Cerner Reports First Quarter 2012 Results

Strong Bookings, Revenue, Earnings and Cash Flow


KANSAS CITY, Mo., April 26, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cerner Corporation (Nasdaq:CERN) today announced results for the 2012 first quarter that ended March 31, 2012, delivering strong levels of bookings, revenue, earnings and cash flow.

Bookings in the first quarter of 2012 were $652.3 million, an all-time high for a first quarter and an increase of 24 percent compared to first quarter 2011 bookings of $524.9 million.

First quarter revenue was $641.2 million, an increase of 30 percent compared to $491.7 million in the year-ago period.

On a U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) basis, first quarter 2012 net earnings were $88.7 million and diluted earnings per share were $0.51. First quarter 2011 GAAP net earnings were $64.6 million and diluted earnings per share were $0.37.

The number of shares and the per share amounts for all periods presented within reflect the two-for-one stock split effective June 24, 2011.

Adjusted (non-GAAP) Net Earnings

Adjusted net earnings for first quarter 2012 were $94.2 million, an increase of 36 percent compared to $69.1 million of adjusted net earnings in the first quarter of 2011. Adjusted diluted earnings per share were $0.54 in the first quarter of 2012 compared to $0.40 of adjusted diluted earnings per share in the year-ago quarter. Analysts' consensus estimate for first quarter 2012 adjusted diluted earnings per share was $0.50.

Adjusted net earnings is not a recognized term under GAAP and should not be substituted for net earnings as a measure of Cerner's performance but instead should be utilized as a supplemental measure of financial performance in evaluating our business. Following is a description of adjustments made to net earnings. For more detail, please see the accompanying schedule, titled "Reconciliation of Adjusted Net Earnings and Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share to GAAP Net Earnings and Diluted Earnings Per Share."

Adjusted net earnings and diluted earnings per share exclude share-based compensation expense, which reduced first quarter 2012 net earnings and diluted earnings per share by $5.5 million and $0.03, respectively; and reduced first quarter 2011 net earnings and diluted earnings per share by $4.6 million and $0.03, respectively.

Other 2012 First Quarter Highlights:

  • First quarter cash collections of $683.2 million and operating cash flow of $162.7 million. 
  • First quarter free cash flow of $113.3 million. Free cash flow is a non-GAAP financial measure defined as GAAP cash flows from operating activities less capital purchases and capitalized software development costs. For more detail, please see the accompanying schedule, titled "Reconciliation of GAAP Operating Cash Flow to non-GAAP Free Cash Flow."
  • First quarter days sales outstanding of 76 days, which is down from 87 days in the year-ago quarter.
  • Total backlog of $6.27 billion, up 22 percent over the year-ago quarter. This was comprised of $5.57 billion of contract backlog and $704 million of support and maintenance backlog.

"Our strong first quarter bookings, revenue, earnings and cash flow represent a great start to the year," Neal Patterson, Cerner chairman, CEO, president and co-founder said. "Meaningful Use requirements included in the HITECH Act continue to drive a wave of adoption in our client base and significant opportunities to establish new footprints. We are also investing heavily in solutions and services that position Cerner for growth beyond Meaningful Use. We believe there will be substantial opportunities in data analytics and population health management as the industry becomes digitized while also transitioning from volume-based payment programs to programs based on measurements of quality and outcomes."

Future Period Guidance

Cerner currently expects:

  • Second quarter 2012 revenue between $620 million and $640 million.
  • Second quarter 2012 adjusted diluted earnings per share before share based compensation expense between $0.52 and $0.54. 
  • Second quarter 2012 new business bookings between $675 million and $715 million.
  • Full-year 2012 revenue between $2.525 billion and $2.6 billion, up from a prior range of $2.425 billion to $2.5 billion.
  • Full-year 2012 adjusted diluted earnings per share before share based compensation expense between $2.25 and $2.32, up from a prior range of $2.20 to $2.30.
  • Share based compensation expense to reduce diluted earnings per share by approximately $0.03 in the second quarter of 2012 and between $0.12 and $0.14 for the year.

Earnings Conference Call

Cerner will host an earnings conference call to provide additional detail on these results at 3:30 p.m. CT on April 26. The dial-in number for the conference call is (617) 213-8898; the passcode is Cerner. Cerner recommends joining the call 15 minutes early for registration. The re-broadcast of the call will be available from 6:30 p.m. CT, April 26 through 11:59 p.m. CT, April 29. The dial-in number for the re-broadcast is (617) 801-6888; the passcode is 19496408.

An audio webcast will be available live during the conference call and archived on Cerner's website at www.cerner.com under the About Cerner section (click Investor Relations, then Presentations and Webcasts).

About Cerner

Cerner is contributing to the systemic change of health and care delivery. For more than 30 years Cerner has been executing its vision to make health care safer and more efficient. We started with the foundation of digitizing paper processes and now offer the most comprehensive array of information software, professional services, medical device integration, remote hosting and employer health and wellness services. Cerner systems are used by everyone from individual consumers, to single-doctor practices, hospitals, employers and entire countries. Taking what we've learned over more than three decades, Cerner is building on the knowledge that is in the system to support evidence-based clinical decisions, prevent medical errors and empower patients in their care.

Cerner® solutions are licensed by approximately 9,300 facilities around the world, including more than 2,650 hospitals; 3,750 physician practices; 40,000 physicians; 500 ambulatory facilities, such as laboratories, ambulatory centers, cardiac facilities, radiology clinics and surgery centers; 800 home health facilities; 40 employer sites and 1,600 retail pharmacies.

Certain trademarks, service marks and logos (collectively, the "Marks") set forth herein are owned by Cerner Corporation and/or its subsidiaries in the United States and certain other countries throughout the world. All other non-Cerner Marks are the property of their respective owners. Nasdaq: CERN. For more information about Cerner, please visit www.cerner.com, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

This release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. It is important to note that Cerner's performance, and actual results, financial condition or business could differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. The words "expect", "guidance", "believe", "position" or the negative of these words, variations thereof or similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: the possibility of product-related liabilities; potential claims for system errors and warranties; the possibility of interruption at our data centers or client support facilities; our proprietary technology may be subject to claims for infringement or misappropriation of intellectual property rights of others, or may be infringed or misappropriated by others; risks associated with our non-U.S. operations; risks associated with our ability to effectively hedge exposure to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; the potential for tax legislation initiatives that could adversely affect our tax position and/or challenges to our tax positions in the United States and non-U.S. countries; risks associated with our recruitment and retention of key personnel; risks related to our dependence on third party suppliers; risks inherent with business acquisitions; the potential for losses resulting from asset impairment charges; risks associated with the ongoing adverse financial market environment and uncertainty in global economic conditions; changing political, economic, regulatory and judicial influences; government regulation; significant competition and market changes; variations in our quarterly operating results; potential inconsistencies in our sales forecasts compared to actual sales; volatility in the trading price of our common stock and the timing and volume of market activity; our directors' authority to issue preferred stock and the anti-takeover provisions in our corporate governance documents; and material adverse resolution of legal proceedings. Additional discussion of these and other risks, uncertainties and factors affecting Cerner's business is contained in Cerner's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The reader should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, since the statements speak only as of the date that they are made. Cerner undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes in future operating results, financial condition or business over time.

CERNER CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES    
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS    
For the three months ended March 31, 2012 and April 2, 2011    
(unaudited)    
     
(In thousands, except per share data)  Three Months Ended 
  2012 (1) 2011 (1)
Revenues    
System sales  $ 225,820  $ 140,379
Support, maintenance and services  403,904  340,994
Reimbursed travel  11,488  10,291
 Total revenues  641,212  491,664
     
Margin    
System sales   108,865  82,280
Support, maintenance and services  374,339  318,704
 Total margin  483,204  400,984
     
Operating expenses    
Sales and client service   245,074  201,348
Software development  71,145  71,144
General and administrative  39,546  34,793
 Total operating expenses  355,765  307,285
     
 Operating earnings  127,439  93,699
     
Interest income  4,075  3,478
Interest expense  (1,456)  (1,502)
Other income  5  35
 Total other income, net  2,624  2,011
     
Earnings before income taxes  130,063  95,710
Income taxes  (41,355)  (31,154)
Net earnings  $ 88,708  $ 64,556
     
Basic earnings per share  $ 0.52  $ 0.38
     
Basic weighted average shares outstanding  169,968  167,110
     
Diluted earnings per share  $ 0.51  $ 0.37
     
Diluted weighted average shares outstanding  175,027  172,653
     
     
Note 1: Operating expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and April 2, 2011 include share-based compensation expense. The impact of this expense on net earnings and diluted earnings per share is presented below:
     
   Three Months Ended 
  2012 2011
     
Sales and client service  $ 3,862  $ 3,286
Software development  1,968  1,846
General and administrative  3,119  2,229
Total share based compensation  8,949  7,361
Amount of related income tax benefit  (3,423)  (2,805)
Net impact on net earnings  $ 5,526  $ 4,556
     
Decrease to diluted earnings per share  $ 0.03  $ 0.03
     
     
CERNER CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES    
RECONCILIATION OF GAAP RESULTS TO NON-GAAP RESULTS 1    
For the three months ended March 31, 2012 and April 2, 2011    
(unaudited)    
     
RECONCILIATION OF ADJUSTED NET EARNINGS AND ADJUSTED DILUTED     
EARNINGS PER SHARE TO GAAP NET EARNINGS AND DILUTED EARNINGS PER SHARE 1    
     
(In thousands, except per share data)  Three Months Ended 
  2012 2011
Net Earnings    
Net earnings (GAAP)  $ 88,708  $ 64,556
Share-based compensation expense  8,949  7,361
Income tax benefit of share-based compensation  (3,423)  (2,805)
Adjusted net earnings (non-GAAP)2  $ 94,234  $ 69,112
     
     
   Three Months Ended 
  2012 2011
Diluted Earnings Per Share    
Diluted earnings per share (GAAP)  $ 0.51  $ 0.37
Share-based compensation expense (net of tax)  0.03  0.03
Adjusted diluted earnings per share (non-GAAP)2  $ 0.54  $ 0.40
     
     
RECONCILIATION OF GAAP OPERATING CASH FLOW TO NON-GAAP FREE CASH FLOW 1    
     
(In thousands)  Three Months Ended 
  2012 2011
Cash flows from operating activities (GAAP)  $ 162,708  $ 126,501
Capital purchases   (26,363)  (21,372)
Capitalized software development costs   (23,080)  (20,466)
Free cash flow (non-GAAP)3  $ 113,265  $ 84,663
     
Note 1: The presentation of Adjusted Diluted Earnings per Share, Adjusted Net Earnings and Free Cash Flow, non-GAAP financial measures, are not meant to be considered in isolation, nor as a substitute for, or superior to, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) results and investors should be aware that non-GAAP measures have inherent limitations and should be read only in conjunction with Cerner's consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. Adjusted Diluted Earnings per Share, Adjusted Net Earnings and Free Cash Flow may also be different from similar non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies and may not be comparable to similarly titled captions of other companies due to potential inconsistencies in the method of calculations. We believe that Adjusted Diluted Earnings per Share, Adjusted Net Earnings and Free Cash Flow are important to enable investors to better understand and evaluate our ongoing operating results and allows for greater transparency in the review of our overall financial, operational and economic performance.    
Note 2: Cerner provides earnings with and without share-based compensation expense because earnings excluding this expense is used by management along with GAAP results to analyze its business, make strategic decisions and for management compensation purposes.    
Note 3: Cerner provides cash flow with and without capital purchases and software development cost because operating cash flows excluding these expenditures takes into account the capital expenditures necessary to operate our business.    
     
CERNER CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES    
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS    
As of March 31, 2012 (unaudited) and December 31, 2011    
     
(In thousands)    
  2012 2011
Assets    
     
Cash and cash equivalents  $ 281,198  $ 243,146
Short-term investments  612,644  531,635
Receivables, net  535,504  563,209
Inventory  14,141  23,296
Prepaid expenses and other  100,564  94,232
Deferred income taxes, net  47,420  46,795
     
 Total current assets  1,591,471  1,502,313
     
Property and equipment, net  495,918  488,996
Software development costs, net  252,588  248,750
Goodwill  213,006  211,826
Intangible assets, net  71,959  75,366
Long-term investments  375,039  359,324
Other assets  139,578  113,783
     
Total assets  $ 3,139,559  $ 3,000,358
     
Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity    
     
Accounts payable  $ 113,568  $ 85,545
Current installments of long-term debt  44,778  39,722
Deferred revenue  164,846  153,139
Accrued payroll and tax withholdings  92,365  109,227
Other accrued expenses  27,963  51,087
     
 Total current liabilities  443,520  438,720
     
Long-term debt and other obligations  107,856  86,821
Deferred income taxes and other liabilities  132,192  150,229
Deferred revenue  12,139  13,787
     
 Total liabilities  695,707  689,557
     
Shareholders' Equity    
     
Common stock  1,704  1,696
Additional paid-in capital  759,857  723,490
Retained earnings  1,686,170  1,597,462
Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net  (3,999)  (11,967)
Total Cerner Corporation shareholders' equity  2,443,732  2,310,681
Noncontrolling interest  120  120
     
 Total shareholders' equity  2,443,852  2,310,801
     
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity  $ 3,139,559  $ 3,000,358


            

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