Lender Processing Services Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2011 Earnings  

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – February 13, 2012 – Lender Processing Services, Inc. (NYSE: LPS), a leading provider of integrated technology and services to the mortgage and real estate industries, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2011. 

 

“Today, LPS is a different and improved company.  In 2011, we took the right steps to strengthen our core business and improve accountability in our operations by enhancing our management team,” said Hugh Harris, president and chief executive officer of LPS.  “LPS has a significant opportunity to leverage our technologies and services and capitalize on our leading market positions, strong client relationships and expertise. Our priorities in 2012 are to continue to deliver outstanding service and technology solutions to our customers, demonstrate our commitment to operational excellence and leverage our strong cash flow to build shareholder value.”

 

 

 

 

“Although 2011 was a very challenging year, we generated solid earnings – adjusted EBITDA margin of 25 percent – and strong free cash flow,” commented Tom Schilling, chief financial officer. “Our Technology, Data and Analytics segment grew revenue and EBITDA for the third consecutive year. We continued to gain market share in our Loan Transaction Services segment, although revenue declined due to lower industry volumes in both mortgage refinance originations and notices of default.”

 

Fourth quarter results are adjusted for a pretax charge of $131.7 million, or $0.94 per diluted share, including $0.63 per share related to estimated legal and regulatory contingencies, $0.18 per share related to exiting non-core businesses, and $0.21 per share related to other non-recurring charges, partially offset by an $0.08 per share income tax benefit. The non-core businesses that were discontinued in the fourth quarter generated revenue of $51 million and an adjusted operating loss of $18 million in fiscal year 2011.

Fourth quarter 2011 revenue was $533.8 million, a decrease of 13.6% compared to the prior year quarter, due to lower origination and default volume in the Loan Transaction Services segment which was partially offset by higher revenue in the Technology, Data and Analytics segment. Sequentially, fourth quarter revenue increased 2.8% as a result of higher origination volumes in the Loan Transaction Services segment and higher revenue in the Technology, Data and Analytics segment. Adjusting for the charges noted earlier, fourth quarter 2011 operating income was $111.1 million, down from $148.8 million in the comparable period in 2010, due to lower revenue in the Loan Transaction Services segment and higher legal and compliance expenses. Adjusted net earnings were $60.4 million, or $0.72 per diluted share.

 

Full year 2011 revenue was $2.1 billion, down 12.1% from the prior year, due to lower origination and default volume in the Loan Transaction Services segment. Loan Facilitation Services revenue was $539.3 million, a 14.6% decrease from 2010 which compares favorably to the industry decline in total market refinancing volume of 22% as reported by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).   Default Services revenue was $816.2 million, a 23.0% decline from the prior year, which compares favorably to the RealtyTrac report of a 30.8% industry-wide decline in default notices as compared to the prior year.  Adjusting for the charges recorded during 2011, full year operating income was $425.6 million down from $594.2 million in the comparable period in 2010. Adjusted net earnings were $228.9 million, or $2.68 per diluted share. 

 

Net cash provided by operating activities for full year 2011 increased to $477.9 million from $448.7 million in 2010. Adjusted free cash flow (net cash provided by operating activities minus certain non-recurring expenses and additions to property, equipment and computer software) was $381.2 million compared to $342.0 million in 2010. Fourth quarter adjusted free cash flow of $121.5 million exceeded guidance as a result of higher net earnings and changes in working capital primarily resulting from continued reductions in accounts receivable.  Additionally, in the fourth quarter the company reduced debt by $112.3 million to $1.1 billion.

 

Fourth quarter 2011 revenue was $192.1 million, up 4.7% from the same period in 2010. Mortgage Processing revenue increased 5.8% to $106.1 million primarily due to increased professional services revenue, while Other Technology, Data and Analytics revenue increased 3.5% to $86.0 million as a result of several Desktop implementations completed in 2011. Adjusted operating income increased to $65.5 million from $63.6 million in the fourth quarter 2010 primarily due to higher contributions from Mortgage Processing.

 

Fourth quarter 2011 revenue was $343.0 million, down 21.4% from the same period in 2010 as a result of lower transaction volumes.  Loan Facilitation Services revenue was $156.4 million, down 15.6% from the fourth quarter 2010, as a result of a decline in refinancing volume year over year. Sequentially, Loan Facilitation Services revenue increased 13.3% as a result of higher refinancing volume.  Default Services revenue was $186.6 million, down 25.7% from the prior year quarter and 6.0% sequentially, due to a continued slowdown in the initiation of mortgage foreclosure proceedings industry-wide. Fourth quarter adjusted operating income for the segment was $75.6 million down from $108.7 million in the prior year period, due to lower operating leverage resulting from reduced volumes.

 

Net corporate expenses in the fourth quarter of 2011, excluding the impact of the corporate portion of charges recorded in the fourth quarter totaling $100.4 million, increased to $30.0 million from $23.5 million in the prior year quarter primarily due to higher legal and compliance related expenses.   

 

Based on the current environment, the company expects first quarter 2012 revenue to be in the range of $470 million to $490 million and adjusted earnings per diluted share to be in the range of $0.50 to $0.55.

 

U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) is the term used to refer to the standard framework of guidelines for financial accounting.  GAAP includes the standards, conventions, and rules accountants follow in recording and summarizing transactions, and in the preparation of financial statements.  In addition to reporting financial results in accordance with GAAP, LPS reports several non-GAAP measures, including “EBITDA” (GAAP operating income plus depreciation and amortization); “EBITDA, as adjusted” (EBITDA adjusted for the impact of certain non-recurring adjustments, if applicable); “EBIT, as adjusted” or “adjusted operating income” (GAAP operating income adjusted for the impact of certain non-recurring adjustments, if applicable); “adjusted net earnings” (GAAP net earnings adjusted for the impact of certain non-recurring adjustments, if applicable, plus the after-tax purchase price amortization of intangible assets added through acquisitions); “adjusted net earnings per diluted share” or “adjusted EPS per diluted share” (adjusted net earnings divided by diluted weighted average shares); and “adjusted free cash flow” (net cash provided by operating activities less additions to property, equipment and computer software, as well as non-recurring adjustments, if applicable). LPS provides these measures because it believes that they are helpful to investors in comparing year-over-year performance in light of certain non-recurring charges, and to better understand our financial performance, competitive position and future prospects.  Non-GAAP measures should be considered in conjunction with the GAAP financial presentation and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for GAAP measures. A reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to related GAAP measures is included in the attachments to this release.

 

LPS will host a conference call to discuss these results today, Monday, February 13, 2012, at 5:00 p.m. ET.  Interested parties are invited to listen to the live webcast by logging on to the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at www.lpsvcs.com. Supplemental materials will be available on the website. Those wishing to participate via the conference call may do so by calling 866-823-5035. A replay of the webcast will be available on the website shortly after the call where it will be archived for one month. A replay of the conference call will be available through February 20, 2012, by dialing 888-203-1112 (access code: 6443271).

   

To access a printer-friendly version of this release and accompanying exhibits, go to LPS Investor Relations.

 

Lender Processing Services, Inc. (LPS) is a leading provider of integrated technology, services and loan performance data and analytics to the mortgage, consumer lending, capital markets and real estate industries. LPS offers solutions that span the mortgage continuum, including lead generation, origination, servicing, workflow automation, portfolio retention and default, augmented by the company’s award-winning customer support and professional services. Almost half of all U.S. mortgages are serviced using LPS’ Mortgage Servicing Package (MSP). For more information about LPS, visit www.lpsvcs.com.

 

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Those forward-looking statements include all statements that are not historical facts, including statements about our beliefs and expectations. Forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to management. Because such statements are based on expectations as to future economic performance and are not statements of historical fact, actual results may differ materially from those projected. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.  The risks and uncertainties to which forward-looking statements are subject include, but are not limited to: our ability to adapt our services to changes in technology or the marketplace; the impact of adverse changes in the level of real estate activity (including among others, loan originations and foreclosures) on demand for certain of our services; our ability to maintain and grow our relationships with our customers; the effects of our substantial leverage on our ability to make acquisitions and invest in our business; the level of scrutiny being placed on participants in the foreclosure process; risks associated with federal and state enforcement actions, inquiries and examinations currently underway or that may be commenced in the future with respect to our default management operations, and with civil litigation related to these matters; changes to the laws, rules and regulations that regulate our businesses as a result of the current economic and financial environment; changes in general economic, business and political conditions, including changes in the financial markets; the impact of any potential defects, development delays, installation difficulties or system failures on our business and reputation; risks associated with protecting information security and privacy; and other risks and uncertainties detailed in the “Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information,” “Risk Factors” and other sections of the Company’s Form 10-K, the Company’s subsequent reports on Form 10-Q and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Investor Contact: Nancy Murphy, 904.854.8640, nancy.murphy@lpsvcs.com
Media Contact: Michelle Kersch, 904.854.5043, michelle.kersch@lpsvcs.com