Pitney Bowes Announces First Quarter 2013 Results

Pitney Bowes Announces First Quarter 2013 Results

STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYS: PBI) today reported financial results for the first quarter 2013.

Highlights

• First quarter revenue of $1.2 billion

  • Year-over-year revenue growth in Production Mail and Mail Services

  • Continued moderation in decline of recurring revenue streams in the SMB group

• Adjusted EPS from continuing operations of $0.42

• GAAP EPS from continuing operations of $0.34, which includes costs of $0.08 associated with the recent debt tender

• First quarter free cash flow of $107 million; GAAP cash from operations of $132 million

• Issued $425 million of 30 year bonds and retired approximately $405 million of debt originally scheduled to mature between 2014 and 2016.

• Sale of the U.S. International Mail Services (IMS) business completed

• On April 29, 2013, the Board of Directors approved a second quarter dividend of 18.75 cents per share for the Company's common stock.

President and Chief Executive Officer, Marc Lautenbach, commented, "We are taking a number of actions in support of the long-term health and growth of our business. While the results for the quarter were mixed, we are seeing progress in key elements of the business. We continued to experience a moderation in the decline of recurring revenue streams in our SMB group, as well as growth in both our Production Mail and Mail Services segments. Mail Services revenue grew because of increased cross-border shipments, related to the early stages of implementation of our partnership with ebay. We had weaker revenue and EBIT results than expected in our Software segment due in part to continued global economic uncertainty. We believe we have substantial opportunities in these software markets and have taken actions to capture these opportunities.

"Since joining the Company, I have actively sought input on strengths and opportunities from our clients, our shareholders and our management team. As a result, we have identified actions and developed plans focused on improving revenues, managing costs, and improving working capital. We have taken some very important first steps, including the announcement of a number of new management appointments, actions to enhance our balance sheet and capital allocation flexibility and exiting some non-strategic businesses.

"In connection with our ongoing management of the Company's capital structure, our Board of Directors approved a reduced second quarter dividend of 18.75 cents per share for the Company's common stock. This action will provide us the added financial flexibility to invest in the business and enhance our capital structure, while continuing to provide a very competitive return to shareholders.

"I am excited at our prospects and look forward to providing the details of these plans and our path to enhance shareholder value at our Investor Update meeting on May 3^rd."

First Quarter 2013 Results

Revenue for the quarter was $1.2 billion, a decline of 4 percent when compared to the prior year. Revenue for the quarter benefited from growth in the Production Mail and Mail Services segments. International Mailing revenue was flat with the prior year. Revenue was adversely impacted by lower recurring revenue streams in the Small and Medium Business (SMB) group, lower licensing revenue in the Software segment, and some pricing pressures in the Management Services segment.

Earnings per diluted share for the quarter, on a Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) basis, were $0.33 compared to $0.79 per diluted share for the prior year.

First quarter 2012 GAAP earnings per diluted share included a $0.11 per share tax benefit in continuing operations, plus a $0.10 per share tax benefit in discontinued operations, resulting from the resolution of additional tax matters with the IRS. First quarter 2012 GAAP earnings per diluted share also included a net $0.06 per share benefit from the sale of leveraged lease assets in Canada.

First quarter 2013 GAAP earnings per diluted share were reduced by $0.08 due to costs associated with the retirement of approximately $405 million of debt originally scheduled to mature between 2014 and 2016.

Excluding the factors noted above, adjusted earnings per diluted share from continuing operations for the first quarter 2013 were $0.42 compared to $0.52 in the prior year, as detailed in the table below:

Free Cash Flow Results

Free cash flow for the quarter was $107 million, while on a GAAP basis, the Company generated $132 million in cash from operations. In comparison, prior year free cash flow benefited from tax refunds associated with resolution of tax matters with the IRS. During the quarter, the Company used $75 million of cash for dividends and $16 million for restructuring payments.

During the quarter, the Company also issued $425 million of 30 year bonds that are callable at par after five years. The Company used the proceeds of the bond issuance to retire approximately $405 million of debt originally scheduled to mature between 2014 and 2016.

Business Segment Results

SMB Solutions Group

Within the SMB Solutions Group:

During the quarter, North America Mailing was adversely impacted by lower recurring revenue streams. However, the trend of recurring revenues has continued to moderate versus the prior year. The Company expects this trend to continue. Revenue during the quarter was also adversely impacted by lower equipment sales.

EBIT for the segment declined versus the prior year as a result of a higher proportion of new equipment placements in lieu of lease extensions and the decline in higher-margin recurring revenue streams. In addition, EBIT comparisons were adversely impacted by a favorable credit loss adjustment in the prior year.

International Mailing revenue benefited from increased sales from the second half 2012 launch of Connect+™ mailing systems in France and Germany and postal rate change related revenue in France. This was offset by lower equipment sales in the UK due to the weak economic environment, as well as lower sales in the Nordics. EBIT was adversely impacted by higher product costs associated with foreign currency movements and costs related to facilities consolidation.

Enterprise Business Solutions Group

Within the Enterprise Business Solutions Group:

Production Mail revenue benefited from the installation of some large production print orders and there continues to be a higher quarter-end backlog than in the prior year. The Company also recognized its initial license revenue associated with the delivery of Volly™ software to Australia Post. EBIT benefited from the growth in revenue, offset by the higher mix of production printers that have lower margins than inserter products. The continued investment in Volly also impacted EBIT margin. Excluding the net investments associated with Volly, the EBIT margin would have been approximately 400 basis points higher.

Software revenue and EBIT declined compared to the prior year due primarily to fewer large dollar licensing deals and the delay in some deal signings, particularly in the Americas. Prior year results benefitted from a large multi-year licensing agreement with Facebook for global location intelligence applications. During the quarter, weakness continued in the European and Asian operations due to on-going austerity measures in the public sector. EBIT was unfavorably impacted by the decline in licensing revenue. Despite the revenue decline, the Company continued to invest in product development to drive future growth.

Management Services revenue was adversely impacted by pricing pressures on contract renewals. EBIT margin was nearly flat year-over-year as productivity improvements substantially offset the revenue impacts. The Company recently signed large, multi-year contracts for document processing services with two state agencies. These contracts should enhance revenue growth as they are implemented in coming quarters.

Mail Services revenue benefited from volumes associated with the early-stage roll out of the Company's ecommerce solutions for cross-border package delivery. EBIT margin was affected this quarter by investments and costs for the start-up phase of the Company's new ecommerce offering. Prior year EBIT included a $7 million insurance reimbursement related to the fire at its Dallas presort facility that adversely impacted year-over-year comparisons.

Marketing Services revenue and EBIT declined due to lower marketing fees related to certain marketing category contract renewals and fewer household moves when compared to the prior year.

2013 Guidance Update

This guidance discusses future results which are inherently subject to unforeseen risks and developments.As such, discussions about the business outlook should be read in the context of an uncertain future, as well as the risk factors identified in the safe harbor language at the end of this release and as more fully outlined in the Company's 2012 Form 10-K Annual Report and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Company still expects 2013 revenue, excluding the impacts of currency, to be in the range of flat to 3 percent growth when compared to 2012, and continues to expect adjusted earnings per diluted share to be in the range of $1.85 to $2.00. The Company also continues to expect free cash flow to be in the range of $600 million to $700 million.

The Company is updating its 2013 annual guidance for GAAP earnings per diluted share from continuing operations to reflect the first quarter charge of $0.08 per diluted share related to costs associated with the recent debt tender. The Company now expects GAAP earnings per diluted share from continuing operations to be in the range of $1.77 to $1.92. This guidance excludes any further actions that are planned or under consideration by the Company to streamline its operations and further reduce its cost structure.

The Company expects that it will make continued investments in its growth initiatives that will result in higher expenses in the first half of the year, but are anticipated to lead to greater revenue and margin contribution beginning in the second half of the year. Additionally, it is expected that the decline in recurring revenue streams will continue to moderate and will have less of an impact on revenue and earnings in the second half of the year. The Company expects interest expense to increase approximately $10 million, or $0.03 per diluted share, related to the interest rate differential between the Company's recent $425 million debt issuance and the debt tendered.

The Company will provide more information regarding its plans and the expected financial impacts at their May 3^rd Investor update meeting.

Conference Call and Webcast

Management of Pitney Bowes will discuss the Company's results in a broadcast over the Internet today at 8:00 a.m. EDT. Instructions for listening to the earnings results via the Web are available on the Investor Relations page of the Company's web site at www.pb.com.

About Pitney Bowes

Delivering more than 90 years of innovation, Pitney Bowes provides business communications software, mailing systems and services that integrate physical and digital communications channels. Long known for making its customers more productive, Pitney Bowes is increasingly helping other companies grow their business through advanced customer communications management. Pitney Bowes is a $5 billion company with 29,000 employees worldwide. Pitney Bowes: Every connection is a new opportunity™. www.pb.com

The Company's financial results are reported in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).The Company uses measures such as adjusted earnings per share, adjusted income from continuing operations and free cash flow to exclude the impact of special items like restructuring charges, tax adjustments, and asset write-downs, because, while these are actual Company expenses, they can mask underlying trends associated with our business.Such items are often inconsistent in amount and frequency and as such, the adjustments allow an investor greater insight into the current underlying operating trends of the business.

The use of free cash flow provides investors insight into the amount of cash that management could have available for other discretionary uses.It adjusts GAAP cash from operations for capital expenditures, as well as special items like cash used for restructuring charges, unusual tax payments and contributions to its pension funds. Management uses segment EBIT to measure profitability and performance at the segment level.EBIT is determined by deducting the related costs and expenses attributable to the segment.Segment EBIT excludes interest, taxes, general corporate expenses not allocated to a particular business segment, restructuring charges, asset impairments, and goodwill charges which are recognized on a consolidated basis.In addition, financial results are presented on a constant currency basis to exclude the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates since the prior period under comparison.Constant currency measures are intended to help investors better understand the underlying operational performance of the business excluding the impacts of shifts in currency exchange rates over the intervening period.

Pitney Bowes has provided a quantitative reconciliation to GAAP in supplemental schedules. This information may also be found at the Company's web sitewww.pb.com/investorrelations.

This document contains "forward-looking statements" about our expected or potential future business and financial performance. For us forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about our future revenue and earnings guidance and other statements about future events or conditions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: mail volumes; the uncertain economic environment; timely development, market acceptance and regulatory approvals, if needed, of new products; fluctuations in customer demand; changes in postal regulations; interrupted use of key information systems; management of outsourcing arrangements;foreign currency exchange rates; changes in our credit ratings; management of credit risk; changes in interest rates; the financial health of national posts; and other factors beyond our control as more fully outlined in the Company's 2012 Form 10-K Annual Report and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.Pitney Bowes assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this document as a result of new information, events or developments.

Note: Consolidated statements of income; revenue and EBIT by business segment; and reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP measures for the three months ended March 31, 2013 and 2012, and consolidated balance sheets at March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012 are attached.