Clarivate Reports Second Quarter 2023 Results

— Updates 2023 Outlook —

LONDON, Aug. 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Clarivate Plc - (NYSE: CLVT) (the "Company" or "Clarivate"), a global leader in connecting people and organizations to intelligence they can trust, today reported results for the second quarter.

Second Quarter 2023 Financial Highlights

• Revenues of $668.8 million decreased 2.6%, and 3.5% at constant currency⁽¹⁾, driven primarily by the divestiture of MarkMonitor in October 2022, for which there were no comparable amounts in the current year period
• Organic revenues⁽¹⁾ decreased 0.4% as an increase in subscription revenues of 2.9% was offset by a decline in re-occurring revenues of 1.6% and transactional and other revenues of 7.5%
• Net loss attributable to ordinary shares of $141.7 million increased $185.4 million driven primarily by the impairment charge in the current year period; Net loss per diluted share of $0.21 decreased by $0.21
• Adjusted Net Income⁽¹⁾ of $152.2 million decreased 7.8%; Adjusted Income per diluted share⁽¹⁾ of $0.21 decreased 4.5% or $0.01
• Adjusted EBITDA⁽¹⁾ of $284.9 million increased 3.8% driven by cost savings from integration programs; Adjusted EBITDA Margin⁽¹⁾ of 42.6% increased 270 basis points
• Net cash provided by operating activities increased $65.2 million to $162.4 million; Free cash flow⁽¹⁾ increased $55.3 million to $104.8 million, allowing for continued deleveraging through further debt reduction and share repurchases

First Half of 2023 Financial Highlights

• Revenues of $1,297.9 million decreased 3.8%, and 3.3% at constant currency⁽¹⁾, driven primarily by the divestiture of MarkMonitor in October 2022, for which there were no comparable amounts in the current year period
• Organic revenues⁽¹⁾ decreased 0.3% as an increase in subscription revenues of 2.9% was offset by a decline in re-occurring revenues of 1.7% and transactional and other revenues of 7.9%
• Net loss attributable to ordinary shares of $117.0 million decreased $211.5 million driven primarily by the impairment charge in the current year period and lower mark-to-market gain on financial instruments; Net loss per diluted share of $0.17 decreased by $0.10
• Adjusted Net Income⁽¹⁾ of $283.1 million decreased 11.6%; Adjusted Income per diluted share⁽¹⁾ of $0.39 decreased 9.3% or $0.04
• Adjusted EBITDA⁽¹⁾ of $537.6 million increased 0.2% driven by cost savings from integration programs; Adjusted EBITDA Margin⁽¹⁾ of 41.4% increased 160 basis points
• Net cash provided by operating activities increased $225.3 million to $389.9 million; Free cash flow⁽¹⁾ increased $197.5 million to $273.0 million

"Clarivate continued to deliver on operational progress during the quarter, reinforcing the value proposition of our mission critical solutions across key sectors. The Academia & Government segment delivered improved results following the successful integration of ProQuest and recent product enhancements, which are driving new business, increased usage and higher retention rates," said Jonathan Gear, Chief Executive Officer. "We are taking steps to leverage the power of our portfolio, particularly in the Intellectual Property and Life Sciences & Healthcare segments, which fell short of expectations this quarter. With an established, resilient business model, and a new organizational structure and leadership well in place to enhance accountability, we remain confident in our strategy to deliver accelerating organic growth and margin expansion, as highlighted in our March Investor Day. We remain focused on creating value for our customers, colleagues, and shareholders."

Selected Financial Information

The prior year results include MarkMonitor, which was divested on October 31, 2022, for which there are no comparable amounts in the current year periods.

Second Quarter 2023 Commentary

Subscription revenues for the second quarter decreased $1.4 million, or 0.3%, to $406.0 million, and decreased 1.6% on a constant currency basis⁽¹⁾, due to the divestiture of MarkMonitor. Organic subscription revenues⁽¹⁾ increased 2.9%, primarily due to price increases and the benefit of net installations.

Re-occurring revenues for the second quarter decreased $1.0 million, or 0.9% to $111.0 million, and decreased 1.6% on a constant currency basis⁽¹⁾. Organic re-occurring revenues⁽¹⁾ decreased 1.6%, primarily driven by the timing of accelerated patent renewals in the prior year period.

Transactional and other revenues for the second quarter decreased $16.2 million, or 9.6%, to $151.8 million, and decreased 9.8% on a constant currency basis⁽¹⁾. Organic transactional and other revenues⁽¹⁾ decreased 7.5%. primarily due to lower transactional sales in Life Sciences & Healthcare and Intellectual Property segments.

Balance Sheet and Cash Flow

As of June 30, 2023, cash and cash equivalents of $436.1 million increased $87.3 million compared to December 31, 2022 due to working capital improvements.

The Company's total debt outstanding as of June 30, 2023 was $4,920.8 million, a decrease of $150.5 million compared to December 31, 2022 due to $150.0 million accelerated debt prepayments on our Term Loan.

Net cash provided by operating activities of $389.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 increased $225.3 million compared to $164.6 million for the prior year, primarily due to the prior year employee payroll payments related to the CPA Global Equity Plan and working capital improvements. Free cash flow⁽¹⁾ for the six months ended June 30, 2023, was $273.0 million, an increase of $197.5 million compared to the prior year period.

Updated Outlook for 2023 (forward-looking statement)

"We revised our 2023 outlook due to lower than expected transactional sales of Life Sciences and Healthcare products and consulting services, and lower recurring sales of patent renewals," said Jonathan Collins, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. "However, we reaffirmed our Adjusted EBITDA Margin outlook, and still expect our revenues, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Diluted EPS and Free Cash Flow to be within our original ranges. We continue to anticipate generating strong cash flow, which we currently expect to allocate between debt repayment to achieve our target of below four-times net leverage by the end of the year and share repurchases."

The full year outlook presented below assumes no further acquisitions, divestitures, or unanticipated events.

The outlook includes Non-GAAP measures. Please see "Reconciliation to Certain Non-GAAP measures" presented below for important disclosure and reconciliations of these financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures. These terms are defined elsewhere in this earnings release.

Conference Call and Webcast

Clarivate will host a conference call and webcast today to review the results for the second quarter at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The conference call will be simultaneously webcast on the Investor Relations section of the Company's website.

Interested parties may access the live audio broadcast by dialing +1 404-975-4839 or toll-free +1 833-470-1428 (in North America) and 44 208 068 2558 or toll free 44 808 189 6484 (internationally). The conference ID number is 677201. To join the webcast please visit https://events.q4inc.com/attendee/182614049. A replay will also be available on https://ir.clarivate.com.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Non-GAAP results are not presentations made in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") and are presented only as a supplement to our financial statements based on GAAP. Non-GAAP financial information is provided to enhance the reader's understanding of our financial performance, but none of these non-GAAP financial measures are recognized terms under GAAP. They are not measures of financial condition or liquidity, and should not be considered as an alternative to profit or loss for the period determined in accordance with GAAP or operating cash flows determined in accordance with GAAP. As a result, you should not consider such measures in isolation from, or as a substitute for, financial measures or results of operations calculated or determined in accordance with GAAP.

We use non-GAAP measures in our operational and financial decision-making. We believe that such measures allow us to focus on what we deem to be a more reliable indicator of ongoing operating performance and our ability to generate cash flow from operations, and we also believe that investors may find these non-GAAP financial measures useful for the same reasons. Non-GAAP measures are frequently used by securities analysts, investors, and other interested parties in their evaluation of companies comparable to us, many of which present non-GAAP measures when reporting their results. These measures can be useful in evaluating our performance against our peer companies because we believe the measures provide users with valuable insight into key components of GAAP financial disclosures. However, non-GAAP measures have limitations as analytical tools and because not all companies use identical calculations, our presentation of non-GAAP financial measures may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies.

Definitions and reconciliations of non-GAAP measures, such as Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Diluted EPS, Free Cash Flow, Standalone Adjusted EBITDA, organic revenue, organic subscription revenue, organic re-occurring revenue, and organic transactional and other revenue to the most directly comparable GAAP measures are provided within the schedules attached to this release. Our presentation of non-GAAP measures should not be construed as an inference that our future results will be unaffected by any of the adjusted items, or that any projections and estimates will be realized in their entirety or at all.

We calculate constant currency by converting the non-U.S. dollar income statement balances for the most current year to U.S. dollars by applying the average exchange rates of the preceding year.

Forward-Looking Statements

This communication contains "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements, which express management's current views concerning future business, events, trends, contingencies, financial performance, or financial condition, appear at various places in this communication and may use words like "aim," "anticipate," "assume," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "future," "goal," "intend," "likely," "may," "might," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "see," "seek," "should," "strategy," "strive," "target," "will," and "would" and similar expressions, and variations or negatives of these words. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, statements we make regarding: guidance outlook and predictions relating to expected operating results, such as revenue growth and earnings; strategic actions such as acquisitions, joint ventures, and dispositions, including the anticipated benefits therefrom, and our success in integrating acquired businesses; anticipated levels of capital expenditures in future periods; our ability to successfully realize cost savings initiatives and transition services expenses; our belief that we have sufficient liquidity to fund our ongoing business operations; expectations of the effect on our financial condition of claims, litigation, environmental costs, the impact of inflation, the impact of foreign currency fluctuations, the COVID-19 pandemic and governmental responses thereto, international hostilities, contingent liabilities, and governmental and regulatory investigations and proceedings; and our strategy for customer retention, growth, product development, market position, financial results, and reserves. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on management's current beliefs, expectations, and assumptions regarding the future of our business, future plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy, and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control. Important factors that could cause our actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include those factors discussed under the caption "Risk Factors" in our annual report on Form 10-K, along with our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). However, those factors should not be considered to be a complete statement of all potential risks and uncertainties. Additional risks and uncertainties not known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business operations. Forward-looking statements are based only on information currently available to our management and speak only as of the date of this communication. We do not assume any obligation to publicly provide revisions or updates to any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, should circumstances change, except as otherwise required by securities and other applicable laws. Please consult our public filings with the SEC or on our website at www.clarivate.com.

About Clarivate

Clarivate™ is a leading global information services provider. We connect people and organizations to intelligence they can trust to transform their perspective, their work and our world. Our subscription and technology-based solutions are coupled with deep domain expertise and cover the areas of Academia & Government, Intellectual Property and Life Sciences & Healthcare. For more information, please visit clarivate.com.