2014 GUIDANCE
This guidance discusses future results which are inherently subject to unforeseen risks and developments. As such, discussions about the business outlook should be read in the context of an uncertain future, as well as the risk factors identified in the safe harbor language at the end of this release and as more fully outlined in the Company's 2013 Form 10-K Annual Report and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Despite the sale of its DIS business, which contributed $0.01 per share to discontinued operations in the first quarter on a GAAP basis, the Company is reaffirming its full year guidance for revenue growth rate, adjusted earnings per share and free cash flow.
The Company still expects:
- 2014 revenue growth rate, excluding the impacts of currency, to be in a range of a one percent decline to two percent growth when compared to 2013;
- Adjusted earnings per diluted share to be in the range of $1.75 to $1.90;
- Free cash flow to be in the range of $475 million to $575 million.
The Company now expects GAAP earnings per diluted share from continuing operations to be in the range of $1.53 to $1.68, which reflects the following first quarter charges:
- Debt extinguishment costs of $0.19 per share;
- Restructuring costs of $0.03 per share.
This guidance excludes any further actions that are under consideration by the Company to streamline its operations and further reduce its cost structure.
Conference Call and Webcast
Management of Pitney Bowes will discuss the Company’s results in a broadcast over the Internet today at 8:00 a.m. EDT. Instructions for listening to the earnings results via the Web are available on the Investor Relations page of the Company’s web site at www.pb.com.
About Pitney Bowes
Pitney Bowes provides technology solutions for small, mid-size and large firms that help them connect with customers to build loyalty and grow revenue. Many of the company’s solutions are delivered on open platforms to best organize, analyze and apply both public and proprietary data to two-way customer communications. Pitney Bowes includes direct mail, transactional mail and call center communications in its solution mix along with digital channel messaging for the Web, email and mobile applications.
Pitney Bowes: Every connection is a new opportunity™ www.pb.com
The Company's financial results are reported in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). The Company uses measures such as adjusted earnings per share, adjusted income from continuing operations and free cash flow to exclude the impact of special items like restructuring charges, tax adjustments, and goodwill and asset write-downs, because, while these are actual Company expenses, they can mask underlying trends associated with its business. Such items are often inconsistent in amount and frequency and as such, the adjustments allow an investor greater insight into the current underlying operating trends of the business.
The use of free cash flow provides investors insight into the amount of cash that management could have available for other discretionary uses. It adjusts GAAP cash from operations for capital expenditures, as well as special items like cash used for restructuring charges, unusual tax settlements or payments and contributions to its pension funds. Management uses segment EBIT to measure profitability and performance at the segment level. EBIT is determined by deducting the related costs and expenses attributable to the segment. Segment EBIT excludes interest, taxes, general corporate expenses not allocated to a particular business segment, restructuring charges and goodwill and asset impairments, which are recognized on a consolidated basis. In addition, financial results are presented on a constant currency basis to exclude the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates since the prior period under comparison. Constant currency measures are intended to help investors better understand the underlying operational performance of the business excluding the impacts of shifts in currency exchange rates over the intervening period.
Pitney Bowes has provided a quantitative reconciliation to GAAP in
supplemental schedules. This information may also be found at the
Company's web site
www.pb.com/investorrelations .