Toby Williams
Analyst · Ross MacMillan with RBC Capital Markets. Your line is now open
Thanks, Steve. Total revenue for the quarter was $113.4 million, which represents a 25.6% increase from the same period in the prior year. For the third quarter, our total recurring revenue of $108.6 million was up 25.7% from the year ago quarter and represented 96% of our total revenue. Recurring fees were up 24.1% in the quarter and interest income on client funds was up 161.2% year-over-year as a result of balance increases, increased average interest rates and because we are currently investing approximately $100 million of client funds in high-quality available-for-sale securities. Implementation services and other revenue was $4.8 million for the third quarter, up 23.3% from the year ago quarter. Our adjusted recurring gross profit on recurring revenues was $86 million or 79.2% in the third quarter, up from $67 million or 77.6% in the year ago quarter, which is a 160 basis point improvement. Adjusted gross profit in the third quarter was $79.6 million, representing an adjusted gross margin of 70.2% as compared to $61.7 million or 68.3% in the year ago quarter, which is a 190 basis point improvement. If I turn to our operating expenses, as Steve mentioned, we continue to make significant investments in research and development. And to understand our overall investment in R&D, it’s important to combine both what we expense and what we capitalize. On a combined non-GAAP basis, total R&D investments were $12.4 million or 10.9% of revenue in the third quarter compared to $9.9 million or 11% of revenue in the year ago quarter. On a dollar basis, our year-over-year investment in total R&D increased by 24.6%. On a non-GAAP basis, sales and marketing expense was $24.4 million or 21.5% of revenue in the third quarter compared to $19.5 million or 21.6% of revenue in the same period last year. On a non-GAAP basis, G&A costs were $14.7 million or 13% of revenue in the third quarter compared to $11.8 million or 13% of revenue in the year ago quarter. Through the first 9 months of fiscal ‘18, G&A costs were $41.3 million or 14.7% of revenue compared to $34 million or 15.2% of revenue for the same period last year, which is a 50 basis point improvement. We continue to be confident in our ability to leverage G&A costs on an annual basis, and we remain focused on a long-term target G&A range of 10% to 15% of revenue. On income and loss, our adjusted EBITDA was $35.8 million or 31.5% of revenue for the quarter versus $26.8 million or 29.7% of revenue for the year ago quarter, which is a 180 basis point improvement. On a dollar basis, adjusted EBITDA increased by 33.3% over the third quarter of last fiscal year. Through the first 9 months of fiscal ‘18, adjusted EBITDA was $65.6 million or 23.4% of revenue compared to $44.7 million or 19.9% of revenue through the first 9 months of fiscal ‘17, which is a 350 basis point improvement. On a dollar basis, adjusted EBITDA is up 46.8% through the first 9 months of fiscal ‘18 compared to the same period last year. Briefly covering our GAAP results, for the quarter, gross profit was $74.8 million, operating income was $20.5 million and net income was $39.2 million. I also want to address our valuation allowance. In fiscal 2014, we established a valuation allowance against certain deferred tax assets. And in this fiscal year, we have previously indicated the possibility of releasing the valuation allowance based on the financial performance of the business. During the third quarter, we continued our assessment of the factors relating to maintaining or releasing our valuation allowance. And given our strong financial performance, including net income in each quarter of this year, as well as other factors, we have released substantially all of our valuation allowance against deferred tax assets, the impact of which is a one-time non-cash tax benefit to net income of $22.6 million in the third quarter. With respect to taxes more broadly, Paylocity is not currently a cash payer of corporate federal income tax. That said, we continue to review the potential impacts of the new tax legislation on our business as we may become a payer of cash corporate federal income tax in the future periods. On a percentage basis, for P&L modeling purposes, we currently estimate our effective tax rate to be in the mid-20s% for the fourth quarter of fiscal ‘18 and for fiscal ‘19. Please note, that as we have released substantially all of the valuation allowance, we will no longer provide guidance on non-GAAP net income given its potential variability quarter-to-quarter from one-time tax items and because it does not represent a key financial or business performance metric used to manage the business. We will continue to apply guidance on revenue and adjusted EBITDA as these represent both the key financial metrics we use when assessing financial performance of the company and we believe these are the most meaningful measures of our financial performance. With respect to the balance sheet, we ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $129.5 million as compared to $101.5 million as of the end of the third quarter of fiscal ‘17, which is an increase of $28 million or 27.6%. From a cash flow perspective, we generated $35.2 million in cash from operating activities in the third quarter of fiscal ‘18 as compared to $27.9 million for the prior year third quarter, which is an increase of $7.3 million or 26.2%. Finally, I would like to provide our financial guidance for the fourth quarter and updated guidance for fiscal ‘18. Please note that ASC 606 will be effective for Paylocity in fiscal ‘19, which begins on July 1, 2018. As such, the following guidance does not reflect the impact of ASC 606. So that said, for the fourth quarter of fiscal ‘18, total revenue is expected to be in the range of $92.6 million to $93.6 million or approximately 22% to 23% greater than the prior year and adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of $14 million to $15 million. For full fiscal year 2018, total revenue is expected to be in the range of $373.5 million to $374.5 million or approximately 25% greater than the prior year and, at the midpoint, an increase of $4 million from our prior guidance. And adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of $79.6 million to $80.6 million or approximately 21.4% of revenue at the midpoint, which is an increase of 270 basis points from fiscal ‘17 and an increase of $3.6 million from our prior guidance. Overall, we are very pleased with our financial results through the first 9 months of fiscal ‘18, including our ability to provide guidance of 25% revenue growth and 270 basis points of adjusted EBITDA expansion this fiscal year. Operator, we are now ready to begin the Q&A session. Thank you.