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Text: Many factors could cause future results to differ materially.
A more detailed description of such factors can be found in the filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Joining us for today's call are Jerry Grisko, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Ware Grove, Chief Financial Officer.
We experienced growth in total revenue, same unit revenue, earnings per share and adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter of 2021.
These results provide important momentum for the remainder of the year.
Our results demonstrate the fundamental attributes of our business model that I've emphasized throughout the past year.
These characteristics continue to enable our positive performance during both favorable and less favorable business conditions.
These attributes include the proportion, representing approximately 70% of our revenue that comes from essential and recurring services, including our tax services, insurance services, payroll services and a host of others that our clients rely on us to provide regardless of business conditions.
Our high client retention rates, our broad geographic footprint, the diversity of our client base in terms of industry and size of business, our strong and consistent cash flow and the substantial amount of variable expenses in our business.
We continue to capitalize on the stability that our business model affords.
Throughout the last year and into the first quarter of 2021, we have watched how these attributes provided us an opportunity for growth regardless of economic environment.
In addition, we continue to be extremely vigilant in managing our overall expenses and discretionary spending.
Practices we focused on at the start of the pandemic and carried into the first quarter of this year.
As recovery continues, and we return to some level of normalcy, these expenses will begin to return as well, albeit at somewhat reduced levels compared to 2019.
Now I will turn to the performance of our two primary practice groups.
Within our Financial Services group, we continue to experience very strong demand for our core services, including many of the compliance-related services that are weighted more heavily toward the first quarter of each year.
This year, the IRS tax filing deadline was extended to May 15, so a portion of our tax compliance revenue work will extend beyond the traditional mid-April time frame.
Within our Discretionary and Project-Based businesses, we continue to experience increasing demand for our litigation support business and are seeing returning interest in our private equity advisory services and our valuation services.
Further, we anticipated that some project-based and discretionary work that was put on hold or delayed last year would carry over into 2021, and we are seeing that now, especially for our services that touch M&A transactions.
While it is still too early to tell if this trend will continue throughout the year, all signs are positive and we remain encouraged based on the general level of optimism we are hearing from our clients and the external signs of economic recovery.
Also, important to note, the passage of the most recent COVID relief bill and stimulus package, like those passed in 2020, present new considerations for businesses and translates to more opportunities for us to deepen our client relationships and offer support when our clients need it most.
We continue to be active in our outreach and engagement of our clients to help supporting accessing these new and expanded opportunities.
Our government healthcare consulting business ended 2020 strong and started this year with tailwinds as delayed contracts resumed, and we find our clients have largely adjusted to working with us using virtual tools.
We are also seeing new projects move forward, including increasing interest in our services related to managed care, which means additional opportunities for this business.
Turning to our Benefits and Insurance group.
We started the year strong and are seeing a continuation of the positive trends that we experienced in the second half of last year in our employee benefits business, the core of our property and casualty business, and the advisory services provided within our retirement plan services businesses.
Client retention is also up for these same services so far in 2021.
From a consolidated viewpoint, we continue to experience some softness in the portion of our Payroll business that generally serves smaller businesses, including a number in the food services industry.
To put this in context, the total revenue from this segment of our payroll clients represents less than 4% of CBIZ' total revenues.
One additional area I want to highlight is our investment in producers.
Our ability to track, retain and develop our producers is essential to accelerate organic growth, and I am pleased to report that our overall number of producers is up at the start of 2021, and we continue to make progress in this area.
The new producers we brought on in recent years continue to outperform our projections.
And as a result, we are continuing to add new producers and to expand this program to other areas of our business.
In summary, we are pleased to start 2021 in a position of financial strength with a strong balance sheet, low debt and ready access to capital.
With total revenue growing by 8.4% in the first quarter, revenue growth from acquired businesses accounted for 4.8% of that growth, with same unit growth up by 3.6%.
After facing uncertainty in 2020 coming into this year, we were unclear how the year-over-year comparison to 2020 would unfold in the first quarter.
The core business has continued the steady performance that we saw through much of last year.
And as expected, the advisory and transaction-oriented business services that were more vulnerable to the conditions encountered last year have largely stabilized, and we are positioned to record growth this year.
Our Financial Services group recorded total revenue growth of 8.1%, with same unit revenue growth of 4.5%.
With no industry concentration within our core services clients, the diverse set of clients we serve lend stability to this business.
The acquisitions we closed last year are performing extremely well, with the only soft comparison being the private equity focused advisory business where the first quarter this year compares with a strong first quarter a year ago.
We currently have a full pipeline of prospective work within this group and we expect to report growth for the full year.
Continuing to work under remote conditions, our government healthcare consulting business had a strong first quarter.
Turning to the benefits and insurance group, total revenue grew by 9.6%, with same unit revenue growth of 1.6% in the first quarter this year.
Some of the transactional-based businesses, such as payroll services, are soft in comparison with first quarter a year ago.
But after reporting a same unit revenue decline of 3% for the full year last year, the 1.6% first quarter same unit revenue growth within benefits insurance this year is noteworthy.
As Jerry commented, our investment in additional producers that has occurred in recent years is resulting in stronger pipelines of new business.
We are continuing to invest in bringing additional producers onboard to further enhance growth prospects.
When coupled with strong client retention, we are well positioned for growth.
As Jerry discussed, we remain vigilant in managing our expenses, which include for example, lower levels of expense for travel and entertainment that given the constraints caused by the pandemic are directly tied to our remote work.
Also, as a reminder, in the first quarter a year ago, we recorded an additional $2 million of bad debt expense.
And so with the improvement in client receivables we are seeing, bad debt expense was lower this year.
We are pleased to report 390 basis point margin expansion on pre-tax income, leading to a 39.4% increase in earnings per share, up to $0.92 per share this year compared with $0.66 in the first quarter a year ago.
As we progress through this year, we intend to resource some level of discretionary spending, and that may challenge the year-over-year comparisons in the second quarter and for the balance of the year.
For example, our investment in our national marketing media campaign was paused throughout 2020, but this is now under way in the second quarter.
Also, last year, as we pointed out in our quarterly calls, benefits and healthcare costs were lower as many medical procedures were delayed or deferred.
After experiencing lower trends in this cost in the second, third and fourth quarters of 2020, benefits and healthcare costs were again lower in the first quarter this year.
This expense is hard to predict in the near term, but we expect a more normal level of expense over the balance of this year.
So bear in mind, this trend may create some volatility to margin as we progress through the balance of this year.
This impacts our reported gross margin, which was 27.1% on an adjusted basis this year compared to 22.6% a year ago.
And operating margin on an adjusted basis was 22.4% compared with 18.2% a year ago.
As a reminder, there is no impact to pre-tax income.
Cash flow has continued to be strong, with days sales outstanding on receivables improving from 94 days a year ago to 91 days this year.
Seasonally, CBIZ typically uses cash in the first quarter each year as receivables build in connection with our busy season revenue.
At March 31 this year, the balance outstanding on our $400 million unsecured credit facility was $162 million compared with $108 million outstanding at December 31, 2020.
This leaves approximately $230 million of unused capacity at March 31.
So we have plenty of dry powder to address strategic acquisition opportunities as well as continue with share repurchases.
In the first quarter, we used approximately $32.7 million to repurchase approximately 1.1 million shares.
Since the end of the quarter through April 27, we have purchased approximately 270,000 additional shares under a 10b program for a total of approximately 1.4 million shares repurchased this year to date.
As a result of this repurchase activity, we expect a fully diluted weighted average share count for 2021 within a range of 54 million to 54.5 million shares, which represents a slight reduction in our full year expectation compared with guidance earlier this year, and we will provide further updates as we progress through the year.
Of course, strategic acquisitions continue to be the top priority as we deploy capital.
With over $200 million of unused capacity, we have the flexibility to be aggressive in pursuing potential acquisitions.
Last year, we closed seven acquisitions, and we announced an 8th acquisition effective on January one this year.
Collectively, these acquisitions are expected to contribute approximately $48 million of annualized revenue, and we will see these transactions contribute to revenue growth throughout this year.
In the first quarter, we used $3.7 million for acquisitions, including earn-out payments on acquisitions closed in previous years.
Future earn-out payments are estimated at approximately $11.8 million for the balance of this year, $16.1 million next year in 2022, approximately $9.7 million in 2023, approximately $13.5 million in 2024, and $800,000 in 2025.
Jerry will comment further on the recently announced acquisition, which is effective on May 1.
And to be clear, the numbers I just referenced do not include the impact of this new acquisition.
Beyond the acquisition we announced today, we continue to have a full pipeline of potential acquisitions.
Capital spending in the first quarter was $1.1 million.
Last year, capital spending for the full year was $11.7 million.
And for 2021, we continue to estimate capital spending at approximately $12 million to $15 million for the full year.
Adjusted EBITDA grew by 28.5% to $73.3 million reported in the first quarter this year, up from $57 million a year ago.
The margin expansion on adjusted EBITDA was 370 basis points to 24.3% of revenue this year compared with 20.6% a year ago.
The effective tax rate in the first quarter was 24.1%, and we continue to project an effective tax rate for the full year of approximately 25%.
Of course, as a reminder, the effective tax rate can be impacted either up or down by a number of factors that can be unpredictable, and we are not speculating on the impact of potential legislative changes in the tax rate that may occur.
First, in regards to M&A, we started 2021 with the strongest M&A pipeline we've had in many years.
Already this year, we've completed one acquisition within our core accounting and tax practice and another within our retirement plan services business.
I mentioned the acquisition of Middle Market Advisory Group during our last call.
M&A provides tax, compliance and consulting services to middle market companies and family groups in a number of attractive industries and is located in Denver, Colorado.
This acquisition complements our rapidly growing Denver based practice.
I'm also pleased to announce the acquisition of Wright Retirement Services, a provider of third-party administrative services to retirement plan clients across the country.
Located in Valdosta, Georgia, Wright Retirement services has a long-standing relationship with CBIZ as a client, and we are excited by the opportunity to offer their clients a broader array of services.
This week we signed definitive documents to acquire the non-attest assets and business of Bernston Porter, a Bellevue, Washington based accounting firm.
As you know, for a number of years we've talked about identifying partners and completing acquisitions in attractive and growing markets.
The Pacific Northwest has been high on our list.
To enter a market like this, we wanted to do it with a partner that brought the size, scope and client base that would serve as a platform and be a catalyst for growth in that region.
And as always, we prioritize cultural fit, alignment of values and strong leadership as essential for future success.
Over the years, we've evaluated a number of opportunities in the greater Seattle Metropolitan market, and that process led us to Bernston Porter.
Founded in 1985 by Bob Bernston and Greg Porter, over time Bernston Porter grew to be one of the top 10 CPA firms in the Puget Sound region.
Bernston Porter's team, under the leadership of President Mary Actor, brings with it an outstanding reputation for exceptional client service, a commitment to the growth and development of their team members, and service to the communities where they work and live, all qualities that align with CBIZ' core values and beliefs.
The effective date for this acquisition is May 1, but we wanted to do announce it today as all conditions to closing have been satisfied.
M&A continues to be a key component of CBIZ' growth strategy and will be a top priority for us in 2021 and beyond, especially as we see increasing interest in CBIZ as a potential partner.
Our performance over the last year on the backdrop of the pandemic demonstrates the value and stability of our business model.
We also continue to emphasize our unique position in the market, given the breadth and depth of our expertise and services and our strong and steady cash flow.
Our access to capital allows us to continue to make investments in the business that many of our competitors simply cannot afford.
We know that these messages resonate with firms in each of our various businesses, and we are eager to explore these opportunities.
I would now like to turn to our revised guidance.
As a result of our strong performance in the first quarter and the acquisition of Bernston Porter effective on May 1, we are revising upward our previously announced guidance.
Our revised guidance is to grow revenue between 8% to 10% and earnings per share within a range of 12% to 15% for the full year of 2021 compared to the full year of 2020.
While there is still uncertainty as we navigate this next phase of the pandemic, our guidance assumes that recovery will continue and that business conditions will remain the same or improve throughout the remainder of the year.
With this revision and guidance and the announcement of the acquisition, I want to point out that Bernston Porter is a traditional accounting firm that recognizes a disproportionate amount of its revenue in the first half of the year due to the timing of tax deadlines in the busy season.
Given the seasonal nature of this business, the earnings impact of this acquisition will be more fully realized in 2022 and beyond.

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q1 earnings per share $0.92 from continuing operations.
sees fy revenue up 8 to 10 percent.
q1 revenue rose 8.4 percent to $300.7 million.
for 2021 co expects to grow fully diluted earnings per share within a range of 12% to 15% over prior year.

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