NEW YORK, Feb. 11, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Criteo S.A. (Nasdaq:CRTO), a global leader in digital performance advertising, today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2013.
Executive Quote
"We delivered a record quarter and a record year in 2013, exceeding our expectations" said JB Rudelle, Criteo's co-founder and CEO. "We introduced several new products and we are particularly pleased with the strong launch of our mobile offering in the fourth quarter. With our new products ramping quickly on new screens and devices, we are excited about 2014 and our future growth opportunities."
Operating Highlights
Revenue ex-TAC
Revenue excluding Traffic Acquisition Costs, or Revenue ex-TAC, in the fourth quarter 2013 grew 55.3%, or 66.2% at constant currencies, to €54.9 million, compared with €35.3 million in the fourth quarter 2012, primarily driven by our continued rapid geographic expansion.
Revenue ex-TAC for fiscal year 2013 increased 56.8%, or 66.4% at constant currencies, to €179.0 million, compared with €114.1 million in fiscal 2012.
Revenue ex-TAC margin as a percentage of revenue in the fourth quarter 2013 was at 40.4%, a 0.4 point decrease compared with 40.8% in the fourth quarter of 2012.
Revenue ex-TAC margin as a percentage of revenue for fiscal year 2013 was at 40.3%, a 1.7 point decrease compared with 42.0% in fiscal year 2012.
Adjusted EBITDA and Operating Expenses
Adjusted EBITDA for the fourth quarter 2013 was €14.5 million, an increase of 227.3%, or 239.9% at constant currencies, compared with €4.4 million in the fourth quarter 2012, due to a focus on growing revenue ex-TAC in our biggest quarter of the year and, to a lesser extent, increased operating leverage in our sales and operations expenses.
Adjusted EBITDA for fiscal year 2013 was €31.3 million, an increase of 80.2%, or 84.4% at constant currencies, compared with €17.4 million in fiscal year 2012, despite our significant investments made over the period.
Operating expenses in the fourth quarter of 2013 increased by 42.9% to €41.6 million, compared with the fourth quarter 2012. Excluding the impact of share-based compensation, pension costs, depreciation and amortization and acquisition-related deferred price consideration, which we refer to as on a "Non-IFRS basis", our operating expenses in the fourth quarter 2013 were at €36.7 million, an increase of 34.2% compared with the fourth quarter of 2012. This increase in operating expenses over the period was in particular related to headcount growth in Research & Development, as we continued our investments to further develop our technology platform and enrich our product portfolio to support future growth. On a non-IFRS basis, our Sales & Operations and General & Administrative expenses in the fourth quarter 2013 expressed as a percentage of revenue decreased by 4.2 points and 1.4 points respectively over the period.
Operating expenses for fiscal 2013 increased by 58.2% to €146.4 million, compared with fiscal year 2012. On a non-IFRS basis, our operating expenses for fiscal year 2013 were at €133.6 million, an increase of 52.2% compared with fiscal year 2012. On a non-IFRS basis, our Sales & Operations and General & Administrative expenses for fiscal year 2013 expressed as a percentage of revenue decreased by 2.8 points and 0.4 point respectively over the period.
Net Income and Adjusted Net Income
Net income for the fourth quarter 2013 was €3.3 million, representing a €8.0 million increase compared with a €4.7 million net loss in the fourth quarter 2012. Net income available to shareholders of Criteo S.A. for the fourth quarter 2013 was €3.0 million, or €0.055 per diluted share, compared with a €4.6 million net loss, or a €0.095 net loss per diluted share in the fourth quarter 2012.
Adjusted Net Income for the fourth quarter 2013, or our net income adjusted to eliminate the impact of share-based compensation expense, amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets and acquisition-related deferred price consideration, was €7.1 million, representing a €10.5 million increase compared with an Adjusted Net Loss of €3.4 million in the fourth quarter 2012.
Net income for fiscal year 2013 was €1.4 million, compared with €0.8 million in fiscal year 2012. Net income available to shareholders of Criteo S.A. for fiscal year 2013 was €1.1 million, or €0.019 per diluted share, compared with €1.0 million, or €0.02 per diluted share in fiscal year 2012.
Adjusted Net Income for fiscal year 2013 was €10.9 million, representing a 148.6% increase compared with an Adjusted Net Income of €4.4 million in fiscal year 2012.
Cash Flow and Cash Position
Business Outlook
The following forward-looking statements reflect Criteo's expectations as of February 11, 2014.
First Quarter 2014 Guidance:
Fiscal Year 2014 Guidance:
The above guidance assumes no business acquisitions are closed or realized during the quarter ending March 31, 2014 and fiscal year ending December 31, 2014.
Non-IFRS Financial Measures
This press release and its attachments include the following financial measures defined as non-IFRS financial measures by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC): Revenue ex-TAC, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Income, Free Cash Flow, Non-IFRS Operating Expenses and Revenue ex-TAC margin. These measures are not calculated in accordance with IFRS.
Revenue ex-TAC is our revenue excluding traffic acquisition costs (TAC) generated over the applicable measurement period. Revenue ex-TAC is a key measure used by our management and board of directors to evaluate our operating performance, generate future operating plans and make strategic decisions regarding the allocation of capital. In particular, we believe that the elimination of TAC from revenue can provide a useful measure for period-to-period comparisons of our core business. Accordingly, we believe that Revenue ex-TAC provides useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our operating results in the same manner as our management and board of directors.
Adjusted EBITDA is our income from operations before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, adjusted to eliminate the impact of share-based compensation expense, pension costs and acquisition-related deferred price consideration. Adjusted EBITDA is a key measure used by our management and board of directors to understand and evaluate our core operating performance and trends, to prepare and approve our annual budget and to develop short‑ and long-term operational plans. In particular, we believe that the elimination of non-cash compensation expense, pension costs and acquisition-related deferred price consideration in calculating Adjusted EBITDA can provide a useful measure for period-to-period comparisons of our core business.
Adjusted Net Income is our net income adjusted to eliminate the impact of share-based compensation expense, amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets and acquisition-related deferred price consideration. Adjusted Net Income is not a measure calculated in accordance with IFRS. Adjusted Net Income is a key measure used by our management and board of directors to evaluate our operating performance, generate future operating plans and make strategic decisions regarding the allocation of capital. In particular, we believe that the elimination of share-based compensation expense in calculating Adjusted Net Income can provide a useful measure for period-to-period comparisons of our core business. Accordingly, we believe that Adjusted Net Income provides useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our results of operations in the same manner as our management and board of directors.
Accordingly, we believe that Revenue-ex TAC, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income provide useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our operating results in the same manner as our management and board of directors. Please refer to supplemental financial tables provided in the appendix of this press release for a reconciliation of Revenue ex-TAC to revenue, Adjusted EBITDA to net income and Adjusted Net Income to net income, the most comparable IFRS measurements. Our use of Revenue ex-TAC, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Net Income have limitations as analytical tools, and you should not consider them in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our financial results as reported under IFRS.
With respect to our expectations under "Business Outlook" above, reconciliation of Revenue ex-TAC and Adjusted EBITDA guidance to the closest corresponding IFRS measure is not available without unreasonable efforts on a forward-looking basis due to the high variability, complexity and low visibility with respect to the charges excluded from these non-IFRS measures, in particular, the measures and effects of stock-based compensation expense specific to equity compensation awards that are directly impacted by unpredictable fluctuations in our stock price. We expect the variability of the above charges to have a significant, and potentially unpredictable, impact on our future IFRS financial results.
These measures may be different than non-IFRS financial measures used by other companies. The presentation of this financial information is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). Explanations of the Company's non-IFRS financial measures and reconciliations of these financial measures to the IFRS financial measures the Company considers most comparable are included in the accompanying relevant tables below.
Forward-Looking Statements Disclosure
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are inherently difficult to predict, including projected financial results for the quarter ending March 31, 2014 and the fiscal year ending December 31, 2014, our expectations regarding our market opportunity and future growth prospects and other statements that are not historical facts, which involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Factors that might cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: our recent growth rates may not be indicative of our future growth, uncertainty regarding regulatory, legislative or self-regulatory developments regarding internet privacy matters, uncertainty regarding our ability to access a consistent supply of internet display advertising inventory and expand our access to such inventory, the amount that Criteo invests in new business opportunities and the timing of these investments, the impact of competition, our ability to manage our growth, potential fluctuations in operating results, our ability to grow our base of advertising clients, uncertainty regarding our international growth and expansion and the financial impact of our focus on maximizing revenue ex-TAC as well as risks related to future opportunities and plans, including the uncertainty of expected future financial performance and results and those risks detailed from time-to-time under the caption "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in Criteo S.A.'s Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including in the Company's prospectus filed with the SEC on October 30, 2013 and future filings and reports by the Company. Criteo undertakes no duty or obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release as a result of new information, future events or changes in its expectations.
Conference Call Information
Criteo will hold a conference call today, February 11, 2014, at 5:00pm ET, 2:00pm PST, 11:00pm CET, to discuss Criteo's fourth quarter and full year 2013 operating and financial results, as well as other forward-looking information about Criteo's business.
Conference call details are:
US callers: +1 (646) 254-3364, Conference ID: 9118936
International callers: +33 1 76 77 22 25, Conference ID: 9118936
The conference call will also be webcast simultaneously at http://ir.criteo.com.
