Kforce Reports Fourth Quarter 2019 Revenue of $336.2 Million; EPS From Continuing Operations of $0.66 per Share, Up 22.2% Year Over Year; Full Year 2019 Tech Flex Growth of 6.8%; Board of Directors Approves 11% Increase in Quarterly Dividend


TAMPA, Fla., Feb. 05, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kforce Inc. (Nasdaq: KFRC), a provider of professional staffing services and solutions, today announced results for its fourth quarter and full year 2019. Unless indicated otherwise, the commentary within this release relates only to the results of our continuing operations and excludes the results of our Government Solutions ("GS") segment, which is reported as a discontinued operation.

Fourth Quarter 2019 Financial Highlights

  • Revenue for the quarter ended December 31, 2019 was $336.2 million compared to $330.4 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2018, an increase of 1.8%.
  • Year-over-year growth in Flex revenue for Tech was 4.8%, while FA experienced a decrease of 7.6%.
  • Gross profit margin decreased 40 basis points year over year in the quarter ended December 31, 2019.
  • Selling, general and administrative expense as a percentage of revenue in the quarter ended December 31, 2019 was 22.9%, which decreased 50 basis points from the quarter ended December 31, 2018.
  • Income from continuing operations for the quarter ended December 31, 2019 was $14.6 million, or $0.66 per share, as compared to $13.6 million, or $0.54 per share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2018.
  • We repurchased approximately 0.7 million shares of common stock on the open market at a total cost of approximately $26.5 million during the quarter ended December 31, 2019.

Year End 2019 Financial Highlights

  • Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2019 of $1.35 billion increased 3.3% from $1.30 billion for the year ended December 31, 2018.
  • Tech Flex revenue increased 6.8% to $1.04 billion in 2019 from $971.3 million in 2018.
  • Income from continuing operations for the year ended December 31, 2019 increased 7.3% to $54.6 million, or $2.29 per share, from $50.9 million, or $2.02 per share, for the year ended December 31, 2018. As adjusted, income from continuing operations was $56.1 million1, or $2.35 per share1, for the year ended December 31, 2019.
  • We repurchased approximately 3.3 million shares of common stock on the open market at a total cost of approximately $117.8 million during the year ended December 31, 2019.

End Notes:
1 A non-GAAP financial measure, see Reconciliation of Tax Impact and Profitability in the Adjusted Financial Performance Measures section.

Management Commentary

David L. Dunkel, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We are very pleased with what we accomplished in 2019. During 2019, we further focused our service offerings in the areas of greatest demand with the divestitures of KGS and TraumaFX and successfully redeployed the net cash proceeds more quickly than anticipated. In total, we repurchased approximately 13% of shares outstanding during 2019. We were also successful at growing our Tech Flex business 6.8% in 2019, which is in excess of two times market growth rates, and experienced sequential billing day growth in our FA Flex business in the second half of 2019. The improvements that we experienced in associate productivity, leverage we received from our revenue growth, and efficient deployment of capital helped to drive improved shareholder returns as fourth quarter earnings per share from continuing operations increased 22.2% year over year.”

Mr. Dunkel continued, “We are very excited about our future growth prospects. We continue to see strength in the secular drivers of technology demand and believe that these drivers will transcend traditional cyclical patterns. The pace of digital transformation continues to be rapid, which is forcing organizations across all industries to increase their technology investments.”

Joseph J. Liberatore, President, said, “We believe our client portfolio management efforts over the last several years are positively contributing to our results, both in terms of growth and associate productivity. We have experienced the strongest growth from clients that are significant users of the services we provide and where we have long-standing relationships. We are continuing to invest in technologies and take other actions that we believe are necessary to continue improving associate productivity and enhancing the experience of our clients and consultants.”

David M. Kelly, Chief Financial Officer, said, “We believe our results in 2019 continue to demonstrate our ability to deliver above-market Tech Flex revenue growth, while also remaining on track to meet our operating margin commitments. We believe that our strong cash flows and balance sheet offer us an excellent opportunity to continue investing in our growth, returning capital to our shareholders and maintaining sufficient flexibility to pursue acquisitions and make other strategic investments.

We are also pleased to announce that our Board of Directors approved an increase of approximately 11% to our first quarter cash dividend from $0.18 per share to $0.20 per share. This dividend will be payable on March 20, 2020, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on March 6, 2020."

Guidance

Looking forward to the first quarter of 2020, there will be 64 billing days, as compared to 62 billing days in the fourth quarter of 2019, and 63 billing days in the first quarter of 2019. Revenue per billing day in the fourth quarter of 2019 was $5.4 million. Current estimates for the first quarter of 2020 are:

  • Revenue of $333 million to $339 million
  • Earnings per share of $0.43 to $0.47
  • Gross profit margin of 27.7% to 27.9%
  • Flex gross profit margin of 25.6% to 25.8%
  • SG&A expense as a percent of revenue of 22.9% to 23.1%
  • Operating margin of 4.3% to 4.5%
  • Effective tax rate of 26.5%

Conference Call and Annual Meeting

On Wednesday, February 5, 2020, Kforce will host a conference call at 8:30 a.m. E.T. to discuss these results. The dial-in number is (877) 344-3890 and the conference passcode is Kforce. The prepared remarks for this call and webcast are available on the Investor Relations page of the Kforce Inc. website (http://investor.kforce.com/) in the Events & Presentations section.

The replay of the call will be available from 11:30 a.m. E.T., Wednesday, February 5, 2020 until February 12, 2020 by dialing (855) 859-2056, passcode 5864699.

Our 2020 Annual Meeting of Kforce Inc. Shareholders will be held on Tuesday, April 28, 2020 at 1001 East Palm Avenue, Tampa, Florida 33605, commencing at 8:00 a.m. E.T.

About Kforce

Kforce Inc. is a professional staffing services and solutions firm that specializes in the areas of Technology and Finance and Accounting. Each year, through our network of approximately 50 offices and two national delivery centers, we provide opportunities for over 30,000 highly skilled professionals who work with over 4,000 clients, including 70% of the Fortune 100. At Kforce, our promise is to deliver great results through strategic partnership and knowledge sharing. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.kforce.com.

Michael R. Blackman, Chief Corporate Development Officer
(813) 552-2927

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

All statements in this press release, other than those of a historical nature, are forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, our quarterly guidance, statements regarding the secular drivers of technology, the pace of digital transformation, the Firm’s opportunity to continue investing in its future growth, returning capital to its shareholders, and maintaining sufficient flexibility to pursue acquisitions and make other strategic investments. Such forward-looking statements are within the meaning of that term in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include the following: business conditions, growth rate in temporary staffing and the general economy; competitive factors; risks due to shifts in the market demand; a reduction in the supply of consultants and candidates or the Firm’s ability to attract such individuals; the success of the Firm in attracting and retaining revenue-generating talent; changes in the service mix; ability of the Firm to repurchase shares; the occurrence of unanticipated expenses; the effect of adverse weather conditions; changes in our effective tax rate; changes in government regulations, laws and policies that are adverse to our businesses; risk of contract performance, delays or termination or the failure to obtain new assignments or contracts, or funding under contracts; changes in client demand and our ability to adapt to such changes; continued performance of and improvements to our enterprise information systems, and the risk factors listed from time to time in the Firm’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Firm’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2018, as well as assumptions regarding the foregoing. In particular, the Firm makes no assurances that: the estimates of continuing operations will be achieved or that we will continue to increase our market share; the pace of digital transformation will force an increase in technology spending; secular drivers of technology demand will transcend traditional cycles; we will successfully manage risks to our revenue stream; we will successfully put into place the people and processes that will create future success; or we will further accelerate our revenue. The terms “should,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “foresee,” “plan” and similar expressions and variations thereof contained in this press release identify certain of such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. As a result, such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties. Future events and actual results may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements and the Firm undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.


Kforce Inc.
Summary of Operations
(In Thousands, Except Per Share Amounts)
(Unaudited)

  Three Months Ended
  Dec. 31, 2019 Sept. 30, 2019 Dec. 31, 2018
Revenue $336,230    $345,558    $330,377  
Direct costs 238,205    242,747    232,664  
Gross profit 98,025    102,811    97,713  
Selling, general and administrative expenses 77,114    79,223    77,154  
Depreciation and amortization 1,431    1,427    1,693  
Income from operations 19,480    22,161    18,866  
Other expense, net 1,219    880    867  
Income from continuing operations, before income taxes 18,261    21,281    17,999  
Income tax expense 3,652    5,374    4,409  
Income from continuing operations 14,609    15,907    13,590  
(Loss) income from discontinued operations, net of tax (401)  (967)  2,766  
Net income $14,208    $14,940    $16,356  
Earnings per share - diluted:      
Continuing operations $0.66    $0.68    $0.54  
Discontinued operations (0.02)  (0.04)  0.11  
Earnings per share - diluted $0.64    $0.64    $0.65  
       
Weighted average shares outstanding - diluted 22,266    23,342    25,257  
Adjusted EBITDA $23,356    $25,990    $22,743  
       
Billing days 62    64    62  

Kforce Inc.
Summary of Operations
(In Thousands, Except Per Share Amounts)
(Unaudited)

  Year Ended
  Dec. 31, 2019 Dec. 31, 2018
Revenue $1,347,387   $1,303,937  
Direct costs 952,349   917,450  
Gross profit 395,038   386,487  
Selling, general and administrative expenses 314,167   307,250  
Depreciation and amortization 6,050   6,836  
Income from operations 74,821   72,401  
Other expense, net 3,425   4,521  
Income from continuing operations, before income taxes 71,396   67,880  
Income tax expense 16,830   17,004  
Income from continuing operations 54,566   50,876  
Income from discontinued operations, net of tax 76,296   7,104  
Net income $130,862   $57,980  
Earnings per share - diluted:    
Continuing operations $2.29   $2.02  
Discontinued operations 3.21   0.28  
Earnings per share - diluted $5.50   $2.30  
     
Weighted average shares outstanding - diluted 23,772   25,251  
Adjusted EBITDA $90,688   $87,673  
     
Billing days 253 253

Kforce Inc.
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(In Thousands)
(Unaudited)

  December 31,
  2019 2018
ASSETS    
Current assets:    
Cash and cash equivalents $19,831    $112   
Trade receivables, net of allowances 217,929    210,559   
Income tax refund receivable 33    319   
Prepaid expenses and other current assets 7,442    7,699   
Current assets held for sale —    29,773   
  Total current assets 245,235    248,462   
Fixed assets, net 29,975    34,322   
Other assets, net 72,838    36,664   
Deferred tax asset, net 8,037    7,147   
Goodwill 25,040    25,040   
Noncurrent assets held for sale —    28,273   
  Total assets $381,125    $379,908   
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY    
Current liabilities:    
Accounts payable and other accrued liabilities $33,232    $32,542   
Accrued payroll costs 44,001    39,384   
Current portion of operating lease liabilities 5,685    —   
Other current liabilities 1,168    1,616   
Income taxes payable 878    4,553   
Current liabilities held for sale —    12,263   
  Total current liabilities 84,964    90,358   
Long-term debt - credit facility 65,000    71,800   
Other long-term liabilities 63,898    44,868   
Noncurrent liabilities held for sale —    4,551   
  Total liabilities 213,862    211,577   
Commitments and contingencies    
Stockholders’ equity:    
Preferred stock —    —   
Common stock 722    719   
Additional paid-in capital 459,545    447,337   
Accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income (1,526)  1,296   
Retained earnings 350,545    237,308   
Treasury stock, at cost (642,023)  (518,329) 
  Total stockholders’ equity 167,263    168,331   
  Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $381,125    $379,908   

Kforce Inc.
Key Statistics
(Unaudited)

  Q4 2019 Q3 2019 Q4 2018
Total Firm      
Total Revenue (000's) $336,230   $345,558   $330,377  
GP % 29.2 % 29.8 % 29.6 %
Flex revenue (000’s) $325,700   $333,652   $319,102  
Hours (000’s) 5,145   5,277   5,380  
Flex GP % 26.9 % 27.2 % 27.1 %
Direct Hire revenue (000’s) $10,530   $11,906   $11,275  
Placements 644   743   695  
Average fee $16,353   $16,024   $16,227  
Billing days 62   64   62  
Technology      
Total Revenue (000's) $264,912   $271,999   $252,750  
GP % 27.8 % 28.1 % 28.0 %
Flex revenue (000’s) $260,153   $267,304   $248,151  
Hours (000’s) 3,391   3,478   3,354  
Flex GP % 26.4 % 26.8 % 26.6 %
Direct Hire revenue (000’s) $4,759   $4,695   $4,599  
Placements 250   243   245  
Average fee $19,064   $19,328   $18,744  
Finance and Accounting      
Total Revenue (000's) $71,318   $73,559   $77,627  
GP % 34.3 % 35.9 % 34.8 %
Flex revenue (000’s) $65,547   $66,348   $70,951  
Hours (000’s) 1,754   1,799   2,026  
Flex GP % 28.5 % 28.9 % 28.7 %
Direct Hire revenue (000’s) $5,771   $7,211   $6,676  
Placements 394   500   450  
Average fee $14,637   $14,420   $14,854  

Kforce Inc.
Revenue Growth Rates
(Unaudited)

  Year-Over-Year Revenue Growth Rates
  (Per Billing Day)
  Q4 2019 Q3 2019 Q2 2019 Q1 2019 Q4 2018
Billing days 62    64    64    63    62   
Tech Flex 4.8  % 6.5  % 6.2  % 9.8  % 9.0  %
FA Flex (7.6)% (5.3)% (9.4)% (11.7)% (11.7)%
Total Flex 2.1  % 3.9  % 2.6  % 4.6  % 3.6  %

Kforce Inc.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
(In Thousands, Except Per Share Amounts)
(Unaudited)

In addition to our financial results presented in accordance GAAP, Kforce may use certain non-GAAP financial measures, which we believe provide useful information to investors in evaluating our core operating performance. The following non-GAAP financial measures presented may not provide information that is directly comparable to that provided by other companies, as other companies may calculate such financial results differently. The Company’s non-GAAP financial measures are not measurements of financial performance under GAAP and should not be considered as alternatives to amounts presented in accordance with GAAP. The Company views these non-GAAP financial measures as supplemental and they are not intended to be a substitute for, or superior to, the information provided by GAAP financial results. A reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures is provided below.

Free Cash Flow

“Free Cash Flow”, a non-GAAP financial measure, is defined by Kforce as net cash provided by operating activities determined in accordance with GAAP, less capital expenditures. Management believes this provides an additional way of viewing our liquidity that, when viewed with our GAAP results, provides a more complete understanding of factors and trends affecting our cash flows and is useful information to investors as it provides a measure of the amount of cash generated from the business that can be used for strategic opportunities including investing in our business, making acquisitions, repurchasing common stock or paying dividends. Free Cash Flow is limited, however, because it does not represent the residual cash flow available for discretionary expenditures. Therefore, we believe it is important to view Free Cash Flow as a complement to (but not a replacement of) our Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. For the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, Free Cash Flows includes results from discontinued operations.

(In Thousands) Year Ended
  Dec. 31, 2019 Dec. 31, 2018
Net income $130,862    $57,980   
Non-cash provisions and other (51,650)  22,643   
Changes in operating assets/liabilities (12,595)  7,100   
Net cash provided by operating activities 66,617    87,723   
Capital expenditures (10,359)  (5,170) 
Free cash flow 56,258    82,553   
Equity method investment (9,000)  —   
Change in debt (6,800)  (44,723) 
Repurchases of common stock (124,453)  (22,187) 
Cash dividends (16,608)  (14,871) 
Net proceeds from the sale of assets held for sale 122,544    1,000   
Other (2,222)  (2,039) 
Change in cash and cash equivalents $19,719    $(267) 

Adjusted EBITDA

“Adjusted EBITDA”, a non-GAAP financial measure, is defined by Kforce as net income before (loss) income from discontinued operations, net of tax, depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation expense, interest expense, net, income tax expense and loss from equity method investment.  Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered a measure of financial performance under GAAP. Items excluded from Adjusted EBITDA are significant components in understanding and assessing our past and future financial performance, and this presentation should not be construed as an inference by us that our future results will be unaffected by those items excluded from Adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA is a key measure used by management to assess our operations including our ability to generate cash flows and our ability to repay our debt obligations and management believes it provides a good metric of our core profitability in comparing our performance to our competitors, as well as our performance over different time periods. Consequently, management believes it is useful information to investors. The measure should not be considered in isolation or as an alternative to net income, cash flows or other financial statement information presented in the consolidated financial statements as indicators of financial performance or liquidity. The measure is not determined in accordance with GAAP and is thus susceptible to varying calculations. Also, Adjusted EBITDA, as presented, may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.

In addition, although we excluded amortization of stock-based compensation expense because it is a non-cash expense, we expect to continue to incur stock-based compensation in the future and the associated stock issued may result in an increase in our outstanding shares of stock, which may result in the dilution of our stockholder ownership interest. We suggest that you evaluate these items and the potential risks of excluding such items when analyzing our financial position.

  Three Months Ended
(In Thousands) Dec. 31, 2019 Sept. 30, 2019 Dec. 31, 2018
Net income $14,208    $14,940    $16,356  
(Loss) income from discontinued operations, net of tax (401)  (967)  2,766  
Income from continuing operations 14,609    15,907    13,590  
Depreciation and amortization 1,431    1,427    1,693  
Stock-based compensation expense 2,443    2,419    2,162  
Interest expense, net 749    504    889  
Income tax expense 3,652    5,374    4,409  
Loss from equity method investment 472    359    —  
Adjusted EBITDA $23,356    $25,990    $22,743  


 Years Ended December 31,
(In Thousands)2019 2018
Net income$130,862   $57,980  
Income from discontinued operations, net of tax76,296   7,104  
Income from continuing operations54,566   50,876  
Depreciation and amortization6,050   6,836  
Stock-based compensation expense9,825   8,489  
Interest expense, net2,586   4,468  
Income tax expense16,830   17,004  
Loss from equity method investment831   —  
Adjusted EBITDA$90,688   $87,673  

Adjusted EBITDA, for the year ended December 31, 2019, was negatively impacted by $2.0 million of severance and other costs due to actions taken as a result of the GS divestiture.

Adjusted Financial Performance Measures

The "Adjusted Financial Performance Measures" present non-GAAP financial information and should not be considered a measure of financial performance under generally accepted accounting principles. These measures are presented as an alternative method for assessing the Company’s operating results in a manner that is focused on the performance of our underlying operations. Each of these measures are intended to provide greater consistency, comparability and clarity of our results. Management uses this non-GAAP financial information to assess the Company's core operating results and consequently, management believes it is similarly useful information to investors. During the year ended December 31, 2018, the Firm did not have any adjusted financial performance measures.

  Year Ended December 31, 2019
(In Thousands, Except Per Share Amounts) Reported
 (GAAP)
 Adjustments (1) Adjusted
(Non-GAAP)
Reconciliation of SG&A and Operating Margin:      
Selling, general & administrative expenses $314,167   $(2,035)  $312,132  
SG&A as a percentage of revenue 23.3 % (0.1)% 23.2 %
Income from operations $74,821   $2,035    $76,856  
Operating margin 5.6 % 0.1  % 5.7 %
Reconciliation of Tax Impact and Profitability:      
Income from continuing operations, before income taxes $71,396   $2,035    $73,431  
Income tax expense $16,830   $531    $17,361  
Income from continuing operations $54,566   $1,504    $56,070  
Earnings per share - diluted, continuing operations $2.29   $0.06    $2.35  

(1) Includes $2.0 million of pre-tax ($1.5 million after-tax) severance and other costs due to actions taken as a result of the GS divestiture. The tax rate utilized for the adjustments was using our Q1 2019 effective tax rate from continuing operations of 26.1%.