Citing continuing growth in its data and analytics division that counteracted a shrinking mortgage market,CoreLogic (CLGX) reported revenues of $1.4 billion for 2014, the same amount the property information, analytics and data-enabled services provider recorded in 2013.
According to CoreLogic, the company’s data and analytics division grew 13% in 2014, which helped to offset the impact of “an estimated 40% decline” in mortgage volume in the U.S.
“CoreLogic delivered an outstanding operating performance in 2014 in the face of a very challenging set of market dynamics,” said Anand Nallathambi, president and chief executive officer of CoreLogic.
“We finished the year with accelerating momentum as we continued to expand our data and analytics footprint and reap the benefits of our market leadership in technology and processing solutions,” Nallathambi continued. “Revenue, profit and cash flow were up in the fourth quarter, despite a drop of about 5% in U.S. mortgage volumes."
In the fourth quarter, CoreLogic reported revenue of $345.5 million, an increase of 5% over 2013’s fourth quarter. The total was up over last year, but not up on the previous quarter, when the company reported revenue of $367.5 million.
CoreLogic’s fourth quarter was also down slightly from the company’s performance in the second quarter, when the company reported $349.4 million in revenue.
CoreLogic said that the increase of 2013’s fourth quarter was due to” market share gains, organic growth and acquisition-related revenues more than offset the impact of an estimated 5% decline in mortgage origination volumes.”
The increase in data and analytics revenue was driven by growth in insurance, spatial solutions, international and core property data revenues, which more than offset the impact of lower mortgage volumes, unfavorable foreign currency translation and the exit of certain non-core product lines, the company said.
For the fourth quarter, CoreLogic reported that its operating income from continuing operations increased $55.4 million to $36.2 million, reflecting the impact of lower operating expenses including a 2013 non-cash impairment charge with no 2014 counterpart.
Additionally, the company reported its net income from continuing operations was up $25.8 million to $16.5 million. CoreLogic’s diluted EPS from continuing operations was $0.18 per share compared with a $0.10 per share loss in the previous year.
The company’s adjusted EBITDA rose 16% to $84.1 million with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 24%.
“We continue to shift our business mix toward data-driven, subscription based models built around scaled market-leading solutions and services. As a result of this strategy, our core mortgage operations continue to outperform market volume trends and we materially expanded and diversified our D&A revenues in the fourth quarter,” said Frank Martell, chief operating and financial officer of CoreLogic.
"The durability of our business model allows us to continue to invest in product and service innovation, technology leadership and operational improvements and, at the same time, return significant amounts of capital to our shareholders and reduce our debt balances.”
CoreLogic cited several factors that contributed to the company’s strong 2014, including:
- Operating income from continuing operations up 19% to $169.8 million reflecting the impact of lower operating expenses and impairment charges partially offset by higher depreciation and amortization
- Net income from continuing operations down 11% to $89.7 million primarily due to the impact of lower U.S. mortgage volumes and higher interest expense. Diluted EPS from continuing operations of $0.97 per share, down 6%. Adjusted EPS of $1.33 per share, down 21%
- Adjusted EBITDA of $360.2 million; adjusted EBITDA margin of 26%
- Completed 2014 share repurchase program (3.1 million shares repurchased)
CoreLogic also provided some expectations for the company’s 2015 performance, including:
- Growing its revenue from $1.4 billion to between $1.47 billion and $1.5 billion
- Growing its adjusted EBITDA from $360.2 million to between $390 million and $405 million
- Growing its adjusted earnings per share from $1.33 to between $1.50 and $1.60
“We are exiting 2014 a strong and high performing company,” Nallathambi said. “As we move forward into 2015, we are squarely focused on enabling and accelerating the growth of our unique data assets, analytics and services through innovation, technology and operational excellence and deeper client intimacy.”
