Mark Colby
Analyst · Mark Dwelle with RBC Capital Markets. Please go ahead
Thanks, Mike, and good afternoon to everyone on the call. For comparability purposes, my comments on our third quarter 2020 results will be discussed against the third quarter of 2019 as if recognized under ASC 605. A reconciliation of ASC 606 accounting to ASC 605 accounting for 2020 has been provided as a supplemental schedule in our earnings release. For the third quarter of 2020, total written premiums, which are an important leading indicator of our future core and ancillary revenue growth, increased 49% to $301 million. This included franchise premium growth of 57% to $213 million and corporate segment premium growth of 33% to $89 million. This growth is being driven by continued high retention rates, strong new business generation and increasing agent productivity in the franchise channel. The continued shift in our mix of business towards the faster-growing franchise channel implies significant embedded future revenue growth as new business premiums convert to renewal premiums after year one, at which time, our royalty fees increased from 20% to 50% for ongoing renewals. At quarter end, we had over 657,000 policies in force, a 47% increase from one year ago. Our consistent and rapid year-over-year growth in both premiums and policies positions us well for long-term success. Revenues were $32 million for the quarter compared to $21.2 million in the prior year period, an increase of 51%. If Q3 2020 was reported under ASC 605, revenue grew 42% to $30.1 million. Importantly, core revenues increased 45% to $26.7 million, if reported under ASC 605. During the third quarter, our franchise channel generated core revenues of $11.3 million, if reported under ASC 605, an increase of 55% from a year ago, with the results driven by continued strong growth in new business and renewal royalty fees, from an increasing increase in operating franchises, combined with higher productivity plus sustained high levels of retention. At the end of the third quarter, we had 1,261 franchises, up 52% from the prior year, and 823 operating franchises, up 41% from a year ago. We've continued to build on our strategy of national expansion within this channel. Non-Texas franchises now represent 73% of our total operating franchises compared to 66% a year ago. We are continuing to invest in our recruiting team, which currently stands at 89 people, and our franchise pipeline remains very strong. As a reminder, the fourth quarter of each year has historically been our strongest quarter for franchise signings. If reported under ASC 605. Corporate Channel core revenues were $15.4 million in the third quarter, an increase of 39% from the year ago period, driven by an increase in agents and continued high levels of retention. Corporate sales headcount at the end of the third quarter was 371, an increase of 60% from the year ago quarter. As a reminder, because of our college recruiting for the corporate channel, the summer months are historically our largest for corporate sales onboarding. And COVID has had little impact on our ability to successfully recruit and onboard large volumes of exceptional candidates. We continue to invest in the success of our franchise channel agents via our corporate channel agents through our virtual sales coach program. As Mark mentioned, our corporate agents, virtually coaching franchisees, helped drive a 30% increase in productivity among franchise participants. This is a highly leveraged area of investment, not only for our productivity gains, but for the retention impacts from both our franchisees being more successful and our corporate agents having additional coaching opportunities leading to attractive career paths and management Total operating expenses for the third quarter of 2020 were $25 million, up 43% from $17.5 million in the prior year period. The increase is due to higher employee compensation and benefit expense, which was up 57% versus the year ago period as we continue to play aggressive offense in adding talent to our organization. For instance, corporate agents grew 60% in the quarter, our franchise sales team grew 62%, and our information systems development team tripled its size from a year ago. While many of these hires bring nominal revenue benefits initially, the investments should fuel our growth for many years to come. The increase in compensation and benefits is being partly offset by slower growth in general and administrative expenses, which were up 14% compared to the year ago quarter. G&A expense growth is benefiting from our increased scale and reduced travel and entertainment given the COVID environment. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $9.3 million compared to $4.6 million in the prior year. If reported under ASC 605, adjusted EBITDA was $6.9 million, an increase of 50% versus the year ago quarter, with growth driven by strong core revenue and margin improvement. As a reminder, our business has natural operating leverage and should continue to see gradual margin improvement over the long-term, but we do not manage the business on a short-term quarterly basis. We focus on maximizing overall profits over the long-term, and we are continuing to make investments for future growth that will have a moderating impact on margin in the near-term. As of September 30, 2020, the company had cash and cash equivalents of $20 million and an unused line of credit of $19.7 million. During the third quarter, we paid a $42 million or $1.15 per share special cash dividend to shareholders. Based on the strength of our results through the first half of the year and the confidence in our business platform, we are raising our full year 2020 outlook with respect to written premiums and revenue. Total written premiums placed for 2020 are now expected to be between $1.05 billion and $1.07 billion, representing organic growth of 42% on the low end of the range and 45% on the high end of the range. Total revenues for 2020 under ASC 606 revenue accounting are expected to be between $109 million and $112 million, representing organic growth of 41% on the low end of the range and 45% on the high end of the range. We are very pleased with the momentum in our business and believe we'll remain well positioned to deliver consistent and sizable growth even during uncertain and challenging environments. With that, I would like to thank everyone for listening, and we will now open up the lines for Q&A. Operator?