Ebix Announces Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2021 Financial Results

Rhea-AI Summary

Ebix, Inc. (NASDAQ: EBIX) reported Q3 2021 revenues of $191.7 million, a 24% increase from Q3 2020. GAAP operating income was $28.1 million, while non-GAAP operating income was $35.3 million. GAAP diluted EPS dropped to $0.50 from $0.80 year-over-year, impacted by higher legal costs and bank interest expenses. Despite a 53% surge in prepaid card revenues compared to Q3 2020, a 38% sequential decline from Q2 2021 was noted. Operating cash flow improved to $18.2 million from Q2 2021, and the company paid a $0.075 quarterly dividend.

Positive

• Q3 2021 revenues rose 24% to $191.7 million.
• Non-GAAP operating income was stable at $35.3 million.
• Operating cash flow in Q3 2021 was $18.2 million, up from $13.1 million in Q2 2021.
• 53% year-over-year growth in prepaid card revenues.

Negative

• GAAP diluted EPS decreased to $0.50 from $0.80 in Q3 2020.
• GAAP operating income fell 12% year-over-year.
• Increased legal and professional costs impacted profitability.

JOHNS CREEK, Ga., Nov. 09, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ebix, Inc. (NASDAQ: EBIX), a leading international supplier of On-Demand software and E-commerce services to the insurance, financial, e-governance and healthcare industries today announced the following results for the quarter ended September 30, 2021:

• Revenues of $191.7 million
• GAAP operating income of $28.1 million and Non-GAAP operating income of $35.3 million
• GAAP Diluted EPS of $0.50 and Non-GAAP diluted EPS of $0.72.

Ebix will host a conference call to review its results today at 11:00 a.m. EDT (details below).

“Prepaid card revenues grew by 53% in Q3 2021 as compared to Q3 2020 while declining 38% sequentially as compared to Q2 2021. Our worldwide revenues excluding prepaid cards grew 5% sequentially and 4% year over year in Q3 2021. US revenues grew 1.5% sequentially while EbixCash revenues excluding the pre-paid cards business grew 12% sequentially. Our RCS revenues grew 8% sequentially and 3% year over year in Q3 2021.” Robin Raina, President & CEO, Ebix Inc. said. “I am pleased that we were able to deliver these numbers while fighting temporary COVID-19 related issues that had a material impact on some of our revenue lines.”

“Our bank interest costs were $0.6 million higher sequentially and $3.7 million higher year over year in Q3 2021, though our bank debt was lower by $42.7 million in Q3 2021 as compared to Q3 2020. We had to take the impact of substantial increases in software developer salaries from the cuts we had put in place last year, while COVID-19 continued to impact our business. We incurred substantially increased legal and professional costs as compared to Q2 2021.” Robin added, “In spite of all that, we are reporting $18.2 million in operating cash flows in Q3 2021 as compared to $13.1 million in Q2 2021 and $28.1 million in Q3 2021 operating income as compared to $27.3 million in Q2 2021. I am pleased with those trends as they speak to the fundamentals of the company.”

Ebix delivered the following results for the third quarter of 2021:

Revenue: Q3 2021 revenue increased 24% to $191.7 million compared to $154.3 million in Q3 2020.

Out of 10 major geographies worldwide, revenues grew year over year in seven regions, while declining in three regions. Despite the impact of COVID-19, specifically on our consulting revenues, insurance revenues worldwide were essentially flat year over year. Sequentially, U.S. insurance revenues grew 1.5% as compared to Q2 2021.

Exchanges, including EbixCash and our worldwide insurance exchanges, continued to be Ebix’s largest channel, accounting for 93% of Q3 2021 revenues.

(dollar amounts in thousands)
Channel	Q3 2021			Q3 2020			Change
EbixCash Exchanges	$	135,284		$	96,772		+39.8	%
Insurance Exchanges		42,199			42,382		-0.4	%
RCS		15,607			15,151		+3.0	%
Overlapping Revenue (1)		(1,354	)		0		NM
Total Revenue	$	191,736		$	154,305		+24.3	%
Total Revenue on Constant Currency Basis	$	190,649		$	160,461		+18.8	%

(1) Overlapping revenue relates to RCS revenues realized within EbixCash during Q321

Operating Income and Operating Cash: GAAP Operating income for Q3 2021 of $28.1 million increased 3% sequentially from $27.3 million in Q2 2021 and decreased 12% year-over-year as compared to $31.9 million in Q3 2020, primarily due to increased legal and professional fees and the increased cost of salaries in Q3 2021. In Q2 2020, the Company reduced compensation levels for many of its employees in the most negatively COVID-19 impacted business areas. The Company reversed the vast majority of 2020’s salary adjustments in Q2 2021 and offered salary increases to all software development staff, resulting in a year-over-year increase of approximately $3 million in personnel-related costs. These steps were taken to retain and motivate our employee base to support the expected growth in business as the effects of COVID-19 subside over the next few months.

Non-GAAP operating income for Q3 2021 was essentially flat at $35.3 million as compared to $35.8 million in Q3 2020.

Cash generated from operations in Q3 2021 was $18.2 million, as compared to $13.4 million in Q3 2020 and $13.1 million in Q2 2021.

Earnings per Share: Q3 2021 GAAP diluted earnings per share was at $0.50 as compared to $0.80 in Q3 2020. The drop was due to a number of extra-ordinary items detailed out in the GAAP to Non-GAAP reconciliation table below (equivalent of $0.22 in diluted earnings per share) and the $3.7 million year over year increase in bank interest expenses (equivalent of $0.12 in diluted earnings per share). Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share for Q3 2021 was $0.72.

Net Income: Q3 2021 GAAP net income decreased 37.4% to $15.5 million compared to $24.7 million in Q3 2020. Q3 2021 non-GAAP net income was $22.3 million.

Q4 2021 Diluted Share Count: As of today, Ebix expects its diluted share count for Q4 2021 to be approximately 30.8 million.

Dividend: Ebix paid its regular quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share in Q3 2021 for a total cost of $2.3 million.

“We are continuing to work towards a prospective EbixCash IPO. We recently filed the audit report signed by two independent auditors, namely Walker Chandiok (Grant Thornton India) and K G Somani, for our Ebix Payments subsidiary, which includes our prepaid gift card business for the year ended March 31, 2021, along with 9 other EbixCash subsidiary audits. The 3-year audit for the remaining subsidiaries and the EbixCash consolidated entity by the two audit firms, leading to the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) is in process at present.” Ebix Chairman, President and CEO Robin Raina said. “The EbixCash independent Board will soon decide the details around the prospective IPO.”

Steve Hamil, EVP and Global CFO added, “The Company continues to produce substantial operating cash flows in the face of COVID-19 headwinds, generating $40 million year-to-date in 2021. Despite the cumulative spending in the 9-month period of approximately $101 million on repayments of debt, cash interest payments, capital expenditures and capitalized software development costs, dividend payments, cash taxes and reduction of outstandings in India working capital facilities, our total cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash and short-term investments was $109.8 million at 9/30/21, as compared to $120.4 million at 09/30/20. As of 09/30/21, our total debt was $50 million lower than total debt on 09/30/20. Also, our working capital was a solid $175.5 million as of 09/30/21 as compared to $148.6 million as of 09/30/20.”

Reconciliation of GAAP operating income, net income and diluted earnings per share to non-GAAP operating income, net income and diluted earnings per share. Non-GAAP information is provided to enhance the understanding of the Company's financial performance and is reconciled to the Company's GAAP information in the accompanying tables.

Q3 2021

	Net Income			Diluted EPS
Q3 2021 GAAP Net Income	$15,451			$0.50
Q3 2021 GAAP Operating Income	$28,136
Non-GAAP Adjustments:
Amortization of Intangibles (1)	$2,684			$0.09
Stock-Based Compensation (1)	$1,317			$0.04
One-time Legal and Professional Services Costs (2)	$1,877			$0.06
Non-recurring non-operating expense (3)	$1,262			$0.04
Income Tax Effects of Non–GAAP Adjustments (4)	($331)			($0.01)
Total Non-GAAP Adjustments (Operating Income)	$7,140
Total Non-GAAP Adjustments (Net Income)	$6,809			$0.22
Third Quarter 2021 Non-GAAP Net Income	$22,260			$0.72
Third Quarter 2021 Non-GAAP Operating Income	$35,276

(1) Adjustments related to amortization of acquired intangibles and stock-based compensation recognized during the periods for GAAP purposes.
(2) Non-recurring legal and professional services costs recorded during the period for GAAP purposes.
(3) Non-recurring non-operating expense that is unrelated to any operating activities.
(4) Non-GAAP adjustment is based on the Q3 2021 effective tax rate, which reflects currently available information and could be subject to change.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Other Metrics

This press release contains the following non-GAAP financial measures: non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP operating income and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share. Non-GAAP operating income , non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share from operations exclude amortization of intangibles, stock-based compensation, as well as certain non-recurring expenses that are not associated with our ongoing operating business activities.

Ebix believes that these non-GAAP financial measures and other metrics provide useful information to management and investors regarding certain financial and business trends relating to Ebix’s financial condition and results of operations. The Company’s management uses these non-GAAP measures and other metrics to compare the Company’s performance to that of prior periods for trend analysis, for purposes of determining executive and senior management incentive compensation, and for budgeting and planning purposes. The Company believes that the use of these non-GAAP financial measures and other metrics provides an additional tool for investors to use in evaluating ongoing operating results and trends and in comparing the Company’s financial measures with other software companies, many of which present similar non-GAAP financial measures and other metrics to investors.

Management of the Company does not consider these non-GAAP measures in isolation or as an alternative to financial measures determined in accordance with GAAP. The principal limitation of these non-GAAP financial measures is that they exclude significant expenses and income that are required by GAAP to be recorded in the Company’s financial statements. In addition, they are subject to inherent limitations as they reflect the exercise of judgment by management about which expenses and income are excluded or included in determining these non-GAAP financial measures. Ebix urges investors to review the reconciliation of its non-GAAP financial measures to the comparable GAAP financial measures, which it includes in press releases announcing quarterly financial results, including the financial tables at the end of this press release, and not to rely on any single financial measure to evaluate the Company’s business.

Conference Call Details:

Call Date/Time:	Tuesday, November 9, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. EST
Call Dial-In:	+1-877-837-3909 or 1-973-409-9690; Call ID # 9398465
Live Audio Webcast:	www.ebix.com/webcast
Audio Replay URL:	www.ebix.com/result_21_Q3 after 2:00 p.m. EDT on November 9th

About Ebix, Inc.

With 150+ offices across 6 continents, Ebix, Inc., (NASDAQ: EBIX) endeavors to provide On-Demand software and E-commerce services to the insurance, financial, healthcare and e-learning industries. In the insurance sector, Ebix’s main focus is to develop and deploy a wide variety of insurance and reinsurance exchanges on an on-demand basis, while also, providing Software-as-a-Service ("SaaS") enterprise solutions in the area of CRM, front-end & back-end systems, outsourced administration and risk compliance services, around the world.

With a "Phygital” strategy that combines over 320,000 physical distribution outlets in India and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (“ASEAN”) countries, to an omni-channel online digital platform, the Company’s EbixCash Financial exchange portfolio encompasses leadership in the areas of domestic and international money remittance, foreign exchange (Forex), travel, pre-paid & gift cards, utility payments, software solutions for lending, wealth management, travel, bus exchanges and insurance in India and other markets. EbixCash’s Forex operations have emerged as a leader in India’s airport Foreign Exchange business with operations in 13 international airports, combined conducting over $4.8 billion in gross transaction value per year (pre-COVID-19). EbixCash’s inward remittance business in India processes approximately $5 billion in gross annual remittance volume (pre-COVID-19) and is the clear market leader. EbixCash Travel is also one of Southeast Asia’s leading travel exchanges with over 200,000 agents, 25 branches and over 9,800 corporate clients, combined processing an estimated $2.5 billion in gross merchandise value per year (pre-COVID-19).

Through its various SaaS-based software platforms, Ebix employs thousands of domain-specific technology professionals to provide products, support and consultancy to thousands of customers on six continents. For more information, visit the Company’s website at www.ebix.com

SAFE HARBOR REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

As used herein, the terms “Ebix,” “the Company,” “we,” “our” and “us” refer to Ebix, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and its consolidated subsidiaries as a combined entity, except where it is clear that the terms mean only Ebix, Inc.

The information contained in this Press Release contains forward-looking statements and information within the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. This information includes assumptions made by, and information currently available to management, including statements regarding future economic performance and financial condition, liquidity and capital resources, acceptance of the Company’s products by the market, and management’s plans and objectives. In addition, certain statements included in this and our future filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), in press releases, and in oral and written statements made by us or with our approval, which are not statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. Words such as “may,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “seeks,” “plan,” “project,” “continue,” “predict,” “will,” and other words or expressions of similar meaning are intended by the Company to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. These forward-looking statements are found at various places throughout this report and in the documents incorporated herein by reference. These statements are based on our current expectations about future events or results and information that is currently available to us, involve assumptions, risks, and uncertainties, and speak only as of the date on which such statements are made.

Our actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such a difference, include, but are not limited to those discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent reports filed with the SEC, as well as: the ongoing effects of the Covid-19 global pandemic, the willingness of independent insurance agencies to outsource their computer and other processing needs to third parties; pricing and other competitive pressures and the Company’s ability to gain or maintain share of sales as a result of actions by competitors and others; changes in estimates in critical accounting judgments; changes in or failure to comply with laws and regulations, including accounting standards, taxation requirements (including tax rate changes, new tax laws and revised tax interpretations) in domestic or foreign jurisdictions; exchange rate fluctuations and other risks associated with investments and operations in foreign countries (particularly in India, Australia and Asia, Latin America and Europe wherein we have significant and/or growing operations); fluctuations in the equity markets, including market disruptions and significant interest rate fluctuations, which may impede our access to, or increase the cost of, external financing; ability to secure additional financing to support capital requirements; credit facility provisions that could materially restrict our business; costs and effects of litigation, investigations or similar matters that could affect our business, operating results and financial condition; and international conflict, including terrorist acts.

Except as expressly required by the federal securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update any such factors, or to publicly announce the results of, or changes to any of the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect future events, developments, changed circumstances, or for any other reason.

Readers should carefully review the disclosures and the risk factors described in the documents we file from time to time with the SEC, including future reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K, and any amendments thereto.

You may obtain our SEC filings at our website, www.ebix.com under the “Investor Information” section, or over the Internet at the SEC’s web site, www.sec.gov

CONTACT:

Darren Joseph
678 -281-2027 or IR@ebix.com

David Collins or Chris Eddy
Catalyst Global - 212-924-9800 or ebix@catalyst-ir.com

Ebix, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income
(In thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)

	Three Months Ended										Nine Months Ended
	September 30,										September 30,
	2021					2020					2021					2020
Operating revenue	$	191,736				$	154,305				$	728,111				$	403,493
Operating expenses:
Cost of services provided	120,799					85,976					519,360					192,526
Product development	10,151					8,775					29,838					26,530
Sales and marketing	3,417					3,375					10,636					10,637
General and administrative, net	25,399					20,888					70,071					65,596
Amortization and depreciation	3,834					3,392					11,619					10,142
Total operating expenses	163,600					122,406					641,524					305,431
Operating income	28,136					31,899					86,587					98,062
Interest income	24					29					49					112
Interest expense	(10,985		)			(7,495		)			(29,526		)			(23,879		)
Non-operating (loss) income	(1,262		)			(4		)			(2,516		)			95
Foreign currency exchange (loss) gain	(160		)			(597		)			(776		)			112
Income before income taxes	15,753					23,832					53,818					74,502
Income tax (expense) benefit	(730		)			152					(2,559		)			(2,809		)
Net income including noncontrolling interest	15,023					23,984					51,259					71,693
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest	(428		)			(698		)			(1,504		)			(1,187		)
Net income attributable to Ebix, Inc.	$	15,451				$	24,682				$	52,763				$	72,880
Basic earnings per common share attributable to Ebix, Inc.	$	0.50				$	0.81				$	1.72				$	2.39
Diluted earnings per common share attributable to Ebix, Inc.	$	0.50				$	0.80				$	1.72				$	2.37
Basic weighted average shares outstanding	30,646					30,525					30,595					30,502
Diluted weighted average shares outstanding	30,701					30,853					30,650					30,748

Ebix, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(In thousands, except share amounts)

	September 30, 2021				December 31, 2020
ASSETS	(Unaudited)
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	87,671			$	105,035
Receivables from service providers	16,082				4,711
Short-term investments	13,342				25,019
Restricted cash	8,817				8,519
Fiduciary funds - restricted	1,507				4,106
Trade accounts receivable, less allowances of $19,489 and $22,691, respectively	146,623				142,847
Other current assets	81,429				71,661
Total current assets	355,471				361,898
Property and equipment, net	54,076				52,521
Right-of-use assets	10,984				12,372
Goodwill	940,600				949,037
Intangibles, net	49,312				50,880
Indefinite-lived intangibles	16,647				21,647
Capitalized software development costs, net	21,272				19,389
Deferred tax asset, net	66,508				63,402
Other assets	34,962				38,707
Total assets	$	1,549,832			$	1,569,853
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities	$	62,265			$	64,764
Payables to service agents	7,921				5,281
Accrued payroll and related benefits	8,607				11,792
Working capital facility	7,991				16,643
Fiduciary funds - restricted	1,507				4,106
Short-term debt	674				894
Current portion of long term debt and financing lease obligations, net of deferred financing costs of $1,635 and $920, respectively	26,701				23,621
Contract liabilities	32,261				32,898
Lease liability	3,172				3,905
Other current liabilities	28,909				27,486
Total current liabilities	180,008				191,390

Revolving line of credit	439,402				439,402
Long term debt and financing lease obligations, less current portion, net of deferred financing costs of $671 and $1,062, respectively	191,788				232,140
Contingent liability for accrued earn-out acquisition consideration	2,563				—
Contract liabilities	8,141				8,033
Lease liability	8,011				8,540
Deferred tax liability, net	1,358				1,235
Other liabilities	26,857				29,009
Total liabilities	858,128				909,749
Stockholders’ equity:
Preferred stock, $0.10 par value, 500,000 shares authorized, no shares issued and outstanding at September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020	—				—
Series Y Convertible preferred stock, $0.10 par value, 350,000 shares authorized, no shares issued and outstanding at September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020	—				—
Common stock, $0.10 par value, 220,000,000 shares authorized, 30,684,387 issued and outstanding, at September 30, 2021, and 30,515,334 issued and outstanding at December 31, 2020	3,068				3,052
Additional paid-in capital	14,994				11,126
Retained earnings	746,104				700,304
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(118,083		)		(101,503		)
Total Ebix, Inc. stockholders’ equity	646,083				612,979
Noncontrolling interest	45,621				47,125
Total stockholders’ equity	691,704				660,104
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	$	1,549,832			$	1,569,853

Ebix, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)

	Nine Months Ended
	September 30,
	2021				2020
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income attributable to Ebix, Inc.	$	52,763			$	72,880
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest	(1,504		)		(1,187		)
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Amortization and depreciation	11,619				10,142
(Benefit) provision for deferred taxes	(3,698		)		987
Share based compensation	4,034				3,457
(Provision) benefit for doubtful accounts	(2,742		)		424
Amortization of right-of-use assets	3,462				4,644
Amortization of capitalized software development costs	2,487				2,493
Reduction of acquisition accruals	—				(3,308		)
Cash paid for acquisition earn-out	—				(2,881		)
Changes in assets and liabilities, net of effects from acquisitions:
Accounts receivable	(3,078		)		13,999
Receivables from service providers	(11,371		)		5,849
Payables to service agents	2,640				(3,972		)
Other assets	(6,658		)		(7,988		)
Accounts payable and accrued expenses	(1,711		)		(10,620		)
Accrued payroll and related benefits	(2,929		)		3,316
Contract liabilities	(316		)		(1,591		)
Lease liabilities	(3,179		)		(4,317		)
Reserve for potential uncertain income tax return positions	789				—
Other liabilities	(782		)		(10,563		)
Net cash provided by operating activities	39,826				71,764
Cash flows from investing activities:
Cash paid for acquisitions, net of cash acquired	—				(12,480		)
Capitalized software development costs	(4,552		)		(4,617		)
Maturities (purchases) of unrestricted marketable securities, net	11,856				(20,609		)
Capital expenditures	(5,325		)		(1,464		)
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities	1,979				(39,170		)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Proceeds from revolving line of credit, net	—				1,364
Principal payments of term loan obligation	(36,945		)		(15,063		)
Proceeds from the exercise of stock options	—				636
Forfeiture of certain shares to satisfy exercise costs and the recipients' income tax obligations related to stock options exercised and restricted stock vested	(150		)		(1,841		)
Dividend payments	(6,963		)		(6,923		)
(Payments) proceeds of debt obligations	(205		)		7,187
Payments of working capital facility, net	(8,581		)		(19,945		)
Payments of financing lease obligations	(102		)		(158		)
Net cash used in financing activities	(52,946		)		(34,743		)
Effect of foreign exchange rates on cash	(5,222		)		(7,222		)
Net change in cash and cash equivalents, and restricted cash	(16,363		)		(9,371		)
Cash and cash equivalents, and restricted cash at the beginning of the period	120,213				111,369
Cash and cash equivalents, and restricted cash at the end of the period	$	103,850			$	101,998
Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information:
Interest paid	$	24,118			$	22,237
Income taxes paid	$	14,430			$	8,019

FAQ

What were Ebix's Q3 2021 earnings results?

Ebix reported Q3 2021 revenues of $191.7 million, with a GAAP diluted EPS of $0.50.

How did Ebix perform compared to Q3 2020?

Ebix's revenues increased by 24% year-over-year, but GAAP diluted EPS decreased from $0.80.

What is the future outlook for Ebix following Q3 2021?

Management is optimistic about growth despite challenges, with a focus on EbixCash IPO.

What were the main drivers of revenue for Ebix in Q3 2021?

The increase in revenue was driven primarily by a 53% growth in prepaid card revenues.