Ware Grove
Analyst · CJS Securities
Thank you, Jerry, and good morning, everyone. Let me take a few minutes to talk about key highlights of the fourth quarter and full year 2022 results that we released this morning. As Jerry commented, the strong momentum throughout our business continued through the fourth quarter. As we talk about results in 2022, bear in mind, we are focused on talking about adjusted results that serve to eliminate first year nonrecurring acquisition-related costs that are associated with the Marks Paneth acquisition that closed in January of 2022. There is a schedule in the release we issued this morning that serves to outline and reconcile those items for you, bridging from GAAP reported results of $2.01 per share for the full year to an adjusted $2.13 per share. We are pleased that Marks Paneth recorded performance in line with both revenue and pretax contribution expectations for the year. The integration of operations has proceeded as planned. During the fourth quarter and for the 12 months this year, in connection with Marks Paneth, we incurred approximately $1.2 million and $10.5 million, respectively, of onetime first year nonrecurring transaction and integration costs. These nonrecurring costs represent approximately $0.02 per share for the quarter or $0.15 per share for the 12 months. In addition, in the third quarter of 2022 we recorded a gain of $2.4 million related to a sale of a book of business in our property and casualty line of service. This $2.4 million gain is recorded as other income and represents approximately $0.03 per share for the 12 months. A year ago in the second quarter of '21, we adjusted results to eliminate the impact of the $30.5 million UPMC settlement cost. Plus we eliminated the $6.3 million gain on the sale of operations that was recorded in the second quarter last year. On an adjusted basis, in 2021, we reported $0.19 per share for the fourth quarter loss, and we reported $1.66 per share for the 12 months. With these items in mind, and with a view towards presenting meaningful comparable information, eliminating the impact of these items, adjusted earnings per share this year is $2.13, up 28.3% compared with adjusted earnings per share of $1.66 last year. To recap highlights for '22, Total revenue in the fourth quarter increased by $52.2 million, up 21.5% over fourth quarter a year ago. The fourth quarter same unit revenue was up $24.5 million or up by 10.1%, with acquisitions contributing $27.7 million or 11.4% to growth compared with last year. For the full year, total revenue grew by $307.1 million, up 27.8% compared with 2021. Same unit revenue for the 12 months grew by $119.9 million or up by 10.9%, with acquisitions contributing $187.2 million or 16.9% to revenue growth for the 12 months this year compared with last year. Within Financial Services, for the fourth quarter, total revenue grew by $46 million were up by 29.5%. Same unit revenue for the fourth quarter was up 11.3% or up by $17.7 million, with strong revenue growth throughout core accounting services, advisory services and government health care consulting services. For the 12 months, total revenue within Financial Services grew by $276 million, up by 37.6% and same-unit revenue for the 12 months was up by 11.9%. Within Benefits and Insurance, total revenue in the fourth quarter of '22 grew by 6.6% and same-unit revenue grew by 7.4%. And for the full year, total revenue grew by 7.7%, with same-unit revenue growing by 8.3%. We continue to see strong client retention and new client production. The investment we have made in recent years to hire and increase the number of new business producers continues to gain traction. We remain committed to further enhancing growth capabilities within the Benefits and Insurance group and we will continue to make investments in hiring and developing additional producers in 2023. Adjusted EBITDA, considering these same adjustments, was $190.1 million for the 12 months this year, up 28.1% over adjusted EBITDA of $148.5 million a year ago. Without going into detail during this call, a table reconciling reported GAAP numbers to these adjusted earnings per share and adjusted EBITDA numbers that I'm referencing is included in the earnings release issued this morning. During 2022, after seeing artificially low levels of certain expenses through the pandemic, we talked about the level of health care benefits, travel and entertainment expense and marketing expenses that are normalizing in the aftermath of the pandemic. These expenses, most notably travel and entertainment expense have leveled out at approximately 100 basis points lower than pre-pandemic levels in 2019. For the full year of '22, however, these expenses represented a 110 basis point headwind impact to margin on income before tax compared with the prior year. Comparing year-over-year adjusted results for the 12 months ended December this year, pretax income margin was flat at 10.6% for both '22 and 2021. The expense items I described represented 110 basis points headwind for the 12 months this year. So we have successfully leveraged other costs, aside from the intentional increase in T&E and other increased expenses in the short list of items I mentioned. We will continue to say that, over time, we expect to achieve a 20 to 50 basis point annual increase in pretax margin. As you look at the track record in recent years, our performance has been near the higher end of this range, driving annual growth and earnings per share of approximately 18%. As always, details of the impact of accounting for gains and losses in our nonqualified deferred compensation plan are outlined in the release. Because we are comparing a period in 2021 with capital markets gains, compared with this year with capital markets losses, there is a significant impact to the GAAP reported numbers as you look at both gross margin and operating income. And you can find this information noted in our release. As a reminder, pretax income margin is not impacted by this factor. Cash flow from operations continues to be solid. In 2022, we amended our unsecured credit facility to increase availability from $400 million to $600 million and extended the maturity by 5 years. At December 31, '22, the balance outstanding on the newly upsized $600 million facility was $265.7 million, with about $320 million of unused capacity. In 2022, we used approximately $108 million for acquisition purposes, including earn-out payments on acquisitions that were closed in previous years. With the Somerset transaction, which closed earlier this month, combined with estimated earn-out payments on previously closed transactions, we expect to use approximately $91.5 million in '23, $56.5 million in 2024, $33.7 million in 2025 and approximately $6.8 million in 2026. Since the end of 2019, we have closed 16 transactions and have deployed approximately $319 million of capital for acquisition purposes, including the recently announced Somerset transaction, plus earn-out payments over that time. During the fourth quarter of 2022, we repurchased approximately 1.2 million shares of our common stock. For the full year, we repurchased approximately 2.8 million shares in the open market at a cost of approximately $122 million. Since December 31, under a 10b program, we have repurchased an additional 75,000 shares to date in 2023. To recap repurchase activity in recent years since the end of 2019 and we have repurchased a total of approximately 8.2 million shares, representing about 15% of shares outstanding compared to the end of 2019. Approximately $277 million of capital has been used towards this repurchase activity over that time. With leverage of approximately 1.5x adjusted EBITDA at December 31, '22, the balance sheet is strong. This provides plenty of capacity to continue with strategic acquisitions and provides the flexibility to continue share repurchase activity. After the closing of the Somerset transaction in February this year, we estimate our leverage at approximately 1.6x EBITDA. Our highest priority for the use of capital continues to be for strategic acquisitions. With our strong cash flow and strong balance sheet, we also have the flexibility to actively repurchase shares. Earlier this month, we filed an 8-K announcing that the board has renewed the annual authorization to repurchase up to 5 million shares. Every year, at a minimum, we always want to repurchase the number of shares necessary to avoid the dilutive impact of new shares issued for acquisitions or for equity grants, and we intend to continue to actively repurchase shares. The 1% excise tax on net repurchases is new this year, and we are continuing to assess this added cost. But at this time, we intend to continue to actively repurchase shares. Days sales outstanding on December 31, '22 was 74 days compared with 71 days a year ago. Bad debt expense for '22 was 8 basis points of revenue compared to 28 basis points a year ago. Depreciation and amortization for the fourth quarter was $8.2 million versus $7.2 million last year. Full year depreciation and amortization was $32.9 million in '22 versus $27.1 million last year. For 2023, we are projecting depreciation and amortization expense of approximately $35.9 million. Capital spending in the fourth quarter was $2.6 million and was $8.6 million for the 12 months. In 2023, capital spending may increase to approximately $15 million to $18 million, primarily as a result of facility tenant improvements, including the new headquarter space we will occupy later this year. As a reminder, CBIZ is a tenant leasing our space in the new headquarters facility. We are not an owner of this real estate. With a rapid rise in interest rates during the second half of '22, we have seen an impact to interest expense this past year, and we will see further increases in 2023 as we compare the relatively low borrowing rates in '22 to current rates. The effective tax rate for the 12 months in 2022 was 25.5%, up from 23.8% a year ago. The increase in effective tax rate is primarily attributable to a higher level of income distribution within higher state tax rate jurisdictions such as New York or California to name a few. Effective in February this year, we announced the acquisition of Somerset, a financial services firm based in Indianapolis. In 2023, we expect to record approximately $52 million of revenue from this newly acquired operation. In '23, we expect to record a level of initial transaction and closing cost plus first year nonrecurring integration costs equal to approximately $0.05 per share in 2023. In a similar manner to reporting from Marks Paneth acquisition-related costs this past year, we will report an adjustment to eliminate these costs from GAAP reported results to report adjusted results for the Somerset transaction in 2023. We reported record high growth rates in revenue and earnings per share in '22, and we are pleased to project further continued growth beyond these levels for 2023. For the full year of 2023, we expect revenue growth in the range of 8% to 10% over the $1.4 billion in '22, and we expect adjusted earnings per share growth of 11% to 13% over adjusted results of $2.13 per share reported in '22. At this early stage of the year, there is an element of prudent caution in these '23 guidance numbers. We are very alert to potential macroeconomic risks ahead, but the health of the business continues to be very strong. The recurring and essential nature of our core services provide stability to our outlook. The earnings release this morning outlined an expected increase in our tax rate for '23 in to 28%, up from 25.5% in 2022. There are several factors driving this increase. The Tax Reform Act enacted back in 2017 provided grandfathered benefits that are expiring in '23 in connection with stock compensation expense. And this will result in higher rates for 2023. In addition, in locations such as New York and California, where we are experiencing growth, higher state tax rates in these jurisdictions are driving an increase in the expected state tax rates. And a third factor, there is a small impact as a result of the temporary stimulus passed during the pandemic that allowed 100% deductibility of business meals, and that is now reverting to 50% in 2023. Looking at the expected tax rate of 28% beyond 2023, we do not see further increases ahead. The increased rate we expect for '23 will have a onetime year-over-year impact on the net income after tax and reported earnings per share. In 2023, the expected earnings per share impact is approximately $0.08 per share and the growth in EPS, excluding this impact, would be within a range of 15% to 17% over the adjusted $2.13 for 2022. Normalizing the '23 outlook for the expected increased tax rate once we are past this year-over-year increase in '23, tells you the underlying longer-term growth potential for earnings per share remains very high. In fact, over the recent 5-year time span, the compound average growth rate in earnings per share has been in excess of 18%. As with many others, the rapid rise in interest rates we saw in the second half of '22 also presents headwinds in '23. Consistent with our track record of achieving this 18% growth in earnings per share, in '23, the growth in adjusted EBITDA will reflect a similar growth rate, and we continue to believe we can achieve this type of growth in earnings per share over time once we are past the unique tax rate and interest expense headwinds expected in 2023. The recurring and an essential nature of many of our services provide stability through economic cycles. As we look at employment-driven metrics in our benefits and payroll businesses, we have not yet seen signs of slowdown. Should we encounter softness in revenue or client demand, we have a number of variable items in our cost structure, and we can take actions to protect margins. The tools and systems we have put in place in recent years have enabled us to increase pricing and keep pace with underlying cost pressures. The investments we made and are continuing to make in new business producers, particularly within the Benefits and Insurance group, have gained traction and we are seeing strong new business, coupled with strong client retention, and that is driving revenue growth. The business continues to perform well, and we are projecting continued strong growth and margin expansion. We have our eye on macroeconomic environment and the potential challenges ahead in 2023. But to recap, we are comfortable to provide full year 2023 guidance and expectations as follows: we expect total revenue to increase within a range of 8% to 10% over the $1.4 billion reported for 2022; on an adjusted basis, we expect 2023 adjusted earnings per share to increase within a range of 11% to 13% over the adjusted earnings per share of $2.13 reported in 2022; GAAP reported earnings per share is expected to increase within a range of 15% to 17% over $2.01 reported in 2022.; the effective tax rate for the full year of '23 is expected at approximately 28%. As I mentioned earlier, there are several considerations at play and the rate can be impacted either up or down by a number of unpredictable factors; and lastly, fully diluted weighted average share count is expected within a range of 51 million to 51.5 million shares for the full year of 2023. So with these comments, I will conclude, and I'll turn it back over to Jerry.