J2 GLOBAL (JCOM) has reported 21.68 percent rise in profit for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2016. The company has earned $43.16 million, or $0.89 a share in the quarter, compared with $35.47 million, or $0.72 a share for the same period last year. On the other hand, adjusted net income for the quarter stood at $72.20 million, or $1.49 a share compared with $63.10 million or $1.29 a share, a year ago.
Revenue during the quarter grew 22.95 percent to $251.84 million from $204.82 million in the previous year period. Gross margin for the quarter expanded 92 basis points over the previous year period to 84.03 percent. Total expenses were 72.93 percent of quarterly revenues, down from 74.10 percent for the same period last year. This has led to an improvement of 116 basis points in operating margin to 27.07 percent.
Operating income for the quarter was $68.16 million, compared with $53.05 million in the previous year period.
"2016 was a remarkable year," said Hemi Zucker, chief executive officer of j2 Global. "We exceeded our revenue expectations and achieved the high end of our EPS range. Fueled by our acquisition of Everyday Health, our largest ever, we are forecasting more than $1.1 billion in revenue, balanced between our Cloud and Media segments for this year. We are very excited about 2017 and are focused on our execution strength and planning for continued growth."
For fiscal year 2017, J2 GLOBAL forecasts revenue to be in the range of $1,130 million to $1,170 million. The company expects diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $5.60 to $6 on adjusted basis.
Operating cash flow improvesJ2 GLOBAL has generated cash of $282.39 million from operating activities during the year, up 23.28 percent or $53.33 million, when compared with the last year. The company has spent $448.86 million cash to meet investing activities during the year as against cash outgo of $335.70 million in the last year.
Cash flow from financing activities was $41.15 million for the year as against cash outgo of $67.36 million in the last year period.
Cash and cash equivalents stood at $123.95 million as on Dec. 31, 2016, down 51.49 percent or $131.58 million from $255.53 million on Dec. 31, 2015.
Working capital turns negative
Working capital of J2 GLOBAL has turned negative to $106.09 million on Dec. 31, 2016 from positive $286.15 million on Dec. 31, 2015. Current ratio was at 0.77 as on Dec. 31, 2016, down from 2.46 on Dec. 31, 2015.
Days sales outstanding went up to 37 days for the quarter compared with 26 days for the same period last year.
Debt increases substantiallyJ2 GLOBAL has witnessed an increase in total debt over the last one year. It stood at $780.63 million as on Dec. 31, 2016, up 31.77 percent or $188.23 million from $592.40 million on Dec. 31, 2015. Total debt was 37.85 percent of total assets as on Dec. 31, 2016, compared with 33.04 percent on Dec. 31, 2015. Debt to equity ratio was at 0.85 as on Dec. 31, 2016, up from 0.67 as on Dec. 31, 2015. Disclaimer: Please note that this is an auto-generated article. IRIS does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information. IRIS especially states that it has no financial liability whatsoever to any user on account of the use of information provided on its website. For queries contact: editor@irisindia.net
