The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation (NYSE:DNB) reported strong first-quarter 2018 results with earnings and revenues surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
Adjusted earnings of $1.24 per share beat the consensus mark by 20 cents and increased 30.5% year over year.
Total revenues of $418.2 million beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $387.4 million. The figure was up 9.6% year over year. Adjusted revenues of $384.7 million were up 0.2% from the year-ago quarter. Organic revenues in the reported quarter grew 0.4% from the year-ago quarter and were in line with adjusted revenues.
We observe that shares of Dun & Bradstreet have gained 5.6% in the past three months, outperforming the S&P 500’s gain of 0.5%.
Let’s check out the numbers.
Revenues by Segment
Americas segment (83% of total revenues) revenues increased 9.9% from the year-ago quarter to $345.7 million. Adjusted revenues of $311.5 million were down 2% year over year.
In terms of product lines, adjusted Risk Management Solutions revenues from Americas decreased 3.7% year over year to $175.2 million. Sales and Marketing Solutions revenues from the region grew 1.5% from the year-ago quarter to $136.3 million.
Non-Americas segment (17% of total revenues) revenues increased 8.2% from the year-ago quarter to $72.5 million. Adjusted revenues of $73.2 million were up 8% year over year.
In terms of product lines, adjusted Risk Management Solutions revenues from Non-Americas increased 6.9% year over year to $58.2 million. Sales and Marketing Solutions grew 14.5% from the year-ago quarter to $15 million.
Operating Results
Total operating income came in at $94.7 million compared with $41.3 million in the year-ago quarter. Americas operating income was $106.4 million, up 85% year over year. Non-Americas operating income was $20.4 million, up 12% year over year.
Adjusted operating income increased 6.4% year over year to $71.9 million. Adjusted operating income for Americas was $71.6 million, up 2% year over year. Adjusted operating income for Non-Americas was $21.2 million, up 13% year over year.
Operating income margin rose to 22.6% from 10.8% in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted operating income margin was 17.2% compared with 17.7% in the year-ago quarter.
On an adjusted basis, total operating costs grew 1.1% from the year-ago quarter to $312.8 million.
Balance Sheet and Cash Flow
Dun & Bradstreet exited first-quarter 2018 with cash and cash equivalents of $188.1 million compared with $442.4 million at the end of December 2017. As of Mar 31, 2018, long-term debt was $1.3 billion, down from $1.6 billion at the end of December 2017. The company’s net debt position was $1.1 billion compared with $1.2 billion as of Dec 31, 2017.
The company generated $121.6 million of cash from operating activities in the reported quarter compared with $123.8 million in the year-ago quarter. Free cash flow was $106.7 million compared with $108.3 million in the year-ago quarter.
Dividend Payment
Concurrent with the earnings release, Dun & Bradstreet announced a quarterly cash dividend of 52.25 cents per share. The dividend will be paid on Jun 8 to shareholders of record at the close of business on May 23.
Zacks Rank & Upcoming Releases
Dun & Bradstreet currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Investors interested in the broader Business Services sector are keenly awaiting earnings reports from key players like ABM Industries Incorporated (NYSE:ABM) , Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) and FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDC) . While Accenture and FactSet Research Systems are expected to report third-quarter fiscal 2018 numbers on Jun 28 and Jun 26, respectively, ABM Industries is expected to release second-quarter fiscal 2018 results on Jun 6.
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