Acxiom profit off 71.3% but still tops predictions

Little Rock-based Acxiom Corp. said Wednesday that its fiscal fourth-quarter profit fell sharply compared with a year ago, though the data-mining company’s earnings per share exceeded analysts’ expectations.
Little Rock-based Acxiom Corp. said Wednesday that its fiscal fourth-quarter profit fell sharply compared with a year ago, though the data-mining company’s earnings per share exceeded analysts’ expectations.

Acxiom Corp.’s net income for its fiscal-2013 fourth quarter fell 71.3 percent compared with the same quarter a year ago, the company said Wednesday.

The Little Rock-based company reported a profit of $13.2 million for the period that ended March 31, compared with $46 million in the same quarter in 2012.

Acxiom’s revenue for the quarter also fell 3.5 percent from $287 million in the previous year to $277 million for the quarter.

Acxiom’s earnings per share attributable to shareholders also fell from 58 cents in 2012 to 18 cents this quarter - beating analysts’ estimates of 16 cents per share for the quarter.

Despite Acxiom’s drop in profit, Wednesday’s report marks the third consecutive quarter where the company has topped analysts’ expectations. In the second quarter of the fiscal year, the company surpassed analysts predictions of 15 cents by posting 21 cents per share. And in the third quarter, Acxiom beat analysts estimates of 16 cents by earning 19 cents per share.

During Acxiom’s third quarter, the company’s net earnings rose 83.5 percent, from $7.9 million in the previous year to $14.5 million for the period that ended Dec. 31, 2012.

“As a whole, their earnings - take out the one time issues - were actually above expectations,” said Carter Malloy, an analyst with Stephen’s Inc. in Little Rock. “The focal point here is not about the now numbers, it’s about the fundamental development of the company.”

Acxiom is a data-mining company that uses information to help its customers, such as retailers, target customers in advertising and marketing campaigns.

For the year, Acxiom’s revenue dropped 3 percent from $1.13 billion in 2012 to $1.1 billion.

The company’s profit for fiscal year 2013 was $57.6 million, down from $77.3 million in 2012. Earnings per share attributable to Acxiom for the fiscal year were 75 cents, compared with 96 cents in 2012.

“Fiscal 2013 was a year of transition for the company,” said Scott Howe, the company’s chief executive officer, in a prepared statement. “This past year we re-ignited product innovation, invested in our clients and our associates and continued to support our shareholders through our stock repurchase program. Looking ahead to 2014 we expect to continue to invest in our new product suite, add new customers and anticipate product launches in the later part of the fiscal year.”

During the fourth quarter, Acxiom bought back about 500,000 shares for $9 million. The company has repurchased 10.4 million shares, about 13 percent of outstanding common stock, at a cost of $140 million since August 2011 under its repurchase program.

During the year, the company also announced its partnership with Facebook, which will allow Acxiom’s clients to market to customers on the social networking site.

Acxiom released its financial results after the market closed Wednesday. It also held it’s conference call to discuss the financial results after markets closed.

Shares of the company rose 18 cents Wednesday to close at $21.33.

Business, Pages 27 on 05/16/2013

Upcoming Events