Earnings Labs

Mastech Digital, Inc. (MHH)

Q4 2014 Earnings Call· Wed, Jan 28, 2015

$6.61

+2.85%

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Transcript

Operator

Operator

Greetings and welcome to the Mastech Holdings' Q4 2014 Earnings Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A brief question-and-answer session will follow the formal presentation. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Jennifer Ford Lacey, Manager of Legal Affairs for Mastech Holdings Incorporated. Thank you, Ms. Ford Lacey, you may begin.

Jennifer Ford Lacey

Analyst

Thank you, operator. And welcome to Mastech's fourth quarter 2014 conference call. If you have not yet received a copy of our earnings announcement, it can be obtained from our website at www.mastech.com. With me on the call today are Kevin Horner, Mastech's Chief Executive Officer; and Jack Cronin, our Chief Financial Officer. I would like to remind everyone that statements made during this call that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include our financial growth and liquidity projections as well as statements about our plans, strategies, intentions, and beliefs concerning our business, cash flows, costs, and the markets in which we operate. Without limiting the foregoing, the words believe, anticipate, plan, expect, and similar expressions are intended to identify certain forward-looking statements. These statements are based on information currently available to us and we assume no obligation to update these statements as circumstances change. There are risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events to differ materially from these forward-looking statements, including those listed in the Company's 2013 Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on their website at www.sec.gov. As a reminder, we will not be providing guidance during this call nor will we provide guidance in any subsequent one-on-one meetings or calls. I will now turn the call over to Jack for a review of our fourth quarter and full year 2014 results.

Jack Cronin

Analyst

Thanks Jen, and good morning everyone. Revenues for the fourth quarter of 2014 totaled $28.5 million, which were in line with fourth quarter 2013 revenues and were approximately $100,000 lower than the previous quarter due to a lower utilization factor reflective of the holiday season. Activity levels during the quarter were somewhat below Q3 levels, largely due to weakness in the month of December. Additionally, we were faced with an abnormal number of assignment ends in December, which resulted in a net decline in our billable consultant base of 30 consultants for the quarter. Gross profits for the fourth quarter of 2014 totaled $5.2 million or 18.3% of revenues compared to $5.4 million or 19.1% of revenues during the same period last year. Our gross profit dollar decline was due to lower margins in the 2014 quarter compared to the corresponding period of 2013. While Q4 margins were equal to the previous quarter, they were down 80 basis points from last year's levels due to supply side pressure principally in our wholesale channel. This margin compression reflected lower profit spreads on new integrator assignments and consultant compensation increases on existing assignments, which have outpaced bill rate increases. SG&A expenses were $3.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2014 and were equal to our SG&A spend in the fourth quarter a year earlier. SG&A expenses represented 13.8% of total revenues in the fourth quarter of 2014 compared to 13.7% of revenues in the corresponding quarter of 2013. While we have increased our sales and recruitment staff in the 2014 period, this was somewhat masked by lower bonus expenses in the current period as our financial results were below target levels. Net income from continuing operations for the fourth quarter of 2014 was $782,000 or $0.18 per diluted share compared to $961,000…

Kevin Horner

Analyst

Thanks, Jack. And good morning all. First, I'd like to comment on our fourth quarter performance, and then I'll give you my perspective on the full year 2014 and where I see Mastech headed in 2015. With respect to the fourth quarter, my view is simple. We had a solid 10 weeks followed by three disappointing weeks in December. After seeing the business rebound in Q3 followed by strong consultants on billing growth in October and November, December proved to be the antithesis of the strong month. We experienced performance decreases across all three base staffing business performance areas. Number one, we experienced higher than expected assignment ends. Number two, our starts were below expectations for the month of December. And number three, our sales and recruiting activities also fell below expectations in the month of December. The net effect on the business was a decline in consultants on billing, which impacted financial performance in Q4 and more likely will have some impact on financial results in the first quarter of 2015. I firmly believe that our growth rate and business model and corporate strategy are still intact. In Q4, we made some changes in our leadership structure in India to help drive higher productivity and to improve our ability to scale more rapidly. Additionally, we reorganized our sales organization in the U.S. to more aggressively pursue new business development opportunities. As I mentioned more than once, I have been underwhelmed with our performance in the new business development area. Results are happening much too slowly for me. This will change in 2015, and I believe this realignment will contribute to better results. Full year 2014 results are also simple for me. Mastech grew, we grew top line revenue by 6% and we grew the bottom line as well. In…

Kevin Horner

Analyst

Thanks, Latanya. I'd like to thank you all for joining the call today. And we look forward to sharing our first quarter 2015 results with you in late April.

Operator

Operator

Thank you. This does conclude today's teleconference. You may disconnect your line at this time. And have a great day.