Arkansas-based Acxiom reports 4Q net of $5.2M

Firm posted loss of $8M year ago

Graphs showing Acxiom Corp.  fourth quarter information.
Graphs showing Acxiom Corp. fourth quarter information.

Acxiom Corp. earned $5.2 million in its fourth quarter that ended March 31, compared with a loss of $8.1 million in the same period last year, the Conway-based data provider said Wednesday.

The company earned 6 cents a share for the quarter, up from a 10-cent loss per share in the fourth quarter last year.

Acxiom shares rose 18 cents to close Wednesday at $27.56 in trading on the Nasdaq exchange. Acxiom released the quarterly report after the market closed.

Acxiom had revenue of $244.8 million in the quarter, up from $224.9 million in the fourth quarter last year. Revenue was up in all of Acxiom's divisions, CEO Scott Howe said.

For the year, Acxiom made $23.5 million in net income. That equated to earnings per share of 29 cents, compared with 5 cents in earnings per share for the 2017 fiscal year.

Acxiom had revenue of $917.4 million for the year, compared with $880.2 million in revenue for the previous fiscal year.

"Our fourth-quarter performance reflects solid global execution," Howe said.

The company said that beginning April 1, the first day of Acxiom's 2019 fiscal year, it began to report its results in its two main segments -- LiveRamp and Acxiom Marketing Solutions.

"We are well down the road in looking at potential strategic alternatives for Acxiom Marketing Solutions and are confident in a successful outcome that will benefit our clients, partners, associates and shareholders," Howe said.

LiveRamp added about 30 new clients during the fourth quarter, for a total of about 570 customers.

LiveRamp now has clients that include five of the top seven banks in the country, five of the top six automotive companies and three top airlines, Howe said.

LiveRamp recently acquired Pacific Data Partners, a firm that promises to help Acxiom increase its ability to improve business-to-business marketing. The co-founders of Pacific Data Partners, Pieter De Temmerman and Grant Ries, are former veterans at Oracle and BlueKai.

They will lead LiveRamp's efforts to expand to the world's largest business-to-business marketers, Howe said.

Acxiom continued its stock repurchasing efforts in the fourth quarter, acquiring 1.7 million shares of the company. Since the inception of the buyback program in 2011, Acxiom has acquired 21.9 million shares for about $420 million.

Acxiom was granted six patents in fiscal 2018, the most it has received in a single year in the company's history.

Business on 05/17/2018

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