Cimpress NV (CMPR 3.01%) announced fiscal third-quarter 2017 results last week, highlighting accelerated revenue growth and the continued implementation of its longer-term initiatives to maximize intrinsic per-share value.
Keeping in mind that the Vistaprint parent doesn't provide specific revenue or earnings guidance, shares initially declined as much as 6% on the news only to all but recoup those early losses over the next few days. Now that the dust has settled, let's grab a flyer and have a closer look at what drove Cimpress' business over the past few months.
CIMPRESS' MASS CUSTOMIZATION PLATFORM. IMAGE SOURCE: CIMPRESS N.V.
Cimpress results: The raw numbers
| Metric |
Fiscal Q3 2017 |
Fiscal Q3 2016 |
Year-Over-Year Change |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Revenue |
$550.6 million |
$436.8 million |
26% |
|
GAAP net income (loss) attributable to Cimpress N.V. |
($42.9 million) |
($32.7 million) |
N/A |
|
GAAP earnings (loss) per share |
($1.38) |
($1.04) |
N/A |
Data source: Cimpress.
What happened with Cimpress this quarter?
- Excluding currency exchange and the contributions of acquired businesses, revenue climbed 11% year over year.
- Adjusted net operating profit after tax (NOPAT) declined 61.7% year over year, to $9.2 million
- Revenue by business unit included:
- 11% growth at Vistaprint (12% at constant currency) to $321.3 million
- 22% growth at Upload and Print (13% excluding currencies and acquisitions) to $142.5%, in line with internal expectations.
- $58.8 million from National Pen, which Cimpress acquired at the end of 2016.
- an 8% decline from all other business units (9% excluding currencies) to $28 million.
- Profitability was impacted by a combination of higher organic investments including Vistaprint shipping price reductions, expanded design services, and new product introductions, as well as $24.8 million in restructuring charges per plans announced last quarter to decentralize operations (the last of which included costs associated with the elimination of 135 positions).
- Cimpress also recognized a $6.8 million operating loss related to amortization of intangibles at National Pen, as well as a $4.0 million increase in earn-out charges related to the strong performance of WIRmachenDRUCK, which was acquired in late 2015.
- The company ended the quarter with $43.5 million in cash and equivalents and $891.5 million of debt (net of issuance costs). Recall that two quarters ago, Cimpress implemented a notional cash pool allowing it to keep less cash on hand to fund operations. In turn, this leaves more cash available to fund strategic investments or repay debt.
What management had to say
Cimpress CEO Robert Keane stated:
We continue to execute across a broad spectrum of initiatives as outlined at our August 2016 investor day, including activating additional components of our mass customization platform. Additionally, this was our first full quarter of ownership of National Pen, and our integration efforts to achieve targeted synergies are underway. As previously announced, we also deeply decentralized our operations over the past quarter. We believe this will improve accountability for customer satisfaction and capital returns, simplify decision-making, improve the speed of execution, further develop our cadre of general managers, and preserve and release entrepreneurial energy.
Cimpress CFO Sean Quinn elaborated that this accelerated revenue growth was in line with Cimpress' expectations, despite continued headwinds from the loss of certain partner revenue and the aforementioned shipping price reductions at Vistaprint.
Looking forward
Cimpress once again declined to offer specific financial guidance, but did recognize that its "financial results are 'noisy' due to many moving parts and unusual items." In the meantime, Cimpress insists it will continue to allocate capital in order to solidify its mass customization market leadership and drive shareholder value.
With that in mind, I suppose it shouldn't be terribly surprising to see shares of Cimpress trading down slightly from where they stood a year ago. The market hates uncertainty, and Cimpress stock is likely to remain under pressure until it demonstrates more tangible evidence that its efforts are yielding fruit. When that happens and these noisy results finally abate, however, I suspect Cimpress will have emerged a more stable, solidly profitable business for it.
