Mark W. Sopp
Analyst · Joe Nadol with JPMorgan
Great. Thanks, Stu. I'll cover the financial highlights for Q4 and also for full fiscal '13 and then address forward guidance for fiscal '14, which started back on February 1. On the top line, total revenues were down 4% for Q4 but grew 2% for the full fiscal year. Corresponding internal revenue was down 6% in the fourth quarter but was also up, in this case, 1% for the full year. The midyear acquisition of maxIT accounted for 1% of full year growth. As expected, the most significant drivers for contraction in the fourth quarter were the declines in 2 large programs: the MRAP Joint Logistics Integration program, JLI; and the Defense Global Solutions program, that's otherwise known as GIG-BE and/or GSM, both of those being in the Defense Solutions segment. In addition to the drag on Q4, these 2 programs do pose significant headwind in fiscal '14 that we have incorporated into our guidance. More of it I'll cover later on. In terms of contributors to internal growth for the year, which was again positive 1%, 3 programs in the Defense Solutions segment: Vanguard, Tires and AMCOM EXPRESS, were the most notable drivers. Also, the Intelligence and Cybersecurity segment produced 3% internal growth for the full year, driven by a variety of ISR and cybersecurity programs. And finally, commercial health was consistently among the best internal growth rates in the company. In fact, the best over the course of the full year. The major offsets in growth have been reductions in our fed civ and fed health business areas and overall softness in the defense market, which clearly reflect reduced government spending trends. In terms of profitability, fourth quarter operating margin was 5.3%. This is abnormally low for us and was impacted by several items, many of which were expected, but not all were expected. First, Project Gemini or separation costs ran $23 million in the fourth quarter, largely comprised of fees paid to third parties related to the milestones that Stu mentioned earlier, and also employee severance costs related to the cost reduction actions. This diluted operating margin by 70 basis points in the quarter. Second, we also took a $14 million charge for provisions on legal matters and an $11 million charge related to impairments of purchased intangibles associated with previous acquisitions. These 2 items accounted for 90 basis points of margin erosion in the quarter. Third, we had program write-downs in the Defense Solutions Group or segment and the Health & Engineering and Civil Solutions segment that diluted operating margins by 20 basis points. Fourth, we incurred costs related to our corporate headquarter move, which diluted Q4 margins by an additional 10 basis points. With all those items together, costs and charges, as aforementioned, eroded operating margins by almost 190 basis points for the fourth quarter. With respect to future quarters, we expect Project Gemini, the headquarter move and severance expenses to continue through the second quarter of our new fiscal year '14, and as you'll see in a moment, are fully included in our fiscal '14 guidance. Operating margin for the full year finished at 6.6%. Separation costs and the headquarter move diluted full year margins by 30 basis points. Legal provisions and impairments diluted margins by 30 basis points. While these separation and move costs will continue for the next couple of quarters, as John said and Stu also said, restoring attractive margins is the top priority for us, and we expect to do so when investments to position the 2 companies for separation have been completed. Given the magnitude of cost reductions that Stu discussed, which will be time phased-in during fiscal '14, and the completion of cost to finish the separation and to right-size our cost structure, we will target considerable lift in margins for both Leidos and new SAIC in fiscal '15 and beyond. More on that as we get closer to the separation itself in the coming rest of fiscal '14. Moving on to earnings per share from continuing operations. Fourth quarter was $0.54, in line with our expectations. As we mentioned in our last call in December, EPS uplift was realized from a favorable agreement reached with the IRS in the fourth quarter. For the full fiscal '13, EPS totaled $1.54, benefiting $0.28 from the IRS agreement and adversely impacted by the special costs and charges that I just discussed. Operating cash flow finished particularly strong at over $200 million for the fourth quarter, with the full year coming in at $345 million. The $345 million, as a reminder, is net of the CityTime settlement paid earlier in fiscal '13, which tax affected was $385 million for the year. Cash flow excluding CityTime was therefore $730 million. We estimate full year cash flows benefited about $100 million from the midyear government policy change to accelerate payments to government contractors. The policy change was recently rescinded in February, in fact, and should negatively impact our fiscal '14 cash flow by the same amount. More on this in a bit. Reflecting back on full fiscal '13, despite significant outflows stemming from CityTime, $550 million of long-term debt reduction made in the middle of the year, and roughly $500 million on the acquisition of maxIT, we completed fiscal '13 with a cash balance of over $700 million, which paves the way for the special dividend John mentioned upfront that will pay our shareholders in June. That sums up my remarks for fiscal '13 results. Now I'll hit fiscal '14 forward guidance. While the separation is expected to occur during fiscal '14, for apples and apples purposes, we are providing guidance based on SAIC operating the full fiscal year as one company. Our revenue expectation for fiscal '14 on this basis is $10.0 billion to $10.7 billion. Now that we have a defense budget for government fiscal '13, our guidance reflects our estimate of the effect of the $42.5 billion defense spending reductions under this budget, which ends on September 30. For the government fiscal year '14, which starts on October 1, we assume defense spending is flat from the government fiscal '13 level, which is consistent with the Budget Control Act. In other words, our guidance reflects our expectations under full sequestration. Our revenue guidance range is wider than normal, which reflects our view of the range of possible outcomes, given there is still lack of clarity on how the spending reductions will be carried out; also how much offset there will be from outlays carried over from prior years; which programs will be prioritized to avoid cuts; and finally what the government fiscal '14 defense budget actually shapes up to be. In addition to the anticipated effects from the government spending reductions, as I said earlier, the completion of the MRAP, JLI and DGS programs have a large year-over-year impact. These 2 programs alone are projected to produce a $650 million revenue reduction from full year fiscal '13 to full year fiscal '14. New recent wins are expected to produce and offset those reductions but only partially. The profitability, as mentioned, we are planning significant expenses in the carrying out of the separation transaction and to better position the cost structure of the 2 businesses moving forward. Highlighting the major elements, our EPS guidance for fiscal '14 reflects the following items: $55 million in separation costs, which includes banker fees, lawyer fees, accounting fees, consulting fees and also severance to carry out the cost reduction actions Stu mentioned; $65 million in cost to exit facilities, which primarily relates to removing excess capacity associated with indirect workforce reductions, increased density and teleworking initiatives that Stu already mentioned and finally, $20 million of cost to complete the headquarter move. Together, these items aggregate to $140 million of costs, which will adversely impact margins and EPS, primarily in the first half of fiscal '14. We'll expect to see the benefits of those reductions in the second half. Net of these items, we expect to see operating margins in the mid-7% range for the full year. Below this, of course, in the first half when we incur most of those nonrecurring expenses and above it, in the second half. We expect to see improvement in fiscal '15 when the full year's impact of those benefits will work through the P&L. The diluted earnings per share from continuing operations and reflecting the nonrecurring costs just mentioned, our range estimate is $1.16 to $1.33 per share. This includes a $0.06 benefit in our tax provision, resulting from the special dividend announced today. We have not factored in any changes to our debt levels as the planned offering related to new SAIC in conjunction with the separation will only occur immediately prior to the spinoff transaction, at which time we expect to provide separate guidance policies at that time. As for operating cash flows for fiscal '14, we expect at least $450 million for the year, which again reflects the reversal of the $100 million benefit we saw in fiscal '13 from the accelerated payment program from the U.S. government. Capital expenditures are expected to be consistent with historical experience, less than 1% of revenues. Finally, a remark on the special dividend that we announced today. The dividend is a testament to the financial strength of the company and our commitment in providing returns to our shareholders. A special dividend route was chosen over other options due to the certain return it provides in otherwise uncertain times in the government marketplace. More clarity on government fiscal '14 government spending and beyond may make other options more attractive. That finishes up my remarks. I'll turn it back over to John for final thoughts.