Pitney Bowes Announces Third Quarter 2020 Financial Results

Rhea-AI Summary

Pitney Bowes Inc. (PBI) reported a 13% revenue growth in Q3 2020, totaling $892 million, marking its strongest organic growth in over a decade. GAAP EPS was $0.07 and adjusted EPS was $0.08. The company noted that shipping-related revenues made up half of total revenue, with Global Ecommerce revenue exceeding $400 million for the first time, an increase of 47%. Free cash flow reached $85 million. The CEO expressed optimism about capitalizing on market opportunities despite ongoing uncertainties related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Positive

• 13% revenue growth in Q3 2020, totaling $892 million.
• Global Ecommerce revenue exceeded $400 million, growing 47%.
• Free cash flow amounted to $85 million.

Negative

• GAAP EPS of $0.07, a modest increase from prior year, indicating slow recovery.
• SendTech Solutions revenue declined 7% from the previous year.

STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE: PBI), a global technology company that provides commerce solutions in the areas of ecommerce, shipping, mailing and financial services, today announced its financial results for the third quarter 2020.

“We grew revenue 13 percent in the third quarter, which is the strongest organic revenue growth rate we have achieved in well over a decade,” said Marc B. Lautenbach, President and CEO, Pitney Bowes. “I am extremely proud of what the team has accomplished, especially during these challenging times.

“Several years ago, we implemented a strategy to shift our portfolio to the growth areas of the market,” Lautenbach continued. “The investments we have made are paying off especially with our shipping-related revenues, which comprise half of our overall revenue. Although uncertainties remain given the Covid-19 pandemic, we are pleased with the momentum in our businesses and believe we are well positioned to capitalize on the market opportunities ahead of us.”

Third Quarter - Financial Overview:

• Revenue of $892 million, growth of 13 percent
• GAAP EPS of $0.07; Adjusted EPS of $0.08
• GAAP cash from operations of $104 million; free cash flow of $85 million

Third Quarter - Other Highlights:

• The Company repaid the $100 million drawn against the revolving credit facility.
• The Company ended the third quarter with $820 million in cash and short-term investments.
• Shipping-related revenues represented 50 percent of total revenue.
• Global Ecommerce revenue exceeded $400 million for the first time, representing 47 percent growth.
• Global Ecommerce Domestic Parcel volumes more than doubled from prior year.
• Presort Services productivity measures resulted in 115,000 fewer labor hours to sort nearly 4.1 billion pieces.
• SendTech shipping revenue was $32 million and grew at a double-digit rate.
• SendTech shipped nearly 12,000 units of the SendPro Mailstation since launching in April.

Third Quarter Results

Revenue totaled $892 million, which was growth of 13 percent over prior year.

GAAP earnings per share were $0.07 and adjusted earnings per share were $0.08.

GAAP cash from operations was $104 million and free cash flow was $85 million. Free cash flow increased over prior year largely due to changes in working capital, particularly around timing of accounts receivable, which was partly offset by lower net income.

During the quarter, the Company repaid the $100 million drawn against the revolving credit facility, invested $21 million in capital expenditures, paid $9 million in dividends and made $5 million in restructuring payments.

On a year-to-date basis, GAAP cash from operations is $191 million and free cash flow is $186 million.

Earnings per share results for the third quarter are summarized in the table below:

		Third Quarter*
		2020		2019
GAAP EPS		$0.07		($0.02)
Discontinued operations		-		0.05
GAAP EPS from continuing operations		$0.06		$0.03
Restructuring and asset impairments		0.02		0.20
Adjusted EPS		$0.08		$0.24

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

Business Segment Reporting

The Commerce Services group includes the Global Ecommerce and Presort Services segments. Global Ecommerce facilitates domestic retail and ecommerce shipping solutions, including fulfillment and returns, and global cross-border ecommerce transactions. Presort Services provides sortation services to qualify large volumes of First Class Mail, Marketing Mail, Marketing Mail Flats and Bound Printed Matter for postal workshare discounts.

The Sending Technology Solutions segment offers physical and digital mailing and shipping technology solutions, financing, services, supplies and other applications for small and medium businesses to help simplify and save on the sending, tracking and receiving of letters, parcels and flats.

The sum of the segment results may not equal the totals due to rounding.

Commerce Services

		Third Quarter
($ millions)		2020		2019		B/(W) Reported	B/(W) Ex Currency
Revenue
Global Ecommerce		$410		$279		47%	47%
Presort Services		128		131		(3%)	(3%)
Commerce Services		$538		$410		31%	31%
EBITDA
Global Ecommerce		($3)		($4)		34%
Presort Services		23		25		(11%)
Commerce Services		$20		$21		(6%)
EBIT
Global Ecommerce		($20)		($22)		9%
Presort Services		14		18		(18%)
Commerce Services		($5)		($4)		(28%)

Global Ecommerce

Revenue increased driven by strong volume growth in Domestic Parcel, Digital Delivery and Cross Border Services. EBIT margin improved from prior year driven by increased volumes, partly offset by investments to support growth and gain share along with incremental costs associated with Covid-19.

Presort Services

Revenue improved from second quarter as the year-over-year volume declines moderated. Revenue declined from prior year due to lower Marketing Mail and First Class volumes processed. Marketing Mail Flats and Bound Printed Matter volumes continued to grow at a double-digit rate over prior year. EBIT and EBITDA margins improved slightly quarter-to-quarter. Compared to prior year, EBIT and EBITDA margins were impacted primarily by the lower revenue.

SendTech Solutions

			Third Quarter
	($ millions)		2020			2019		B/(W) Reported	B/(W) Ex Currency
Revenue			$354	$380				(7%)	(7%)
EBITDA			$121	$141				(14%)
EBIT			$113	$131				(14%)

Revenue improved from second quarter as year-over-year declines moderated. Revenue declined from prior year largely driven by lower equipment sales, support services, supplies and financing. Business services revenues grew over prior year as clients increased their usage of shipping offerings and capabilities. EBIT and EBITDA margins declined from prior year primarily driven by the lower revenue performance.

2020 Guidance

Given the continued level of uncertainty around the depth and duration of Covid-19, the Company will not provide guidance which is consistent with prior quarters.

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. ET. 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.pitneybowes.com.

About Pitney Bowes

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) is a global technology company providing commerce solutions that power billions of transactions. Clients around the world, including 90 percent of the Fortune 500, rely on the accuracy and precision delivered by Pitney Bowes solutions, analytics, and APIs in the areas of ecommerce fulfillment, shipping and returns; cross-border ecommerce; office mailing and shipping; presort services; and financing. For 100 years, Pitney Bowes has been innovating and delivering technologies that remove the complexity of getting commerce transactions precisely right. For additional information visit Pitney Bowes, the Craftsmen of Commerce, at www.pitneybowes.com.

Use of Non-GAAP Measures

The Company's financial results are reported in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP); however, in its disclosures the Company uses certain non-GAAP measures, such as adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT), adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), adjusted earnings per share (EPS), revenue growth on a constant currency basis and free cash flow.

The Company reports measures such as adjusted EBIT, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EPS to exclude the impact of items like discontinued operations, restructuring charges, gains, losses and costs related to acquisitions and dispositions, asset impairment charges, goodwill impairment charges and other unusual or one-time items. While these are actual Company income or expenses, they can mask underlying trends associated with its business. Such items are often inconsistent in amount and frequency and as such, the non-GAAP measures provide investors greater insight into the underlying operating trends of the business.

In addition, revenue growth is 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 is calculated by converting the current period non-U.S. dollar denominated revenue using the prior year’s exchange rate for the comparable quarter. We believe that excluding the impacts of currency exchange rates provides investors a better understanding of the underlying revenue performance. A reconciliation of reported revenue to constant currency revenue can be found in the attached financial schedules.

The Company reports free cash flow in order to provide investors insight into the amount of cash that management could have available for other discretionary uses. Free cash flow adjusts GAAP cash from operations for cash flows of discontinued operations, capital expenditures, restructuring payments, changes in customer deposits held at the Pitney Bowes Bank, transaction costs and other special items. A reconciliation of GAAP cash from operations to free cash flow can be found in the attached financial schedules.

Segment EBIT is the primary measure of profitability and operational performance at the segment level. Segment EBIT is determined by deducting from segment revenue 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. The Company also provides segment EBITDA, which further excludes depreciation and amortization expense for the segment, as an additional useful measure of segment profitability and operational performance. A reconciliation of segment EBIT and EBITDA to net income can be found in the attached financial schedules.

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

This document contains “forward-looking statements” about the Company’s expected or potential future business and financial performance. 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 the severity, magnitude and duration of the Covid-19 pandemic (Covid-19), including governments' responses to Covid-19, its continuing impact on our operations, employees, the availability and cost of labor, global supply chain and demand across our and our clients' businesses as well as any deterioration or instability in global macroeconomic conditions. Other factors, which could cause future financial performance to differ materially from the expectations, and which may also be exacerbated by Covid-19 or a negative change in the economy, include, without limitation: declining physical mail volumes; changes in postal regulations, or the financial health of posts in the U.S. or other major markets or the loss of, or significant changes to, our contractual relationship with the United States Postal Service (USPS); our ability to continue to grow and manage volumes, gain additional economies of scale and improve profitability within our Commerce Services group; changes in political conditions and their potential impacts on the operations of the USPS and broader mailing and shipping industry; the loss of some of our larger clients in our Commerce Services group; expenses and potential impacts resulting from a breach of security, including cyber-attacks or other comparable events; changes in labor conditions and transportation costs; our success at managing customer credit risk; third-party suppliers' ability to provide products and services required by us and our clients; capital market disruptions or credit rating downgrades that adversely impact our ability to access capital markets at reasonable costs; and other factors as more fully outlined in the Company's 2019 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, EBIT and EBITDA by business segment; and reconciliations of GAAP to non-GAAP measures for the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, and consolidated balance sheets at September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 are attached.

Pitney Bowes Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss)
(Unaudited; in thousands, except per share amounts)
			Three months ended September 30,								Nine months ended September 30,
				2020				2019				2020				2019
Revenue:
	Business services		$	550,954			$	419,101			$	1,524,323			$	1,243,609
	Support services			117,519				126,274				353,320				382,578
	Financing			86,218				90,577				260,758				280,039
	Equipment sales			79,572				89,618				213,682				264,956
	Supplies			39,635				44,818				118,117				142,261
	Rentals			18,000				19,737				55,458				60,339
	Total revenue			891,898				790,125				2,525,658				2,373,782
Costs and expenses:
	Cost of business services			482,965				338,519				1,311,941				1,003,483
	Cost of support services			37,647				41,086				114,132				123,453
	Financing interest expense			11,626				11,026				36,054				33,433
	Cost of equipment sales			59,766				59,859				165,045				182,094
	Cost of supplies			10,132				12,225				30,751				37,533
	Cost of rentals			6,055				5,090				18,455				23,223
	Selling, general and administrative			238,618				254,092				720,882				757,228
	Research and development			9,255				12,272				28,838				38,421
	Restructuring charges			3,766				47,017				12,505				56,616
	Goodwill impairment			-				-				198,169				-
	Interest expense, net			27,175				28,704				79,504				84,325
	Other components of net pension and postretirement (income), expense			(109	)			(882	)			126				(3,138	)
	Other (income) expense, net			(6,325	)			667				9,787				18,350
	Total costs and expenses			880,571				809,675				2,726,189				2,355,021
Income (loss) from continuing operations before taxes				11,327				(19,550	)			(200,531	)			18,761
Provision (benefit) for income taxes				554				(24,895	)			7,540				(13,351	)
Income (loss) from continuing operations				10,773				5,345				(208,071	)			32,112
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax				616				(8,470	)			7,648				(14,199	)
Net income (loss)			$	11,389			$	(3,125	)		$	(200,423	)		$	17,913
Basic earnings (loss) per share (1):
	Continuing operations		$	0.06			$	0.03			$	(1.21	)		$	0.18
	Discontinued operations			-				(0.05	)			0.04				(0.08	)
	Net income (loss)		$	0.07			$	(0.02	)		$	(1.17	)		$	0.10
Diluted earnings (loss) per share (1):
	Continuing operations		$	0.06			$	0.03			$	(1.21	)		$	0.18
	Discontinued operations			-				(0.05	)			0.04				(0.08	)
	Net income (loss)		$	0.07			$	(0.02	)		$	(1.17	)		$	0.10
Weighted-average shares used in diluted earnings per share				174,704				171,201				171,388				179,096

(1)

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

Pitney Bowes Inc.
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(Unaudited; in thousands)
Assets			September 30, 2020				December 31, 2019
Current assets:
	Cash and cash equivalents		$	799,177			$	924,442
	Short-term investments			21,185				115,879
	Accounts and other receivables, net			348,565				373,471
	Short-term finance receivables, net			559,148				629,643
	Inventories			66,974				68,251
	Current income taxes			11,477				5,565
	Other current assets and prepayments			115,981				101,601
	Assets of discontinued operations			-				17,229
Total current assets				1,922,507				2,236,081
Property, plant and equipment, net				367,466				376,177
Rental property and equipment, net				40,352				41,225
Long-term finance receivables, net				587,548				625,487
Goodwill				1,142,144				1,324,179
Intangible assets, net				167,493				190,640
Operating lease assets				213,490				200,752
Noncurrent income taxes				69,305				71,903
Other assets				533,726				400,456
Total assets			$	5,044,031			$	5,466,900
Liabilities and stockholders' equity
Current liabilities:
	Accounts payable and accrued liabilities		$	760,363			$	793,690
	Customer deposits at Pitney Bowes Bank			610,582				591,118
	Current operating lease liabilities			38,007				36,060
	Current portion of long-term debt			63,509				20,108
	Advance billings			102,919				101,920
	Current income taxes			2,527				17,083
	Liabilities of discontinued operations			-				9,713
Total current liabilities				1,577,907				1,569,692
Long-term debt				2,531,712				2,719,614
Deferred taxes on income				279,526				274,435
Tax uncertainties and other income tax liabilities				40,642				38,834
Noncurrent operating lease liabilities				192,789				177,711
Other noncurrent liabilities				342,330				400,518
Total liabilities				4,964,906				5,180,804
Stockholders' equity:
	Common stock			323,338				323,338
	Additional paid-in-capital			67,512				98,748
	Retained earnings			5,190,914				5,438,930
	Accumulated other comprehensive loss			(813,572	)			(840,143	)
	Treasury stock, at cost			(4,689,067	)			(4,734,777	)
Total stockholders' equity				79,125				286,096
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity			$	5,044,031			$	5,466,900

Pitney Bowes Inc.
Business Segment Revenue
(Unaudited; in thousands)
			Three months ended September 30,										Nine months ended September 30,
				2020				2019		% Change				2020			2019		% Change
REVENUE
	Global Ecommerce		$	409,981			$	278,995		47	%		$	1,100,757		$	827,568		33	%
	Presort Services			127,705				131,483		(3	%)			386,552			394,468		(2	%)
	Commerce Services			537,686				410,478		31	%			1,487,309			1,222,036		22	%
	Sending Technology Solutions			354,212				379,647		(7	%)			1,038,349			1,151,746		(10	%)
	Total revenue - GAAP			891,898				790,125		13	%			2,525,658			2,373,782		6	%
	Currency impact on revenue			(2,454	)			-						2,514			-
	Revenue, at constant currency		$	889,444			$	790,125		13	%		$	2,528,172		$	2,373,782		7	%

Pitney Bowes Inc.
Business Segment EBIT & EBITDA
(Unaudited; in thousands)
		Three months ended September 30,
		2020									2019									% change
		EBIT (1)			D&A		EBITDA				EBIT (1)			D&A		EBITDA				EBIT		EBITDA
Global Ecommerce		$	(19,757	)	$	16,824	$	(2,933	)		$	(21,793	)	$	17,356	$	(4,437	)		9	%	34	%
Presort Services			14,481			8,031		22,512				17,687			7,667		25,354			(18	%)	(11	%)
Commerce Services			(5,276	)		24,855		19,579				(4,106	)		25,023		20,917			(28	%)	(6	%)
Sending Technology Solutions			112,599			7,955		120,554				130,954			9,579		140,533			(14	%)	(14	%)
Segment total		$	107,323		$	32,810		140,133			$	126,848		$	34,602		161,450			(15	%)	(13	%)
Reconciliation of Segment EBITDA to Net (Loss) Income:
Segment depreciation and amortization								(32,810	)								(34,602	)
Interest, net								(38,801	)								(39,730	)
Unallocated corporate expenses (2)								(53,429	)								(58,277	)
Restructuring charges and asset impairments								(3,766	)								(47,017	)
Loss on debt extinguishment								-									(667	)
Transaction costs and other								-									(707	)
(Provision) benefit for income taxes								(554	)								24,895
Income from continuing operations								10,773									5,345
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax								616									(8,470	)
Net income (loss)							$	11,389								$	(3,125	)
		Nine months ended September 30,
		2020									2019									% change
		EBIT (1)			D&A		EBITDA				EBIT (1)			D&A		EBITDA				EBIT		EBITDA
Global Ecommerce		$	(68,126	)	$	52,187	$	(15,939	)		$	(51,969	)	$	50,697	$	(1,272	)		(31	%)	>(100%)
Presort Services			42,758			23,662		66,420				48,215			21,675		69,890			(11	%)	(5	%)
Commerce Services			(25,368	)		75,849		50,481				(3,754	)		72,372		68,618			>(100%)		(26	%)
Sending Technology Solutions			323,429			25,771		349,200				378,095			30,347		408,442			(14	%)	(15	%)
Segment Total		$	298,061		$	101,620		399,681			$	374,341		$	102,719		477,060			(20	%)	(16	%)
Reconciliation of Segment EBITDA to Net Income:
Segment depreciation and amortization								(101,620	)								(102,719	)
Interest, net								(115,558	)								(117,758	)
Unallocated corporate expenses (2)								(146,640	)								(160,283	)
Restructuring charges and asset impairments								(12,505	)								(56,616	)
Goodwill impairment								(198,169	)								-
Gain on sale of equity investment								11,908									-
Loss on debt extinguishment								(36,987	)								(667	)
Loss on dispositions and transaction costs								(641	)								(20,256	)
(Provision) benefit for income taxes								(7,540	)								13,351
(Loss) income from continuing operations								(208,071	)								32,112
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax								7,648									(14,199	)
Net (loss) income							$	(200,423	)							$	17,913

(1) Segment EBIT excludes interest, taxes, general corporate expenses, restructuring charges, and other items that are not allocated to a particular business segment.

(2) Includes corporate depreciation and amortization expense of $5,806 and $5,935 for the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively and $18,783 and $15,795 for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

Pitney Bowes Inc.
Reconciliation of Reported Consolidated Results to Adjusted Results
(Unaudited; in thousands, except per share amounts)
		Three months ended September 30,								Nine months ended September 30,
			2020				2019				2020				2019
Reconciliation of reported net income (loss) to adjusted net income, adjusted EBIT and adjusted EBITDA
Net income (loss)		$	11,389			$	(3,125	)		$	(200,423	)		$	17,913
(Income) loss from discontinued operations, net of tax			(616	)			8,470				(7,648	)			14,199
Restructuring charges and asset impairments			2,639				34,722				8,493				41,709
Goodwill impairment			-				-				196,600				-
Gain on sale of equity investment			-				-				(8,943	)			-
Tax on surrender of company owned life insurance policies			-				-				12,229				-
Loss on debt extinguishment			-				497				27,777				497
Loss on dispositions and transaction costs			-				527				487				21,313
Adjusted net income			13,412				41,091				28,572				95,631
Interest, net			38,801				39,730				115,558				117,758
Provision (benefit) for income taxes, as adjusted			1,681				(12,250	)			7,291				669
Adjusted EBIT			53,894				68,571				151,421				214,058
Depreciation and amortization			38,616				40,537				120,403				118,514
Adjusted EBITDA		$	92,510			$	109,108			$	271,824			$	332,572
Reconciliation of reported diluted earnings (loss) per share to adjusted diluted earnings per share
Diluted earnings (loss) per share		$	0.07			$	(0.02	)		$	(1.17	)		$	0.10
(Income) loss from discontinued operations, net of tax			-				0.05				(0.04	)			0.08
Restructuring charges and asset impairments			0.02				0.20				0.05				0.23
Goodwill impairment			-				-				1.14				-
Gain on sale of equity investment			-				-				(0.05	)			-
Tax on surrender of company owned life insurance policies			-				-				0.07				-
Loss on debt extinguishment			-				-				0.16				-
Loss on dispositions and transaction costs			-				-				-				0.12
Adjusted diluted earnings per share		$	0.08			$	0.24			$	0.17			$	0.53
Note: The sum of the earnings per share amounts may not equal the totals due to rounding.
Reconciliation of reported net cash from operating activities to free cash flow
Net cash provided by operating activities		$	103,815			$	95,502			$	190,624			$	182,284
Net cash (provided by) used in operating activities - discontinued operations			-				(10,324	)			38,423				(15,858	)
Capital expenditures			(20,833	)			(36,034	)			(80,787	)			(95,221	)
Restructuring payments			4,504				5,840				15,869				18,845
Change in customer deposits at PB Bank			(2,867	)			11,441				19,464				3,125
Transaction costs paid			-				2,917				2,117				9,025
Free cash flow		$	84,619			$	69,342			$	185,710			$	102,200