Insperity, Inc. (NYSE: NSP), a leading provider of human resources and business performance solutions for America’s best businesses, today reported results for the fourth quarter and year ended Dec. 31, 2018.

  • 2018 WSEE growth accelerates to 14%
  • 2018 net income and EPS each up 60%
  • 2018 adjusted EPS and adjusted EBITDA up 53% and 35%, respectively
  • Q4 net income and EPS up 59% and 64%, to $25 million and $0.59, respectively
  • Q4 adjusted EPS up 25% to $0.69
  • Q4 repurchase of 986,000 shares

Full Year Results

For the year ended Dec. 31, 2018, reported net income increased 60% over 2017 to $135.4 million, and diluted net income per share increased 60% to $3.22. Adjusted EPS increased 53% over 2017 to $3.75. Adjusted EBITDA increased 35% to $239.6 million.

“These results reflect our fourth year in a row with growth in adjusted EBITDA above 25%, increasing from $84 million to $240 million demonstrating effective execution of our strategic plan,” said Paul J. Sarvadi, Insperity chairman and chief executive officer. “As a result of our successful fall selling and retention campaign, we are starting 2019 with 15% worksite employee growth and are well positioned to continue our strong financial performance.”

Revenues in 2018 increased 16% to $3.8 billion, on a 14% increase in the average number of worksite employees (“WSEEs”) paid per month over 2017. This growth was primarily driven by an increase in WSEEs paid from new sales on a 16% increase in the average number of trained Business Performance Advisors. Additionally, WSEE retention was maintained at recent historical highs of 86% and we experienced an improvement in net hiring within our client base in 2018.

Gross profit for the year ended Dec. 31, 2018 increased 19% to $681.9 million on improved pricing and effective management of our direct cost programs. Operating expenses increased 14% to $502.9 million over 2017 and adjusted operating expenses increased 12% to $493.6 million over 2017.

Net income per WSEE per month increased 42% from $38 in 2017 to $54 in 2018. Adjusted EBITDA per WSEE per month increased 17% from $81 in 2017 to $95 in 2018.

“Acceleration of worksite employee growth into the mid-teens, improved pricing and effective management of our direct costs and operating expenses has resulted in significant improvement in our profitability over the past four years,” said Douglas S. Sharp, senior vice president of finance, chief financial officer and treasurer. “This is demonstrated by an increase in adjusted EBITDA per worksite employee per month in each of the past four years, from $54 in 2014 to $95 in 2018.”

Cash outlays in 2018 included the repurchase of approximately 1,198,000 shares of stock at a cost of $113.3 million, dividends totaling $33.4 million and capital expenditures of $35.3 million offset by borrowings of $40.0 million under our facility. Adjusted cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities at Dec. 31, 2018 was $128.9 million.

Fourth Quarter Results

Fourth quarter 2018 net income and diluted earnings per share of $24.7 million and $0.59 represented increases of 59% and 64%, respectively, compared to the fourth quarter of 2017. Adjusted EPS was $0.69, a 25% increase over the fourth quarter of 2017. Adjusted EBITDA increased 24% over the fourth quarter of 2017 to $47.6 million.

Revenues increased 17% over the fourth quarter of 2017 to $966.8 million on a 17% increase in the average number of WSEEs paid per month. An acceleration of WSEE growth throughout 2018 has been the result of increased new client sales in both our core and midmarket client segments, a continued high level of client retention and an improvement in net hiring of WSEEs by our client base.

Gross profit increased 13% over the fourth quarter of 2017 to $161.6 million, while operating expenses increased only 8%. These results reflect improved pricing, effective management of our direct cost programs, and continued investment in our growth, technology and product and service offerings, while leveraging other areas of the business. Our growth investment has included the opening of seven new sales offices in 2018, along with a 13% increase in the average number of trained Business Performance Advisors over the fourth quarter of 2017.

Share repurchases during the fourth quarter totaled 986,000 shares at a cost of $97.1 million.

2019 Guidance

The company also announced its guidance for 2019, including the first quarter of 2019. Please refer to the accompanying financial tables at the end of this press release for the reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to the comparable GAAP financial measures.

 
    Q1 2019   Full Year 2019
           
Average WSEEs 224,000 226,000 238,400 242,600
Year-over-year increase 14.5% 15.5% 14% 16%
 
Adjusted EPS $1.85 $1.91 $4.37 $4.69
Year-over-year increase 31% 35% 17% 25%
 
Adjusted EBITDA (in millions) $96 $99 $268 $285
Year-over-year increase 15% 18% 12% 19%
 

Definition of Key Metrics

Average WSEEs - Determined by calculating the company’s cumulative WSEEs paid during the period divided by the number of months in the period.

Adjusted EPS- Represents diluted net income per share computed in accordance with GAAP, excluding the impact of non-cash impairment and other charges, one-time tax reform bonus and stock-based compensation.

Adjusted EBITDA- Represents net income computed in accordance with GAAP, plus interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization expense, non-cash impairment and other charges, one-time tax reform bonus and stock-based compensation.

Insperity will be hosting a conference call today at 10 a.m. ET to discuss these results, provide guidance for the first quarter and full year 2019 and answer questions from investment analysts. To listen in, call 877-651-0053 and use conference i.d. number 4355906. The call will also be webcast at http://ir.insperity.com. The conference call script will be available at the same website later today. A replay of the conference call will be available at 855-859-2056, conference i.d. 4355906. The webcast will be archived for one year.

About Insperity

Insperity, a trusted advisor to America’s best businesses for more than 32 years, provides an array of human resources and business solutions designed to help improve business performance. Insperity® Business Performance Advisors offer the most comprehensive suite of products and services available in the marketplace. Insperity delivers administrative relief, better benefits, reduced liabilities and a systematic way to improve productivity through its premier Workforce Optimization® solution. Additional company offerings include Traditional Payroll and Human Capital Management, Time and Attendance, Performance Management, Organizational Planning, Recruiting Services, Employment Screening, Expense Management, Retirement Services and Insurance Services. Insperity business performance solutions support more than 100,000 businesses with over 2 million employees. With 2018 revenues of $3.8 billion, Insperity operates in 73 offices throughout the United States. For more information, visit http://www.insperity.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

The statements contained herein that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws (Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934). You can identify such forward-looking statements by the words “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects,” “believes,” “estimates,” “likely,” “possibly,” “probably,” “goal,” “opportunity,” “objective,” “target,” “assume,” “outlook,” “guidance,” “predicts,” “appears,” “indicator” and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties. In the normal course of business, Insperity, Inc., in an effort to help keep our stockholders and the public informed about our operations, may from time to time issue such forward-looking statements, either orally or in writing. Generally, these statements relate to business plans or strategies, projected or anticipated benefits or other consequences of such plans or strategies, or projections involving anticipated revenues, earnings, unit growth, profit per worksite employee, pricing, operating expenses or other aspects of operating results. We base the forward-looking statements on our expectations, estimates and projections at the time such statements are made. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that we cannot predict. In addition, we have based many of these forward-looking statements on assumptions about future events that may prove to be inaccurate. Therefore, the actual results of the future events described in such forward-looking statements could differ materially from those stated in such forward-looking statements. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are:

  • adverse economic conditions;
  • regulatory and tax developments and possible adverse application of various federal, state and local regulations;
  • the ability to secure competitive replacement contracts for health insurance and workers’ compensation insurance at expiration of current contracts;
  • cancellation of client contracts on short notice, or the inability to renew client contracts or attract new clients;
  • vulnerability to regional economic factors because of our geographic market concentration;
  • increases in health insurance costs and workers’ compensation rates and underlying claims trends, health care reform, financial solvency of workers’ compensation carriers, other insurers or financial institutions, state unemployment tax rates, liabilities for employee and client actions or payroll-related claims;
  • failure to manage growth of our operations and the effectiveness of our sales and marketing efforts;
  • the impact of the competitive environment and other developments in the human resources services industry, including the PEO industry, on our growth and/or profitability;
  • our liability for WSEE payroll, payroll taxes and benefits costs;
  • our liability for disclosure of sensitive or private information;
  • our ability to integrate or realize expected returns on our acquisitions;
  • failure of our information technology systems;
  • an adverse final judgment or settlement of claims against Insperity; and
  • disruptions to our business resulting from the actions of certain stockholders.

These factors are discussed in further detail in Insperity’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Any of these factors, or a combination of such factors, could materially affect the results of our operations and whether forward-looking statements we make ultimately prove to be accurate.

Except to the extent otherwise required by federal securities law, we do not undertake any obligation to update our forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

 
Insperity, Inc.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
 
  Dec. 31,   Dec. 31,
(in thousands)   2018   2017
 
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents $ 326,773 $ 354,260
Restricted cash 42,227 41,137
Marketable securities 60,781 1,960
Accounts receivable, net 400,623 333,981
Prepaid insurance 8,411 10,782
Other current assets 27,721 26,991
Income taxes receivable       9,824  
Total current assets 866,536 778,935
Property and equipment, net 117,213 95,659
Prepaid health insurance 9,000 9,000
Deposits 172,674 159,515
Goodwill and other intangible assets, net 12,726 12,762
Deferred income taxes, net 8,816 4,283
Other assets   4,851     3,541  
Total assets   $ 1,191,816     $ 1,063,695  
 
Liabilities and stockholders' equity
Accounts payable $ 10,622 $ 6,447
Payroll taxes and other payroll deductions payable 261,166 303,247
Accrued worksite employee payroll cost 329,979 267,402
Accrued health insurance costs 35,153 26,075
Accrued workers’ compensation costs 45,818 42,974
Accrued corporate payroll and commissions 60,704 52,595
Other accrued liabilities 28,890 25,989
Income taxes payable        
Total current liabilities 772,332 724,729
 
Accrued workers’ compensation costs 187,412 166,493
Long-term debt 144,400 104,400
Other accrued liabilities   9,996     1,752  
Total noncurrent liabilities 341,808 272,645
 
Stockholders’ equity:
Common stock 555 555
Additional paid-in capital 36,752 25,337
Treasury stock, at cost (357,569 ) (256,363 )
Accumulated other comprehensive income, net of tax (9 ) (5 )
Retained earnings   397,947     296,797  
Total stockholders’ equity 77,676 66,321
         
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity   $ 1,191,816     $ 1,063,695  
 
Insperity, Inc.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
 
  Three Months Ended Dec. 31,   Year Ended Dec. 31,
(in thousands, except per share amounts)   2018   2017   Change   2018   2017   Change
       
Operating results:
Revenues(1) $ 966,756 $ 826,494 17.0 % $ 3,828,549 $ 3,300,223 16.0 %
Direct costs:
Payroll taxes, benefits and workers’ compensation costs   805,165     683,628     17.8 %   3,146,640     2,727,492     15.4 %
Gross profit 161,591 142,866 13.1 % 681,909 572,731 19.1 %
Salaries, wages and payroll taxes 74,541 70,393 5.9 % 301,027 259,531 16.0 %
Stock-based compensation 5,769 7,955 (27.5 )% 20,425 24,345 (16.1 )%
Commissions 9,094 6,958 30.7 % 28,957 22,773 27.2 %
Advertising 4,558 3,063 48.8 % 18,554 16,686 11.2 %
General and administrative expenses 28,503 25,958 9.8 % 111,068 101,273 9.7 %
Depreciation and amortization   6,507     4,827     34.8 %   22,842     18,182     25.6 %
Total operating expenses   128,972     119,154     8.2 %   502,873     442,790   13.6 %
Operating income 32,619 23,712 37.6 % 179,036 129,941 37.8 %
Other income (expense):
Interest income 2,701 1,255 115.2 % 7,992 3,413 134.2 %
Interest expense   (1,316 )   (893 )   47.4 %   (4,668 )   (3,213 )   45.3 %
Income before income tax expense 34,004 24,074 41.2 % 182,360 130,141 40.1 %
Income tax expense   9,349     8,520     9.7 %   46,947     45,739     2.6 %
Net income   $ 24,655     $ 15,554     58.5 %   $ 135,413     $ 84,402     60.4 %
Less distributed and undistributed earnings allocated to participating securities   (341 )   (827 )   (58.8 )%   (1,875 )   (1,517 )   23.6 %
Net income allocated to common shares   $ 24,314     $ 14,727     65.1 %   $ 133,538     $ 82,885     61.1 %
 
Net income per share of common stock
Basic $ 0.59 $ 0.36 63.9 % $ 3.24 $ 2.02 60.4 %
Diluted $ 0.59 $ 0.36 63.9 % $ 3.22 $ 2.01 60.2 %

____________________________________

(1)   Revenues are comprised of gross billings less WSEE payroll costs as follows:
  Three Months Ended Dec. 31,   Year Ended Dec. 31,
(in thousands)   2018   2017   2018   2017
   
Gross billings $ 6,546,253 $ 5,518,267 $ 23,830,731 $ 20,173,812
Less: WSEE payroll cost   5,579,497     4,691,773     20,002,182     16,873,589
Revenues   $ 966,756     $ 826,494     $ 3,828,549     $ 3,300,223
 
  Three Months Ended Dec. 31,   Year Ended Dec. 31,
    2018   2017   Change   2018   2017   Change
       
Average WSEEs paid 221,809 189,513 17.0 % 209,123 182,696 14.5 %
 
Statistical data (per WSEE per month):
Revenues(1) $ 1,453 $ 1,454 (0.1 )% $ 1,526 $ 1,505 1.4 %
Gross profit 243 251 (3.2 )% 272 261 4.2 %
Operating expenses 194 209 (7.2 )% 201 202 (0.5 )%
Operating income 49 42 16.7 % 71 59 20.3 %
Net income 37 27 37.0 % 54 38 42.1 %

____________________________________

(1)   Revenues per WSEE per month are comprised of gross billings per WSEE per month less WSEE payroll costs per WSEE per month follows:
Three Months Ended Dec. 31,   Year Ended Dec. 31,
(per WSEE per month) 2018 2017   2018 2017
 
Gross billings $ 9,838 $ 9,706 $ 9,496 $ 9,202
Less: WSEE payroll cost 8,385   8,252     7,970   7,697
Revenues $ 1,453   $ 1,454     $ 1,526   $ 1,505

Insperity, Inc.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

(Unaudited)

Non-GAAP financial measures are not prepared in accordance with GAAP and may be different from non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies. Non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered as a substitute for, or superior to, measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. Investors are encouraged to review the reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures used to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures as provided in the tables below.

Non-GAAP Measure   Definition   Benefit of Non-GAAP Measure
Non-bonus payroll cost   Non-bonus payroll cost is a non-GAAP financial measure that excludes the impact of bonus payrolls paid to our WSEEs.

 

Bonus payroll cost varies from period to period, but has no direct impact to our ultimate workers’ compensation costs under the current program.

  Our management refers to non-bonus payroll cost in analyzing, reporting and forecasting our workers’ compensation costs.

 

We include these non-GAAP financial measures because we believe they are useful to investors in allowing for greater transparency related to the costs incurred under our current workers’ compensation program.

Adjusted cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities   Excludes funds associated with:

• federal and state income tax withholdings,

• employment taxes,

• other payroll deductions, and

• client prepayments.

  We believe that the exclusion of the identified items helps us reflect the fundamentals of our underlying business model and analyze results against our expectations, against prior periods, and to plan for future periods by focusing on our underlying operations. We believe that the adjusted results provide relevant and useful information for investors because they allow investors to view performance in a manner similar to the method used by management and improves their ability to understand and assess our operating performance. Adjusted EBITDA is used by our lenders to assess our leverage and ability to make interest payments.
Adjusted operating expense Represents operating expenses excluding the impact of the following:

• costs associated with a one-time tax reform bonus paid to corporate employees and

• charitable donations to Hurricane Harvey relief efforts.

EBITDA Represents net income computed in accordance with GAAP, plus:

• interest expense,

• income tax expense, and

• depreciation and amortization expense.

Adjusted EBITDA Represents EBITDA plus:

• non-cash stock based compensation,

• costs associated with a one-time tax reform bonus paid to corporate employees, and

• charitable donations to Hurricane Harvey relief efforts.

Adjusted net income Represents net income computed in accordance with GAAP, excluding:

• non-cash stock based compensation,

• costs associated with a one-time tax reform bonus paid to corporate employees, and

• charitable donations to Hurricane Harvey relief efforts.

Adjusted EPS   Represents diluted net income per share computed in accordance with GAAP, excluding:

• non-cash stock based compensation,

• costs associated with a one-time tax reform bonus paid to corporate employees, and

• charitable donations to Hurricane Harvey relief efforts.

 

Following is a reconciliation of payroll cost (GAAP) to non-bonus payroll costs (non-GAAP):

  Three Months Ended Dec. 31,   Year Ended Dec. 31,
(in thousands, except per WSEE per month) 2018   2017   2018   2017
  $   WSEE   $   WSEE   $   WSEE   $   WSEE
 
Payroll cost $ 5,579,497   $ 8,385 $ 4,691,773   $ 8,252 $ 20,002,182   $ 7,971 $ 16,873,589   $ 7,697
Less: Bonus payroll cost   860,847     1,294     725,226     1,275     2,498,875     996     1,959,053     894  
Non-bonus payroll cost   $ 4,718,650     $ 7,091     $ 3,966,547     $ 6,977     $ 17,503,307     $ 6,975     $ 14,914,536     $ 6,803  
% Change period over period 19.0 % 1.6 % 11.3 % 1.3 % 17.4 % 2.5 % 11.8 % 1.5 %

Following is a reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities (GAAP) to adjusted cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities (non-GAAP):

  December 31,   December 31,
(in thousands)   2018   2017
 
Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities $ 387,554 $ 356,220
Less:
Amounts payable for withheld federal and state income taxes, employment taxes and other payroll deductions 224,487 271,547
Customer prepayments   34,177     23,603
Adjusted cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities   $ 128,890     $ 61,070

Following is a reconciliation of operating expenses (GAAP) to adjusted operating expenses (non-GAAP):

  Three Months Ended Dec 31,   Year Ended Dec. 31,
(in thousands, except per WSEE per month) 2018   2017 2018   2017
  $   WSEE   $   WSEE   $   WSEE   $   WSEE
       
Operating expenses $ 128,972 $ 194 $ 119,154 $ 209 $ 502,873 $ 201 $ 442,790 $ 202
Less:
One-time tax reform bonus 9,306 4
Charitable donations to Hurricane Harvey relief efforts           782     1             2,000     1  
Adjusted operating expenses   $ 128,972     $ 194     $ 118,372     $ 208     $ 493,567     $ 197     $ 440,790     $ 201  
% Change period over period 9.0 % (6.7 )% 23.2 % 11.8 % 12.0 % (2.0 )% 14.5 % 4.1 %

Following is a reconciliation of net income (GAAP) to EBITDA (non-GAAP) and adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP):

  Three Months Ended Dec. 31,

(in thousands, except per WSEE per month)

2018   2017
$   WSEE   $   WSEE
   
Net income $ 24,655 $ 37 $ 15,554 $ 27
Income tax expense 9,349 14 8,520 15
Interest expense 1,316 2 893 2
Depreciation and amortization   6,507     10     4,827     8  
EBITDA 41,827 63 29,794 52
Stock-based compensation 5,769 9 7,955 15
Charitable donations to Hurricane Harvey relief efforts 782 1
Stockholder advisory expenses                
Adjusted EBITDA   $ 47,596     $ 72     $ 38,531     $ 68  
% Change period over period 23.5 % 5.9 % 67.0 % 51.1 %
(in thousands, except per WSEE per month)   Year Ended December 31,
2018   2017   2016   2015   2014
  $   WSEE   $   WSEE   $   WSEE   $   WSEE   $   WSEE
         
Net income $ 135,413 $ 54 $ 84,402 $ 38 $ 65,991 $ 33 $ 39,390 $ 23 $ 28,004 $ 18
Income tax expense 46,947 19 45,739 21 39,186 19 26,229 14 19,623 13
Interest expense 4,668 2 3,213 1 2,396 1 459 370
Depreciation and amortization   22,842     9     18,182     9     16,644     9     18,565     11     21,387     14  
EBITDA 209,870 84 151,536 69 124,217 62 84,643 48 69,384 45
Impairment charges and other 10,480 6 3,687 2
Stock-based compensation 20,425 8 24,345 11 16,643 8 13,345 8 11,053 7
One-time tax reform bonus 9,306 3
Charitable donations to Hurricane Harvey relief efforts 2,000 1
Other (200 )
Stockholder advisory expenses                   323     1     1,546     1          
Adjusted EBITDA   $ 239,601     $ 95     $ 177,681     $ 81     $ 141,183     $ 71     $ 110,014     $ 63     $ 84,124     $ 54  
% Change year over year 34.8 % 17.3 % 25.9 % 14.1 % 28.3 % 12.7 % 30.8 % 16.7 % (8.9 )% (10.0 )%

Following reconciliation of net income (GAAP) to adjusted net income (non-GAAP):

  Three Months Ended  
Dec. 31, Year Ended Dec. 31,
(in thousands)   2018   2017   2018   2017
   
Net income $ 24,655 $ 15,554 $ 135,413 $ 84,402
Non-GAAP adjustments:
Stock-based compensation 5,769 7,955 20,425 24,345
One-time tax reform bonus 9,306
Charitable donations to Hurricane Harvey relief efforts 782 2,000
Other               (200 )
Total non-GAAP adjustments 5,769 8,737 29,731 26,145
Tax effect of non-GAAP adjustments (1,586 ) (3,092 ) (7,608 ) (9,354 )
Enactment of U.S. tax reform 2,481 2,481
Tax effect of disaster credit       (669 )       (669 )
Adjusted net income   $ 28,838     $ 23,011     $ 157,536     $ 103,005  
% Change period over period 25.3 % 87.8 % 52.9 % 34.3 %

Following is a reconciliation of diluted EPS (GAAP) to adjusted EPS (non-GAAP)(1):

  Three Months Ended   Year Ended
Dec. 31, Dec. 31,
    2018   2017   2018   2017
   
Diluted EPS $ 0.59 $ 0.36 $ 3.22 $ 2.01
Non-GAAP adjustments:
Stock-based compensation 0.14 0.19 0.49 0.58
One-time tax reform bonus 0.22
Charitable donations to Hurricane Harvey relief efforts 0.02 0.05
Other (0.01 )
Impact of dividends exceeding earnings       0.02          
Total non-GAAP adjustments 0.14 0.23 0.71 0.62
Tax effect on non-GAAP adjustments (0.04 ) (0.08 ) (0.18 ) (0.22 )
Enactment of U.S. tax reform 0.06 0.06
Tax effect of disaster credit       (0.02 )       (0.02 )
Adjusted EPS   $ 0.69     $ 0.55     $ 3.75     $ 2.45  
% Change period over period 25.5 % 89.7 % 53.1 % 36.9 %

____________________________________

(1)  

Amounts in 2017 adjusted to reflect the two-for-one split of our common stock effected on December 18, 2017 in the form of a stock dividend.

The following is a reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP financial measures for first quarter and full year 2019 guidance:

  Q1 2019   Full Year 2019
(in millions, except per share amounts)   Guidance   Guidance
 
Net income $71 - $74 $161 - $174
Income tax expense 11 48 - 52
Interest expense 2 7
Depreciation and amortization   6   26
EBITDA 90 - 93 242 - 259
Stock-based compensation   6   26
Adjusted EBITDA   $96 - $99   $268 - $285
 
Diluted EPS $1.72 - $1.78 $3.88 - $4.20
Non-GAAP adjustments:
Stock-based compensation   0.15   0.63
Total non-GAAP adjustments 0.15 0.63
Tax effect   (0.02)   (0.14)
Adjusted EPS   $1.85 - $1.91   $4.37 - $4.69