EX-99.1 2 dex991.htm PRESS RELEASE Press Release

Exhibit 99.1

 

LOGO

 

Contact:

 

Jack Brennan, CFO - (305) 375-8005 or jbrennan@answerthink.com

 

Answerthink Announces Third Quarter Results

 

  Revenue and EPS in line with guidance

 

  Quarterly revenues up 13%, driven by Hackett and Business Transformation revenue growth of 46% and 32%, respectively.

 

MIAMI, FL, October 26, 2004 – Answerthink, Inc. (Nasdaq: ANSR) , a strategic business and technology consulting firm, today announced its financial results for its third quarter ended October 1, 2004.

 

Third quarter revenue was $37.1 million, up 13% from the third quarter of 2003. Diluted earnings per share were $0.02, compared to $0.02 for the third quarter of 2003. Pro forma diluted earnings per share were $0.03, compared to $0.03 for the third quarter of 2003. Pro forma 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.

 

For the first nine months of 2004, revenues were $109.9 million, up 9% from the first nine months of 2003. Diluted earnings per share were $0.01, compared to a $0.13 loss for the same period of the previous year. The 2004 and 2003 results included restructuring costs of $0.08 and $0.11 per diluted share, respectively, related to an increase in previously established restructuring reserves for the consolidation of facilities. Pro forma diluted earnings per share were $0.09, up from $0.00 in the same period of the previous year.

 

The Company’s cash balances, including restricted cash and marketable investments, were $51.5 million at the end of the third quarter of 2004. During the quarter, the Company spent $2.8 million to repurchase 589,000 shares of the Company’s common stock.

 

“We continue to see strong client and partner response to the proprietary business process and best practice intellectual capital that we leverage in our solutions,” said Ted A. Fernandez, Chairman and CEO of Answerthink. “This response was evident in our strong Business Transformation growth and also in the increasing number of wins and registered joint pursuits with Accenture. You can expect the expansion of our Hackett offerings, Best Practice Implementation tools, and our partner strategies to be the primary drivers of our growth.”

 

Based on the current economic outlook, the Company estimates total revenues for the fourth quarter of 2004 to be in the range of $33.0 million to $36.0 million. The Company also estimates diluted earnings (loss) per share to be in the range of ($0.01) to $0.02 and pro forma diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $0.01 to $0.03.

 


Page 2 of 7 – Answerthink Announces Third Quarter Results

 

Other Highlights

 

Federal Tax Deduction – Answerthink received a favorable determination amounting to $77,343,763 on its worthless stock deduction relative to its stock investment in its Think New Ideas, Inc. subsidiary.

 

Sarbanes-Oxley Consulting Services – Answerthink introduced a Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Service designed to help companies meet the internal control requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley and concurrently improve business performance through the use of proven best practices from The Hackett Group. The service helps accelerate compliance efforts while allowing clients to pursue a return on their Sarbanes-Oxley investment, helping companies evaluate and make changes to business processes, technology, and ERP systems.

 

Financial Services Study – The Hackett Group announced a benchmark study for the financial services industry to define world-class performance in finance and procurement operations. The study, which is being developed with input from Accenture and co-sponsored by some of the world’s largest banking and insurance companies, offers financial services companies insight, analysis, and identification of Hackett-Certified Practices and will also look at a range of issues relevant to companies in the financial services industry.

 

Business Process Sourcing Webcasts & Conference – The Hackett Group held two Webcasts in September and a conference in October designed to help executives develop strategies around Business Process Sourcing for finance, IT, HR, procurement, and other key operational areas. During the Webcasts, Hackett Chief Research Officer Richard T. Roth shared insights into the business sourcing strategies employed by world-class firms. Hackett’s more in-depth Business Processing Sourcing Conference featured presentations by 16 leading companies: Accenture, Agilent Technologies, Autodesk, Equitant, FedEx Express, Hewlett Packard, KPMG International, Lafarge North America, Llewellyn & Associates, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, ON Semiconductor, NCR, Piper Jaffray, Unisys, and Williams Companies. More than 100 executives from 66 companies attended the conference.

 

Book of Numbers Executive Summary – The Hackett Group released executive summary findings from its 2004 Book of Numbers research into world-class performance showing that the gap between world-class performers and median companies continues to widen across a range of critical performance measures including costs and staffing. Hackett’s research also highlighted five of the most common traits and techniques shared by world-class companies: an overall focus on operational excellence; more effective sourcing strategies; enhanced quality and access to information; standardization and simplification; and improved business alignment.

 

Essbase Support – Answerthink announced that it will offer clients the newly-launched Hyperion Essbase 7X as part of its business intelligence implementation efforts. The improved speed and scalability of Essbase 7X will enhance Answerthink’s ability to help clients achieve world-class performance through the design and implementation of business intelligence solutions. The release of Essbase 7X was announced in September by Hyperion.

 


Page 3 of 7 – Answerthink Announces Third Quarter Results

 

Representative Client Engagements

 

Pharmaceutical & Healthcare Products Manufacturer – This company contracted with The Hackett Group and Accenture for a comprehensive SG&A benchmarking project designed as the initial steps in a continuous improvement program. The effort will include an institutionalized benchmarking of the company’s shared services organizations by Hackett over a two-year period, with a special emphasis on accounts payable, accounts receivable, and general ledger processes. Accenture will also drive a review of sales and marketing activities at the sub-group level within the company.

 

Processed Foods Manufacturer – Under a contract for Sarbanes-Oxley consulting services, Answerthink will utilize its proprietary Best Practice Implementation (BPI) knowledge base and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance experience to assist this company document and evaluate its internal-control process flows in North America and Europe.

 

Video Game Developer – Answerthink will assist this company to improve product lifecycle management capabilities, including strategic planning and portfolio management, through process redesign and implementation of SAP software components. The new processes and systems will integrate Hackett-certified practices from Answerthink’s BPI knowledge repository. They will be designed to help the company improve its ability to make decisions relating to new product development, entry into new markets, and overall investments.

 

Building Materials Manufacturer – Answerthink will help this client implement Kronos workforce management software, utilizing its package knowledge and HR best practices expertise. Answerthink also assisted in the requirements definition and selection process which has led to the implementation. The project is part of a client initiative to standardize business processes across several hundred locations throughout North America.

 

Global Specialty Materials Company – Answerthink will assist the client in developing a comprehensive strategy to improve its business intelligence and decision-making capabilities, leveraging SAP’s Business Warehouse to enable improvements in operations management. The effort will streamline management’s ability to leverage existing knowledge assets, including financial, operational, and market-facing information. This is a follow-on project to a comprehensive finance transformation effort Answerthink supported which realized key benefits that included a dramatic shortening of the close and consolidation cycle. The client’s key goals in their efforts are to identify opportunities to enhance revenue, maintain cost discipline, and grow market share.

 

Paper Products Manufacturer – This company signed a three-year agreement with The Hackett Group encompassing a supply chain benchmark from PRTM’s Performance Measurement Group and membership in Hackett’s IT Executive Advisory Program. The new contract follows a comprehensive Hackett SG&A benchmark study completed earlier this year, and will drive improvements in planning, identification of cost reduction opportunities, and implementation of enterprise applications.

 

Answerthink will host a conference call today at 5 pm to discuss third quarter earnings results and outlook. The number for the conference call is (877) 546-1566, (Passcode: Third Quarter, Leader: Ted A. Fernandez). For International callers, please dial (210) 234-0000.

 

Please dial in at least 5-10 minutes prior to start time. If you are unable to participate on the conference call, a rebroadcast will be available beginning at 8:00 P.M. ET on Tuesday, October 26, 2004 and will run through 5:00 P.M. ET on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. To access the rebroadcast, please dial (866) 448-7644. For International callers, please dial (203) 369-1194.

 


Page 4 of 7 – Answerthink Announces Third Quarter Results

 

In addition, Answerthink will also be webcasting this conference call live through the StreetEvents.com service. To participate, simply visit http://www.answerthink.com approximately 10 minutes prior to the start of the call and click on the conference call link provided. An online replay of the call will be available after 8:00 P.M. ET on Tuesday, October 26, 2004 and will run through 5:00 P.M. ET on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. To access the call, visit http://www.answerthink.com or http://www.streetevents.com.

 

About Answerthink

 

Answerthink, Inc. (www.answerthink.com) is a strategic business and technology consulting firm that enables companies to achieve world-class business performance. By leveraging the comprehensive database of The Hackett Group, the world’s leading repository of enterprise best practice metrics and business process knowledge, Answerthink’s business and technology solutions help clients significantly improve performance and maximize returns on technology investments. Answerthink’s capabilities include benchmarking, business transformation, business applications, business intelligence, and offshore application development and support. Founded in 1997, Answerthink has offices throughout the United States and in Europe and India.

 

About The Hackett Group

 

The Hackett Group (www.thehackettgroup.com), an Answerthink company, is a business advisory firm providing empirically based advice and best-practices research to executives seeking to drive world-class performance in areas such as finance, IT, human resources, and procurement. Hackett’s functional and process-specific benchmarks and its confidential, on-demand, membership-based advisory services are backed by an ongoing database of best practices in processes, technology, and organization in use at more than 2,400 clients around the globe. This unparalleled information repository allows Hackett business advisors to provide data, advice, and strategic insight with a level of integrity and authority available nowhere else. As of this writing, Hackett clients comprise 93 percent of the Dow Jones Industrials, 80 percent of the Fortune 100 and 90 percent of the Dow Jones Global Titans Index.

 

# # #

 

This press release contains “forward looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward looking statements. Factors that impact such forward looking statements include, among others, our ability to effectively integrate acquisitions into our operations, our ability to attract additional business, the timing of projects and the potential for contract cancellations by our customers, changes in expectations regarding the information technology industry, our ability to attract and retain skilled employees, possible changes in collections of accounts receivable, risks of competition, price and margin trends, changes in general economic conditions and interest rates as well as other risks detailed in the Company’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 


Page 5 of 7 – Answerthink Announces Third Quarter Results

 

Answerthink, Inc.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(in thousands, except per share data)

(unaudited)

 

     Quarter Ended

   Nine months Ended

 
     October 1,
2004


    October 3,
2003


   October 1,
2004


    October 3,
2003


 

Revenues:

                               

Revenues before reimbursements

   $ 33,329     $ 29,274    $ 98,893     $ 90,117  

Reimbursements

     3,802       3,644      10,976       11,083  
    


 

  


 


Total revenues

     37,131       32,918      109,869       101,200  

Costs and expenses:

                               

Project personnel and expenses:

                               

Project personnel and expenses before reimbursable expenses

     19,845       17,460      57,376       57,060  

Reimbursable expenses

     3,802       3,644      10,976       11,083  
    


 

  


 


Total project personnel and expenses

     23,647       21,104      68,352       68,143  

Selling, general and administrative expenses

     12,081       10,194      36,122       33,770  

Restructuring costs

     —         —        3,749       4,875  

Stock compensation expense

     597       565      1,891       565  
    


 

  


 


Total costs and operating expenses

     36,325       31,863      110,114       107,353  
    


 

  


 


Income (loss) from operations

     806       1,055      (245 )     (6,153 )

Other income (expense):

                               

Interest income

     184       155      570       517  

Interest expense

     (40 )     —        (40 )     —    
    


 

  


 


Income (loss) before income taxes and income from discontinued operations

     950       1,210      285       (5,636 )

Income taxes

     126       75      73       225  
    


 

  


 


Income (loss) from continuing operations

     824       1,135      212       (5,861 )

Income from discontinued operations

     —         —        370       —    
    


 

  


 


Net income (loss)

   $ 824     $ 1,135    $ 582     $ (5,861 )
    


 

  


 


Basic net income (loss) per common share:

                               

Income (loss) from continuing operations

   $ 0.02     $ 0.03    $ —       $ (0.13 )

Income from discontinued operations

   $ —       $ —      $ 0.01     $ —    

Net income (loss) per common share

   $ 0.02     $ 0.03    $ 0.01     $ (0.13 )

Weighted average common shares outstanding

     43,900       44,456      44,427       45,359  

Diluted net income (loss) per common share (1):

                               

Income (loss) from continuing operations

   $ 0.02     $ 0.02    $ —       $ (0.13 )

Income from discontinued operations

   $ —       $ —      $ 0.01     $ —    

Net income (loss) per common share

   $ 0.02     $ 0.02    $ 0.01     $ (0.13 )

Weighted average common and common equivalent shares outstanding

     47,960       48,074      48,824       45,359  

Pro forma data: (2)

                               

Income (loss) before income taxes and income from discontinued operations

   $ 950     $ 1,210    $ 285     $ (5,636 )

Restructuring costs

     —         —        3,749       4,875  

Stock compensation expense

     597       565      1,891       565  

Amortization of intangible assets

     581       274      1,371       485  
    


 

  


 


Pro forma income before income taxes

     2,128       2,049      7,296       289  

Pro forma income taxes

     851       820      2,918       116  
    


 

  


 


Pro forma net income

   $ 1,277     $ 1,229    $ 4,378     $ 173  
    


 

  


 


Pro forma basic net income per common share

   $ 0.03     $ 0.03    $ 0.10     $ 0.00  

Weighted average common shares outstanding

     43,900       44,456      44,427       45,359  

Pro forma diluted net income per common share

   $ 0.03     $ 0.03    $ 0.09     $ 0.00  

Weighted average common and common equivalent shares outstanding

     47,960       48,074      48,824       46,717  

 

(1) Potentially dilutive shares were excluded from the diluted loss per share calculation for the nine months ended October 3, 2003 as their effects would have been anti-dilutive to the loss incurred by the Company. The total number of weighted average common and common equivalent shares outstanding, including any anti-dilutive shares, for the nine months ended October 3, 2003 were 46,717 shares.

 

(2) The Company provides pro forma earnings results (which exclude amortization of intangible assets, non-cash compensation, income from discontinued operations and restructuring charges, and include a normalized tax rate) as a complement to results provided in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. These non-GAAP results are provided to enhance the users’s overall understanding of the Company’s current financial performance and its prospects for the future. The Company believes the non-GAAP results provide useful information to both management and investors by excluding certain expenses that it believes are not indicative of its core operating results. The non-GAAP measures are included to provide investors and management with an alternative method for assessing operating results in a manner that is focused on the performance of ongoing operations and to provide a more consistent basis for comparison between quarters. Further, these non-GAAP results are one of the primary indicators management uses for planning and forecasting in future periods. In addition, since the Company has historically reported non-GAAP results to the investment community, it believes the inclusion of non-GAAP numbers provides consistency in its financial reporting. The presentation of this additional information should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for results prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

 


Page 6 of 7 – Answerthink Announces Third Quarter Results

 

Answerthink, Inc.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(in thousands)

 

     October 1,
2004


   January 2,
2004


     (unaudited)     
ASSETS              

Current assets:

             

Cash and equivalents

   $ 38,591    $ 54,441

Accounts receivable and unbilled revenue, net

     32,248      24,877

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

     3,707      4,260
    

  

Total current assets

     74,546      83,578

Marketable investments

     9,945      10,000

Restricted cash

     3,000      3,000

Property and equipment, net

     8,095      8,714

Other assets

     3,846      3,211

Goodwill, net

     33,786      26,720
    

  

Total assets

   $ 133,218    $ 135,223
    

  

LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY              

Current liabilities:

             

Accounts payable

   $ 3,803    $ 3,793

Accrued expenses and other liabilities

     27,722      26,195
    

  

Total current liabilities

     31,525      29,988

Shareholders’ equity

     101,693      105,235
    

  

Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity

   $ 133,218    $ 135,223
    

  

 


Page 7 of 7 – Answerthink Announces Third Quarter Results

 

Answerthink, Inc.

Supplemental Financial Data

(unaudited)

 

     2004

    2003

 
     Q3

    Q2

    Q3

 

Revenue Breakdown by Group:

                        

(in thousands)

                        

Business Applications

   $ 15,362     $ 16,093     $ 14,447  

Business Intelligence

     7,634       8,739       8,148  

Business Transformation

     8,361       7,215       6,358  

The Hackett Group

     5,774       5,602       3,965  
    


 


 


Total revenues

   $ 37,131     $ 37,649     $ 32,918  
    


 


 


Revenue Concentration:

                        

(% of total revenues)

                        

Top customer

     6 %     9 %     8 %

Top 5 customers

     18 %     23 %     29 %

Top 10 customers

     29 %     33 %     44 %

Key Metrics and Other Financial Data:

                        

Consultant utilization rate

     67 %     72 %     73 %

Gross billing rate per hour

   $ 174     $ 176     $ 178  

Net billing rate per hour

   $ 156     $ 159     $ 158  

Consultant headcount

     600       597       486  

Total headcount

     768       762       617  

Days sales outstanding (DSO)

     79       70       63  

Cash provided by (used in) operating activities (in thousands)

   $ (1,225 )   $ 145     $ 3,567  

Depreciation and amortization (in thousands)

   $ 1,324     $ 1,275     $ 1,259  

Share Repurchase Program:

                        

Shares purchased since inception (in thousands)

     4,959       4,370       3,550  

Cost of shares repurchased since inception (in thousands)

   $ 15,857     $ 13,020     $ 7,686  

Average per share cost of shares purchased since inception

   $ 3.20     $ 2.98     $ 2.16  

Remaining authorization (in thousands)*

   $ 4,143     $ 1,980     $ 2,314  

 

* In July 2004, Answerthink’s Board of Directors increased the size of the Company’s share repurchase program by another $5 million, from $15 million to $20 million.