SCANSOURCE, INC. quarterly report, Q2 FY2018

ScanSource, Inc. 2017 Q2 Form 10-Q Summary

Business Context and Reporting Period

ScanSource is a global technology-products and solutions distributor serving specialty markets including point-of-sale, payments, barcode, physical security, unified communications, cloud and telecom services. It operates through Worldwide Barcode, Networking & Security and Worldwide Communications & Services. This unaudited Form 10-Q covers the quarter and six months ended December 31, 2017, compared with the corresponding 2016 periods.

Financial Performance and Position

MetricQuarter Ended Dec. 31, 2017Quarter Ended Dec. 31, 2016Six Months Ended Dec. 31, 2017Six Months Ended Dec. 31, 2016
Net sales$1,032.2 million$904.8 million$1,956.8 million$1,837.4 million
Gross profit$113.0 million$98.5 million$218.9 million$190.1 million
Gross margin10.9%10.9%11.2%10.3%
Operating income$22.3 million$23.3 million$29.9 million$46.2 million
Operating margin2.2%2.6%1.5%2.5%
Net income$8.0 million$23.0 million$12.1 million$37.9 million
Diluted EPS$0.31$0.91$0.47$1.48

For the quarter, Barcode, Networking & Security sales increased 21.2% to $719.8 million, while Communications & Services sales increased 0.5% to $312.4 million. For the six months, segment sales increased 9.8% and 0.1%, respectively. Consolidated organic sales growth in constant currency was 10.4% for the quarter and 3.1% for the six months.

Six-month operating cash flow was negative $84.2 million, compared with $35.7 million of cash provided in the prior-year period. The change primarily reflected increases in accounts receivable and inventory. Investing cash outflow was $147.1 million, including $143.8 million for the POS Portal acquisition. Financing cash inflow was $209.4 million, principally from net revolving-credit borrowings. Cash declined to $35.4 million from $56.1 million at June 30, 2017.

At December 31, 2017, total assets were $2.005 billion, accounts receivable were $717.3 million, and inventories were $581.8 million. Total debt was $360.9 million, including $355.5 million outstanding under the revolving credit facility. Remaining availability was $44.6 million. The Company was in compliance with its debt covenants.

Material Changes Versus the Prior Comparable Period

  • Sales increased 14.1% in the quarter and 6.5% in the six-month period, led by the Barcode, Networking & Security segment and the POS Portal acquisition.
  • Gross margin was stable in the quarter but improved by 0.9 percentage points for the six months, reflecting improved vendor-program recognition, sales mix and POS Portal contributions.
  • Operating income declined 4.0% for the quarter and 35.1% for the six months. The primary pressure was a $6.9 million quarterly and $23.8 million six-month expense from remeasurement of contingent consideration, compared with $1.8 million and $2.0 million, respectively, in the prior-year periods.
  • Net income and diluted EPS declined substantially, reflecting higher contingent-consideration expense, higher interest expense and discrete tax charges.
  • Interest expense increased to $2.3 million in the quarter and $3.9 million for six months, primarily because of higher revolving-credit borrowings.
  • Cash flow shifted from positive to negative as working capital expanded with higher sales and inventory, while acquisition spending and contingent-consideration payments increased.

Guidance, Outlook, Risks and Unusual Items

  • Management expects fiscal 2018 capital expenditures of approximately $8 million to $11 million, primarily for information-technology investments.
  • Excluding discrete items, management expects an approximately 30% fiscal 2018 effective tax rate. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act produced a provisional net discrete tax expense of $6.7 million in the quarter, including a $9.3 million transition-tax expense partially offset by deferred-tax remeasurement benefits. The accounting remains subject to refinement.
  • The Company acquired POS Portal on July 31, 2017 for approximately $143.8 million net cash. The acquisition added approximately $101.2 million of goodwill and $57.0 million of identifiable intangible assets.
  • Contingent consideration liabilities totaled $97.0 million at December 31, 2017. Management estimated potential future undiscounted Intelisys earnout payments of up to $115.2 million and Network1 payments of up to $7.1 million, subject to performance and valuation assumptions.
  • Key risks include vendor concentration and termination or modification of supplier relationships, pricing and competitive pressure, customer credit risk, acquisition integration and performance, working-capital requirements, interest-rate exposure, foreign-currency volatility, tax-law changes and demand for technology products and services.
  • The Company had no material off-balance-sheet arrangements and believed available cash, operating cash flow and borrowing capacity would satisfy requirements for at least the next twelve months.

Most Important Facts to Verify

  • Whether operating cash flow improves as receivables and inventory normalize.
  • The sustainability of organic growth, particularly in Communications & Services, which declined 2.1% on a six-month constant-currency, acquisition-adjusted basis.
  • The final tax effects of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and the resulting effective tax rate.
  • Actual future earnout payments and further changes in the fair value of Intelisys and Network1 contingent consideration.
  • Debt reduction, revolver availability and covenant compliance given $360.9 million of total debt and only $44.6 million of stated revolver availability.
  • POS Portal integration, contribution to sales and margins, and the potential for additional amortization or acquisition-related costs.