Pitney Bowes Announces Third Quarter 2014 Results

Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI) today reported financial results for the third quarter 2014.

Highlights

• Revenue of $942 million, up 2 percent
• Adjusted EPS from continuing operations of $0.51
• GAAP EPS from continuing operations of $0.55; GAAP EPS of $0.65
• Free cash flow of $118 million; cash from operations of $117 million
• The Company repurchased $50 million of its common stock
• The Company increases 2014 guidance for adjusted EPS and GAAP EPS from continuing operations; reaffirms guidance for revenue growth and free cash flow

“We performed well in the third quarter, delivering solid financial results,” said Marc Lautenbach, President and CEO, Pitney Bowes. “Once again, our Digital Commerce Solutions segment posted excellent top and bottom line results for the quarter, growing revenue 26 percent and expanding margins. Profitability in our mailing businesses continued to improve year over year.

“Our results further demonstrate the continued and steady progress we are making in executing our long-term growth strategy to unlock greater shareholder value. Going forward, we remain confident about our multi-year journey to transform Pitney Bowes and deliver sustained value for our clients, shareholders and employees.”

THIRD QUARTER 2014 RESULTS

Revenue in the third quarter totaled $942 million, which was growth of more than 2 percent when compared to the prior year. As part of its go-to-market strategy, the Company exited non-core product lines in Norway and transitioned from a direct sales model to a dealer sales network in six smaller European markets for the International Mailing and Production Mail segments. For comparative purposes, revenue would have grown 3 percent in the third quarter when the results related to these operations are excluded from the current and prior year.

On a reported basis, revenue for the quarter benefited from 26 percent growth in Digital Commerce Solutions and 2 percent growth in Enterprise Business Solutions. Revenue in Small and Medium Business (SMB) Solutions declined 5 percent. When revenue in the current and prior year is adjusted for the exit of non-core product lines and channel changes in Europe, revenue for comparative purposes would have declined 4 percent for SMB Solutions.

Adjusted earnings per diluted share from continuing operations were $0.51 compared to $0.47 in the prior year. Quarter results included tax benefits of $0.08 and $0.06 per share in 2014 and 2013, respectively.

Earnings per diluted share from continuing operations, on a Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) basis were $0.55, which included $0.05 per share related to the Company’s divestiture of an investment. GAAP earnings per share from continuing operations also included a restructuring charge of $0.01 per share associated with the previously announced cost reduction plans.

GAAP earnings per diluted share were $0.65, which included income from discontinued operations of $0.10 per share.

* The sum of the earnings per share may not equal the totals above due to rounding.

FREE CASH FLOW RESULTS

Free cash flow for the quarter was $118 million, while on a GAAP basis the Company generated $117 million in cash from operations. In comparison to the prior year, free cash flow was primarily impacted by the timing of working capital requirements, higher capital expenditures related to the Company’s ERP implementation and a decline in bank reserve deposits. During the quarter, the Company used $38 million of cash for dividends, $50 million to repurchase shares of its common stock and $9 million for restructuring payments.

Year-to-date free cash flow was $418 million, while on a GAAP basis the Company generated $397 million in cash from operations.

BUSINESS SEGMENT REPORTING

The Company’s business segment reporting reflects the clients served in each market and the way it manages these segments. The reporting segment groups are: Small & Medium Business (SMB) Solutions group; Enterprise Business Solutions group; and the Digital Commerce Solutions segment.

The Small and Medium Business (SMB) Solutions group offers mailing equipment, financing, services and supplies for small and medium businesses to efficiently create mail and evidence postage. This group includes the North America Mailing and International Mailing segments. North America Mailing includes the operations of U.S. and Canada Mailing. International Mailing includes all other SMB operations around the world.

The Enterprise Business Solutions group provides mailing equipment and services for large enterprise clients to process mail, including sortation services to qualify large mail volumes for postal worksharing discounts. This group includes the global Production Mail and Presort Services segments.

The Digital Commerce Solutions segment leverages digital and mobile channels that make the Company’s clients’ customer-facing functions more effective. This segment includes software, ecommerce, shipping and marketing services.

Within the SMB Solutions Group:

Within the North America Mailing results, recurring revenue streams continued to decline at a lesser rate versus prior periods due to sustained growth in supplies revenue and a further moderation in the decline in financing and rentals revenue. However, equipment sales declined as the Company continues to drive productivity improvements in its transition to expanded inside sales and web channels. EBIT margin improved during the quarter due to on-going benefits from the go-to-market strategy and incremental cost reduction initiatives.

Reflected in the quarter are a number of actions related to the International Mailing go-to-market and geographic coverage models. At the end of June, the Company exited additional non-core product lines in Norway and during the third quarter expanded its indirect sales activities by transitioning from a direct sales model to a dealer network in six smaller European markets. Excluding the revenue related to these transactions in both the current and prior years, revenue on a comparative basis would have declined 2 percent, which is in line with the Company’s stabilization objectives. The Company continued to shift additional client accounts to inside sales in the major European markets. In addition to creating a more variable cost structure, these changes lessen our sensitivity to the uncertain economic conditions in Europe. EBIT margin improved due to the changes in go-to-market, including the shift in strategy for smaller markets.

Within the Enterprise Business Solutions Group:

On a regional basis, revenues were relatively flat in North America and grew in Europe in large measure due to increased production print installations. Revenue declined in Asia Pacific due to fewer installations of inserting and production print equipment when compared to prior year. EBIT margin was impacted by the lower revenue and the related margin contribution.

Presort Services revenue benefited from improved qualification of mail for presort discounts, in particular in the processing of First Class mail. EBIT margin improved versus the prior year due to the revenue growth and on-going operational productivity.

Digital Commerce Solutions had revenue growth in each of its four product categories: ecommerce, software, shipping and marketing services. Overall, Digital Commerce Solutions represented nearly one quarter of the Company’s revenue in the third quarter.

Ecommerce experienced continued growth in the number of orders processed and packages shipped. In addition, in September the Company began operations in the UK to enable sellers on eBay to use Pitney Bowes’ cross-border ecommerce solutions when offering goods from the UK to buyers in about a dozen markets in the European Union.

Software solution’s double-digit revenue growth included several large licensing deals during the quarter, reflecting in part the investments in channel specialization. Revenue growth in the areas of shipping solutions and marketing services resulted from new client acquisitions for their respective product offerings.

EBIT margin reflected the benefit of revenue growth, net of the impact of continued investments in ecommerce technology and infrastructure.

2014 GUIDANCE

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 2013 Form 10-K Annual Report and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Company is reaffirming annual guidance for revenue growth and free cash flow. The Company is increasing guidance for adjusted earnings per share and GAAP earnings per share from continuing operations.

The Company still expects:

• Revenue, excluding the impacts of currency, to be in the range of one to three percent growth when compared to the prior year. Guidance includes the impact from the exit of non-core product lines in Norway and a shift from a direct sales model to an indirect, dealer sales network in six smaller European markets. As a result, this guidance anticipates a reduction in revenue for the balance of the year of about $12 million.
• Free cash flow to be in the range of $475 million to $575 million.

The Company now expects:

• Adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations to be in the range of $1.85 to $1.92 versus the range of $1.80 to $1.90 previously expected, which reflects year-to-date results and anticipated increased investment in ERP development and marketing expense in the fourth quarter.
• GAAP earnings per share from continuing operations to be in the range of $1.64 to $1.71 versus the range of $1.55 to $1.65 previously expected. The change in guidance resulted from $0.05 per share related to the Company’s divestiture of an investment; the incremental $0.01 per share charge for restructuring costs this quarter, which now total $0.07 per share year-to date; and $0.19 per share of debt extinguishment costs from the first quarter.

This guidance excludes any further actions that are under consideration by the Company to streamline its operations and further reduce its cost structure.

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

Pitney Bowes provides technology solutions for small, mid-size and large firms that help them connect with customers to build loyalty and grow revenue. Many of the company’s solutions are delivered on open platforms to best organize, analyze and apply both public and proprietary data to two-way customer communications. Pitney Bowes includes direct mail, transactional mail and call center communications in its solution mix along with digital channel messaging for the Web, email and mobile applications.

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 goodwill and asset write-downs, because, while these are actual Company expenses, they can mask underlying trends associated with its 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 settlements or 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 and goodwill and asset impairments, 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 site www.pb.com/investorrelations.

This document contains “forward-looking statements” about its expected or potential future business and financial performance. For us forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about its 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; the implementation of a new enterprise resource planning system; changes in business portfolio; 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 its control as more fully outlined in the Company's 2013 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 and nine months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013, and consolidated balance sheets at September 30, 2014 and December 31, 2013 are attached.

Note: The sum of the earnings per share amounts may not equal the totals above due to rounding.