Juan Urthiague
Analyst · J.P. Morgan. Please go ahead
Thanks, Martin, and good afternoon, everyone. Let me start by summarizing the results of our third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2018. I will then discuss our guidance for the fourth quarter of 2018. I am very pleased with our third quarter financial performance. During this quarter, we delivered strong revenue growth, improved gross and operating margins, and generated significant cash. Our revenues came in at the new record level of $134.6 million, 22.7% over third quarter of last year, and 5.2% over Q2 2018. During Q3, 2018, Disney was once again our largest customer. Our relationship with them continues to be strong and healthy with several opportunities in different business lines. Revenues for top 10 customers increased 37.8% over third quarter of 2017 and 7.9% sequentially. We are excited with the fact that high potential accounts are scaling up and becoming large and meaningful within our customer portfolio. During the last 12 months ended September 30, 2018, rendered services to 344 customers, 90 of which accounted for more than $1 million in annual revenue compared to 78 customers one year ago. During the last 12 months, we also had nine accounts over $10 million in annual revenues compared to just seven accounts for the same period last year. And five accounts above $20 million in annual revenues compared to 3 for the same period last year. We’ll continue to grow the size of our accounts aligned with our 50-Squared strategy. In terms of industry diversification, we remain pretty much balanced among the different verticals that we serve. Our top three verticals for this quarter were media and entertainment with 26.2% of revenues; banks, financial services and insurance with 22.3% of revenues; and travel and hospitality with 17% of revenues. Our exposure to consumer retail and manufacturing space keeps growing from 8.4% of revenues in the third quarter of 2017 to 11.4% of total revenues in the third quarter of 2018. This signals that digitalization is expanded into expected industries such as manufacturing, which opens new opportunities to companies like us. Our customer concentration numbers for Q3 2018 showed a slight increase, although remain healthy and consistent with past quarters. With our top 1, top 5 and top 10 accounts representing 11.9%, 33.4% and 45.8% of revenues compared to 10.3%, 26.8% and 40.7% of revenues, respectively for the third quarter of 2017. During the third quarter of 2018, average quarterly revenue through our top five customers increased 53.2% to $9 million. And average revenue per top 10 customer increased 37.8% to $6.2 million compared to $5.9 million and $4.5 million respectively for the third quarter of 2017. As has been the case in previous quarters, the vast majority of our revenue was generated from customers that were already working with us in the prior year, a clear sign of our ability to fund and expand existing relationships. In terms of regions, during the third quarter of 2018, 77.5% of our revenues were in North America, the U.S. as our top country; 12.5% percent in Latin America and others, Argentina being the top country; and 10% were in Europe, Spain as our top country. Europe has resumed growth after a few quarters of investments in the team. During the third quarter of 2018, 85.1% of our revenues were denominated in U.S. dollars, protecting our top line against currency fluctuations. Turning now to profitability. Our adjusted gross profit for the period increased to $55.5 million 41.2% adjusted gross margin compared to $42.8 million, 39% adjusted gross margin in the third quarter of 2017, an improvement of 220 basis points. The increase in adjusted gross margin was primarily driven by a more favorable FX environment in Latin America and an improvement in our utilization rates. In order to cope with the current demand environment, we increased our IT headcount by 510 Globers, reaching a new record level of quarterly net hirings for the company. We finished the quarter with 7,807 total Globers, 7,285 of which were IT professionals. Attrition for the past 12 months was 19.2% compared to 20.7% in Q2 2018, showing a sequential improvement of 150 basis points. Adjusted SG&A decreased to 19.7%, 80 basis points less than Q3 2018 and 60 basis points less sequentially. This year-over-year dilution contributes further to our operating leverage expansion. We have been very disciplined in managing our costs as we gain scale while we continued investing for the future, primarily to strategically expand our sales coverage in the U.S., Europe and Latin America. As a result, our adjusted operating income for the quarter amounted to $23.2 million or 17.3% of revenues, compared to $16.4 million or 15% of revenues for the third quarter of 2017. The improvement in adjusted gross margin combined with a adjusted SG&A dilution were the two main drivers for the significant operating margin expansion in the quarter. Share-based compensation expense for the third quarter of 2018 amounted to $3.3 million, representing 2.5% of total revenues for the period, compared to $4.5 million or 4.1% of total revenues for the same quarter last year. This expense is mainly related to the plan of restricted stock units, granted to certain key employees and directors of the Company as part of our long-term retention program. Financial income and expense net amounted to a loss of $1.1 million. This net result is composed of FX gains and losses, resulting from monetary assets and liabilities in local currencies, results of our hedging strategies, and interest income from our portfolio of investments. Other income and expenses accounted for a gain of $3.1 million, mainly resulting from the changing fair value of contingent considerations related to our acquisitions. We adjust our non-IFRS net income to exclude this effect. Our IFRS effective tax for the quarter was 26%. This increase was mainly driven by the large depreciation of the Argentinean peso, which increased the taxable base for the period, resulting in a higher income tax expense. Adjusted net income for the third quarter of the year totaled $16.8 million, 12.5% adjusted net income margin compared to $13.6 million, 12.4% adjusted net income margin for the third quarter of 2017. Adjusted diluted EPS for the quarter was $0.46 based on 36.8 million average diluted shares for the quarter compared to $0.37 for the third quarter of 2017. Moving on to the balance sheet. Our cash and investments as of September 30, 2018 were $79.2 million compared to $60.7 million as of December 31, 2017. Sequentially, we generated significant cash, increasing $22 million our capital investment position as of September 30, 2018, compared to June 30, 2018. During Q3 2018, we repaid $6 million in financial debt. We mainly used cash to pay for M&A transactions, including our earnouts and CapEx in to expand our offices in Latin America, U.S. and Europe. Our balance sheet remains strong with current assets of $196.5 million, accounting for 48% of the Company's total assets. Total common shares outstanding as of September 30, 2018, were $35.9 million. Last November too, we amended and expanded our previous financing agreement. We entered into a five-year trade agreement with HSBC, Citi and BNP Paribas. Under the facility, we may now borrow up to $50 million on or prior to May 1, 2019 under our delayed-draw term loan facility and up to $150 million under our revolving credit facility. Interest on the loan shall accrue at LIBOR plus 175 basis points, and there are 20 basis points of commitment fee for unused amounts. The credit agreement also contains certain customary negative and affirmative covenants. We are proud of closing this financing to support our continued growth under very competitive terms. Now, let's talk about the nine months ended September 30, 2018. Revenue for the nine months ended September 2018 amounted to $382.2 million, implying a robust 28.2% year-over-year growth. Growth was mainly boosted by top accounts and new customer wins as our portfolio of high potential customers continues to grow at a very healthy pace. Adjusted gross profit for the nine-month period was $153.6 million, 40.2% adjusted gross margin compared to $115.3 million, 38.7% adjusted gross margin for the same period last year, an increase of 150 basis points. On a year-to-date basis, we continued to see the positive tailwinds of the FX market corrections in Argentina and some other Latin American countries coupled with an improvement in utilization. Adjusted SG&A is also showing a healthy dilution of 190 basis points, currently accounting for 20.3% of our revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2018. Adjusted profits from operations for the nine months period ended September 30, 2018 was $61 million 15.9% adjusted profit from operations margin compared to $38.9 million, 13% adjusted profits from operations margin for the same period last year, representing an improvement of 290 basis points. Adjusted net income for the nine months period ended September 30, 2018 was $45.2 million, 11.8% adjusted net income margin compared to $31.9 million, 10.7% adjusted net income margin for the same period last year, representing an improvement of 110 basis points. Adjusted diluted EPS for the nine months period ended September 30, 2018 was $1.24, based on 36.6 million average diluted shares for the period compared to $0.89 for the same period last year, based on 36.1 million average diluted shares for the same period last year. This represents a 39.5% year-over-year growth. To wrap up, let me provide you with our guidance for Q4 2018. We continue to experience sustained demand for our digital offerings and we also see traction from our strategic accounts. The continuity of the FX volatility around the globe but primarily in the different regions where we operate combined with still high levels of wage inflation, particularly in Argentina, require us to take a conservative approach in our guidance for EPS. In terms of gross margin, we expect to close the year in the 39% to 41% range, slightly above our historical target of 38% to 40%. Diversification of our talent base will continue to be part of our long-term strategy, and that and that should enable us to have a more balanced cost structure while we continue investing in our 50-Squared strategy and training our Globers in cutting-edge technologies. As for adjusted SG&A, we expect additional sales coverage expansion, though we will continue gaining dilution compared to last year. Finally, we expect effective income tax rates to normalize within the 21% to 23% range for the quarter. Based on current visibility, we expect Q4 2018 revenues to be between $138 million and $140 million implying at 20.4% year-over-year growth at the midpoint of the range. Adjusted EPS is expected to be between $0.45 and $0.49, assuming 37 million average diluted shares outstanding for the quarter. Regarding the full year 2018, we're increasing our guidance by $5 million at the midpoint of the range. We now expect revenues of $520 million to $522 million and imply 26% year-over-year of revenue growth at the midpoint of the range. In terms of adjusted EPS, we're expecting a range of $1.69 to $1.73, assuming 36.8 million average diluted shares outstanding for the full year. Thanks everyone for participating on the call and for your coverage and support. Operator, can you please queue questions? Thank you.