FactSet Reports Strong Revenue Growth in Second Quarter 2018
March 27, 2018
Revenue increases 14%, EPS up 17%; Increases annual EPS guidance for fiscal 2018
NORWALK, Conn., March 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FactSet (the “Company”) (NYSE:FDS) (NASDAQ:FDS), a global provider of integrated financial information, analytical applications, and industry-leading service, today announced its results for the second quarter ended February 28, 2018.
Second Quarter of Fiscal 2018 Highlights
Revenues increased 13.9% or $40.9 million to $335.2 million compared with $294.4 million for the same period in fiscal 2017. Organic revenues grew 5.7% to $310.4 million during the second quarter of 2018 from the prior year period. The increase is primarily due to higher sales of analytics products and content and technology solutions (CTS).
Annual Subscription Value (“ASV”) increased to $1.35 billion at February 28, 2018 compared with prior year ASV of $1.19 billion. Organic ASV, which excludes the effects of acquisitions, dispositions, and foreign currency, increased 5.8%.
Operating margin decreased to 28.5% compared with 31.2% in the prior year period. The decrease in operating margin is primarily related to a negative foreign exchange impact and incremental amortization of intangibles. Adjusted operating margin decreased to 31.4% compared with 33.1% in the prior year period.
Diluted earnings per share (“EPS”) decreased to $1.33 compared with $1.68 for the same period in fiscal 2017. The decrease in EPS is primarily due to non-recurring tax items totaling $22.9 million arising from the recently enacted U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”). Adjusted diluted EPS for the second quarter rose 17.1% to $2.12 compared with $1.81 in the prior period.
The Company’s effective tax rate for the second quarter was 42.4%, as compared with 25.5% a year ago, primarily due to the TCJA related one-time tax expense items. Excluding these one-time tax expense items, the current year annual effective tax rate was 17.6%. The decrease is primarily a result of the adoption of an accounting update which impacted the Company’s accounting for employee share-based payment transactions and the lowering of the federal statutory rate under the TCJA. Please see the “U.S. Tax Reform” section of this press release for additional details.
FactSet updated its guidance for GAAP operating margin, increased its annual guidance for GAAP and adjusted diluted EPS and lowered its effective annual tax rate due to the TCJA. Please see the “Business Outlook” section of this press release for detailed guidance metrics.
The Company’s Board of Directors approved a $300 million increase to the existing share repurchase program.
The Company is hosting an investor day on April 17, 2018 in New York City. Interested investment professionals may request admission to this event via this link. Other interested investors may listen to the presentation and view the slides via the Investor Relations portion of our website.
“We accelerated our ASV growth rate and increased market share with global wins across our product portfolio. As we look to the second half of our fiscal year, we continue to be focused on driving growth by strengthening our product suite and integrating our acquisitions,” said Phil Snow, FactSet CEO.
FactSet Research Systems Inc. - FactSet Reports Strong Revenue Growth in Second Quarter 2018
