IBEX Announces Record Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2024 Financial Results
Record full-year Net Income, EPS, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted EPS, and Free Cash Flow
18 new client relationships won primarily with retail, healthcare, and gaming companies, compared to 10 in the prior year
Repurchased 1.3 million shares at a total cost of $21.7 million during fiscal year 2024, representing 7.8% of our shares outstanding at June 30, 2024
WASHINGTON, Sept. 12, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IBEX Limited ("ibex"), a leading provider in global business process outsourcing and end-to-end customer engagement technology solutions, today announced financial results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended June 30, 2024.
($ millions, except per share amounts)
Three months endedJune 30,
Twelve months endedJune 30,
2024
2023
Change
2024
2023
Change
Revenue
$
124.5
$
124.4
0.1
%
$
508.6
$
523.1
(2.8)%
Net income
$
9.8
$
4.5
118.3
%
$
33.7
$
31.6
6.6
%
Net income margin
7.9
%
3.6
%
430 bps
6.6
%
6.0
%
60 bps
Adjusted net income (1)
$
10.2
$
6.2
63.7
%
$
38.4
$
36.9
3.8
%
Adjusted net income margin (1)
8.2
%
5.0
%
320 bps
7.5
%
7.1
%
40 bps
Adjusted EBITDA (1)
$
17.9
$
15.4
16.1
%
$
65.2
$
66.6
(2.1)%
Adjusted EBITDA margin (1)
14.4
%
12.4
%
200 bps
12.8
%
12.7
%
10 bps
Earnings per share - diluted
$
0.56
$
0.24
133.3
%
$
1.84
$
1.67
10.2
%
Adjusted earnings per share - diluted (1)
$
0.58
$
0.33
75.8
%
$
2.10
$
1.96
7.1
%
(1)See accompanying Exhibits for the reconciliation of each non-GAAP measure to its most directly comparable GAAP measure.
"We achieved record results across key financial metrics including full year net income, EPS, adjusted net income, adjusted EPS, and free cash flow, and had a strong fourth quarter that exceeded our expectations," said Bob Dechant, ibex CEO. "Our revenues for the fourth quarter were encouraging, and we are happy to report that we pivoted back to year-on-year growth," said Dechant.
"Our new logo engine continued to win signature new clients with three wins in the quarter including a leading gaming company. These wins total 18 for the year highlighting our differentiation and our ability to take on and beat our much larger competition. Our pipeline for customer facing AI led solutions continues to expand and position us well as we move into FY25. ibex AI solutions complement our agent-led BPO services with AI voice and chat bots for high-volume low-complexity contacts. I am excited to announce that we closed our first significant customer-facing AI opportunity with a leading client which will drive a new revenue stream for us." Added Dechant, "The fourth quarter completes a strong second half and finish for the year and gives us great momentum as we enter our FY 2025."
Fourth Quarter Financial PerformanceRevenue
Revenue of $124.5 million, up slightly from the prior year quarter. Growth in Retail and E-commerce, Travel, Transportation and Logistics, and HealthTech was offset by declines in FinTech, Telecommunications, and Technology verticals.
Net Income and Earnings Per Share
Net income increased to $9.8 million compared to $4.5 million in the prior year quarter. Diluted earnings per share increased to $0.56 compared to $0.24 in the prior year quarter. The increase was primarily the result of improved gross margin performance on the year over year growth of delivery in our offshore regions, cost optimization efforts, lower income tax expense, and fewer diluted shares outstanding compared to the prior year quarter.
Net income margin increased to 7.9% compared to 3.6% in the prior year quarter.
Non-GAAP adjusted net income increased to $10.2 million, compared to $6.2 million in the prior year quarter.
Non-GAAP adjusted diluted earnings per share increased to $0.58, compared to $0.33 in the prior year quarter (see Exhibit 1 for reconciliation). The increase per share was primarily attributable to the impact of improved operating margins, a lower tax rate, and lower share count.
Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA increased to $17.9 million, compared to $15.4 million in the prior year quarter (see Exhibit 2 for reconciliation), driven by higher operating margins and continuing cost optimization efforts undertaken during the year.
Adjusted EBITDA margin increased to 14.4%, compared to 12.4% in the prior year quarter (see Exhibit 2 for reconciliation).
Fiscal Year 2024 Financial PerformanceRevenue
Revenue decreased 2.8% to $508.6 million from $523.1 million due to lower volumes in certain verticals and the migration from onshore to higher margin offshore and nearshore regions.
Growth in our Retail & E-commerce, HealthTech, and Travel, Transportation & Logistics verticals partially offset the above-mentioned revenue declines, particularly in the Telecommunication and FinTech verticals.
Net Income and Earnings Per Share
Net income and diluted earnings per share increased to $33.7 million and $1.84, both new record highs, respectively, compared to $31.6 million and $1.67, respectively, in the prior year. The increase was driven by higher gross profit margins from the growth of delivery in our higher margin regions, lower taxes, higher interest income, and fewer diluted shares outstanding.
Net income margin was 6.6%, compared to 6.0% in the prior year.
Non-GAAP adjusted net income and diluted adjusted earnings per share increased to $38.4 million and $2.10, respectively, compared to $36.9 million and $1.96, respectively, in the prior year (see Exhibit 1 for reconciliation).
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA decreased slightly to $65.2 million, compared to $66.6 million in the prior year (see Exhibit 2 for reconciliation), primarily driven by lower overall revenue and investments in technology, largely offset by improved gross margin driven by the migration from onshore to offshore higher margin regions and ongoing cost optimization efforts.
Adjusted EBITDA margin was 12.8%, up 10 basis points from the prior year (see Exhibit 2 for reconciliation).
Cash Flow and Balance Sheet
Net cash from operating activities decreased to $35.9 million, compared to $41.9 million in the prior year.
Capital expenditures were $8.9 million compared to $19.0 million in the prior year.
Full year free cash flow increased to $27.0 million, compared to $22.9 million in the prior year (see Exhibit 3 for reconciliation).
Cash and cash equivalents improved to $62.7 million, compared to cash and cash equivalents of $57.4 million.
Total debt was $1.5 million compared to total debt of $1.0 million last year.
Net cash improved to $61.2 million, up from $56.4 million in the prior year (see Exhibit 4 for reconciliation).
Fiscal Year and First Quarter Fiscal 2025 Business Outlook"Our record financial results were largely due to the continued growth of our high margin services and geographies which drove operating performance improvement across all our regions. In the last half of fiscal year 2024, we delivered an adjusted EBITDA margin of 14.8%, placing ibex among the top performers of our industry. Our record year of generating Free Cash Flow has put us into an ideal position to continue to invest in our infrastructure, advanced AI capabilities, and our sales and marketing to accelerate future revenue growth. Importantly, it has also enabled us to execute meaningful share repurchases, representing approximately 8% of our shares outstanding, to return value to our shareholders," said Taylor Greenwald, CFO of ibex.
"We view this most recent quarter as an inflection point for a return to top-line growth. We remain confident in the trajectory of our business."
For fiscal year 2025, revenue is expected to be in the range of $510 to $525 million. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of $67 to $69 million.
For the first quarter fiscal 2025 revenue is expected to be in the range of $124 to $126 million. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of $14.5 to $15.5 million.
Capital expenditures are expected to be in the range of $15 to $20 million.
Conference Call and Webcast InformationIBEX Limited will host a conference call and live webcast to discuss its fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024 financial results at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time today, September 12, 2024. We will also post to this section of our website the earning slides, which will accompany our conference call and live webcast, and encourage you to review the information that we make available on our website.
Live and archived webcasts can be accessed at: https://investors.ibex.co/.
Financial InformationThis announcement does not contain sufficient information to constitute an interim financial report as defined in Financial Accounting Standards ASC 270, "Interim Reporting." The financial information in this press release has not been audited.
Non-GAAP Financial MeasuresWe present non-GAAP financial measures because we believe that they and other similar measures are widely used by certain investors, securities analysts and other interested parties as supplemental measures of performance and liquidity. We also use these measures internally to establish forecasts, budgets and operational goals to manage and monitor our business, as well as evaluate our underlying historical performance, as we believe that these non-GAAP financial measures provide a more helpful depiction of our performance of the business by encompassing only relevant and manageable events, enabling us to evaluate and plan more effectively for the future. The non-GAAP financial measures may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies, have limitations as analytical tools, and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our operating results as reported in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States ("U.S. GAAP"). Non-GAAP financial measures and ratios are not measurements of our performance, financial condition or liquidity under U.S. GAAP and should not be considered as alternatives to operating profit or net income / (loss) or as alternatives to cash flow from operating, investing or financing activities for the period, or any other performance measures, derived in accordance with U.S. GAAP.
ibex is not providing a quantitative reconciliation of forward-looking non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA margin to the most directly comparable GAAP measure because it is unable to predict with reasonable certainty the ultimate outcome of certain significant items without unreasonable effort. These items include, but are not limited to, non-recurring expenses, foreign currency gains and losses, and share-based compensation expense. These items are uncertain, depend on various factors, and could have a material impact on GAAP reported results for the guidance period.
About ibexibex helps the world's preeminent brands more effectively engage their customers with services ranging from customer support, technical support, inbound/outbound sales, business intelligence and analytics, digital demand generation, and CX surveys and feedback analytics.
Forward Looking StatementsIn addition to historical information, this release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "believe," "may," "will," "estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "should," "plan," "expect," "predict," "potential," or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our future financial and operating performance, including our outlook and guidance, and our strategies, priorities and business plans. Our expectations and beliefs regarding these matters may not materialize, and actual results in future periods are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Factors that could impact our actual results include: our ability to attract new business and retain key clients; our profitability based on our utilization, pricing and managing costs; the potential for our clients or potential clients to consolidate; our clients deciding to enter into or further expand their insourcing activities and current trends toward outsourcing services may reverse; general economic uncertainty in global markets and unfavorable economic conditions, including inflation, rising interest rates, recession, foreign exchange fluctuations and supply-chain issues; our ability to manage our international operations, particularly in the Philippines, Jamaica, Pakistan and Nicaragua; natural events, health epidemics, geopolitical conditions, including developing or ongoing conflicts, widespread civil unrest, terrorist attacks and other attacks of violence involving any of the countries in which we or our clients operate; our ability to anticipate, develop and implement information technology solutions that keep pace with evolving industry standards and changing client demands, including the effective adoption of Artificial Intelligence into our offerings; our ability to recruit, engage, motivate, manage and retain our global workforce; our ability to comply with applicable laws and regulations, including those regarding privacy, data protection and information security, employment and anti-corruption; the effect of cyberattacks or cybersecurity vulnerabilities on our information technology systems; our ability to realize the anticipated strategic and financial benefits of our relationship with Amazon; the impact of tax matters, including new legislation and actions by taxing authorities; and other factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" described in our periodic reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and past filings on Form 20-F, and any other risk factors we include in subsequent filings with the SEC. Because of these uncertainties, you should not make any investment decisions based on our estimates and forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements for any reason after the date of this press release whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
IR Contact: Michael Darwal, EVP, Investor Relations, ibex, Contact: Daniel Burris, Senior Director PR and Communication, ibex,
IBEX LIMITED AND SUBSIDIARIESConsolidated Balance Sheets(Unaudited)(in thousands)
June 30,2024
June 30,2023
Assets
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents
$
62,720
$
57,429
Accounts receivable, net
98,366
86,364
Prepaid expenses
7,712
6,616
Due from related parties
192
43
Tax advances and receivables
9,080
5,965
Other current assets
1,888
2,190
Total current assets
179,958
158,607
Non-current assets
Property and equipment, net
29,862
41,151
Operating lease assets
59,145
70,919
Goodwill
11,832
11,832
Deferred tax asset, net
4,285
4,585
Other non-current assets
8,822
6,230
Total non-current assets
113,946
134,717
Total assets
$
293,904
$
293,324
Liabilities and stockholders' equity
Current liabilities
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities
$
16,719
$
18,705
Accrued payroll and employee-related liabilities
30,674
29,360
Current deferred revenue
4,749
6,413
Current operating lease liabilities
12,051
13,036
Current maturities of long-term debt
660
413
Due to related parties
60
2,314
Income taxes payable
6,083
3,020
Total current liabilities
70,996
73,261
Non-current liabilities
Non-current deferred revenue
1,128
1,383
Non-current operating lease liabilities
53,441
64,854
Long-term debt
867
600
Other non-current liabilities
1,673
3,262
Total non-current liabilities
57,109
70,099
Total liabilities
128,105
143,360
Stockholders' equity
Common stock
2
2
Additional paid-in capital
210,200
204,734
Treasury stock
(25,367
)
(3,682
)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss
(7,913
)
(6,312
)
Accumulated deficit
(11,123
)
(44,778
)
Total stockholders' equity
165,799
149,964
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity
$
293,904
$
293,324
IBEX LIMITED AND SUBSIDIARIESConsolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income(Unaudited)(in thousands, except per share data)
Three months endedJune 30,
Twelve months endedJune 30,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Revenue
$
124,531
$
124,431
