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| CERN > SEC Filings for CERN > Form 10-Q on 4-Nov-2009 | All Recent SEC Filings |
4-Nov-2009
Quarterly Report
Cerner's fundamental strategy centers on creating organic growth by investing in
research and development (R&D) to create solutions and services for the
healthcare industry. This strategy has driven strong growth over the long-term,
as reflected in five- and ten-year compound annual revenue growth rates of 15%
or more. This growth has also created a very strategic footprint in healthcare,
with Cernerฎ solutions licensed by over 8,000 facilities, including
approximately 2,100 hospitals; 3,300 physician practices with over 30,000
physicians; 500 ambulatory facilities, such as laboratories, ambulatory centers,
cardiac facilities, radiology clinics and surgery centers; 600 home health
facilities; and 1,500 retail pharmacies. Selling additional solutions back into
this client base is an important element of Cerner's future revenue growth. We
are also focused on driving growth through market share expansion by replacing
competitors in healthcare settings that are looking to replace their current
healthcare information technology (HIT) partners or those who have not yet
strategically aligned with a supplier. We also expect to drive growth through
new initiatives that reflect our ongoing ability to innovate such as our
CareAwareTM healthcare device architecture, HealtheSMemployer services,
physician practice solutions and solutions and services for the pharmaceutical
market. Finally, we are focused on selling our solutions and services outside of
the U.S. Many non-U.S. markets have a low penetration of HIT solutions and their
governing bodies are in many cases focused on HIT as part of their strategy to
improve the quality and lower the cost of healthcare.
Beyond our strategy for driving revenue growth, Cerner is also focused on
earnings growth. Similar to our history of growing revenue, our net earnings
have increased at more than 20% compound annual rates over five- and ten-year
periods. We believe we can continue driving strong levels of earnings growth by
leveraging key areas to create operating margin expansion. The primary areas of
opportunity for margin expansion include:
becoming more efficient at implementing our software by leveraging
implementation tools and methodologies we have developed;
leveraging our investments in R&D by addressing new markets (i.e. non-U.S.) that do not require significant incremental R&D but can contribute significantly to revenue growth; and
leveraging our scalable business infrastructure to reduce the rate of increase in general and administrative spending to below our revenue growth rate.
We are also focused on increasing cash flow by growing earnings, reducing the
use of working capital and controlling capital expenditures.
Results Overview
The Company delivered good levels of bookings, earnings and cash flows in the
third quarter of 2009. New business bookings revenue, which reflects the value
of executed contracts for software, hardware and services, was $424.3 million in
the third quarter of 2009. Third quarter 2009 bookings increased 10.6% over
third quarter 2008's bookings of $383.6 million. Revenues for the third quarter
of 2009 decreased 3.1% to $409.4 million compared to $422.7 million in the
year-ago quarter. The year-over-year decline in revenue in the third quarter is
largely attributable to the challenging economic conditions, which led to a
lower level of purchasing activity by the Company's existing and prospective
clients.
Third quarter 2009 net earnings were $48.4 million and diluted earnings per
share were $0.57. Third quarter 2008 net earnings were $45.0 million and diluted
earnings per share were $0.54. Third quarter 2009 and 2008 net earnings and
diluted earnings per share reflect the impact of shared-based compensation
expense. Share-based compensation expense reduced third quarter 2009 net
earnings and diluted earnings per share by $3.0 million and $0.04, respectively,
and third quarter 2008 earnings and diluted earnings per share by $2.4 million
and $0.03, respectively.
The growth in net earnings and diluted earnings per share was driven primarily
by continued progress with the Company's margin expansion initiatives, including
leveraging R&D investments and becoming more efficient at selling solutions and
providing support and services to our clients. Our third quarter 2009 operating
margin was 17.3%, which is 130 basis points higher than the year-ago quarter. We
remain on target with our long-term goal of achieving 20% operating margins.
The Company had solid cash collections of receivables of $410.6 million in the
third quarter of 2009 compared to $436.1 million in the third quarter of 2008.
Days sales outstanding (DSO) was 105 days, which is up five days
compared to 100 days in the second quarter of 2009. The increase in DSO reflects
slightly longer payment cycles by our client base related to the challenging
global economy. This has not had a material impact on liquidity or cash flow,
which remain strong. Operating cash flows for the third quarter of 2009 were
strong at $73.4 million compared to $47.6 million in the third quarter of 2008.
Healthcare Information Technology Market
The turbulence in the worldwide economy has impacted almost all industries.
While healthcare is not immune to economic cycles, we believe it is generally
more resilient than most segments of the economy. The impact of the current
economic conditions on our existing and prospective clients has been mixed. We
continue to see some organizations doing fairly well operationally, but many are
dealing with a reduction in their foundation investment portfolios caused by the
general market decline. In addition, organizations with a large dependency on
Medicaid populations are being impacted by the challenging financial condition
of many state governments.
We believe the result of these challenges is that healthcare organizations are
becoming more selective regarding where they invest capital, resulting in a
focus on strategic spending that generates a return on their investment. In the
current environment, many HIT solutions are often viewed as being more strategic
to healthcare organizations than other possible purchases because the solutions
can offer quick return on investment. HIT solutions also play an important role
in healthcare by improving safety, efficiency and reducing cost. And we believe
most healthcare providers also recognize that they must invest in HIT to meet
current and future regulatory, compliance and government reimbursement
requirements.
Overall, while the economy has certainly impacted and could continue to impact
our business, we believe there are several macro trends that are good for the
HIT industry. One example is the continued need to curb the growth of U.S.
healthcare spending, which is estimated at more than $2 trillion or 17 percent
of our Gross Domestic Product. In the U.S., politicians and policy makers agree
that the current rate of growth of the cost of our healthcare system is
unsustainable. Leaders of both political parties say the intelligent use of
information systems will improve health outcomes and, correspondingly, drive
down costs, citing a 2005 study by RAND Corp., which found that the widespread
adoption of HIT in the U.S. could cut annual healthcare costs by $162 billion.
Although policy experts have different opinions on the rates of HIT adoption and
how quickly benefits can be realized, there seems to be consensus that HIT has
the potential to contribute to significant cost savings.
Another positive for the U.S. healthcare and the HIT industry is the Obama
administration's continuing pursuit of broad healthcare reform aimed at
improving healthcare's systemic issues. The American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act, which became law on February 17, 2009, includes more than $35 billion of
incentives to help healthcare organizations modernize operations through the
acquisition and wide-spread use of HIT. We believe our large footprint in
hospitals and physician practices, together with our proven ability to deliver
value, positions us well to benefit from these incentives.
It is also important to note that most other countries are also grappling with
rising healthcare spending, safety concerns and inefficient care, a fact that
creates a favorable international market for HIT solutions and related services.
In summary, while the current economic environment has impacted our business, we
believe the fundamental value proposition of HIT remains intact, and the HIT
industry will likely benefit from the increased recognition by healthcare
providers and governments that HIT contributes to safer and more efficient
healthcare.
Results of Operations
Three Months Ended October 3, 2009 Compared to Three Months Ended September 27,
2008.
The Company's net earnings increased 7.5% to $48.4 million in the third quarter
of 2009 from $45.0 million for the same period in 2008. Third quarter 2009 and
2008 net earnings include the impact of share-based compensation expense, which
reduced net earnings in the third quarter of 2009 and 2008 by $3.0 million, net
of $1.7 million tax benefit, and $2.4 million, net of $1.4 million tax benefit,
respectively.
Revenues decreased 3.1% to $409.4 million for the third quarter 2009 from
$422.7 million for the same period in 2008. The revenue composition for the
third quarter of 2009 was $118.3 million in system sales, $122.1 million in
support and maintenance, $162.1 million in services and $6.9 million in
reimbursed travel.
System sales revenues decreased 14.0% to $118.3 million for the third
quarter of 2009 from $137.5 million for the same period in 2008. Included in
system sales are revenues from the sale of software, technology resale
(hardware and sublicensed software), deployment period licensed software
upgrade rights, installation fees, transaction processing and subscriptions.
The decrease in system sales was driven by a decline in technology resale
and software revenue, which has been pressured by the challenging economic
conditions.
Support, maintenance and services revenues increased 3.1% to $284.2 million during the third quarter of 2009 from $275.7 million during the same period in 2008. Included in support, maintenance and services revenues are support and maintenance of software and hardware, professional services excluding installation, and managed services. Below is a summary of support, maintenance and services revenues for the third quarters of 2009 and 2008.
Three Months Ended Three Months Ended
(In thousands) October 3, 2009 September 27, 2008
Support and maintenance revenues $ 122,067 $ 118,185
Services revenues 162,122 157,517
Total support, maintenance and services revenues $ 284,189 $ 275,702
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The $3.9 million, or 3.3%, increase in support and maintenance revenues is attributable to continued success at selling Cerner Millennium applications, implementing them at client sites, and initiating billing for support and maintenance fees. The $4.6 million, or 2.9%, increase in services revenue was attributable to an increase in managed services revenue, partially offset by a decline in professional services revenue. The decrease in professional services revenue is attributable to a lower level of billable headcount compared to the year-ago period and the challenging economic conditions.
Contract backlog, which reflects new business bookings that have not yet been recognized as revenue, increased 15.0% in the third quarter of 2009 compared to the same period in 2008. This increase was driven by new business bookings exceeding revenue taken from those bookings during the past four quarters, including continued strong levels of managed services bookings that typically have longer contract terms. A summary of the Company's total backlog follows:
As of As of
(In thousands) October 3, 2009 September 27, 2008
Contract backlog $ 3,246,797 $ 2,822,996
Support and maintenance backlog 604,389 570,670
Total backlog $ 3,851,186 $ 3,393,666
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The cost of revenues was 17.0% of total revenues in the third quarter of 2009 and 17.1% in the same period of 2008. The cost of revenues includes the cost of reimbursed travel expense, third party
consulting services and subscription content, computer hardware and
sublicensed software purchased from hardware and software manufacturers for
delivery to clients. It also includes the cost of hardware maintenance and
sublicensed software support subcontracted to the manufacturers. Such costs,
as a percent of revenues, typically have varied as the mix of revenue
(software, hardware, maintenance, support, services and reimbursed travel)
carrying different margin rates changes from period to period.
Total operating expenses decreased 4.8% to $269.2 million in the third quarter of 2009, compared with $282.7 million for the same period in 2008. Share-based compensation expense recognized impacted expenses as indicated below:
Three Months Ended Three Months Ended
(In thousands) October 3, 2009 September 27, 2008
Sales and client service expenses $ 2,315 $ 2,033
Software development expense 1,132 830
General and administrative expenses 1,258 1,017
Total stock-based compensation expense $ 4,705 $ 3,880
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Sales and client service expenses were $171.4 million, which as a percent of total revenues were 41.9% in the third quarter of 2009 as compared to $178.8 million and 42.3%, respectively, in the same period of 2008. Sales and client service expenses include salaries of sales and client service personnel, communications expenses, unreimbursed travel expenses, expense for share-based payment, sales and marketing salaries, depreciation on hardware used in the hosting business and trade show and advertising costs. The lower level of sales and client services expense is due primarily to a lower level of professional services expense in the third quarter of 2009 compared to 2008.
Total expense for software development decreased 2.0% to $66.8 million for the third quarter of 2009 compared to $68.1 million for the same period in 2008. The decrease was primarily the result of ongoing efforts by the Company to control spending. The aggregate expenditures for software development are for continued development and enhancement of the Cerner Millennium platform and software solutions. A summary of the Company's total software development expense is as follows:
Three Months Ended Three Months Ended
(In thousands) October 3, 2009 September 27, 2008
Software development costs $ 69,940 $ 71,966
Capitalized software costs (19,878 ) (16,844 )
Capitalized costs related to share-based payments (232 ) (227 )
Amortization of capitalized software costs 16,922 13,197
Total software development expense $ 66,752 $ 68,092
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General and administrative expenses were $31.1 million, which as a percent of total revenues were 7.6%, in the third quarter of 2009 as compared to $35.8 million and 8.5%, respectively, for the same period in 2008. General and administrative expenses include salaries for corporate, financial and administrative staffs, utilities, communications expenses, professional fees, transaction gains or losses on foreign currency and expense for share based payments. The Company realized a foreign currency gain of $0.03 million and a loss of $5.6 million during the three months ended October 3, 2009 and September 27, 2008, respectively.
Net interest income was $0.2 million in the third quarter of 2009 compared to
net interest income of $0.4 million in the third quarter of 2008.
The Company's effective tax rate was 32% for the third quarter of 2009 and 34%
for the third quarter of 2008. This decrease is primarily due to the decrease in
the unrecognized tax benefits, partially offset by an additional tax
expense recorded by the Company during the third quarter 2009 relating to
adjustments from prior period tax returns. The impact to any one of these tax
years was not material.
Operations by Segment
The Company has two operating segments, Domestic and Global. The following table
presents a summary of the operating information for the third quarters of 2009
and 2008:
Operating Segments
(In thousands) Domestic Global Other Total
Three months ended October 3, 2009
Revenues $ 338,508 $ 70,907 $ - $ 409,415
Cost of revenues 57,759 11,720 - 69,479
Operating expenses 90,093 32,658 146,475 269,226
Total costs and expenses 147,852 44,378 146,475 338,705
Operating earnings (loss) $ 190,656 $ 26,529 $ (146,475 ) $ 70,710
Operating Segments
(In thousands) Domestic Global Other Total
Three months ended September 27, 2008
Revenues $ 331,448 $ 91,280 $ - $ 422,728
Cost of revenues 55,860 16,457 - 72,317
Operating expenses 89,948 39,260 153,452 282,660
Total costs and expenses 145,808 55,717 153,452 354,977
Operating earnings (loss) $ 185,640 $ 35,563 $ (153,452 ) $ 67,751
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Domestic Segment
The Company's Domestic segment includes revenue contributions and expenditures
linked to business activity within the United States.
Revenue increased 2.1% in the third quarter of 2009, compared to the same
period in 2008. This increase was primarily driven by growth in managed
services and support and maintenance, which was partially offset by a
decrease in professional services.
Cost of revenues was 17.1% of total Domestic revenue in the third quarter of 2009, compared to 16.9% in the same period in 2008.
Operating expenses increased 0.2% for the third quarter of 2009, as compared to the same period in 2008.
Operating earnings increased 2.7% for the third quarter of 2009, compared to the same period in 2008.
Global Segment
The Company's Global segment includes revenue contributions and expenditures
linked to business activity in Aruba, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada,
Cayman Islands, Chile, China (Hong Kong), Egypt, England, France, Germany,
India, Ireland, Malaysia, Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates.
Revenues decreased 22.3% to $70.9 million in the third quarter of 2009 from $91.3 million in the same period in 2008. This decrease was driven by lower professional services, hardware and software revenue, which were all impacted by the challenging global economic conditions.
Cost of revenues was 16.5% in the third quarter of 2009, compared with 18.0% in the same period of 2008. The lower cost of revenues in the third quarter of 2009 was driven by a decrease in global hardware sales.
Operating expenses for the third quarter of 2009 decreased 16.8% compared to the same period in 2008, primarily due to a lower level of professional services expense.
Operating earnings decreased 25.4% for the third quarter of 2009, compared to the same period in 2008. The decline in operating earnings was driven primarily by the lower software revenue in the third quarter of 2009 compared to 2008.
Other Segment
The Company's Other segment includes revenue and expenses which are not tracked
by geographic segment.
Operating losses decreased by 4.5% in the third quarter of 2009 as compared to
the same period in 2008. This decrease is primarily due to the foreign currency
loss that increased expense in the third quarter of 2008 compared to a minimal
gain in the third quarter of 2009.
Nine Months Ended October 3, 2009 Compared to Nine Months Ended September 27,
2008.
The Company's net earnings increased 13.5% to $133.0 million in the first nine
months of 2009 from $117.1 million for the same period in 2008. The first nine
months of 2009 and 2008 net earnings include the impact share-based compensation
expense, which reduced net earnings in the first nine months of 2009 and 2008 by
$7.7 million, net of $4.5 million tax benefit, and $6.8 million, net of
$4.0 million tax benefit, respectively.
Revenues decreased 0.4% to $1,205.5 million in the first nine months of 2009
from $1,210.3 million for the same period in 2008. The revenue composition for
the first nine months of 2009 was $332.8 million in system sales, $370.2 million
in support and maintenance, $479.3 million in services and $23.3 million in
reimbursed travel.
System sales revenues decreased 11.1% to $332.8 million in the first nine
months of 2009 from $374.4 million for the same period in 2008. Included in
system sales are revenues from the sale of software, technology resale
(hardware and sublicensed software), deployment period licensed software
upgrade rights, installation fees, transaction processing and subscriptions.
The decrease in system sales was driven by lower licensed software sales
related to the impact of the challenging economic conditions on our end
markets.
Support, maintenance and services revenues increased 5.3% to $849.5 million during the first nine months of 2009 from $807.0 million during the same period in 2008. Included in support, maintenance and services revenues are support and maintenance of software and hardware, professional services excluding installation, and managed services. Below is a summary of support, maintenance and services revenues for the first nine months of 2009 and 2008.
Nine Months Ended Nine Months Ended
(In thousands) October 3, 2009 September 27, 2008
Support and maintenance revenues $ 370,210 $ 335,791
Services revenues 479,251 471,175
Total support, maintenance and services revenues $ 849,461 $ 806,966
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The $34.4 million, or 10.3%, increase in support and maintenance revenues is . . .
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