WebMD Announces First Quarter Financial Results

WebMD Total Revenue Increased 20%; Advertising Revenue Increased 28%

NEW YORK, May 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- WebMD Health Corp. (Nasdaq: WBMD), the leading source of health information, today announced financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2010.

For the three months ended March 31, 2010:

  • Revenue was $108.0 million, compared to $90.3 million in the prior year period, an increase of 20%.
  • Earnings before interest, taxes, non-cash and other items ("Adjusted EBITDA") was $25.7 million, compared to $15.3 million in the prior year period, an increase of 68%.
  • Net loss was $(3.8) million or $(0.07) per share, compared to net income of $0.4 million or $0.01 per share in the prior year period.
  • Net income would have been $5.1 million compared to a net loss of $(3.8) million in the prior year period when excluding the effect of a $28.8 million loss related to the disposition of the Company’s auction rate securities investments and a $3.7 million loss on convertible notes, net of the related tax benefit of $23.6 million in the first quarter and when excluding a $6.6 million gain related to convertible notes, net of related tax expense of $2.4 million in the prior year period.

“Our strong first quarter results demonstrate WebMD’s continued leadership in the online health and wellness market,” said Wayne Gattinella, President and CEO. “The significant scale and strong engagement of our consumer and physician audience is attracting more of the spending from traditional marketing channels as the transformation of healthcare marketing is accelerating.”

Financial Summary

Revenue for the first quarter was $108.0 million, compared to $90.3 million in the prior year period, an increase of 20%. Specifically:

  • Public portal advertising and sponsorship revenue was $86.3 million for the first quarter, compared to $67.3 million in the prior year period, an increase of 28%. Traffic to the WebMD Health Network continued to grow, reaching an average of 82.1 million unique users per month and total traffic of over 1.8 billion page views during the first quarter, increases of 33% and 22%, respectively, from a year ago. In the first quarter of 2010, WebMD added a new affiliate site, drugs.com, to the WebMD Health Network. Consistent with the prior year period, 1.5 million continuing medical education (CME) programs were completed on the WebMD Professional Network during the first quarter.

  • Private portal services revenue was $21.8 million for the first quarter, a decrease of $1.2 million from the prior year period. The base of large employers and health plans using WebMD’s private Health and Benefits portals during the first quarter was 131 as compared to 134 in the prior year period.

Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter was $25.7 million, compared to $15.3 million in the prior year period, an increase of 68%.

As of March 31, 2010, WebMD had $808 million in cash and investments which included $286 million in auction rate securities investments and $65.5 million of senior secured notes. WebMD had approximately $412 million in aggregate principal amount of convertible notes outstanding.

Transactions Subsequent to March 31, 2010

The following transactions were completed subsequent to the quarter ending on March 31, 2010:

  • WebMD completed a tender offer to repurchase approximately 5.2 million shares for $242 million in cash.
  • WebMD received cash proceeds of $65.5 million from the sale of the Senior Secured Notes it received as consideration in the sale of HLTH’s Porex business.
  • In April 2010, WebMD received $286 million in cash from the sale of its auction rate securities investments and has retained the ability to receive the upside on the auction rate securities for a period of two years.
  • During April 2010, $41.9 million of the Company’s 1.75% convertible notes and $12.7 million of its 3 1/8% convertible notes were converted into an aggregate of 1.6 million shares.

After giving effect to these transactions on amounts in the March 31, 2010 balance sheet, WebMD would have had $566 million in cash and cash equivalents and approximately $357 million in aggregate principal amount of convertible notes outstanding.

WebMD Launches New Health Social Networking Platform on WebMD.com

During the quarter, WebMD launched a new health social networking platform. WebMD Health Exchange gives consumers the ability to connect with world-class health experts and the large community of WebMD members to exchange real experiences, discuss personal challenges and receive direct answers and support. WebMD Health Exchange also enables third party sponsors to create branded exchanges and to host consumer discussions on specific health and wellness topics most important to them.

WebMD Releases New Version of Free Mobile Application for Physicians

Medscape Mobile for physicians has attracted over 300,000 iPhone® and iPod touch® users since its launch less than one year ago, quickly becoming the premier clinical reference tool at the point of care and eclipsing most other hand held medical applications. The new release of Medscape Mobile launched this quarter adds in-depth clinical reference data on diseases, conditions and procedures that include medical images and videos. In April, Medscape Mobile was launched for Blackberry® users in addition to the iPhone®.

WebMD Named Most Trusted Brand in U.S. in New Study

The latest Millward Brown global consumer brand study finds WebMD is the most trusted consumer brand. The WebMD brand ranked #1 in the United States ahead of Tylenol®, Amazon® and FedEx®. Millward Brown, a WPP-owned research company, has been conducting brand leadership studies for the consumer industry for more than 12 years.

Financial Guidance  

WebMD reaffirmed its 2010 guidance, which was issued on February 18, 2010, for revenue and Adjusted EBITDA today. Attached to this press release is an updated financial guidance schedule which reflects the impact on interest income, interest expense and share counts resulting from the Company’s recently completed tender offer and the repurchases and conversions of its convertible notes discussed above.

For the second quarter of 2010, WebMD expects:

  • Revenue to be in excess of $115 million, an increase in excess of 16% from last year. Public portal advertising and sponsorship revenue is expected to grow in excess of 23%.
  • Adjusted EBITDA to be in excess of 26% of revenue.
  • Income from continuing operations to be in excess of 6% of revenue.

Additional detail is provided in a schedule attached to this release.

Analyst and Investor Conference Call

As previously announced, WebMD will hold a conference call with investors and analysts to discuss its first quarter results at 4:45 p.m. (Eastern) today. The call can be accessed at www.wbmd.com (in the Investor Relations section). A replay of the audio webcast will be available at the same web address.

About WebMD

WebMD Health Corp. (Nasdaq: WBMD) is the leading provider of health information services, serving consumers, physicians, healthcare professionals, employers and health plans through our public and private online portals and health-focused publications. Approximately 80 million unique visitors access the WebMD Health Network each month.

The WebMD Health Network includes WebMD Health, Medscape, MedicineNet, eMedicine, eMedicine Health, RxList, theHeart.org and drugs.com.

All statements contained in this press release and the related analyst and investor conference call, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements, including those regarding:   guidance on our future financial results and other projections or measures of our future performance; market opportunities and our ability to capitalize on them; the benefits expected from new or updated products or services and from other potential sources of additional revenue;  and expectations regarding the market for investments in auction rate securities (ARS). These statements speak only as of the date of this press release, are based on our current plans and expectations, and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual future events or results to be different than those described in or implied by such forward-looking statements.  These risks and uncertainties include those relating to:  market acceptance of our products and services; our relationships with customers and strategic partners; changes in the markets for ARS; and changes in economic, political or regulatory conditions or other trends affecting the healthcare, Internet and information technology industries.  Further information about these matters can be found in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Except as required by applicable law or regulation, we do not undertake any obligation to update our forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances.

This press release, and the accompanying tables, include both financial measures in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or GAAP, as well as certain non-GAAP financial measures.  The tables attached to this press release include reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to GAAP financial measures. In addition, an “Explanation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” is attached to this press release as Annex A.  

WebMD®, Medscape®, eMedicine®, MedicineNet®, RxList®, Subimo®, Medsite®, Summex®, WebMD® Health Exchange and Medscape® Mobile are trademarks of WebMD Health Corp. or its subsidiaries.

WEBMD HEALTH CORP.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(In thousands, except per share data, unaudited)






Three Months Ended



March 31,



2010


2009






Revenue 

$       108,030


$         90,264

Cost of operations 

42,994


36,565

Sales and marketing 

28,407


27,561

General and administrative 

18,809


21,848

Depreciation and amortization 

7,015


7,103

Interest income 

3,409


2,262

Interest expense 

5,139


6,536

(Loss) gain on convertible notes 

(3,727)


6,647

Loss on auction rate securities

28,848


-

Other expense, net

298


269

Loss from continuing operations before income tax benefit

(23,798)


(709)


Income tax benefit

20,008


1,217

Consolidated (loss) income from continuing operations

(3,790)


508


Consolidated income from discontinued operations, net of tax

-


517

Consolidated net (loss) income inclusive of noncontrolling interest

(3,790)


1,025


Income attributable to noncontrolling interest

-


(610)

Net (loss) income attributable to Company stockholders

$          (3,790)


$              415






Amounts attributable to Company stockholders:





Loss from continuing operations

$          (3,790)


$             (194)


Income from discontinued operations

-


609

Net (loss) income attributable to Company stockholders

$          (3,790)


$              415






Basic and diluted (loss) income per common share:





Loss from continuing operations

$            (0.07)


$            (0.00)


Income from discontinued operations

-


0.01

Net (loss) income attributable to Company stockholders

$            (0.07)


$             0.01






Weighted-average shares outstanding used in





computing  income per common share:




     Basic and diluted

52,191


45,217



WEBMD HEALTH CORP.

CONSOLIDATED SUPPLEMENTAL FINANCIAL INFORMATION

(In thousands, except per share data, unaudited)








Three Months Ended




March 31,




2010


2009

Revenue






Public portal advertising and sponsorship


$        86,257


$        67,289


Private portal services


21,773


22,975




$      108,030


$        90,264







Earnings before interest, taxes, non-cash






and other items ("Adjusted EBITDA") (a)


$        25,657


$        15,261







Interest, taxes, non-cash and other items  (b)






Interest income


3,409


2,262


Interest expense


(5,139)


(6,536)


Income tax benefit


20,008


1,217


Depreciation and amortization


(7,015)


(7,103)


Non-cash stock-based compensation


(7,837)


(9,154)


Non-cash advertising


-


(1,753)


(Loss) gain on convertible notes


(3,727)


6,647


Loss on auction rate securities


(28,848)


-


Other expense, net


(298)


(333)

Consolidated (loss) income from continuing operations


(3,790)


508


Consolidated income from discontinued operations, net of tax


-


517

Consolidated net (loss) income inclusive of noncontrolling interest


(3,790)


1,025


Income attributable to noncontrolling interest


-


(610)

Net (loss) income attributable to Company stockholders


$        (3,790)


$             415













(a)  See Annex A-Explanation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures.  

(b)  Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to consolidated income from continuing operations.  




WEBMD HEALTH CORP.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In thousands, unaudited)










March 31, 2010


December 31, 2009

Assets





Cash and cash equivalents


$             450,214


$                459,766

Accounts receivable, net


120,584


118,155

Prepaid expenses and other current assets


15,697


11,419

Investments


357,342


9,932

       Total current assets


943,837


599,272







Investments


-


338,446

Property and equipment,  net


49,369


52,194

Goodwill


202,104


202,104

Intangible assets, net


24,943


26,020

Deferred tax asset


75,477


50,789

Other assets


18,567


19,723

Total Assets


$          1,314,297


$             1,288,548







Liabilities and Equity





Accrued expenses


$               48,173


$                  63,721

Deferred revenue


120,139


98,474

1.75% convertible notes


264,583


264,583

Deferred tax liability


6,731


12,955

Liabilities of discontinued operations


25,965


34,197

     Total current liabilities


465,591


473,930







3-1/8% convertible notes, net of discount of $12,151 at March 31, 2010 and $22,641 at December 31, 2009


134,915


227,659

Other long-term liabilities


21,931


22,191







Stockholders' equity


691,860


564,768







Total Liabilities and Equity


$          1,314,297


$             1,288,548



WEBMD HEALTH CORP.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(In thousands, unaudited)














Three Months Ended







March 31,







2010


2009

Cash flows from operating activities:






Consolidated net (loss) income inclusive of noncontrolling interest


$        (3,790)


$          1,025


Adjustments to reconcile consolidated net (loss) income inclusive of noncontrolling interest to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities:







Consolidated income from discontinued operations, net of tax


-


(517)



Depreciation and amortization


7,015


7,103



Non-cash interest


2,090


2,799



Non-cash advertising


-


1,753



Non-cash stock-based compensation


7,837


9,154



Deferred income taxes


(21,463)


(2,604)



Loss (gain) on convertible notes


3,727


(6,647)



Loss on auction rate securities


28,848


-



Changes in operating assets and liabilities:








Accounts receivable


(2,429)


2,247




Prepaid expenses and other, net


(1,829)


(1,224)




Accrued expenses and other long-term liabilities


(14,224)


(20,741)




Deferred revenue


21,665


4,961





Net cash provided by (used in) continuing operations


27,447


(2,691)





Net cash (used in) provided by  discontinued operations


(8,233)


2,001





Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities


19,214


(690)










Cash flows from investing activities:






Proceeds from sales of available-for-sale securities


4,500


600


Purchases of property and equipment


(3,114)


(5,309)


Finalization of sale price of discontinued operations


(1,430)


250





Net cash used in continuing operations


(44)


(4,459)





Net cash used in discontinued operations


-


(829)





Net cash used in investing activities


(44)


(5,288)










Cash flows from financing activities:






Proceeds from issuance of common stock, net of cash used for employee withholding taxes


5,775


7,041


Repurchases of convertible notes


(22,565)


(78,183)


Purchase of treasury stock under repurchase program


(6,527)


-


Payment for shares tendered in 2009, delivered in 2010


(6,818)


-


Tax benefit on stock-based awards


1,413


-





Net cash used in financing activities


(28,722)


(71,142)

Effect of exchange rates on cash


-


(245)

Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents


(9,552)


(77,365)

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period


459,766


629,848

Cash and cash equivalents at end of period


$      450,214


$      552,483



FINANCIAL GUIDANCE SUMMARY


WebMD Health Corp.

2010 Financial Guidance

(in millions, except per share amounts)






Year Ended



December 31, 2010



Guidance Range






Revenue


$               510.0


$               525.0






Earnings before interest, taxes, non-cash





 and other items ("Adjusted EBITDA") (a)


$               150.0


$               158.0











Interest, taxes, non-cash and other items (b)





Interest income


4.0


4.0

Interest expense


(13.0)


(12.0)

Depreciation and amortization


(30.0)


(28.0)

Non-cash stock-based compensation


(33.0)


(31.0)

Loss on convertible notes


(3.7)


(3.7)

Loss on auction rate securities


(28.8)


(28.8)

Other expenses, net


(0.3)


(0.3)

Consolidated pre-tax income from continuing operations


45.2


58.2






Income tax provision


(9.0)


(15.0)






Consolidated income from continuing operations


$                 36.2


$                 43.2











Income from continuing operations per share:





  Basic


$                 0.64


$                 0.76

  Diluted


$                 0.56


$                 0.66






Weighted-average shares outstanding used in computing income





from continuing operations per common share:





 Basic


57.0


57.0

 Diluted


65.0


65.0











(a) See Annex A - Explanation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures


(b) Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to consolidated income from continuing operations


Additional information regarding forecast for second quarter of 2010:

  -     Revenue is forecasted to be in excess of $115 in quarter ending June 30, 2010, an increase in excess of 16% from last year.  Public portal advertising and sponsorship revenue is expected to grow in excess of 23%.

  -     Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of revenue is forecasted to be in excess of 26% in quarter ending June 30, 2010

  -     Income from continuing operations as a percentage of revenue is forecasted to be in excess of 6% in quarter ending June 30, 2010


Additional information regarding full year 2010 forecast:

  -     Income tax rate is forecasted to be approximately 43% of pretax income for the second, third and fourth quarters of 2010.  

  -     The distribution of the annual revenue is expected to be approximately 83% public portal advertising and sponsorship and  17% private portal services.   Quarterly revenue distributions may vary from this annual estimate.

  -     2010 guidance excludes any gains or losses related to:

  -     Additional conversion and / or repurchases of convertible notes

  -     Sales of Porex Senior Secured Notes and / or other investments



ANNEX A


Explanation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

(All dollar amounts in thousands)



The accompanying WebMD Health Corp. press release and financial tables include both financial measures in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, as well as non-GAAP financial measures.  The non-GAAP financial measures represent earnings before interest, taxes, non-cash and other items (which we refer to as "Adjusted EBITDA") and related per share amounts.  Adjusted EBITDA should be viewed as supplemental to, and not as an alternative for, "consolidated income (loss) from continuing operations" or "net income (loss) attributable to Company stockholders" calculated in accordance with GAAP.  The accompanying financial tables include reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to GAAP financial measures.  

Adjusted EBITDA is used by our management as an additional measure of our company's performance for purposes of business decision-making, including developing budgets, managing expenditures, and evaluating potential acquisitions or divestitures.  Period-to-period comparisons of Adjusted EBITDA help our management identify additional trends in our company's financial results that may not be shown solely by period-to-period comparisons of consolidated income (loss) from continuing operations or net income (loss) attributable to Company stockholders.  In addition, we use Adjusted EBITDA in the incentive compensation programs applicable to many of our employees in order to evaluate our company's performance.  Our management recognizes that Adjusted EBITDA has inherent limitations because of the excluded items, particularly those items that are recurring in nature.  In order to compensate for those limitations, management also reviews the specific items that are excluded from Adjusted EBITDA, but included in consolidated income (loss) from continuing operations or net income (loss) attributable to Company stockholders, as well as trends in those items.  The amounts of those items are set forth, for the applicable periods, in the reconciliations of Adjusted EBITDA to consolidated income (loss) from continuing operations or to net income (loss) attributable to Company stockholders that accompany our press releases and disclosure documents containing non-GAAP financial measures, including the reconciliations contained in the accompanying financial tables.

We believe that the presentation of Adjusted EBITDA is useful to investors in their analysis of our results for reasons similar to the reasons why our management finds it useful and because it helps facilitate investor understanding of decisions made by management in light of the performance metrics used in making those decisions.  In addition, as more fully described below, we believe that providing Adjusted EBITDA, together with a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to consolidated income (loss) from continuing operations or to net income (loss) attributable to Company stockholders, helps investors make comparisons between our company and other companies that may have different capital structures, different effective income tax rates and tax attributes, different capitalized asset values and/or different forms of employee compensation.  However, Adjusted EBITDA is intended to provide a supplemental way of comparing our company with other public companies and is not intended as a substitute for comparisons based on "consolidated income (loss) from continuing operations" or "net income (loss) attributable to Company stockholders" calculated in accordance with GAAP.  In making any comparisons to other companies, investors need to be aware that companies use different non-GAAP measures to evaluate their financial performance.  Investors should pay close attention to the specific definition being used and to the reconciliation between such measures and the corresponding GAAP measures provided by each company under applicable SEC rules.

The following is an explanation of the items excluded by us from Adjusted EBITDA but included in consolidated income (loss) from continuing operations:

  • Depreciation and Amortization.  Depreciation and amortization expense is a non-cash expense relating to capital expenditures and intangible assets arising from acquisitions that are expensed on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of the related assets.  We exclude depreciation and amortization expense from Adjusted EBITDA because we believe that (i) the amount of such expenses in any specific period may not directly correlate to the underlying performance of our business operations and (ii) such expenses can vary significantly between periods as a result of new acquisitions and full amortization of previously acquired tangible and intangible assets.  Accordingly, we believe that this exclusion assists management and investors in making period-to-period comparisons of operating performance.  Investors should note that the use of tangible and intangible assets contributed to revenue in the periods presented and will contribute to future revenue generation and should also note that such expense will recur in future periods.

  • Stock-Based Compensation Expense.  Stock-based compensation expense is a non-cash expense arising from the grant of stock-based awards to employees.  We believe that excluding the effect of stock-based compensation from Adjusted EBITDA assists management and investors in making period-to-period comparisons in its operating performance because (i) the amount of such expenses in any specific period may not directly correlate to the underlying performance of our business operations and (ii) such expenses can vary significantly between periods as a result of the timing of grants of new stock-based awards, including grants in connection with acquisitions.  Additionally, we believe that excluding stock-based compensation from Adjusted EBITDA assists management and investors in making meaningful comparisons between our operating performance and the operating performance of other companies that may use different forms of employee compensation or different valuation methodologies for their stock-based compensation.  Investors should note that stock-based compensation is a key incentive offered to employees whose efforts contributed to the operating results in the periods presented and are expected to contribute to operating results in future periods.  Investors should also note that such expenses will recur in the future.  Stock-based compensation expenses included in the Consolidated Statement of Operations are summarized as follows:







Three Months Ended






March 31,






2010

2009





Non-cash stock-based compensation included in:




Cost of operations


$    1,789

$   1,623


Sales and marketing


$    2,193

$   1,550


General and administrative


$    3,855

$   5,981


Income from discontinued operations


$         --

$      317




  • Non-Cash Advertising Expense.  This expense relates to the usage of non-cash advertising obtained from News Corporation ("Newscorp") in exchange for equity securities issued in 2000.  The advertising was available only on various Newscorp properties, primarily its television network and cable channels, without any cash cost to us and expired in 2009.  We exclude this expense from Adjusted EBITDA (i) because it is a non-cash expense, (ii) because it is incremental to other non-television cash advertising expense that we may otherwise incur and (iii) to assist management and investors in comparing its operating results over multiple periods.  Investors should note that it is likely that we derived some benefit from such advertising. Non-cash advertising expenses included in the Consolidated Statement of Operations in Sales and Marketing expense were $1,753 for the three months ended March 31, 2009.  

  • Interest Income and Expense.  Interest income is associated with the level of marketable debt securities and other interest bearing accounts in which we invest, as well as with interest expense arising from our company's capital structure (including non-cash interest expense relating to our convertible notes).  Interest income and expense varies over time due to a variety of financing transactions and due to acquisitions and divestitures that we have entered into or may enter into in the future.  We have, in the past, issued convertible debentures, repurchased shares in cash tender offers and repurchased shares and convertible debentures through other repurchase transactions, and completed the divestiture of certain businesses.  We exclude interest income and interest expense from Adjusted EBITDA (i) because these items are not directly attributable to the performance of our business operations and, accordingly, their exclusion assists management and investors in making period-to-period comparisons of operating performance and (ii) to assist management and investors in making comparisons to companies with different capital structures.  Investors should note that interest income and expense will recur in future periods.  The following provides detail of the components of interest expense of our convertible notes:







Three Months Ended







March 31,







2010

2009







Non-cash interest expense





1.75% Convertible Notes


$       305

$     364



3-1/8% Convertible Notes


$    2,072

$  2,435


Cash interest expense






1.75% Convertible Notes


$    1,158

$  1,413



3-1/8% Convertible Notes


$    1,604

$  2,321





  • Income Tax Provision (Benefit).  We maintain a valuation allowance on a portion of our net deferred tax assets (including our net operating loss carryforwards), the amount of which may change from quarter to quarter based on factors that are not directly related to our results for the quarter.  The valuation allowance is either reversed through the statement of operations or additional paid-in capital.  The timing of such reversals has not been consistent and as a result, our income tax expense can fluctuate significantly from period to period in a manner not directly related to our operating performance.  We exclude the income tax provision (benefit) from Adjusted EBITDA (i) because we believe that the income tax provision (benefit) is not directly attributable to the underlying performance of our business operations and, accordingly, its exclusion assists management and investors in making period-to-period comparisons of operating performance and (ii) to assist management and investors in making comparisons to companies with different tax attributes.  Investors should note that income tax provision (benefit) will recur in future periods.

  • Other Items.  We engage in other activities and transactions that can impact our overall consolidated income (loss) from continuing operations.  In recent periods, these other items have included, but were not limited to, (i) legal expenses relating to the on-going Department of Justice investigation, (ii) gain or loss on repurchases and conversions of our convertible notes, (iii) a reduction of certain sales and use tax contingencies resulting from the expiration of certain applicable statutes of limitations, (iv) advisory expenses relating to the merger of HLTH Corporation into our company in 2009, (v) loss on auction rate securities, and (viii) restructuring charge.  We exclude these other items from Adjusted EBITDA because we believe these activities or transactions are not directly attributable to the performance of our business operations and, accordingly, their exclusion assists management and investors in making period-to-period comparisons of operating performance.  Investors should note that some of these other items may recur in future periods.

SOURCE WebMD