MercadoLibre, Inc. Reports Financial Results for Second Quarter 2013


* Gross Merchandise Volume of $1.7 Billion, a 45% Growth in Local Currencies

* Total Payments Volume of 577.9 Million, a 54% Growth in Local Currencies

* Net Revenues Grew to 112.2 Million, a 38% Growth in Local Currencies

* Earnings Per Share During Q2'13 Were $0.67

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, Aug. 1, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MercadoLibre, Inc. (Nasdaq:MELI) (http://www.mercadolibre.com), Latin America's leading e-commerce technology company, today reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2013.

Marcos Galperin, President and Chief Executive Officer of MercadoLibre, Inc., commented, "Our strong performance this quarter validates the strength of our ecosystem and highlights our ability to execute on our strategic initiatives. We continue to focus on improving the user experience on our platform, making it easier for consumers in the region to transition to on-line commerce, reflected in this second consecutive quarter of accelerating growth in sold items. We are pleased with our results thus far, and remain excited about the opportunity ahead of us."

Financial Results Summary

MercadoLibre reported consolidated net revenues for the three months ended June 30, 2013 of $112.2 million, representing a year-over-year growth of 38.3% in local currencies, and 26.3% in USD.

For the three months ended June 30, 2013, gross merchandise volume grew to $1,725.4 million, while total payment volume reached $577.9 million. In local currencies, gross merchandise volume grew 45.0% year-over-year, while payment volume grew 54.2% year-over-year, USD growth was 32.8% and 40.4% respectively.

Items sold on MercadoLibre during the second quarter 2013 increased 27.1% to 20.1 million, while total payments transactions through MercadoPago increased 34.7% to 7.4 million.

Gross profit for the second quarter of 2013 was $81.1 million. Gross profit margin for the period was 72.3%, down from 73.1% during the second quarter of 2012.

Total operating expenses during the second quarter 2013 were $45.7 million. Total operating expenses as a percentage of net revenues for the second quarter of 2013 were 40.7%, an increment of 348 basis points compared to 37.2% for the same quarter one year earlier.

Income from operations for the second quarter 2013 was $35.4 million, representing a year-over-year growth of 23.0% in local currencies. Operating income margin for the period was 31.6%, down from 35.9% during the second quarter of 2012. Operating Income Margin was up 379 bps versus 27.8% in Q1'13.

Net income before taxes was $40.7 million. The blended tax rate for the quarter was of 26.3%, as compared to 27.7% during the same quarter one year earlier.

Consequently, Net income for the three months ended June 30, 2013, was $30.0 million. Earnings per share for the second quarter of 2013 were $0.67.

Free cash flow, defined as cash from operating activities less payment for the acquisition of property, equipment, intangible assets and payment for acquired business net of cash acquired, was -$6.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2013, as a result of purchase of commercial real estate in Venezuela and Argentina.*

(*) See note on "Non-GAAP Financial Measures"

The following table summarizes certain key performance metrics for the three months ended June 30, 2013 and 2012.

Three month ended June 30, (in MM) 2013 2012  %YoY   %YoY Constant USD 
 Total confirmed registered users at the end of period  90.2 73.2 23.3% --
 New confirmed registered users during the period  4.5 3.7 21.9% --
 Gross merchandise volume   $ 1,725.4  $ 1,299.2 32.8% 45.0%
 Items sold  20.1 15.8 27.1% --
 Total payments volume   $ 577.9  $ 411.6 40.4% 54.2%
 Total payments transactions  7.4 5.5 34.7% --

Table of Year-on-Year Local Currency Revenue Growth Rates by Quarter

   YoY Growth rates at previous years exchange rates 
 Consolidated Net Revenues   
   Q2'12   Q3'12   Q4'12   Q1'13   Q2'13 
 Brazil  36% 25% 19% 28% 22%
 Argentina  81% 69% 62% 63% 66%
 Mexico  30% 29% 19% 15% 19%
 Venezuela  72% 57% 43% 49% 68%
 Others  30% 20% 15% 13% 19%
 Total  47% 37% 31% 36% 38%

Conference Call and Webcast

The Company will host a conference call and audio webcast on August 1, 2013 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The conference call may be accessed by dialing +(970) 315-0420 or +(877) 303-7209 (Conference ID 23056606) and requesting inclusion in the call for MercadoLibre. The live conference call can be accessed via audio webcast at the investor relations section of the Company's website, at http://investor.mercadolibre.com. An archive of the webcast will be available for one week following the conclusion of the conference call.

Definition of Selected Operational Metrics

Total confirmed registered users – Measure of the cumulative number of users who have registered on the MercadoLibre platform (including MercadoPago) and confirmed their registration. As of July'12, registration and confirmation take place in the same step of the registration flow.

New confirmed registered users – Measure of the number of new users who have registered on the MercadoLibre platform (including MercadoPago) and confirmed their registration. As of July'12, registration and confirmation take place in the same step of the registration flow.

Gross merchandise volume – Measure of the total U.S. dollar sum of all transactions completed through the MercadoLibre Marketplace, excluding motor vehicles, vessels, aircraft, real estate, and services.

Items sold – Measure of the number of items sold/purchased through the MercadoLibre Marketplace.

Total payment volume – Measure of total U.S. dollar sum of all transactions paid for using MercadoPago.

Total payment transactions – Measure of the number of all payment completed transactions using MercadoPago.

Operating margin – Defined as income from operations as a percentage of net revenues.

Blended tax rate – Defined as income and asset tax expense as a percentage of income before income and assets tax.

Net income margin – Defined as net income as a percentage of net revenues.

Free Cash Flow – Defined as cash flows from operating activities less property, equipment, intangible assets and payment for acquired business net of cash acquired.

Local Currency Growth Rates – Calculated by using the average monthly exchange rate for each month during the previous year and applying it to the corresponding month in the current year, so as to calculate what the growth would have been had exchange rates been the same throughout both periods.

About MercadoLibre

Founded in 1999, MercadoLibre is Latin America's leading e-commerce technology company. Through its primary platforms, MercadoLibre.com and MercadoPago.com, it provides solutions to individuals and companies buying, selling, advertising, and paying for goods and services online.

MercadoLibre.com serves millions of users and creates a market for a wide variety of goods and services in an easy, safe and efficient way. The site is among the top 50 in the world in terms of page views and is the leading retail platform in unique visitors in the major countries in which it operates according to metrics provided by comScore Networks.  The Company is listed on NASDAQ (Nasdaq:MELI) following its initial public offering in 2007.

For more information about the company visit: http://investor.mercadolibre.com.

The MercadoLibre, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=4193

Consolidated balance sheets
  June 30,
2013
December 31,
2012
Assets    
Current assets:    
Cash and cash equivalents $ 131,191,347 $ 101,489,002
Short-term investments 71,299,941 93,694,805
Accounts receivable, net 21,323,148 19,837,022
Credit cards receivables, net 61,619,241 35,816,506
Prepaid expenses 3,522,020 2,080,079
Deferred tax assets 12,650,847 11,040,543
Other assets 11,393,068 11,403,218
Total current assets 312,999,612 275,361,175
Non-current assets:    
Long-term investments 59,437,585 85,955,584
Property and equipment, net 80,081,659 37,726,222
Goodwill 59,558,023 60,366,063
Intangible assets, net 6,717,766 7,279,865
Deferred tax assets 4,827,859 5,862,247
Other assets 5,959,728 6,118,120
Total non-current assets 216,582,620 203,308,101
     
Total assets $ 529,582,232 $ 478,669,276
     
Liabilities and Equity    
Current liabilities:    
Accounts payable and accrued expenses $ 31,467,967 $ 23,976,613
Funds payable to customers 114,370,081 101,472,662
Salaries and social security payable 19,395,436 19,974,463
Taxes payable 15,371,128 19,210,568
Loans payable and other financial liabilities 11,870,676 84,570
Dividends payable 6,313,869 4,812,396
Total current liabilities 198,789,157 169,531,272
Non-current liabilities:    
Salaries and social security payable 6,324,543 3,452,445
Loans payable and other financial liabilities 33,977 59,493
Deferred tax liabilities 8,134,726 8,975,290
Other liabilities  3,395,767 2,837,150
Total non-current liabilities 17,889,013 15,324,378
Total liabilities $ 216,678,170 $ 184,855,650
     
Commitments and contingencies (Note 7)    
Redeemable noncontrolling interest $ 4,000,000 $ 4,000,000
Equity:    
Common stock, $0.001 par value, 110,000,000 shares authorized, 44,152,933 and 44,150,920 shares issued and outstanding at June 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012, respectively $ 44,153 $ 44,151
Additional paid-in capital 120,491,485 120,468,759
Retained earnings  252,781,049  218,083,844
Accumulated other comprehensive loss (64,412,625) (48,783,128)
Total Equity  308,904,062 289,813,626
     
Total Liabilities, Redeemable Noncontrolling Interest and Equity $ 529,582,232 $ 478,669,276
 
 
Consolidated statements of income
  Six Months Ended June 30, Three Months Ended June 30,
  2013 2012 2013 2012
Net revenues $ 214,909,107 $ 172,580,065 $ 112,183,360 $ 88,844,059
Cost of net revenues (59,726,378) (44,989,178) (31,077,211) (23,892,881)
Gross profit 155,182,729 127,590,887 81,106,149 64,951,178
         
Operating expenses:        
Product and technology development (19,142,610) (13,719,892) (9,760,220) (6,133,819)
Sales and marketing  (43,161,483) (34,233,040) (20,823,546) (16,805,362)
General and administrative (28,858,158) (22,822,289) (15,073,088) (10,127,077)
Total operating expenses  (91,162,251) (70,775,221) (45,656,854) (33,066,258)
Income from operations 64,020,478 56,815,666 35,449,295 31,884,920
         
Other income (expenses):        
Interest income and other financial gains 5,596,320 6,070,862 2,202,314 2,982,303
Interest expense and other financial losses (892,020) (551,617) (531,668) (474,300)
Foreign currency gains (losses) (2,648,848) (283,969) 3,600,866 749,008
Other gains (losses), net  (2,340) (11,263) 1,393 (7,009)
Net income before income / asset tax expense  66,073,590 62,039,679 40,722,200 35,134,922
         
Income / asset tax expense (18,529,981) (17,007,817) (10,701,182) (9,740,098)
Net income  $ 47,543,609 $ 45,031,862 $ 30,021,018 $ 25,394,824
         
Less: Net Income attributable to Redeemable        
     Noncontrolling Interest 84,715 18,060 42,377 15,632
Net income attributable to MercadoLibre, Inc. shareholders $ 47,458,894 $ 45,013,802 $ 29,978,641 $ 25,379,192
         
         
  Six Months Ended June 30, Three Months Ended June 30,
  2013 2012 2013 2012
Basic EPS        
Basic net income attributable to MercadoLibre, Inc.      
Shareholders per common share $ 1.07 $ 1.02 $ 0.67 $ 0.57
         
Weighted average of outstanding common shares 44,152,132 44,145,038 44,152,933 44,147,999
         
         
Diluted EPS        
Diluted net income attributable to MercadoLibre, Inc.        
Shareholders per common share $ 1.07 $ 1.02 $ 0.67 $ 0.57
         
Weighted average of outstanding common shares 44,152,132 44,149,178 44,152,933 44,152,133
 
 
Consolidated statements of cash flows
  Six Months Ended June 30,
  2013 2012
Cash flows from operations:    
Net income attributable to MercadoLibre, Inc. Shareholders  $ 47,458,894  $ 45,013,802
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:    
Net Income attributable to Redeemable Noncontrolling Interest  84,715  18,060
Net Devaluation Loss in Venezuela  6,420,929  -- 
Depreciation and amortization  5,456,023  4,057,471
Accrued interest  (2,985,764)  (6,221,322)
LTRP accrued compensation   4,297,543  2,202,842
Deferred income taxes  (1,815,001)  145,970
Changes in assets and liabilities:    
Accounts receivable   (8,218,798)  (3,034,916)
Credit Card Receivables  (31,226,712)  (5,810,748)
Prepaid expenses  (1,604,294)  (730,975)
Other assets  (1,761,828)  (453,355)
Accounts payable and accrued expenses  12,375,483  5,682,625
Funds payable to customers  21,955,337  13,461,760
Other liabilities  2,333,387  548,167
Interest received from investments  6,391,850  3,609,409
Net cash provided by operating activities  59,161,764 58,488,790
Cash flows from investing activities:    
Purchase of investments  (411,974,519)  (205,377,324)
Proceeds from sale and maturity of investments  449,386,936  186,841,187
Payment for acquired businesses, net of cash acquired  (3,224,162)  -- 
Purchases of intangible assets  (12,657)  (1,390,738)
Purchases of property and equipment (*)  (38,093,323)  (8,323,905)
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities   (3,917,726) (28,250,780)
Cash flows from financing activities:    
Dividends paid  (11,126,265) (8,343,398)
Repurchase of Common Stock  (1,012,216) --
Stock options exercised  3,020 2,400
Net cash used in financing activities   (12,135,461) (8,340,998)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents  (13,406,232)  (1,682,959)
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents  29,702,345  20,214,053
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of the period  101,489,002  67,381,677
     
Cash and cash equivalents, end of the period  $ 131,191,347  $ 87,595,730
     
(*) Net of financial liabilities, see Note 5 "Office building acquisition agreement in Buenos Aires"
 
 
Financial results of reporting segments
  Three Months Ended June 30, 2013
  Brazil Argentina Mexico Venezuela Other Countries Total
             
Net revenues $ 51,116,153 $ 29,000,836 $ 7,823,566 $ 17,563,547 $ 6,679,258 $ 112,183,360
Direct costs (27,849,992) (16,203,748) (5,122,425) (6,478,796) (3,215,003) (58,869,964)
Direct contribution 23,266,161 12,797,088 2,701,141 11,084,751 3,464,255 53,313,396
             
Operating expenses and indirect costs of net revenues           (17,864,101)
Income from operations           35,449,295
             
Other income (expenses):            
Interest income and other financial gains           2,202,314
Interest expense and other financial losses           (531,668)
Foreign currency gain           3,600,866
Other gains, net           1,393
Net income before income / asset tax expense           $ 40,722,200
             
  Three Months Ended June 30, 2012
  Brazil Argentina Mexico Venezuela Other Countries Total
             
Net revenues $ 44,205,857 $ 20,561,213 $ 6,046,812 $ 12,417,318 $ 5,612,859 $ 88,844,059
Direct costs (25,066,435) (9,543,476) (3,269,574) (3,728,913) (2,896,426) (44,504,824)
Direct contribution 19,139,422 11,017,737 2,777,238 8,688,405 2,716,433 44,339,235
             
Operating expenses and indirect costs of net revenues           (12,454,315)
Income from operations           31,884,920
             
Other income (expenses):            
Interest income and other financial gains           2,982,303
Interest expense and other financial losses           (474,300)
Foreign currency gain           749,008
Other losses, net           (7,009)
Net income before income / asset tax expense           $ 35,134,922
   
  Six Months Ended June 30, 2013
  Brazil Argentina Mexico Venezuela Other Countries Total
             
Net revenues $ 98,881,836 $ 54,621,583 $ 15,613,867 $ 32,694,097 $ 13,097,724 $ 214,909,107
Direct costs (58,843,536) (29,679,458) (9,239,252) (12,486,903) (6,082,984) (116,332,133)
Direct contribution 40,038,300 24,942,125 6,374,615 20,207,194 7,014,740 98,576,974
             
Operating expenses and indirect costs of net revenues           (34,556,496)
Income from operations           64,020,478
             
Other income (expenses):            
Interest income and other financial gains           5,596,320
Interest expense and other financial losses           (892,020)
Foreign currency loss           (2,648,848)
Other losses, net           (2,340)
Net income before income / asset tax expense           $ 66,073,590
             
  Six Months Ended June 30, 2012
  Brazil Argentina Mexico Venezuela Other Countries Total
             
Net revenues $ 86,370,511 $ 38,677,682 $ 12,630,678 $ 23,658,890 $ 11,242,304 $ 172,580,065
Direct costs (50,809,649) (17,666,411) (6,916,211) (8,576,248) (5,712,094) (89,680,613)
Direct contribution 35,560,862 21,011,271 5,714,467 15,082,642 5,530,210 82,899,452
             
Operating expenses and indirect costs of net revenues           (26,083,786)
Income from operations           56,815,666
             
Other income (expenses):            
Interest income and other financial gains           6,070,862
Interest expense and other financial losses           (551,617)
Foreign currency loss           (283,969)
Other losses, net           (11,263)
Net income before income / asset tax expense           $ 62,039,679

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement the Company's condensed consolidated financial statements presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), MercadoLibre uses free cash flows, adjusted net income before income / asset tax, adjusted income / asset tax, adjusted net income, adjusted blended tax rate and adjusted earnings per share as non-GAAP measures.

These non-GAAP measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with GAAP and may be different from non-GAAP measures used by other companies. In addition, these non-GAAP measures are not based on any comprehensive set of accounting rules or principles. Non-GAAP measures have limitations in that they do not reflect all of the amounts associated with MercadoLibre's results of operations as determined in accordance with GAAP. These non-GAAP financial measures should only be used to evaluate MercadoLibre's results of operations in conjunction with the most comparable GAAP financial measures.

Reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measure can be found in the tables included in this press release.

Non-GAAP financial measures are provided to enhance investors' overall understanding of the Company's current financial performance. Specifically, we believe that free cash flow provides useful information to both management and investors by excluding payments for the acquisition of property, equipment, of intangible assets and of businesses net of cash acquired, that may not be indicative of the Company's core operating results. In addition, we report free cash flows to investors because we believe that the inclusion of this measure provides consistency in the Company's financial reporting.

Free cash flow represents cash from operating activities less payment for the acquisition of property, equipment and intangible assets and acquired businesses net of cash acquired. MercadoLibre considers free cash flow to be a liquidity measure that provides useful information to management and investors about the amount of cash generated by the Company's operations after the purchases of property, and equipment, of intangible assets and of acquired businesses net of cash acquired. A limitation of the utility of free cash flow as a measure of financial performance is that it does not represent the total increase or decrease in the Company's cash balance for the period.

Reconciliation of Operating Cash Flows to Free Cash Flows

  Three Months Ended June 30,
  2013 2012
     
     
Net Cash provided by Operating Activities  $ 29.1  $ 39.5
     
Payment for acquired businesses, net of cash acquired   --   -- 
     
Purchase of intangible assets  (0.0)  (1.4)
     
Purchases of property and equipment  (35.2)  (4.6)
     
                 Free cash flows  $ (6.2)  $ 33.5
     
The table above may not total due to rounding.


            

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