Pitney Bowes (PBI)

Pitney Bowes Announces Third Quarter 2009 Results

STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--November 3, 2009--Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI) today reported third quarter 2009 financial results.

Revenue for the quarter was $1.36 billion compared with $1.55 billion in the prior year, a decline of 12 percent. A stronger dollar reduced revenue by 2 percent year-over-year. Adjusted earnings per diluted share from continuing operations was $0.55, compared with $0.67 in the prior year. Earnings reflect the negative impacts of $0.01 per diluted share associated with currency and $0.01 per diluted share from incremental pension costs when compared with the prior year.

On a Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) basis, earnings per diluted share was $0.50 compared with $0.47 for the prior year. GAAP earnings per diluted share for this quarter includes a $0.01 loss associated with discontinued operations and a $0.04 charge for restructuring costs associated with our strategic transformation initiatives.

Free cash flow was $223 million for the quarter while on a GAAP basis the company generated $249 million in cash from operations. Free cash flow benefited from lower capital expenditures and lower levels of finance receivables. During the quarter the company paid $75 million of dividends to common shareholders.

Year-to-date, the company has generated $666 million in free cash flow and on a GAAP basis $732 million in cash from operations, which was partially used to reduce debt by $298 million.

The company’s results for the quarter and year-to-date are summarized below:

“We have been aggressively implementing a series of actions to help mitigate the impact of a challenging business environment characterized by ongoing economic pressures, depressed mail volumes, and evolving customer behaviors,” noted Pitney Bowes Chairman, President and CEO Murray D. Martin. “To enhance long-term growth and value creation in this changing environment, we introduced new solutions to the marketplace, we entered new partnerships to deliver more value to our customers worldwide, and we initiated a comprehensive program to transform our business processes and operations.

“We also continued to take significant actions to reduce costs and enhance productivity. The benefits from our earlier actions are again visible in our sequential results as EBIT and EBIT margins improved in 6 of our 7 business segments compared with the second quarter 2009.

“We generated significant free cash flow and saw a sequential improvement in our supplies and rental revenue streams, even as equipment sales continued to be tempered by the economic environment.

“We believe that our strategic transformation process will help us navigate the current environment and enhance our positioning for long-term growth when the economy rebounds. We are analyzing a wide range of opportunities for process and operational improvements in areas such as our global customer interactions and product development processes.

“Currently, we are targeting annualized benefits, net of investments, from our strategic transformation initiatives in the range of at least $150 to $200 million on a pre-tax basis. We expect the full benefit run rate to be achieved by 2012. The restructuring charge in the current quarter represents costs associated with initial actions identified as part of the diagnostic phase of this project. Starting in the fourth quarter, there will be additional ongoing costs associated with achieving these benefits, and both the benefits and costs will be recognized as different actions are approved and implemented.

“Based upon our results year-to-date and our expectations for the remainder of the year, we are narrowing the range for adjusted and GAAP earnings per diluted share. We now expect adjusted earnings per diluted share will be in the range of $2.19 to $2.31 and GAAP earnings per diluted share will be in the range of $2.09 to $2.21. We are also increasing our guidance range for cash flow and slightly reducing our revenue expectations.”

Pitney Bowes Announces Second Quarter 2009 Results

STAMFORD, Conn--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 30, 2009--Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI) today reported second quarter 2009 financial results.

Revenue for the quarter was $1.38 billion compared with $1.59 billion in the prior year, a decline of 13 percent. A stronger dollar reduced revenue by 5 percent year-over-year. Adjusted earnings per diluted share from continuing operations was $0.55, compared with $0.69 in the prior year, which included $0.03 per diluted share from a 2008 legal settlement. Adjusted earnings per diluted share this quarter was equal to the first quarter of 2009.

Adjusted earnings per diluted share include the negative impacts of $0.04 per diluted share associated with currency and $0.01 per share from incremental pension costs when compared with the prior year. Earnings were further reduced by the impacts of lower revenue as a result of the weak global economic conditions.

On a Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) basis, earnings per diluted share was $0.57 compared with $0.61 for the prior year. GAAP earnings per diluted share includes less than $0.01 in a non-cash tax charge associated with out-of-the money stock options that expired during the quarter and a $0.02 gain associated with discontinued operations.

Free cash flow was $204 million for the quarter while on a GAAP basis the company generated $207 million in cash from operations. Free cash flow benefited from strong accounts receivable management and lower levels of finance assets and capital investments. During the quarter the company paid $74 million of dividends. Year-to-date, the company has generated $444 million in free cash flow and on a GAAP basis $483 million in cash from operations, which was partially used to reduce debt by $179 million.

The company’s results for the quarter are further summarized below:

*The sum of the earnings per share does not equal the totals above due to rounding.

“Despite a challenging economic environment, we remain a healthy and profitable company that continues to generate significant cash flow and continues to invest for the future,” noted Pitney Bowes Chairman, President and CEO Murray D. Martin, “Economic headwinds and unfavorable currency translation drove declines in revenue and EBIT year-over-year. However, as a result of significant cost containment measures, compared with the first quarter we improved EBIT margins in 6 of our 7 business reporting segments despite flat revenue. We have reduced costs across the entire business and have made a shift towards a more variable cost structure. We are committed to identifying and implementing meaningful structural and process improvements across the organization, that will reduce costs and enable continued investment to enhance customer and shareholder value.

“Looking ahead to the second half of 2009, we have seen a further slowing of business activity in key international markets, sales cycles for capital equipment purchases remain long, and we have not yet seen improvements in key mail-intensive industries like financial services. As a result, we are reducing our earnings outlook for the year. However, based on strong cash flow year-to-date, we are reaffirming our annual free cash flow guidance.”