H&R Block Reports Fiscal 2014 Second Quarter Earnings; Focuses on Tax Season 2014 Readiness
H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE: HRB) today announced financial results for its fiscal 2014 second quarter ended October 31, 2013. The company typically reports a second quarter operating loss due to the seasonality of the tax business.
Fiscal 2014 Second Quarter Highlights1
CEO Perspective
“I’m pleased with the initiatives we have in place for the upcoming tax season and am confident that we are well positioned to again deliver strong results this year,” said Bill Cobb, H&R Block’s president and chief executive officer. “We’ve also made progress in the process of divesting our bank, and remain committed to continue offering best-in-class financial products,” added Cobb.
Fiscal 2014 Second Quarter Results From Continuing Operations3
CFO Perspective
“Given the seasonality of our business, our offseason results are not indicative of our performance for the full year,” said Greg Macfarlane, H&R Block’s chief financial officer. “While expenses have increased modestly year to date, we continue to expect EBITDA margins to be generally consistent with last year’s results.”
Business Segment Results and Highlights
Tax Services
- Revenues decreased $2 million to $128 million, primarily due to timing differences in our Australian operations, partially offset by increased Emerald Card fee revenue from increased year-round usage
- Operating expenses increased $27 million to $287 million due to timing of seasonal compensation, higher legal fees, and depreciation expense
- Pretax loss increased $29 million to $159 million
Corporate
- Total operating expenses declined $13 million to $26 million, primarily due to lower interest expense and mortgage loan loss provisions
- Pretax loss decreased $12 million to $20 million
Discontinued Operations
- Net loss of $2 million improved by $2 million from the prior year
- Sand Canyon Corporation (SCC), a separate legal entity of H&R Block, Inc., received new claims for alleged breaches of representations and warranties in the principal amount of less than $1 million
- SCC’s accrual for contingent losses relating to representations and warranties remained unchanged at $159 million
Dividend
A previously announced quarterly cash dividend of 20 cents per share is payable on January 2, 2014 to shareholders of record as of December 9, 2013. The January 2 payment marks the company’s 205th consecutive quarterly dividend since the company went public in 1962.
Investor Conference
At 8:30 a.m. EST on Wednesday, December 11, the company will hold its investor conference in New York City. H&R Block’s senior leaders will outline the company’s growth strategies and outlook, and provide a general business update including discussion of fiscal 2014 second quarter results.
The event will be broadcast live in a listen-only format for the media and public on H&R Block’s investor relations website at http://investors.hrblock.com. A replay will be available on the company’s website two hours after the conference ends and continuing until February 28, 2014.
About H&R Block
H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE: HRB) is the world’s largest consumer tax services provider. More than 625 million tax returns have been prepared worldwide by and through H&R Block since 1955. In fiscal 2013, H&R Block had annual revenues of $2.9 billion with 25.4 million tax returns prepared worldwide. Tax return preparation services are provided in company-owned and franchise retail tax offices by over 80,000 professional tax preparers and associates worldwide, and through H&R Block digital products. H&R Block Bank provides affordable banking products and services. For more information, visit the H&R Block Newsroom.
About Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This press release and the accompanying tables include non-GAAP financial measures. For a description of these non-GAAP financial measures, including the reasons management uses each measure, and reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable financial measures prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, please see the section of the accompanying tables titled “About Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the securities laws. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They often include words or variation of words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “projects,” “forecasts,” “targets,” “would,” “will,” “should,” “could” or “may” or other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements provide management’s current expectations or predictions of future conditions, events or results. All statements that address operating performance, events or developments that we expect or anticipate will occur in the future are forward-looking statements. They may include estimates of revenues, income, earnings per share, capital expenditures, dividends, liquidity, capital structure or other financial items, descriptions of management’s plans or objectives for future operations, products or services, or descriptions of assumptions underlying any of the above. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made and reflect the company’s good faith beliefs, assumptions and expectations, but they are not guarantees of future performance or events. Furthermore, the company disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect changes in underlying assumptions, factors, or expectations, new information, data or methods, future events or other changes, except as required by law. By their nature, forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such differences include, but are not limited to, a variety of economic, competitive and regulatory factors, many of which are beyond the company’s control and which are described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2013 in the section entitled “Risk Factors,” as well as additional factors we may describe from time to time in other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, there can be no assurances regarding the ability to obtain all required regulatory and other approvals, the ability of the parties to negotiate and execute the additional required agreements as expected, or the terms and conditions of the additional agreements. You should understand that it is not possible to predict or identify all such factors and, consequently, you should not consider any such list to be a complete set of all potential risks or uncertainties.
| 1 | All per share amounts are based on fully diluted shares. |
| 2 | Unless otherwise noted, all comparisons, including those made to the “prior year,” refer to the current period compared to the prior year period. |
| 3 | EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) is a non-GAAP financial measure, which the company finds relevant when measuring its performance. The company also reports adjusted financial performance, which it believes is a better indication of the company’s recurring operations. See “About Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below for more information regarding financial measures not prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). |
PDF with complete tables:
H&R Block Reports Fiscal 2014 Second Quarter Earnings; Focuses on Tax Season 2014 Readiness
For Further Information:
Investor Relations
Colby Brown
(816) 854-4559
colby.brown@hrblock.com
Media Relations
Gene King
(816) 854-4672
gene.king@hrblock.com