Pitney Bowes beats by $0.08, reports revs in-line; guides FY14 EPS in-line, revs in-line (21.73)
Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.52 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.08 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.44; revenues rose 1.6% year/year to $1.03 bln vs the $1.04 bln consensus.
- Revenue for the quarter benefited from 17 percent growth on a reported basis and 18 percent growth on a constant currency basis in the Digital Commerce Solutions segment. Revenue also benefited from 3 percent growth in the Enterprise Business Solutions group. In the Small and Medium Business (SMB) Solutions group, revenue declined 3 percent on a reported basis and 2 percent on a constant currency basis. However, the decline was less than in prior years and reflected further stabilization in the SMB business.
- Co issues in-line guidance for FY14, sees EPS of $1.75-1.90 vs. $1.80 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY14 revs of approx $3.83-3.94 bln vs. $3.89 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
- The Company expects to further align its business performance in 2014 with the strategy that was outlined at its 2013 Analyst Day. Also the Company expects that there will be no significant changes in the economic or postal environments in 2014 as compared to 2013.
- Revenue growth improvement in Digital Commerce Solutions, benefiting from the continued growth in ecommerce and growth in software solutions;
- Flat to modest revenue growth in Enterprise Business Solutions against a strong 2013 Production Mail comparable;
- Continued moderation in the revenue decline in SMB Solutions as a result of improving trends in equipment sales and recurring revenue streams;
- Ongoing reductions in SG&A costs, which are expected to more than offset incremental expenses associated with the investment in a new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system;
- Revenue, excluding the impacts of currency, to be in the range of a one percent decline to two percent growth when compared to 2013;
- GAAP earnings per diluted share from continuing operations to be in the range of $1.75 to $1.90, which includes $0.10 per share in expenses related to the implementation of a new ERP system;
- Free cash flow to be in the range of $475 million to $575 million.