PBW - Pitney Bowes Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2022 Financial Results

Pitney Bowes (NYSE: PBI), a global shipping and mailing company that provides technology, logistics, and financial services, today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2022.

“We have made important progress in the quarter against several initiatives that are key to our long-term objectives,” said Marc B. Lautenbach, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Although financial performance did not meet our expectations, we have seen significant improvements which lay the groundwork for future success. Our SendTech and Presort businesses continued to deliver a solid and predictable performance, reaping the benefits of the investments we have made in those businesses over the last several years. Importantly, our Financial Services business performed very well and Global Ecommerce made substantial progress in ramping network volumes, profitability, and service levels.”

Fourth Quarter Financial Highlights

• Revenue in the quarter was $909 million, a decrease of 8 percent on a reported basis and flat on a comparable basis ⁽¹⁾
• GAAP EPS was $0.04 and Adjusted EPS was $0.06 in the quarter versus $0.01 and $0.06, respectively, in fourth quarter 2021
• Adjusted EBIT was $49 million compared to $38 million in third quarter 2022 and $47 million in fourth quarter 2021
• GAAP cash from operating activities was $167 million; Free Cash Flow was $108 million
• Cash and short-term investments were $681 million at the end of the year

(1) Comparable basis is defined in the “Business Segment Reporting” section of the press release

Fourth Quarter Business Highlights

• Global Ecommerce processed 54 million in Domestic Parcel volume, ending the quarter with an annualized exit rate of approximately 200 million
• Global Ecommerce gross margins improved 300 basis points versus prior year, but short of our expectations
• Presort grew year-over-year revenues and expanded EBIT margins by 440 basis points versus third quarter 2022
• SendTech shipping-related revenues grew 30 percent year-over-year

Full Year 2022 Financial Highlights

• Revenue of $3.5 billion, a decrease of 4 percent on a reported basis and flat on a comparable basis
• GAAP EPS was $0.21 in 2022 versus ($0.01) in 2021; Adjusted EPS was $0.15 in 2022 versus $0.32 in 2021
• Adjusted EBIT was $179 million in 2022 compared to $203 million in 2021
• GAAP cash from operating activities and Free Cash Flow were $176 million and $68 million, respectively

Full Year 2022 Business Highlights

• Global Ecommerce processed Domestic Parcel volumes of 170 million, grew Domestic Parcel revenue 10 percent, and expanded unit margins by $0.34 versus prior year
• Presort processed 16 billion pieces of mail and grew revenue by 5 percent
• SendTech grew equipment sales by 4 percent on a constant currency basis and increased finance receivables by $44 million to $1.2 billion
• SendTech introduced the Shipping 360 Platform and launched PitneyShip Pro, which helped drive shipping-related revenue growth of 22 percent

Earnings per share results are summarized in the table below

(1) Includes transaction costs associated with sale of businesses
(2) The sum of the earnings per share may not equal the totals due to rounding.

Business Segment Reporting

We are presenting revenue growth on a comparable basis, which excludes three items, the impacts of foreign currency, the impact of the divestiture of the Borderfree business effective July 1, 2022, and the impact of a change in the presentation of revenue for certain services effective October 1, 2022, from a gross basis to net basis due to an adjustment in terms of one of our contracts with the United States Postal Service. This change in revenue presentation impacts both our Global Ecommerce and SendTech Solutions segments. The impacts of each of the above items on revenue can be found in the accompanying financial schedules.

Global Ecommerce

Global Ecommerce provides business to consumer logistics services for domestic and cross-border delivery, returns and fulfillment.

Continued improvement in Domestic Parcel was offset by weakness in Cross-border. Domestic Parcel volumes were 54 million in the quarter, growing 16 percent year-over-year. Domestic Parcel volume growth drove revenue growth on a comparable basis. Cross-border volumes and revenue declined due to continued pressure from a strong US Dollar and softer international ecommerce activity.

Domestic Parcel unit gross margin improved $0.21 versus third quarter 2022, driving higher segment margins. A higher-than-expected mix of light weight parcels received late in the quarter contributed to lower-than-expected profitability.

Presort Services

Presort Services provides sortation services that enable clients to qualify for USPS workshare discounts in First Class Mail, Marketing Mail, Marketing Mail Flats and Bound Printed Matter.

Revenue growth in the quarter was driven by new client additions and higher revenue per piece. Growth was partially offset by lower volumes from existing clients.

EBIT margins in the fourth quarter improved 440 basis points sequentially and 360 basis points versus prior year, driven by higher revenue per piece and productivity gains from investments in automation.

SendTech Solutions

Sending Technology Solutions offers physical and digital mailing and shipping technology solutions, financing, services, supplies and other applications for small and medium businesses, retail, enterprise, and government clients around the world to help simplify and save on the sending, tracking and receiving of letters, parcels and flats.

Revenue was flat compared to prior year on a comparable basis. Strong demand for our new mailing and shipping products drove growth in Equipment sales and Service Revenues in the quarter. Shipping-related revenues grew 30 percent. Financing revenue and Supplies sales declined in the quarter.

Full Year 2023 Guidance

We expect flat to mid-single digit percentage revenue growth on a comparable basis.

We also expect percentage EBIT growth to outpace revenue growth as GEC profitability continues to improve.

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. ET. 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.pitneybowes.com .

About Pitney Bowes

Pitney Bowes (NYSE:PBI) is a global shipping and mailing company that provides technology, logistics, and financial services to more than 90 percent of the Fortune 500. Small business, retail, enterprise, and government clients around the world rely on Pitney Bowes to remove the complexity of sending mail and parcels. For additional information, visit: www.pitneybowes.com

Use of Non-GAAP Measures

Our financial results are reported in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). We also disclose certain non-GAAP measures, such as adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT), adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), adjusted earnings per share (EPS), revenue growth on a comparable basis and free cash flow.

Adjusted EBIT, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS exclude the impact of discontinued operations, restructuring charges, gains, losses and costs related to the sale of assets, acquisitions and dispositions, goodwill impairment charges, losses on debt redemptions and refinancings and other unusual or one-time items. Management believes that these non-GAAP measures provide investors greater insight into the underlying operating trends of the business.

We disclose revenue growth on a comparable basis, which excludes three items. First, the comparison excludes the impacts of foreign currency. Second, we are excluding the impact of the divestiture of the Borderfree business effective July 1, 2022. Third, we are excluding the impact of a change in the presentation of revenue beginning in the fourth quarter of 2022, from a gross basis to net basis due to an adjustment in terms of one of our contracts with the United States Postal Service. The change in revenue presentation impacts both our Global Ecommerce and SendTech Solutions segments. The change in revenue presentation does not impact gross profit. Management believes that excluding these items provides investors with a better understanding of the underlying revenue performance.

Free cash flow adjusts cash flow from operations calculated in accordance with GAAP for discontinued operations, capital expenditures, restructuring payments, changes in customer deposits held at the Pitney Bowes Bank and other special items. Management believes free cash flow provides investors better insight into the amount of cash available for other discretionary uses.

Segment EBIT is the primary measure of profitability and operational performance at the segment level and is determined by deducting from segment revenue the related costs and expenses attributable to the segment. Segment EBIT excludes interest, taxes, unallocated corporate expenses, restructuring charges, goodwill impairment charges, and other items not allocated to a segment. The Company also reports segment EBITDA as an additional useful measure of segment profitability and operational performance.

Complete reconciliations of non-GAAP measures to comparable GAAP measures can be found in the attached financial schedules and at the Company's web site at www.pb.com/investorrelations

This document contains “forward-looking statements” about the Company’s expected or potential future business and financial performance. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about future revenue and earnings guidance and future events or conditions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. While conditions related to the COVID-19 pandemic have improved, the pandemic continues to be dynamic, and near-term challenges across the economy remain and the effects that they may have on our, and our clients' businesses remain uncertain. Other factors which could cause future financial performance to differ materially from expectations include, without limitation, declining physical mail volumes; changes in postal regulations or the operations and financial health of posts in the U.S. or other major markets or changes to the broader postal or shipping markets; the loss of, or significant changes to, United States Postal Service (USPS) commercial programs, or our contractual relationships with the USPS or their performance under those contracts; our ability to continue to grow volumes, gain additional economies of scale and improve profitability within our Global Ecommerce segment; the impacts of inflation and rising prices, higher interest rates and a slow-down in economic activity, including a global recession, to the company, our clients and retail consumers, and the loss of some of our larger clients in our Global Ecommerce and Presort Services segments; and other factors as more fully outlined in the Company's 2021 Form 10-K Annual Report and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission during 2022. Pitney Bowes assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this document as a result of new information, events or developments.

Note: Consolidated statements of income; revenue, EBIT and EBITDA by business segment; and reconciliations of GAAP to non-GAAP measures for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, and consolidated balance sheets at December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021 are attached.