Ebix Announces Record Fourth Quarter and Full Year Results
Record Quarterly Revenue of $31.3 Million, up 55% Year-Over-Year
Record Full Year Revenue of $97.7 Million, up 31% Year-Over-Year
Q4 Pre-Split Diluted EPS of $0.92, up 40% Year-Over-Year
Full Fiscal Year Pre-Split Diluted EPS of $3.10, up 36% Year-Over-Year
Q4 Net Income of $12.1 Million, up 53% Year-Over-Year
Full Year Net Income of $38.8 Million, up 42% Year-Over-Year
Press Release Source: Ebix, Inc. On Monday March 8, 2010, 8:30 am
ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ebix, Inc. (NASDAQ: EBIX - News), a leading international supplier of On-Demand software and E-commerce services to the insurance industry, today reported results for the fiscal fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2009.
“These results mark 10 years of continued sequential growth for Ebix in the areas of revenue, net income and diluted EPS,” said Robin Raina, chairman, president and CEO, Ebix Inc. “Our Q4 and full year results both are record results for the Company. These results demonstrate our ability to withstand difficult times in the industry and the economy. To come up with our best ever results in a year, which was easily considered the worst year in a decade for the insurance industry, makes this year’s performance even more special for us. We believe that the story can get even better from here.”
Ebix delivered the following results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2009:
Revenues: Total Q4 2009 revenue was $31.3 million, an increase of 55% on a year-over-year basis, as compared to Q4 2008 revenue of $20.1 million.
For the full fiscal year of 2009, the Company reported revenue of $97.7 million, an increase of 31% from the prior year revenues of $74.8 million.
Net Income: Q4 2009 net income was $12.1 million, an increase of 53% on a year-over-year basis, as compared to Q4 2008 net income of $7.9 million.
For the full fiscal year of 2009, the Company reported net income of $38.8 million, an increase of 42% from the prior year net income of $27.3 million.
Earnings per Share: Q4 pre-split diluted earnings per share rose 40% year-over-year to $0.92, as compared to $0.66 in the fourth quarter of 2008. For purposes of the Q4 2009 EPS calculation, there was an average of 13.2 million pre-split diluted shares outstanding during the quarter, as compared to 12.3 million pre-split diluted shares outstanding in Q4 of 2008.
For the full year of 2009, pre-split diluted earnings per share rose 36% year-over-year to $3.10. For purposes of the EPS calculation, there was an average of approximately 12.7 million diluted shares outstanding during the year 2009 as compared to an average of 12.3 million pre-split diluted shares outstanding in 2008.
Cash: Cash generated from operations for the fiscal fourth quarter was $11.8 million, up 59% year-over-year. For the full year, operating cash flow totaled $33.9 million, up 26% year-over-year. After paying approximately $33.7 million in cash for two acquisitions (Peak and EZ Data) and the purchase of a new building in India in Q4 of 2009, the Company’s cash balance as of 31st December 2009 was approximately $19.2 million.
Margins: Our net margins continue to improve, increasing to 40% for 2009 from 37% in 2008.
Customers: An estimated 99.5% plus of Ebix’s clients from 2008 renewed their business with Ebix in the year 2009, meaning that Ebix did not lose a single customer across the world that accounted for more than 0.5% of Ebix’s revenues in the year 2008 or 2009.
Channel Revenues: The Exchange channel grew 78% year over year to $21.4 million or 68% of the Q4 revenues. The BPO channel grew 33% year over year, to $4 million or 13% of the Q4 revenues. The Broker Channel grew 87% year over year, to $3.4 million or 11% of the Q4 revenues. The Carrier channel dropped 23% year over year, to $2.5 million or 8% of the Q4 revenues.
Tax Adjustments: The Q4 and full year results include a non-recurring tax benefit from the partial reversal of valuation allowance equivalent to $2.8 million, which had been held against the related cumulative legacy net operating losses. The Q4 and full year results also include a one-time non-recurring expense of $2.4 million, accrued by the Company towards increasing its FIN 48 tax reserves.
Tax forecast for 2010 and beyond: The Company expects its blended worldwide income tax rate to be in the range of 6-8% for the fiscal year 2010; and a gradual increase to a blended worldwide tax rate of 8-12% over the following few years.
R&D Headquarters: As a part of its efforts to grow across the world, the Company has centralized its international intellectual property and development operations in Singapore and India with over 60% of its R&D staff based in these two countries. Ebix is entitled to a subsidized tax rate of 10% in Singapore and a zero percent tax rate till the year 2015 in India.
Ebix chairman, president & CEO Robin Raina added, “Looking at the future, we see the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, China and India) emerging as the key hubs driving economic growth in the insurance industry over the next decade or so. We intend to set up strong local bases in each of these countries, to be able to benefit from the early mover advantage, while we attempt to deploy exchanges in these countries. Our recent efforts to create strong bases in Brazil, India, Singapore, and China are a step in that direction.”
“We are pleased with our results especially since they include non-recurring expenses associated with the acquisitions of EZ Data and Peak.” Ebix Chief Financial Officer Robert Kerris said, “With $19.2 million of cash as of 31st December 2009, $22 million of additional borrowing capacity, and the continued growth in operating cash flows, we believe that we are well positioned to use this cash towards making strategic accretive acquisitions in the Exchange arena.”
Investor Conference Call
Ebix will host a conference call to discuss its fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2009 results at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time today. A live audio webcast of the conference call, together with detailed financial information, can be accessed through the company's Investor Relations home page at ebix.com. In addition, an archive of the webcast can be accessed through the same link. Participants who choose to call in to the conference call can do so by dialing 1-(973) 409-9690. A replay of the audio and text of the investor call will be available through the company's Investor Relations home page at ebix.com |
