Saturday, May 26, 2012 Last update: Yesterday, 6:04 PM
U.S. Technology Company News from the Inside

LivePerson Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2011 Financial Results

Companies mentioned in this article: LivePerson, Inc.

NEW YORK, Feb. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- LivePerson, Inc. (Nasdaq: LPSN), a provider of real-time chat, voice and content solutions that increase conversions and improve customer experience, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2011.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110105/NY24753LOGO-a )

Revenue

Revenue from business operations (B2B) for the fourth quarter was $32.9 million, a 26% increase as compared to the fourth quarter of 2010 and a 7% increase as compared to the third quarter of 2011. Total revenue for the fourth quarter was $36.5 million, a 22% increase from the fourth quarter of 2010, and a 6% sequential increase as compared to the third quarter of 2011.

B2B revenue for the full year was $118.6 million, a 24% increase from 2010. Total revenue, which includes our consumer operations, was $133.1 million for the full year, a 21% increase over 2010.

Revenue from consumer operations for the fourth quarter and full year was $3.6 million and $14.5 million, respectively.

"The fourth quarter was marked by consistently strong growth rates and operating margins as well as solid cash flow generation, which was on par with the year as a whole," said CEO Robert LoCascio.

"2011 was a noteworthy year for LivePerson as we began to shift from the framework of a single product to a multi-product platform offering our customers even more ways to meaningfully engage their customers. A big focus in 2012 and beyond will be continuing to build on the strength of our core and working to establish LivePerson as a leader in the data intelligence field."

Customer Expansion

LivePerson added 25 new enterprise and midmarket clients during the quarter, including:

    --  BMC Software
    --  A leading online travel agency
    --  A major utility company in the Northeast
    --  A leading provider of property casualty insurance
    --  A top motor vehicle manufacturer

The Company also expanded business with:

    --  Petco
    --  Telefonica O2
    --  Aviva
    --  Hewlett Packard
    --  EDF Energy
    --  Royal Bank of Scotland

Net Income

Net income for the fourth quarter of 2011 was $3.9 million or $0.07 per share as compared to $2.7 million or $0.05 per share in the fourth quarter of 2010, and net income of $2.7 million or $0.05 per share in the third quarter of 2011. Net income for the full year was $12.0 million or $0.22 per share, as compared to $9.3 million or $0.18 per share in the prior year.

Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted EBITDA

LivePerson considers adjusted net income and adjusted earnings before other income/(expense), taxes, depreciation, amortization and stock-based compensation (adjusted EBITDA) to be important financial indicators of the Company's operational strength and the performance of its business. These results should be considered in addition to results prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), but should not be considered as a substitute for, or superior to, GAAP results.

A reconciliation of the differences between adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income, and the most comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, is presented under the heading "Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Information to GAAP" immediately following the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income included below.

The difference between adjusted EBITDA per share, a non-GAAP measure, and GAAP EPS, is interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, stock-based compensation and other non-cash charges, if any. The difference between adjusted net income per share and GAAP EPS is amortization of intangible assets and stock-based compensation.

Adjusted net income for the fourth quarter of 2011 was $5.8 million or $0.10 per share, as compared to $4.6 million or $0.09 per share in the fourth quarter of 2010, and $4.8 million or $0.09 per share in the third quarter of 2011. Adjusted net income for the full year was $19.8 million or $0.36 per share, as compared to $15.9 million or $0.30 per share in the prior year.

Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter of 2011 was $9.6 million or $0.17 per share, as compared to $7.9 million or $0.15 per share in the fourth quarter of 2010, and $8.9 million or $0.16 per share in the third quarter of 2011. Adjusted EBITDA for the full year was $34.0 million or $0.62 per share, as compared to $26.8 million or $0.51 per share in the prior year.

Cash

The Company's cash balance was $93.3 million at December 31, 2011 as compared to $80.9 million as of September 30, 2011, and $61.3 million at December 31, 2010. The Company generated $7.6 million of cash from operations during the fourth quarter.

For the full year, the Company generated $25.1 million of cash from operations, and incurred planned capital expenditures primarily related to the purchase of servers and computer networking equipment and the relocation of its corporate headquarters, resulting in a cash outlay of approximately $7.3 million.

Financial Expectations

Following is the Company's current expectation for financial and operating performance:

First Quarter 2012

    --  Revenue of $37.0 - $37.5 million
    --  Adjusted EBITDA of $0.15 - $0.17 per share
    --  Adjusted net income per share of $0.08 - $0.10
    --  GAAP EPS of $0.04 - $0.06
    --  Fully diluted share count of approximately 56 million

Full Year 2012

    --  Revenue of $160 - $165 million
    --  Adjusted EBITDA of $0.66 - $0.70 per share
    --  Adjusted net income per share of $0.40 - $0.44
    --  GAAP EPS of $0.21 - $0.25
    --  Fully diluted share count of approximately 57 million

Other Full Year 2012 Assumptions

    --  Amortization of intangibles of approximately $0.5 million
    --  Stock-compensation expense of approximately $10.5 million
    --  Depreciation of approximately $8.5 million
    --  Effective tax rate of approximately 37%
    --  Cash tax rate of approximately 37%
    --  Capital expenditures of approximately $10 million

Stock-Based Compensation

Included in the accompanying financial results are expenses related to stock-based compensation, as follows (in thousands):




                          3 months
                           ended        Year ended
                       December 31,    December 31,
                            2011            2011
                       -------------   -------------
    Cost of revenue             $265          $1,023
    Product
     development                 404           1,703
    Sales and
     marketing                   463           1,668
    General and
     administrative              689           2,377
                                 ---           -----
      Total                   $1,821          $6,771

Amortization of Intangible Assets

Included in the accompanying financial results are expenses related to the amortization of intangible assets, as follows (in thousands):




                          3 months
                           ended        Year ended
                       December 31,    December 31,
                            2011            2011
                       -------------   -------------
    Cost of revenue               $0            $920
    General and
     administrative               77             109
                                 ---             ---
      Total                      $77          $1,029

Earnings Teleconference and Video Discussion Information

The Company will discuss its fourth quarter and full year 2011 financial results during a teleconference today, February 13, 2012, at 5:00 p.m. EST. To participate via telephone domestic callers (U.S. and Canada) should dial 877-507-3684, while International callers should dial 706-634-9559, both should reference the conference ID "49460448." The conference call will also be simulcast live on the Internet and can be accessed by logging onto the investor relations section of the Company's web site at http://www.liveperson.com/about/ir.

If you are unable to participate on the live call, the teleconference will be available for replay approximately two hours after the call. To access the replay, please call 855-859-2056 (U.S. and Canada) or 404-537-3406 (international). Please reference the conference ID "49460448."

The Company will also post a video discussion of its fourth quarter and full year 2011 results on YouTube. To view, click on the following link: http://www.youtube.com/user/myliveperson.

About LivePerson

LivePerson, Inc. (Nasdaq: LPSN) offers a cloud-based platform that enables businesses to proactively connect in real-time with their customers via chat, voice, and content delivery at the right time, through the right channel, including websites, social media, and mobile devices. This "intelligent engagement" is driven by real-time behavioral analytics, producing connections based on a true understanding of business objectives and customer needs.

More than 8,500 companies rely on LivePerson's platform to increase conversions and improve customer experience, including Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Microsoft, Verizon, Sky, Walt Disney, PNC, QVC and Orbitz.

LivePerson received the CODiE award for Best Ecommerce Solution in 2011, and has been named one of America's 25 Fastest-Growing Tech Companies by Forbes in 2011 and a Company of the Year by Frost and Sullivan in 2011. LivePerson is headquartered in New York City with offices in San Francisco, Tel Aviv, Atlanta, London and Melbourne, Australia.

For more information, please visit www.liveperson.com.

Non-GAAP Financial Disclosure

Investors are cautioned that the adjusted EBITDA, or earnings/(loss) before other income/(expense), taxes, depreciation, amortization and stock-based compensation, and adjusted net income, or net income excluding amortization of intangible assets and stock-based compensation, information contained in this press release are not financial measures under generally accepted accounting principles. In addition, they should not be construed as alternatives to any other measures of performance determined in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, or as indicators of our operating performance, liquidity or cash flows generated by operating, investing and financing activities, as there may be significant factors or trends that they fail to address. We present this financial information because we believe that it is helpful to some investors as a measure of our performance. We caution investors that non-GAAP financial information, by its nature, departs from traditional accounting conventions; accordingly, its use can make it difficult to compare our current results with our results from other reporting periods and with the results of other companies.

Safe Harbor Provision

Statements in this press release regarding LivePerson that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual future events or results to differ materially from such statements. Any such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. It is routine for our internal projections and expectations to change as the quarter and year progresses, and therefore it should be clearly understood that the internal projections and beliefs upon which we base our expectations may change. Although these expectations may change, we are under no obligation to inform you if they do. Actual events or results may differ materially from those contained in the projections or forward-looking statements. Some of the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained herein include, without limitation: potential fluctuations in our quarterly and annual results; the adverse effect that the global recession may have on our business; competition in the real-time sales, marketing, customer service and online engagement solutions market; our ability to retain existing clients and attract new clients; risks related to new regulatory or other legal requirements that could materially impact our business; impairments to goodwill that result in significant charges to earnings; volatility of the value of certain currencies in relation to the US dollar, particularly the New Israeli Shekel, U.K. pound and Euro; risks related to our international operations, particularly our operations in Israel, and the civil and political unrest in that region; responding to rapid technological change and changing client preferences; our ability to retain key personnel and attract new personnel; risks related to the operational integration of acquisitions; technology systems beyond our control and technology-related defects that could disrupt the LivePerson services; privacy concerns relating to the Internet that could result in new legislation or negative public perception; risks related to the regulation or possible misappropriation of personal information; legal liability and/or negative publicity for the services provided to consumers via our technology platforms; risks related to protecting our intellectual property rights or potential infringement of the intellectual property rights of third parties; and risks related to our common stock being traded on more than one market, which may result in additional variations in the trading price of our common stock. This list is intended to identify only certain of the principal factors that could cause actual results to differ from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Readers are referred to the reports and documents filed from time to time by us with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a discussion of these and other important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those discussed in forward-looking statements.


                                           LivePerson, Inc.
                              Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income
                            (In Thousands, Except Share and Per Share Data)
                                               Unaudited

                              Three Months Ended                Twelve Months Ended
                                 December 31,                       December 31,
                                 ------------                       ------------
                              2011             2010             2011              2010
                              ----             ----             ----              ----
    Revenue              $36,509           $29,935        $133,089          $109,862
                         -------           -------        --------          --------

     Operating
     expenses:
      Cost
       of
       revenue             8,047             8,235          33,195            29,640
       Product
       development         5,563             4,257          20,222            15,711
      Sales
       and
       marketing          10,738             8,404          38,884            32,835
       General
       and
       administrative      6,008             4,931          21,044            17,077
       Amortization
       of
       intangibles            77                11             109               259
                             ---               ---             ---               ---
          Total
           operating
           expenses       30,433            25,838         113,454            95,522
                          ------            ------         -------            ------

     Income
     from
     operations            6,076             4,097          19,635            14,340

    Other
     expense,
     net                    (117)              (43)           (485)               (7)
                            ----               ---            ----               ---

     Income
     before
     provision
     for
     income
     taxes                 5,959           4,054        19,150          14,333

     Provision
     for
     income
     taxes                 2,083             1,312           7,112             5,074
                           -----             -----           -----             -----

    Net
     income               $3,876            $2,742         $12,038            $9,259
                          ======            ======         =======            ======

    Basic
     net
     income
     per
     common
     share                 $0.07           $0.05         $0.23           $0.18
                           =====             =====           =====             =====

     Diluted
     net
     income
     per
     common
     share                 $0.07           $0.05         $0.22           $0.18
                           =====             =====           =====             =====

     Weighted
     average
     shares
     outstanding
     used
     in
     basic
     net
       income
       per
       common
       share
       calculation    53,563,396      51,133,917    52,876,999      50,721,880
                      ==========        ==========      ==========        ==========

     Weighted
     average
     shares
     outstanding
     used
     in
     diluted
     net
       income
       per
       common
       share
       calculation    55,756,350      53,831,339    55,008,742      52,907,541
                      ==========        ==========      ==========        ==========


                                                 LivePerson, Inc.
                             Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Information to GAAP
                                 (In Thousands, Except Share and Per Share Data)
                                                    Unaudited


    Unaudited Supplemental Data
    ---------------------------

      The following information is not a financial measure under generally
       accepted accounting principles (GAAP). In addition, it should not be
       construed as an alternative to any other measures of performance determined
       in accordance with GAAP, or as an indicator of our operating performance,
       liquidity or cash flows generated by operating, investing and financing
       activities as there may be significant factors or trends that it fails to
       address. We present this financial information because we believe that it
       is helpful to some investors as one measure of our operations. We caution
       investors that non-GAAP financial information, by its nature, departs from
       traditional accounting conventions; accordingly, its use can make it
       difficult to compare our results with our results from other reporting
       periods and with the results of other companies.

                                                           Three Months Ended        Twelve Months Ended
                                                              December 31,               December 31,
                                                              ------------               ------------
                                                              2011             2010        2011             2010
                                                              ----             ----        ----             ----
    Net income in accordance with
     generally
      accepted accounting principles                        $3,876           $2,742     $12,038           $9,259
      Add/(less):
      (a)   Amortization of intangibles                         77              318       1,029            1,486
      (b)   Stock-based compensation                         1,821            1,539       6,771            5,142
      (c)   Depreciation                                     1,634            1,903       6,563            5,791
      (d)   Provision for income taxes                       2,083            1,312       7,112            5,074
      (e)   Other expense, net                                 117               43         485                7
                                                               ---
    Adjusted EBITDA (1)                                     $9,608           $7,857     $33,998          $26,759
                                                            ======           ======     =======          =======
    Diluted Adjusted EBITDA per
     common share                                            $0.17            $0.15       $0.62            $0.51
                                                             =====            =====       =====            =====

    Weighted average shares used in
     diluted adjusted EBITDA
      per common share                                  55,756,350       53,831,339  55,008,742       52,907,541
                                                        ==========       ==========  ==========       ==========


    Net income in accordance with
     generally
      accepted accounting principles                        $3,876           $2,742     $12,038           $9,259
      Add:
      (a)   Amortization of intangibles                         77              318       1,029            1,486
      (b)   Stock-based compensation                         1,821            1,539       6,771            5,142
                                                             -----
    Adjusted net income                                     $5,774           $4,599     $19,838          $15,887
                                                            ======           ======     =======          =======
    Diluted adjusted net income per
     common share                                            $0.10            $0.09       $0.36            $0.30
                                                             =====            =====       =====            =====

    Weighted average shares used in
     diluted adjusted net income
      per common share                                  55,756,350       53,831,339  55,008,742       52,907,541
                                                        ==========       ==========  ==========       ==========


    Adjusted EBITDA                                         $9,608           $7,857     $33,998          $26,759
      Add/(less):
             Changes in operating assets and
      (a)    liabilities                                      (132)             585      (1,849)          (7,127)
      (b)   Provision for doubtful accounts                     60              101         290              166
      (c)   Provision for income taxes                      (2,083)          (1,312)     (7,112)          (5,074)
      (d)   Deferred income taxes                              291              694         234              832
      (e)   Other expense, net                                (117)             (43)       (485)              (7)
                                                             -----
    Net cash provided by operating
     activities                                             $7,627           $7,882     $25,076          $15,549
                                                            ======           ======     =======          =======

    (1)  Earnings/(loss) before other income/(expense), taxes,
    depreciation, amortization, stock-based compensation and other non-
    cash charges.


                                                    LivePerson, Inc.
                                         Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
                                                     (In Thousands)
                                                       Unaudited


                                                December 31, 2011               December 31, 2010
                                                -----------------               -----------------

    ASSETS

    Current assets:
      Cash and cash equivalents                                     $93,278                         $61,336
      Accounts receivable, net                                       20,999                          16,491
      Prepaid expenses and other
       current assets                                                 5,390                           6,341
      Deferred tax assets, net                                      2,342                           1,529
                                                                    -----                           -----
                       Total current assets                            122,009                          85,697

      Property and equipment, net                                  13,879                          12,762
      Intangibles, net                                              1,095                           2,124
      Goodwill                                                     24,090                          24,015
      Deferred tax assets, net                                      2,829                           3,876
      Deferred implementation costs,
       net of current                                                 247                             164
      Security deposits                                               356                             499
      Other assets                                                  1,546                           2,006
                                                                    -----                           -----
                       Total assets                             $166,051                        $131,143
                                                                 ========

    LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS'
     EQUITY

    Current liabilities:
      Accounts payable                                             $8,258                          $6,416
      Accrued expenses                                             12,019                          12,111
      Deferred revenue                                              5,378                           5,570
                                                                    -----                           -----
                        Total current
                        liabilities                               25,655                          24,097

    Deferred revenue, net of current                                1,152                             513
    Other liabilities                                               1,546                           1,890
                                                                    -----                           -----
                       Total liabilities                             28,353                          26,500
                                                                   ------

    Commitments and contingencies

    Total stockholders' equity                                    137,698                         104,643
                                                                  -------                         -------
                        Total liabilities and
                        stockholders' equity                           $166,051                        $131,143
                                              ===========================

Investor contact:

Stacey Yonkus

212-609-4236

syonkus@liveperson.com

SOURCE LivePerson, Inc.