2012 Guidance
This guidance discusses future results which are inherently subject to unforeseen risks and developments. As such, discussions about the business outlook should be read in the context of an uncertain future, as well as the risk factors identified in the safe harbor language at the end of this release.
The company is updating its 2012 annual guidance to reflect results year-to-date and weaker than originally anticipated business conditions in the second half of the year due, in part, to prolonged global economic uncertainty, especially in Europe. The company’s original earnings per share guidance also did not anticipate the significant changes in currencies that have occurred this year.
Year-to-date the company’s revenue, excluding currency, declined 4 percent and adjusted earnings per diluted share were $1.02, which excludes the $0.11 per share tax benefit in the first quarter. Based on results to date and expectations for the second half of the year, the company now anticipates 2012 revenue, excluding the impacts of currency, to be in a range of flat to a decline of 4 percent when compared to 2011. This guidance assumes moderating revenue declines for the second half of the year.
Additionally, the company expects adjusted earnings per diluted share from continuing operations for 2012 to be in the range of $1.95 to $2.15 and GAAP earnings per diluted share from continuing operations to be in the range of $2.12 to $2.32. The updated earnings per share guidance reflects an adverse impact of $0.04 to $0.06 per share based on current foreign exchange rates. GAAP earnings per diluted share include $0.11 per share of net tax benefits and $0.06 per share from the sale of leveraged lease assets in Canada, both of which occurred in the first quarter of the year.
Based on its strong cash flow performance year to date, the company is increasing its annual free cash flow range by $50 million and now expects it to be in the range of $750 million to $850 million.
Management of Pitney Bowes will discuss the company’s results in a broadcast over the Internet today at 5:00 p.m. EDT. Instructions for listening to the earnings results via the Web are available on the Investor Relations page of the company’s web site at www.pb.com/investorrelations.
Pitney Bowes is a $5.3 billion global leader whose products, services and solutions deliver value within the mailstream and beyond. For more information visit www.pitneybowes.com.
The company's financial results are reported in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). The company uses measures such as adjusted earnings per share, adjusted income from continuing operations and free cash flow to exclude the impact of special items like restructuring charges, tax adjustments, and asset write-downs, because, while these are actual company expenses, they can mask underlying trends associated with our business.
Such items are often inconsistent in amount and frequency and as such, the adjustments allow an investor greater insight into the current underlying operating trends of the business. The use of free cash flow provides investors insight into the amount of cash that management could have available for other discretionary uses. It adjusts GAAP cash from operations for capital expenditures, as well as special items like cash used for restructuring charges, unusual tax payments and contributions to its pension funds. Management uses segment EBIT to measure profitability and performance at the segment level. EBIT is determined by deducting the related costs and expenses attributable to the segment. Segment EBIT excludes interest, taxes, general corporate expenses not allocated to a particular business segment, restructuring charges, asset impairments, and goodwill charges which are recognized on a consolidated basis. In addition, financial results are presented on a constant currency basis to exclude the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates since the prior period under comparison. Constant currency measures are intended to help investors better understand the underlying operational performance of the business excluding the impacts of shifts in currency exchange rates over the intervening period.
Pitney Bowes has provided a quantitative reconciliation to GAAP in supplemental schedules. This information may also be found at the company's web site www.pb.com/investorrelations.
This document contains “forward-looking statements” about our
expected or potential future business and financial performance. For us
forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements
about our future revenue and earnings guidance and other statements
about future events or conditions. Forward-looking statements are not
guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
projected. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited
to: mail volumes; the uncertain economic environment; timely
development, market acceptance and regulatory approvals, if needed, of
new products; fluctuations in customer demand; changes in postal
regulations; interrupted use of key information systems; management of
outsourcing arrangements; foreign currency exchange rates;
changes in our credit ratings; management of credit risk; changes in
interest rates; the financial health of national posts; and other
factors beyond our control as more fully outlined in the company's 2011
Form 10-K Annual Report and other reports filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. Pitney Bowes assumes no obligation to update
any forward-looking statements contained in this document as a result of
new information, events or developments.
