Exela Technologies - Q2 2024

Executive Summary

• Revenue of $245.7M declined 10.0% year-over-year and 5.1% sequential; gross margin expanded to 23.5% (+120 bps YoY, +150 bps QoQ) as cost actions and operating leverage offset contract nonrenewals and the sale of the scanner business.
• Adjusted EBITDA of $13.7M fell 39.0% YoY, but rose 6.7% sequential; SG&A included a $10.1M noncash write-down tied to a partner contract amendment that raises pricing and expands services, impacting optics but improving future unit economics.
• Segment mix: ITPS revenue $156.8M (-15.2% YoY), Healthcare $62.9M (-1.1% YoY) with 630 bps margin improvement, LLPS $25.9M (+6.3% YoY) with strong sequential growth (+45%) on settlement administration activity.
• Liquidity and cash generation improved: unrestricted cash ended “over $30M”; operating cash flow exceeded $12M in Q2; interest expense down 48.7% YoY to $23.1M following 2023 debt modifications.
• Potential stock reaction catalysts: accelerating margin expansion, sequential EBITDA improvement, Healthcare margin gains, AI partnerships (Aidéo) and spin-off plans for the BPA business to unlock value and simplify the story.

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well

• Gross margin expanded to 23.5% (+120 bps YoY, +150 bps QoQ) as efficiencies and cost reductions took hold.
• Healthcare segment margin improved by 630 bps YoY, driven by added technology features and savings flow-through.
• New business momentum: over $40M of new ACV in Q2 (+50% QoQ) and 119 new logos (+40% QoQ), signaling commercial traction despite lost renewals.
• “Our increased operating leverage and continued focus on cost management and rationalization of our real estate footprint are reflected in the solid expansion of our gross margin,” Executive Chairman Par Chadha noted.

What Went Wrong

• Revenue fell 10.0% YoY and 5.1% sequential, pressured by 2023 nonrenewals (including a large contract) and the sale of the high-speed scanner business; ITPS revenue fell 15.2% YoY.
• Adjusted EBITDA of $13.7M decreased 39.0% YoY; SG&A rose 30.5% YoY due in part to the $10.1M write-down and prior-year scanner divestiture gain ($6.6M) creating unfavorable comparisons.
• ITPS margins declined 170 bps YoY on lower revenue; EMEA weakness and seasonality also weighed on segment results.

Transcript

Operator (participant)

Please note, this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to David Schamis, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

David Schamis (VP of Investor Relations)

Thank you, operator, and good afternoon. Welcome to our earnings call to discuss our second quarter results for the period ended June 30th, 2024. Our presentation has been posted to the IR section of our website. On today's call will be Matt Brown, our Interim Chief Financial Officer. Some of the matters we will discuss on today's call are forward-looking and involve a number of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties are set forth in our presentation. So with that, I'll turn over the call to Matt.

Matt Brown (Interim CFO)

Thanks, David. Good afternoon, everyone. Let's start on Slide seven with the earnings highlights. We reported second quarter revenues of $245.7 million, down 10% year-over-year, or 9.3% pro forma for the sale of the high-speed scanner business. The year-over-year decline was primarily due to 2023 non-renewals, including the large contract we discussed last quarter. Sequentially, revenue declined by 5.1%, mostly driven by project fluctuations and volume seasonality. As we continue to focus on driving efficiencies and cost reductions, our margin continues to increase, with Q2 gross margins at 23.5%, up 120 basis points year-over-year and 150 basis points sequentially.

Q2 Adjusted EBITDA was $13.7 million, but included a $10.1 million write-down, predominantly driven by a partner contract amendment, which provides for higher pricing and service expansion, but resulted in a non-cash write-down of the original contract assets. Our net loss improved by $4 million this quarter, and we continued to focus on driving incremental savings. We have over $25 million of annualized savings in process, and we are executing daily on optimization of our infrastructure, technology, and operational leverage. Moving on to page 8. At the segment level, Information and Transaction Processing Solutions declined by 15.2% year-over-year and 11% sequentially. The year-over-year decline was primarily driven by the sale of the scanner business, lower EMEA revenues, and the 2023 non-renewals discussed previously. Sequentially, the drop is mostly due to project fluctuations and seasonality.

Healthcare Solutions declined by 1.1% year-over-year and 2.9% sequentially, driven by the June amendment to the partner contract mentioned. Legal and Loss Prevention Services grew by 6.3% year-over-year and 45% sequentially, with a strong market and large settlement distributions. In terms of margins, we continue to see improvements in Healthcare Solutions with a 630 basis points gain year-over-year, as we implemented additional technology features and achieved savings flow-through. ITPS margins declined by 170 basis points year-over-year on the lower revenue, and LLPS margins are up 140 basis points year-over-year with the operational leverage of the settlement administration projects.

While SG&A was up 30.5% year-over-year, it includes $10.1 million in write-downs, and Q2 FY 2023 included the $6.6 million gain on the sale of our high-speed scanner business. Excluding these items, our SG&A was down approximately 18% year-over-year, driven by reductions in legal and professional fees, as well as employee-related costs. Moving on to page 9. In terms of highlights and lowlights, we achieved gross margin improvement despite a number of headwinds. We had a few lost renewals, but we are expanding growth opportunities with over $40 million of new ACV won in the quarter, an increase of 50% sequentially, and 119 new logos added, an increase of 40% sequentially. We ended the quarter with over $30 million in unrestricted cash and made our semiannual interest payment.

We continue to focus on expanding liquidity, and cash flow from operations continues to improve, with over $12 million of positive operating cash flow in the quarter. Our focus for the back half of the year remains in driving revenue stabilization, continued margin improvement, and strategic growth initiatives. Thank you. We will now open the line up for questions.

Operator (participant)

Thank you. We will now begin the question-and-answer session. To ask a question, you may press star, then one on your telephone keypad. If you're using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. To withdraw your question, please press star, then two. Once again, if you have a question, please press star, then one. If there are no more questions?