EXHIBIT 99.2
CHARLES RIVER ASSOCIATES (CRA)
FIRST QUARTER FISCAL YEAR 2015
EARNINGS ANNOUNCEMENT
PREPARED CFO REMARKS
CRA is providing these prepared remarks by CFO Chad Holmes in combination with its press release. These remarks are offered to provide the investment community with additional information on CRA’s financial results prior to the start of the conference call. As previously announced, the conference call will be held April 30, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. ET. These prepared remarks will not be read on the call.
Q1 2015 Summary (Quarter ended April 4, 2015)
· Non-GAAP Revenue: $77.2 million
· Non-GAAP Net Income: $3.5 million, or $0.37 per diluted share
· Non-GAAP Operating Margin: 7.2%
· Non-GAAP Effective Tax Rate: 32.7%
· Utilization: 78%
· Cash and Cash Equivalents: $17.2 million at April 4, 2015
· Non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA: $12.4 million, or 16.1% of non-GAAP revenue
· Consultant Headcount at April 4, 2015: 461
Revenue
We reported GAAP revenue of $78.0 million for Q1 of fiscal 2015, compared with GAAP revenue of $76.2 million for Q1 of fiscal 2014. GAAP revenue for Q1 of fiscal 2015 included $867,000 from our NeuCo subsidiary. GAAP revenue for Q1 of fiscal 2014 included $1.2 million from NeuCo.
Excluding NeuCo revenue from all periods, non-GAAP revenue was $77.2 million for Q1 of fiscal 2015, compared with $75.1 million for Q1 of fiscal 2014.
Utilization
Utilization on a firm-wide basis in Q1 of fiscal 2015 was 78%. This compares with 78% in Q1 of fiscal 2014 and 75% in Q4 of fiscal 2014.
Gross Margin
GAAP gross margin in Q1 of fiscal 2015 was 31.0%, compared with 32.0% in Q1 of fiscal 2014. Non-GAAP gross margin for Q1 of fiscal 2015 was 31.8%, up from 31.4% in Q1 of fiscal 2014. Client reimbursable expenses, on a non-GAAP basis, were 11.4% of revenue in Q1 of fiscal 2015, compared with 12.0% in Q1 of fiscal 2014.
SG&A Expenses
For Q1 of fiscal 2015, GAAP SG&A expenses were $18.1 million, or 23.2% of revenue, compared with GAAP SG&A expenses of $17.2 million, or 22.5% of revenue, in Q1 of fiscal 2014.
Non-GAAP SG&A expenses, excluding NeuCo, were $17.3 million, or 22.4% of revenue, in Q1 of fiscal 2015, compared with $16.2 million, or 21.6% of revenue, in Q1 of fiscal 2014.
Commissions to non-employee experts are included in SG&A. Those commissions represented 3.4% of non-GAAP revenue in Q1 of fiscal 2015, compared with 2.8% of non-GAAP revenue in Q1 of fiscal 2014. Excluding these commissions, non-GAAP SG&A expenses were 19.0% in Q1 of fiscal 2015 and 18.8% in Q1 of fiscal 2014.
Depreciation & Amortization
On a GAAP and non-GAAP basis, depreciation and amortization expense was $1.7 million for Q1 of fiscal 2015, compared with $1.6 million for Q1 of fiscal 2014.
Share-Based Compensation Expense
On a GAAP and non-GAAP basis, share-based compensation expense was approximately $1.6 million for Q1 of fiscal 2015, compared with $1.3 million for Q1 of fiscal 2014.
Operating Income
On a GAAP basis, operating income was $4.5 million, or 5.7% of revenue, in Q1 of fiscal 2015, compared with operating income of $5.6 million, or 7.4% of revenue, in Q1 of fiscal 2014. Non-GAAP operating income was $5.6 million, or 7.2% of non-GAAP revenue, for Q1 of fiscal 2015, compared with $5.8 million, or 7.7% of non-GAAP revenue, for Q1 of fiscal 2014.
Interest and Other Income (Expense), net
In Q1 of fiscal 2015, interest and other income was $155,000 on a GAAP basis and interest and other expense of $443,000 on a non-GAAP basis. This compares with interest and other expense of $245,000 on a GAAP basis and $228,000 on a non-GAAP basis for Q1 of fiscal 2014.
Income Taxes
The following table outlines our income tax provision recorded and the resulting effective tax rates (in $000):
|
| GAAP |
| NON-GAAP |
| ||||||||
|
| Q1 |
| Q1 |
| ||||||||
|
| 2015 |
| 2014 |
| 2015 |
| 2014 |
| ||||
Tax Provision |
| $ | 1,732 |
| $ | 2,076 |
| $ | 1,684 |
| $ | 2,023 |
|
Effective Tax Rate |
| 37.4 | % | 38.6 | % | 32.7 | % | 36.4 | % | ||||
Net Income
GAAP net income for Q1 of fiscal 2015 was $2.8 million, or $0.30 per diluted share, compared with GAAP net income of $3.4 million, or $0.34 per diluted share, for Q1 of fiscal 2014. Non-GAAP net income for Q1 of fiscal 2015 was $3.5 million, or $0.37 per diluted share, compared with $3.5 million, or $0.35 per diluted share, for Q1 of fiscal 2014.
Adjusted EBITDA
On a GAAP basis, Adjusted EBITDA for Q1 of fiscal 2015 was $11.3 million, or 14.5% of revenue, compared with $11.9 million, or 15.6% of revenue, for Q1 of fiscal 2014. Adjusted EBITDA on a non-GAAP basis for Q1 of fiscal 2015 was $12.4 million, or 16.1% of revenue, compared with $12.1 million, or 16.1% of revenue, for Q1 of fiscal 2014. See the exhibit to our press release for more details and the calculation of Adjusted EBITDA.
Constant Currency Basis
On a constant currency basis relative to Q1 of fiscal 2014, non-GAAP net revenue would have increased by approximately $1.8 million to approximately $79.0 million; non-GAAP net income would have increased by approximately $0.2 million to $3.7 million, or by approximately $0.02 to $0.39 per diluted share; and non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA would have grown to approximately $12.9 million, or 16.3% of revenue.
Key Balance Sheet Metrics
Billed and unbilled receivables at April 4, 2015 were $88.3 million, compared with $83.2 million at January 3, 2015. Current liabilities at April 4, 2015 were $66.2 million, compared with $88.4 million at January 3, 2015.
Total DSO in Q1 of fiscal 2015 was 100 days, consisting of 62 days of billed and 38 days of unbilled. This compares to 99 days we reported in Q4 of fiscal 2014, consisting of 68 days of billed and 31 days of unbilled.
Cash and Cash Flow
Cash and cash equivalents were $17.2 million at April 4, 2015, compared with $48.2 million at January 3, 2015.
Capital expenditures totaled approximately $2.4 million in Q1 of fiscal 2015, compared with $0.4 million in Q1 of fiscal 2014.
During the first quarter of fiscal 2015, approximately 145,000 shares of common stock were repurchased for approximately $4.5 million.
This concludes the prepared CFO remarks.
NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
In addition to reporting its financial results in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, the Company has also provided in these remarks non-GAAP revenue, non-GAAP gross margin, non-GAAP SG&A expenses (with and without commission to non-employee experts), non-GAAP depreciation and amortization, non-GAAP operating income, non-GAAP operating margin, non-GAAP interest and other income (expense), net, non-GAAP effective tax rate and tax provision, non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP net income per diluted share, and EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA on a GAAP and non-GAAP basis. The Company believes that the use of non-GAAP measures in addition to GAAP measures is a useful method for evaluating its results of operations. The Company believes that presenting its financial results excluding NeuCo’s results, and excluding commissions to non-employee experts from SG&A, and including a presentation of Adjusted EBITDA, is important to investors and management because it is more indicative of its ongoing operating results and financial condition. These non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in conjunction with, but not as a substitute for, the financial information presented in accordance with GAAP, and the results calculated in accordance with GAAP and reconciliations to those results should be carefully evaluated. The non-GAAP financial measures used by the Company may be calculated differently from, and therefore may not be comparable to, similarly titled measures used by other companies. Specifically, for the first quarter of fiscal 2015, the Company has excluded NeuCo’s results and a non-cash charge relating to an increased liability for a future contingent consideration payment related to a prior acquisition, and for the first quarter of fiscal 2014, the Company has excluded NeuCo’s results. Also, in calculating “Adjusted EBITDA” from income (loss) from operations for these fiscal periods, the Company has excluded the following non-cash expenses: depreciation and amortization, share-based compensation expenses, and amortization of forgivable loans. Finally, the Company also believes that providing a constant currency presentation relative to specified prior periods when fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates significantly affect its financial results provides valuable supplemental information regarding its results of operations and performance. The Company calculates constant
currency amounts relative to a prior period, which also constitute non-GAAP financial information, by converting its current period local currency financial results using the prior period exchange rates. The Company has presented in these CFO remarks its non-GAAP net revenue, net income, earnings per diluted share and Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter of fiscal 2015 on a constant currency basis relative to the first quarter of fiscal 2014.