Acxiom Corp. of Little Rock said Tuesday that fourth-quarter earnings swung from a loss to a $46 million, 59 cents per share profit on revenue of $287 million, flat from the same time last year.
"While there is still much to be done, we are pleased with our progress and enter our new fiscal year with a much stronger Acxiom," Acxiom CEO Scott Howe said in a news release.
This year’s fourth quarter results are compared to last year’s fourth-quarter loss of $67 million or 88 cents per share. Last year’s loss, announced before Howe joined the company later that summer, came on one-time charges including a goodwill/asset impairment of $79.7 million.
"In the past year, we have tightened our focus, significantly strengthened our management team and begun development of our next generation of products. Looking ahead, our fiscal 2013 will be a year of continuing transition and investment. Our management team is now in place and we expect to build momentum throughout the year," Howe said.
Since joining Acxiom in July following the 2011 resignation of John A. Meyer, Howe has guided the company through a string of new executive hires.
Earlier this year, Acxiom appointed Amazon.com and Electronic Arts veteran Warren Jenson as its CFO and former MySpace and MTV executive Nada Stirratt as chief revenue officer.
In April, Acxiom named former Google Analytics manager Phil Mui as its chief product and engineering officer.
By Segment
Acxiom’s Marketing and Data Services segment reported fourth-quarter revenue of $203 million, up 5 percent compared from the same time a year ago. U.S. revenue rose 7 percent to $168 million, but was offset by declines in its international business.
Income from operations $30 million, up slightly from $29 million last year. Operating margins were about 15 percent for both periods, the company said.
Acxiom’s IT Infrastructure Management segment reported quarterly revenue down 10 percent to $68 million. Income from operations was $6 million, down from $5 million last year.
All other services saw revenue at $17 million, down from $20 million last year. The loss from operations was about $1 million in both periods.
A Profit for the Year
Acxiom also swung from a loss to a profit for the 12 months that ended in March. The company reported net earnings attributable to Acxiom of $77 million, up from a loss of $23 million during the previous 12-month period.
Total revenue for the year reached $1.13 billion, up 1.5 percent from $1.11 billion the previous year.
For the fiscal year 2013, the data services company estimates revenue from continuing operations will be "flat to slightly down," and earnings per diluted share attributable to Acxiom shareholders will be in the range of 55 cents to 65 cents, "given the company’s investment in new products."
New Developments
In a conference call with investors, Howe said he feels Acxiom is "stronger and more effective" than it was a year ago, due in part to the appointment of the new executives and the beginning of developer recruitment.
CFO Jenson said he expects Acxiom’s earnings to remain flat or fall through fiscal 2013, mainly because the company suffered some client losses and will be investing in new product technology. Jenson said Acxiom is working on organizing its tax structure and will be recruiting a vice president for that task.
"2013 is also a year of transition," Jenson said. "The management team is either new or settling in. There’s a lot of work to do. Change is never easy, growth is never linear."
Howe said Acxiom is restructuring its overseas assets.
"For too long our international business has been unprofitable," Howe said. "Our strategy year over year did little to change that. We can’t grow out of an unwieldy situation. We must establish unity on a profitable scale."
Part of the solution, Howe said, involved reducing the company’s headcount in some of its overseas offices.
"Restructuring is never easy, but we believe this was the right thing to do," he said. "It was the critical first step in getting our international business headed in the right direction."
Whether or not this process will involve divestitures is unknown. Jenson said Acxiom’s current policy is not to comment on anything regarding future divesting.
Howe said Acxiom will be focusing on four areas in the coming year: research and development, profitability, clients and the company’s core foundations.
"Across all four areas, we are incredibly pleased with our progress," Howe said. "We’re also humbled by how much more needs to be done."
Sign up for Daily E-news
