Blackbaud (BLKB) Q1 Earnings & Revenues Surpass Estimates

Shares of Blackbaud, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLKB) are down almost 5.5% following first-quarter 2019 earnings results. This can be attributed to investors’ apprehensions regarding increasing operating expenses and contracting margins. However, the top and bottom line performance exceeded expectations.

The company delivered first-quarter 2019 non-GAAP earnings of 51 cents per share, outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny. However, the figure declined 22.7% from the year-ago quarter.

Total non-GAAP revenues improved 5.9% year over year to $216.5 million, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $211 million.

Quarter Details

Blackbaud reports maintenance and subscriptions combined under recurring revenues as it is shifting toward a cloud-based subscription model from the traditional revenue-base model.

Total recurring revenues for the reported quarter came in at $198.1 million, accounting for 91.8% of total revenues of $215.8 million. The figure was also up 9.5% year over year. Non-GAAP recurring revenues came in at $198.8 million, up 9.7% year over year.

One-time services and other revenues were pegged at $17.7 million (almost 8.2% of total revenues), declining 24% year over year.

Non-GAAP organic revenues improved 2.2% flat year over year (up 3.1% on a constant currency basis) to $211.4 million. Meanwhile, non-GAAP organic recurring revenues increased 5.7% to $193.9 million.

Margin Details

Non-GAAP gross profit advanced 1.7% from the year-ago quarter to $130.8 million. However, non-GAAP gross margin contracted 250 bps to 60.4%.

Blackbaud’s non-GAAP operating income for the quarter under review declined 16.9% from the year-ago quarter to reach almost $36 million.

Non-GAAP operating margin contracted 450 bps from the year-ago figure to 16.6%. The decrease can primarily be attributed to an increase of 16% in total operating expenses of $114.4 million from the year-ago quarter.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow

As on Mar 31, 2019, Blackbaud had cash and cash equivalents of $25.2 million compared with $30.9 million, at the end of previous quarter. Total debt (including current portion) amounted to $583.6 million, compared with $387.1 million reported at the end of previous quarter.

Free cash flow came in at ($22.5 million) compared with $50.7 million reported in the prior-quarter.

The company used $10 million cash from operating activities for 3 months ended Mar 31, 2019.

The company recently approved a quarterly dividend payment of 12 cents per share to be paid on Jun 14, 2019 to shareholders as on May 28, 2019.

Latest Initiatives Hold Promise

In a bid to expand international presence, Blackbaud recently announced the appointment of Allan Hoffmann as president and general manager to lead the company’s operations based in Canada.

Synergies from JustGiving acquisition helped Blackbaud to introduce Blackbaud Peer-to-Peer Fundraising solution, at no subscription fee, in the reported quarter.

The company also unveiled Blackbaud Purchase Cards and Expense Management in its Financial Edge NXT; consequently aiding social organizations streamline financial processes and enhance mission delivery.

Blackbaud also announced the conclusion of YourCause buyout. YourCause's product vision and capabilities will complement Blackbaud's technical expertise, in turn offering enhanced offerings to non-profit organizations and institutions working for social causes.

We believe growing clout of company’s Raiser's Edge NXT and Financial Edge NXT offerings, expansion of product portfolio and collaborations with the likes of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) , among others, will aid financial performance in subsequent quarters.

Guidance

Blackbaud maintained 2019 outlook. The company anticipates revenues for 2019 to be in the band of $880-$910 million (mid-point $895 million). The Zacks Consensus Estimate is currently pegged at $895.46 million.

Non-GAAP earnings per share have been forecast in the range of $2.11-$2.28 per share (mid-point of $2.20). The Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at $2.21 per share.

Non-GAAP operating margins are projected be in the range of 16.7-17.2%.

Blackbaud continues to anticipate non-GAAP free cash flow expectations for 2019 to be in the range of $124 million to $134 million.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Currently, Blackbaud carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

A couple of better-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector are Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDNS) and Avid Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVID) , each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Long-term earnings growth rate for Cadence Design and Avid Technology is pegged at 12% and 10%, respectively.

Today's Best Stocks from Zacks

Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through 2018, while the S&P 500 gained +15.8%, five of our screens returned +38.0%, +61.3%, +61.6%, +68.1%, and +98.3%.

This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 – 2018, while the S&P averaged +4.8% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +56.2% per year.

See their latest picks free >>