Acxiom(R) Announces Fiscal 2007 Results.Company Also Moves to New Three-Division Alignment LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Acxiom([R]) Corporation (Nasdaq: ACXM) today reported full-year and fourth-quarter financial results for fiscal 2007 ended March 31, 2007, and also announced a new organizational alignment designed to increase focus on the company's three core areas of business. The reported results, excluding unusual charges, met the Company's expectations and consensus analysts' estimates of $.20 earnings per share for the quarter. Full 2007 fiscal-year results include revenue of $1.4 billion, income from operations of $158.8 million and diluted earnings per share diluted earnings per share An earnings measure calculated by dividing net income less preferred stock dividends for a period by the average number of shares of common stock that would be outstanding if all convertible securities were converted into shares of of $.84. These results include the impact in the fourth quarter of unusual charges that reduced diluted EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) A PostScript file format used to transfer a graphic image between applications and platforms. EPS files contain PostScript code as well as an optional preview image in TIFF, WMF, PICT or EPSI, the latter being an ASCII-only format. for the fourth quarter and full fiscal year by $.12. Fourth-quarter results include revenue of $357.3 million, income from operations of $29.3 million, diluted earnings per share of $.08, operating cash flow Operating cash flow Earnings before depreciation minus taxes. Measures the cash generated from operations, not counting capital spending or working capital requirements. of $76.5 million and free cash flow available to equity of $15.4 million. Acxiom will hold a conference call at 6:45 p.m. CDT CDT abbr. Central Daylight Time CDT Central Daylight Time CDT n abbr (US) (= Central Daylight Time) → hora de verano del centro; (BRIT today to discuss this information further. Interested parties are invited to listen to the call, which will be broadcast via the Internet at www.acxiom.com. Acxiom's new organizational structure  This article has no lead section.To comply with Wikipedia's lead section guidelines, one should be written. reflects the unique characteristics within each area of the business and will facilitate the execution of operational strategies designed to maximize financial performance in each division. The re-segmentation took effect April 1, 2007, the first day of the company's fiscal year 2008. "This change is all about bringing focus and dedicated management to each key area of our business," Acxiom chairman and chief executive Charles D. Morgan said. "We believe this structure more closely aligns with our overall mission and therefore will lead to greater returns for our shareholders." Acxiom is composed of, and will report financial results by, three divisions under a single company umbrella. Those divisions, chief executives, and business characteristics include: * Acxiom Services Division - Lee Hodges Lee Hodges may refer to:
* Acxiom Information Products Division - Alex Dietz, chief executive: The division develops and sells all data and risk mitigation products, including InfoBase([R]), Personicx([R]) and InsightIdentify in the U.S. as well as all Acxiom European Data Products. It focuses on product development, product lifecycle Product lifecycle or product life cycle is the course of a product's sales and profits over time. The five stages of each product lifecycle are product development, introduction, growth, maturity and decline. management, data content management and innovation. Its primary go-to-market channels are the Acxiom Services Division for Fortune 1000 clients, a direct sales force for the mid-tier and the broker and reseller market. * Acxiom Infrastructure Management Division - Marty Sunde, chief executive: The division is fully responsible for developing and delivering Information Technology products and services that improve a company's ability to manage its information technology deliver platform at lower costs and higher efficiencies. Such offerings include traditional IT outsourcing and transformational solutions such as the Acxiom data factory. The division primarily focuses on supporting an entire infrastructure for high growth, emerging companies, or specific components of larger enterprise IT organizations. Operational excellence and efficient asset and capital management practices characterize this division. "At this point in Acxiom's evolution, re-segmenting our company into three autonomous but very tightly connected divisions creates a business that can be more effectively and efficiently managed," Morgan said. "We'll be able to make better-targeted investment and operational decisions in each area, and the added transparency into our financial performance will provide more clarity - internally and externally." Acxiom also announced that it has hired Chris Wolf to become the company's Chief Financial Officer. Wolf will begin working at Acxiom in a few weeks and will transition into the CFO See Chief Financial Officer. role over the next few months. Wolf most recently has served as a senior advisor In some countries, a Senior Advisor is an appointed position by the Head of State to advise on the highest levels of national and government policy. Sometimes a junior position to this is called a National Policy Advisor. at Boulder Specialty Brands and previously was executive vice president and CFO at Catalina Marketing Corporation. Acxiom's fiscal 2007 highlights include: * Revenue of $1.40 billion, up 4.7 percent from $1.33 billion a year ago, an increase of $63 million in annual revenue. * Income from operations of $158.8 million, an increase of 21.1 percent compared to $131.1 million in fiscal 2006. * Diluted earnings per share of $.84, up 18 percent from $.71 the year before. * Fiscal year results include the impact of pretax charges of $9.7 million and income tax expense of $3.8 million related to closing Acxiom's business in Spain, cost of severance and retirement of debt in the U.S. and additional research tax credit reserves that reduced diluted EPS for the full fiscal year by $.12. * Operating cash flow of $260.0 million and free cash flow available to equity of $55.2 million. * The acquisition of Equitec, a business with strong marketing and merchandizing optimization expertise in the retail industry, based in Cleveland, Ohio "Cleveland" redirects here. For the Cleveland metropolitan area, see . For other uses, see Cleveland (disambiguation). Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. . * The acquisition of Harbinger har·bin·ger n. One that indicates or foreshadows what is to come; a forerunner. tr.v. har·bin·gered, har·bin·ger·ing, har·bin·gers To signal the approach of; presage. Technologies Group, a McLean, Va.-based international consulting and technology firm that develops software tools and training programs for personnel involved in homeland defense, national security and the prevention of international terrorism Noun 1. international terrorism - terrorism practiced in a foreign country by terrorists who are not native to that country act of terrorism, terrorism, terrorist act - the calculated use of violence (or the threat of violence) against civilians in order to attain . * The acquisition of Kefta, the leading company for real-time, dynamic personalization solutions for the Internet, based in San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden . Acxiom's fourth-quarter highlights include: * Revenue of $357.3 million, a 4 percent increase over $344.3 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006. * Income from operations of $29.3 million, a 34 percent decrease from $44.6 million the year before. * Diluted earnings per share of $.08, down 69 percent from $.26 in the same period a year ago. * The quarter results include the impact of pretax charges of $9.7 million and income tax expense of $3.8 million related to closing Acxiom's business in Spain, cost of severance and retirement of debt in the U.S. and additional research tax credit reserves that reduced diluted EPS for the fourth quarter by $.12. * Operating cash flow of $76.5 million and free cash flow available to equity of $15.4 million. Free cash flow available to equity is a non-GAAP financial measure, and a reconciliation to the comparable GAAP GAAP See: Generally Accepted Accounting Principles GAAP See generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). measure, operating cash flow, is attached to this press release. Fiscal 2007 Recognition In fiscal 2007, Acxiom: * Was named as one of the top 30 providers of financial services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. in the "FinTech 100" listing of the top technology providers as complied by American Banker American Banker is a daily newspaper covering the financial services industry. Founded in 1835 and based in New York, American Banker's 70 reporters and editors in six cities monitor developments and breaking news affecting banks. and the research firm Financial Insights. * Saw its Acxiom Digital business ranked No. 17 by Advertising Age magazine on its list of top 50 interactive agencies based on annual U.S. revenues. * Was included on Forbes magazine's "Platinum 400" list of the best large publicly traded companies publicly traded company A company whose shares of common stock are held by the public and are available for purchase by investors. The shares of publicly traded firms are bought and sold on the organized exchanges or in the over-the-counter market. in America. Outlook Acxiom's Board of Directors has approved a business plan for fiscal 2008 of $1.02 in earnings per share. The Company continues to focus on its initiatives to improve performance and is in the process of restructuring into the three new divisions previously explained. About Acxiom Acxiom Corporation (Nasdaq: ACXM) integrates data, services and technology to create and deliver customer and information management solutions for many of the largest, most respected companies in the world. The core components of Acxiom's innovative solutions are Customer Data Integration (CDI) technology, data, database services, IT outsourcing, consulting and analytics, and privacy leadership. Founded in 1969, Acxiom is headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock, Arkansas required military intervention to desegregate schools (1957–1958). [Am. Hist.: Van Doren, 556–557] See : Bigotry , with locations throughout the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. and Europe, and in Australia, China and Canada. For more information, visit www.acxiom.com. This release and today's conference call contain forward-looking statements forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Such statements may include but are not necessarily limited to the following: that we expect that our emphasis on revenue growth will lead to increased rates of revenue growth, that we expect that continued focus on expense controls will lead to continued improvement in operating margins Operating Margin A ratio used to measure a company's pricing strategy and operating efficiency. Calculated by: , that the projected revenue, operating margin, return on assets Return on assets (ROA) Indicator of profitability. Determined by dividing net income for the past 12 months by total average assets. Result is shown as a percentage. ROA can be decomposed into return on sales (net income/sales) multiplied by asset utilization (sales/assets). and return on invested capital, operating cash flow and free cash flow, borrowings, dividends and other metrics will be within the estimated ranges; that the estimations of revenue, earnings, cash flow, growth rates Growth Rates The compounded annualized rate of growth of a company's revenues, earnings, dividends, or other figures. Notes: Remember, historically high growth rates don't always mean a high rate of growth looking into the future. , restructuring charges restructuring charge The expense of reorganizing a company's operations. A restructuring charge is an infrequent expense that generally results from asset writedowns or facility closings. and expense reductions will be within the estimated ranges; and that the business pipeline and our anticipated cost structure will allow us to continue to meet or exceed revenue, cash flow and other projections. The following are important factors, among others, that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements: The possibility that certain contracts may not be closed, or may not be closed within the anticipated time frames; the possibility that clients may attempt to reduce the amount of business they do with the Company; the possibility that in the event that a change of control of the Company was sought that certain of the clients of the Company would invoke certain provisions in their contracts resulting in a decline in the revenue and profit of the Company; the possibility that certain contracts may not generate the anticipated revenue or profitability; the possibility that negative changes in economic or other conditions might lead to a reduction in demand for our products and services; the possibility of an economic slowdown or that economic conditions in general will not be as expected; the possibility that the historical seasonality of our business may change; the possibility that significant customers may experience extreme, severe economic difficulty; the possibility that the integration of acquired businesses may not be as successful as planned; the possibility that the fair value of certain of our assets may not be equal to the carrying value Carrying Value Also know as "book value," it is a company's total assets minus intangible assets and liabilities, such as debt. Notes: This is different than market value, as it can be higher or lower depending on the circumstances. of those assets now or in future time periods; the possibility that sales cycles may lengthen length·en tr. & intr.v. length·ened, length·en·ing, length·ens To make or become longer. length  en·er n. ; the possibility
that we may not be able to attract and retain qualified technical and
leadership associates, or that we may lose key associates to other
organizations; the possibility that we won't be able to properly
motivate our sales force or other associates; the possibility that we
won't be able to achieve cost reductions and avoid unanticipated
costs; the possibility that we won't be able to continue to receive
credit upon satisfactory terms and conditions; the possibility that
competent, competitive products, technologies or services will be
introduced into the marketplace by other companies; the possibility that
we may be subjected to pricing pressure due to market conditions and/or
competitive products and services; the possibility that there will be
changes in consumer or business information industries and markets that
negatively impact the Company; the possibility that changes in
accounting pronouncements may occur and may impact these projections;
the possibility that we won't be able to protect proprietary
information and technology or to obtain necessary licenses on
commercially reasonable terms; the possibility that we may encounter
difficulties when entering new markets or industries; the possibility
that there will be changes in the legislative, accounting, regulatory
and consumer environments affecting our business, including but not
limited to litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute.When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. , legislation, regulations and customs relating to relating to relate prep → concernant relating to relate prep → bezüglich +gen, mit Bezug auf +acc our ability to collect, manage, aggregate and use data; the possibility that data suppliers might withdraw data from us, leading to our inability to provide certain products and services; the possibility that we may enter into short-term contracts which would affect the predictability of our revenues; the possibility that the amount of ad hoc For this purpose. Meaning "to this" in Latin, it refers to dealing with special situations as they occur rather than functions that are repeated on a regular basis. See ad hoc query and ad hoc mode. , volume-based and project work will not be as expected; the possibility that we may experience a loss of data center capacity or interruption of telecommunication links or power sources; the possibility that we may experience failures or breaches of our network and data security systems, leading to potential adverse publicity, negative customer reaction, or liability to third parties; the possibility that postal rates may increase, thereby leading to reduced volumes of business; the possibility that our clients may cancel or modify their agreements with us; the possibility that we will not successfully complete customer contract requirements on time or meet the service levels specified in the contracts, which may result in contract penalties or lost revenue; the possibility that we experience processing errors which result in credits to customers, re-performance of services or payment of damages to customers; the possibility that the services of the United States Postal Service postal service, arrangements made by a government for the transmission of letters, packages, and periodicals, and for related services. Early courier systems for government use were organized in the Persian Empire under Cyrus, in the Roman Empire, and in medieval , their global counterparts and other delivery systems may be disrupted; and the possibility that we may be affected by other competitive factors. With respect to the board-approved business plan, all of the above factors apply, along with the following which were assumptions made in creating the board-approved business plan: that the U.S. and global economies will continue to improve at a moderate pace; that global growth will continue to be strong and that globalization globalization Process by which the experience of everyday life, marked by the diffusion of commodities and ideas, is becoming standardized around the world. Factors that have contributed to globalization include increasingly sophisticated communications and transportation trends will continue to grow at an increasing pace; that Acxiom's computer, communications and other equipment expenses will continue to fall as a percentage of revenue; that the Customer Information Infrastructure (CII CII Confederation of Indian Industry CII Chartered Insurance Institute (UK) CII Construction Industry Institute (University of Texas) CII Council of Institutional Investors ) grid-based environment will continue to be implemented successfully over the next 3-4 years and that the new CII infrastructure will continue to provide increasing operational efficiencies; that the acquisitions of companies operating primarily outside of the United States will be successfully integrated and that significant efficiencies will be realized from this integration; relating to operating cash flow and free cash flow, that sufficient operating and capital lease arrangements will continue to be available to the Company to provide for the financing of most of its computer equipment and that software suppliers will continue to provide financing arrangements for most of the software purchases; relating to revolving credit Revolving Credit A line of credit where the customer pays a commitment fee and is then allowed to use the funds when they are needed. It is usually used for operating purposes, fluctuating each month depending on the customers current cash flow needs. line balance, that free cash flow will meet expectations and that the Company will use free cash flow to pay down bank debt, buy back stock and fund dividends; relating to annual dividends, that the board of directors will continue to approve quarterly dividends and will vote to increase dividends over time; relating to diluted shares, that the Company will meet its cash flow expectations and that potential dilution potential dilution The decrease in the proportional equity position of a share of stock that will occur eventually if additional authorized shares are actually issued. created through the issuance of equity instruments will be mitigated by continued stock repurchases Stock repurchase A firm's repurchase of outstanding shares of its common stock. in accordance with the Company's stock repurchase program. With respect to the provision of products or services outside our primary base of operations Noun 1. base of operations - installation from which a military force initiates operations; "the attack wiped out our forward bases" base air base, air station - a base for military aircraft army base - a large base of operations for an army in the United States, all of the above factors apply, along with the difficulty of doing business in numerous sovereign jurisdictions due to differences in scale, competition, culture, laws and regulations. Other factors are detailed from time to time in our periodic reports and registration statements filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. We believe that we have the product and technology offerings, facilities, associates and competitive and financial resources for continued business success, but future revenues, costs, margins and profits are all influenced by a number of factors, including those discussed above, all of which are inherently difficult to forecast. We undertake no obligation to update the information contained in this press release or any other forward-looking statement. Acxiom, InfoBase and Personicx are registered trademarks of Acxiom Corporation. [TABLE OMITTED] [TABLE OMITTED] [TABLE OMITTED] [TABLE OMITTED] [TABLE OMITTED] [TABLE OMITTED] [TABLE OMITTED] [TABLE OMITTED] [TABLE OMITTED] [TABLE OMITTED] [TABLE OMITTED] [TABLE OMITTED] [TABLE OMITTED] [TABLE OMITTED] [TABLE OMITTED] [TABLE OMITTED] [TABLE OMITTED] [TABLE OMITTED] [TABLE OMITTED] |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion