B. Riley Financial Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2017 Financial Results

• Revenue of $110.2 Million in Q4 and $322.2 Million for 2017
  
• Adjusted EBITDA of $21.4 Million in Q4 and $69.8 Million for 2017
• Capital Markets Revenue Up 33% over Q3 2017
• Valuation and Appraisal Segment Record Revenues of $33.3 Million for 2017
• Declares Special Dividend of $0.08 Per Share, in addition to Regular Dividend of $0.08 Per Share

LOS ANGELES, March 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- B. Riley Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:RILY), a diversified provider of financial and business advisory services, has reported results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2017.

Fourth Quarter 2017 Highlights

• Revenues totaled $110.2 million, up from $92.4 million in third quarter of 2017
• Adjusted EBITDA totaled $21.4 million
• Adjusted net income totaled $11.6 million or $0.44 per diluted share
• Net loss of $6.1 million or $0.23 per diluted share (includes additional one-time tax expense of $13.1 million or $0.50 per diluted share in form of non-cash charges related to impact of U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act)

Full Year 2017 Highlights

• Revenues totaled $322.2 million, up from $190.4 million in 2016
• Adjusted EBITDA totaled $69.8 million
• Adjusted net income totaled $38.5 million or $1.59 per diluted share
• Net income totaled $11.6 million or $0.48 per diluted share

"2017 was a milestone year for our company with our acquisitions of FBR & Co. and Wunderlich Securities in June and July of last year. The fourth quarter marked the first time we introduced our combined brokerage division under the name of B. Riley FBR, Inc. In the first two quarters together, we’ve begun to realize the benefits of our larger, but leaner platform. Since merging the companies in the third quarter of 2017, B. Riley FBR has contributed to a 33% increase in revenues in the fourth quarter compared to the third quarter for our Capital Markets segment,” said Bryant Riley, Chairman and CEO, B. Riley Financial. “We are excited by the overall momentum our combined Capital Markets business has created, namely through an enhanced equity research offering and a substantive increase in deal flow. Our ability to use our strong balance sheet to facilitate transactions has also had a meaningful effect, and we believe this is a key differentiator for both our clients and companies under coverage. Looking ahead, our focus on growing our current talent base, both from within and with strategic hires, will help us continue to build on this momentum as we look to expand on the breadth and depth of capabilities we offer our clients.”

“2017 also represented another strong year for our Valuations and Appraisals business with record revenues of $33.3 million driven by an increase in the volume of appraisal engagements. Our Appraisals business continues to be one of our most consistent segments in terms of performance, and we’re pleased to see this continued steady growth,” added Riley. “Results in our Auction and Liquidations segment were less favorable in comparison to the fourth quarter of 2016 in which we completed two large retail liquidation engagements. Despite that, our outlook for this business remains strong. Finally, we continue to be excited about our Principal Investments platform and the performance of United Online, which continues to generate significant income for us. We look forward to completing the acquisition of magicJack over the next several months, which should further increase the income contributions to our Principal Investments platform.”

Fourth Quarter 2017 Financial Summary
The increase in fourth quarter revenues to $110.2 million from the $93.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2016 was primarily driven by the completed acquisitions of FBR & Co. and Wunderlich Securities in June and July of 2017, respectively.

• Capital Markets Segment: Revenues for the fourth quarter 2017 totaled $84.4 million compared to $16.5 million in reported revenue from the same year-ago period. The $67.9 million increase in year-over-year revenues was primarily driven by the acquisitions of FBR & Co. and Wunderlich Securities. On a sequential basis, results demonstrate a 33% increase in revenues from the $63.7 million recorded for the third quarter of 2017, the first full quarter in which results from FBR & Co. and Wunderlich Securities were included. Segment income generated $14.3 million for the quarter compared with $6.2 million in the same year-ago period.
• Auction and Liquidation Segment: Fourth quarter revenues totaled $4.2 million compared to $51.9 million in the same year-ago period. The decrease in fourth quarter revenues was primarily due to a $28.3 million decline in services and fees and a $19.3 million decrease in the sale of goods. Segment income totaled $0.1 million for the quarter, compared to $24.2 million in the same year-ago period. Reported revenues for this segment are expected to vary substantially from quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year.
• Valuation and Appraisal Segment: Fourth quarter revenues totaled $8.5 million compared to $8.9 million in the same year-ago period. The decrease of $0.4 million was primarily due to a decline in fee-based revenues related to appraisal engagement. Segment income for the quarter totaled $2.5 million compared with $2.8 million in the same year-ago period.
• Principal Investments - United Online Segment: Fourth quarter revenues, which are primarily from services and fees for internet access and related subscription services, totaled $13.0 million compared to $15.9 million in the same year-ago period. Segment income for the quarter was $5.3 million, down from $5.8 million in the same year-ago period.

The company recorded a net loss of $6.1 million or $0.23 per diluted share for the fourth quarter of 2017, due to an additional one-time tax expense of $13.1 million or $0.50 per diluted share in the form of a non-cash charge relating to the impact of U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that was enacted on December 22, 2017. This compares to $12.4 million or $0.64 per diluted share recorded in the same year-ago period.

Adjusted net income (excluding the impact of share-based payments, fair value adjustments, amortization of intangible assets, restructuring costs, insurance settlement recovery, transaction costs, tax impact of aforementioned adjustments, and certain tax items) totaled $11.6 million or $0.44 per diluted share for the fourth quarter of 2017. This compares to $14.8 million or $0.76 per diluted share in the same year-ago period. (See note regarding "Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below for further discussion of this non-GAAP term.)

Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, transaction and restructuring expenses, insurance settlement recoveries, fair value adjustments, and share-based compensation) for the fourth quarter of 2017 totaled $21.4 million. This compares to $25.1 million in the same year-ago period. (See note regarding "Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below for further discussion of this non-GAAP term.)

As of December 31, 2017, B. Riley Financial had $132.8 million in unrestricted cash, $19.7 million of restricted cash, $31.5 million due from clearing brokers, $117.1 million of net securities and other investments owned, and $205.9 million of debt. Total B. Riley Financial stockholders’ equity at December 31, 2017 was $266.0 million.

Full Year 2017 Financial Summary
Revenue for the full year 2017 totaled $322.2 million, up from $190.4 million for the same year-ago period.

• Capital Markets Segment: Revenues totaled $189.7 million compared to $39.3 million in 2016. The significant increase is attributed to the additional revenues driven by the acquisitions of FBR & Co. and Wunderlich Securities in 2017. Segment income for the year totaled $15.9 million, compared with $6.1 million in 2016.
• Auction and Liquidation Segment: Revenues totaled $47.4 million compared to $87.7 million in 2016, due to a decline in services, fees and the sale of goods for the year. Segment income totaled $11.2 million for the year compared to $41.1 million in 2016.
• Valuation and Appraisal Segment: Despite a slight decrease for the quarter, 2017 was a record year for this segment with annual revenue totaling $33.3 million compared to $31.7 million in 2016. The uptick in this segment was driven primarily by an increase in the volume of appraisal engagements conducted for the year. Segment income totaled $9.7 million for the year compared to $8.9 million in 2016.
• Principal Investments - United Online Segment: Revenues totaled $51.7 million for the year compared to $31.5 million in 2016. Segment income totaled $19.5 million for 2017 compared to $9.2 million in 2016. The significant increases in segment revenues and income are reflective of 2017 being the first full year with United Online under B. Riley Financial since its acquisition on July 1, 2016.

Net income for the full year 2017 totaled $11.6 million or $0.48 per diluted share, compared to $21.5 million or $1.17 per diluted share in the same year-ago period.

Adjusted net income for the full year 2017 increased to $38.5 million or $1.59 per diluted share from $27.7 million or $1.51 per diluted share for the full year 2016. (See note regarding "Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below for further discussion of this non-GAAP term.)

Adjusted EBITDA for the full year 2017 increased to $69.8 million, compared to $48.9 million for the full year 2016. (See note regarding "Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below for further discussion of this non-GAAP term.)

Declaration of Dividend
On March 7, 2018, B. Riley Financial’s board of directors approved a regular quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share and a special dividend of $0.08, which will be paid on or about April 3, 2018 to stockholders of record as of March 20, 2018.

Conference Call
B. Riley Financial will host a conference call today March 7, 2018 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time (1:30 p.m. Pacific time). The company's Chairman and CEO, Bryant Riley, President, Tom Kelleher, and CFO and COO, Phillip Ahn, will host the conference call, followed by a question and answer period.

Please call the conference telephone number 10 minutes prior to the start time and an operator will register your name and organization.

Date:                Wednesday, March 7, 2018
Time:                4:30 p.m. Eastern time (1:30 p.m. Pacific time)
Toll-Free:          1-877-451-6152
International:    1-201-389-0879

The conference call will be broadcast simultaneously and available for replay via the investor section of the company's website. A replay of the call will be available after 7:30 p.m. Eastern time on the same day through March 14, 2018.

Replay Dial-In Numbers:
Toll-Free:          1-844-512-2921
International:    1-412-317-6671
Replay Pin:      13677233

About B. Riley Financial, Inc.
Through its subsidiaries, B. Riley Financial, Inc. provides collaborative financial services and solutions to the capital raising and financial advisory needs of public and private companies and high net worth individuals. The company operates through several wholly-owned subsidiaries, including B. Riley FBR, Inc., Wunderlich Securities, Inc., Great American Group, LLC, B. Riley Capital Management, LLC (which includes B. Riley Asset Management, B. Riley Wealth Management, and Great American Capital Partners, LLC) and B. Riley Principal Investments, a group that makes proprietary investments in other businesses, such as the acquisition of United Online, Inc.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.  Such statements include, without limitation, statements regarding our expectations, hopes or intentions regarding the future.  These forward looking statements can often be identified by their use of words such as "will", "predict", "continue", "forecast", "expect", "believe", "anticipate", "outlook", "could", "target", "project", "intend", "plan", "seek", "estimate", "should", "may" and "assume", as well as variations of such words and similar expressions referring to the future, and may include (without limitation) express or implied statements regarding future financial performance, the effects of our business model, the effects and anticipated benefits of our completed acquisitions of United Online, Inc., FBR & Co., and Wunderlich Securities, Inc., our pending acquisitions and related actions, expectations regarding future transactions and the financial impact, size and consistency of returns and timing thereof, as well as statements regarding the effect of investments in our business segments. Forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those discussed in each such statement. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include (without limitation) risks associated with large engagements in our auction and liquidation segment; our ability to achieve expected cost savings or other benefits with respect to our pending and completed acquisitions, in each case within expected time frames or at all; our ability to consummate anticipated transactions and the expected financial impact thereof, in each case within the expected timeframes or at all; our ability to successfully integrate recent acquisitions; loss of key personnel; our ability to manage growth; the potential loss of financial institution clients; changing economic and market conditions; the timing of completion of significant engagements and those risks described from time to time in B. Riley Financial, Inc.'s filings with the SEC, including, without limitation, the risks described in B. Riley Financial, Inc.'s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations." Additional information will also be set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017. These factors should be considered carefully and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.  All information is current as of the date this press release is issued, and B. Riley Financial, Inc. undertakes no duty to update this information.

Note Regarding Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Certain of the information set forth herein, including adjusted net income and adjusted EBITDA, may be considered non-GAAP financial measures. B. Riley Financial believes this information is useful to investors because it provides a basis for measuring the company's available capital resources, the operating performance of its business and its cash flow, excluding net interest expense, provisions for income taxes, depreciation, amortization, transaction expenses, restructuring costs, insurance dispute recoveries and stock-based compensation that would normally be included in the most directly comparable measures calculated and presented in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP"). In addition, the company's management uses these non-GAAP financial measures along with the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures in evaluating the company's operating performance, capital resources and cash flow. Non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, financial information presented in compliance with GAAP, and non-financial measures as reported by the company may not be comparable to similarly titled amounts reported by other companies. The non-GAAP measures are described above and are reconciled to the corresponding GAAP measure in the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements portion of this release under the headings “Adjusted Net Income Reconciliation” and "Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation."

Investor Contact

Investor Relations
B. Riley Financial, Inc.
ir@brileyfin.com
(310) 966-1444