We have changed the contract terms of AbiliTec in a manner that we believe will better suit our customers’ needs. These changes mean that we will now book all AbiliTec revenue on a monthly basis over the term of the contract. We will continue to sell AbiliTec under long-term contracts with the software license fees due up front. This will help improve cash flow and make Acxiom’s business performance easier to predict and track, Company Leader Charles Morgan said. We have decided that in the current environment the right choice for Acxiom is to forego the big up-front revenue hits in favor of measured revenue over time.
As projected in the Company’s March 30, 2001, press release, Acxiom met its fourth quarter revenue and earnings forecasts before the effect of the announced SAB 101 restatement and the effects of certain write-offs. Revenues before restating for SAB 101 and the non-recurring items were $250 million and earnings per share were $.10 for the quarter. For the full year, revenues before restating for SAB 101 and the non-recurring items were $1.05 billion and earnings per share were $0.94.
Fiscal 2001 was a true breakout year for AbiliTec, with 37 contracts signed and $110 million in AbiliTec revenue. AbiliTec is quickly becoming established as the industry standard for Customer Data Integration, Morgan said. With our strong and growing customer base and our list of top-tier strategic alliance partners, we are confident that AbiliTec will continue to drive Acxiom’s long-term success as users realize the CDI speed and accuracy that will make their customer relationship management programs succeed.
Fourth Quarter Financial Highlights:
Fourth quarter revenues, after SAB 101 adjustments, were $244 million and 16% greater than Q4 revenues from last year, after adjusting the prior year for SAB 101 and for divested operations on a pro forma basis. After booking the impact of SAB 101 and the non-recurring write-offs in the fourth quarter, the Company recorded a loss of $0.29 per share for the quarter.
AbiliTec revenues for Q4 exceeded $35 million. During Q4 the Company’s strategic alliance partners sold ten AbiliTec-related contracts, and PricewaterhouseCoopers was added as a new alliance partner.
Segment revenues for the quarter grew 22% for the Services Segment, 154% for the Data and Software Products Segment and were up slightly for the I.T. Management Segment versus the prior year, adjusted for SAB 101 and divested operations.
As previously announced, the Company took a $34.6 million charge in the fourth quarter related to the Montgomery Ward bankruptcy proceedings. The future cash payments associated with this charge are expected to be approximately $3 million. Also, the Company wrote off $12.7 million in investments (principally related to Bigfoot) and $5.1 million in other non-recurring charges.
Cash flow was strong for the quarter, with $62.4 million generated from operating cash flows and $31.4 million in free cash flows. The Company reduced DSO’s to 70 days at March 31 from 79 days reported for December 31, 2000 and reduced its line of credit by $26 million from the previous quarter end.
While the quarter met our revised expectations, we are taking significant expense savings action to help ensure that we are able to achieve our future projected results in a difficult economy, said Rodger S. Kline, Company Operations Leader. These expense actions include mandatory and voluntary pay reductions, as well as reduced capital expenditures, advertising, marketing and computer related spending, and reduced travel and entertainment costs, among other items, continued Kline. We expect to lower our previously planned spending in fiscal 2002 by over $70 million.
Fiscal 2001 Financial Highlights:
Revenue for the year surpassed $1 billion for the first time in Company history and revenue for AbiliTec surpassed $110 million.
Revenues of $1.01 billion increased 27% compared to the prior year, as adjusted for SAB 101 and divested operations.
Diluted earnings per share, after restating fiscal 2001 for SAB 101 and recording the other non-recurring write-offs, but prior to the cumulative effect of implementing SAB 101 on prior years’ financial statements were $0.47. After the cumulative effect of SAB 101 on prior years, diluted earnings per share were $0.07.
Segment revenues for the year grew 29% for the Services segment, 141% for the Data and Software Products segment and 21% for the I.T. Management segment compared to the prior year, adjusted for SAB 101 and divested operations.
A number of blue-chip corporations licensed AbiliTec, including CitiGroup, GE Capital, Microsoft, Bank One, American Express, USA Networks, JP Morgan Chase, Mercedes- Benz USA, Nissan North America Inc., Meredith Corporation and BMC Software.
Strong progress was made with business partners’ adoption of AbiliTec as their Customer Data Integration standard. Channel partner agreements were completed with Oracle, Siebel, IBM, Computer Associates, Compaq, Lockheed Martin, and AZ Bertelsmann (Germany), The Polk Co., USADATA, E.piphany, and Xchange Inc.
Internationally, GE Capital has signed on as the first AbiliTec UK customer. The Company launched AbiliTec Australia and has signed several major Australian companies to beta test the product. And in Germany the Company is continuing to work with AZ Bertelsmann to roll out AbiliTec.
In December, Fortune magazine named Acxiom as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work for in America. This marks the third time in the last four years that Acxiom has been included on this prestigious list. Earlier in the year, Acxiom was named by Computerworld magazine as one of the Top 100 Best Places to Work in Information Technology.
Company Leader Charles Morgan, as the newly elected Chairman of the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), continues to lead the DMA toward endorsing more proactive consumer privacy policies that assure responsible, appropriate uses of consumer information.
We have made tremendous progress towards achieving our goal of AbiliTec becoming the de facto standard for Customer Data Integration, commented Morgan. Our customers and partners are recognizing the power of AbiliTec and we have built a robust infrastructure to support this sizable opportunity. Despite the current economic situation, we remain committed to our strategy more than ever. And we have taken significant cost-cutting measures to better manage expenses through these more difficult times. It is important to remember that even in tough times, companies must still grow their revenue base, satisfy their customers and control costs. AbiliTec is a tool that can add tremendous value in each of these areas.