001, Interactive Data reported revenues of $86.5 million versus $85.7 million for the fourth quarter of
2000. EBITDA totaled $32.3 million, or $0.36 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2001 versus $26.5 million, or $0.29 per share, for the
same period in 2000. The company reported a net loss of $1.0 million, or $0.01 per share, versus a loss of $102.2 million, or $1.12 per share, in
the fourth quarter of 2000. Interactive Data's results for the fourth quarter of 2000 included a net one-time charge after tax of approximately $90
million resulting from the disposal of its stake in MarketWatch.com, Inc.
Interactive Data's effective tax rate increased to 85% for the full year versus 65% in the first nine months of 2001 as a result of fourth quarter
adjustments related to a shift in the mix of taxable income from foreign sourced income to the US, which has a higher effective tax rate, as well as a
one-time $600,000 charge related to finalizing an IRS audit in the fourth quarter. Due to the elimination of goodwill amortization, which distorts the
effective tax rate on the company's financial statement, the company expects to have a more normalized tax rate in 2002 of 38-40%.
For the twelve months ended December 31, 2001, Interactive Data reported revenues totaling $340.0 million versus $314.1 million for 2000.
EBITDA totaled $114.3 million, or $1.24 per diluted share, compared to $92.5 million, or $1.08 per share, last year. Net income totaled $4.3
million, or $0.05 per share, versus a loss of $143.5 million, or $1.68 per share, for 2000.
Pro Forma
On a pro forma basis, reported as if the merged businesses had been combined on January 1, 2000 and excluding the financial results from the
Federal News Service and MarketWatch.com businesses that were sold in January 2001, for the year ended December 31, 2001, revenues
increased 4.2% to $340.0 million from $326.4 million in the same period in 2000. Excluding the effects of foreign exchange, revenues increased by
5.3%. EBITDA increased 23% to $114.3 million from $92.9 million in 2000. Net income for 2001 totaled $4.3 million, or $0.05 per share,
compared to a loss of $20.6 million, or $0.23 per share, for 2000.
As of December 31, 2001, the company had no outstanding debt and had cash of $118.5 million.
Conference Call Information
Interactive Data Corporation's management will conduct a conference call Monday, February 11th at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss the
fourth quarter 2001 results and additional matters. The dial-in number for the call is 212-896-6077; no access code is required. Investors and
interested parties may also listen to the call via a live web broadcast available through the Investor Relations section of the Company's web site at
www.interactivedatacorp.com and through www.StreetEvents.com. To listen, please register and download audio software at the site at least 15
minutes prior to the call. A replay will be available on both web sites shortly after the call. In addition, a telephone replay will be available until
Monday, February 18, 2002. To access the replay, please dial 800-633-8284 and request reservation #20233561. |
