AnalyticsBlackbaud Announces 2021 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Results

Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB), the world’s leading cloud software company powering social good, today announced financial results for its fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2021.

“The fourth quarter was a strong finish to what was a very successful year for Blackbaud on a much-improved market backdrop,” said Mike Gianoni, president and CEO, Blackbaud. “I believe 2021 was a turning point for our market and our company. We’re carrying a lot of momentum into 2022 and we just layered on a tremendous acquisition in EVERFI. Our plan to progress up the Rule of 40 by balancing sustainable mid-to-high single-digit organic revenue growth and meaningful margin expansion over the next few years is a winning combination for Blackbaud and our shareholders. The mid-point of our financial guidance for this year calls for total revenue growth of approximately 17%, a significant acceleration in organic revenue growth to approximately 5%, and nearly 30% on a Rule of 40 basis which is roughly 250 basis points of improvement year over year at constant currency. Given our strong performance in 2021 and our acquisition of EVERFI, we’re also pulling forward our timeline to achieve our long-term aspirational goals by several years.”

Fourth Quarter 2021 Results Compared to Fourth Quarter 2020 Results:

  • GAAP total revenue was $247.9 million, up 2.2%, with $238.6 million in GAAP recurring revenue, up 4.0%.
  • Non-GAAP organic recurring revenue increased 4.0%.
  • GAAP loss from operations was $6.6 million, with GAAP operating margin of (2.7)%, a decrease of 230 basis points.
  • Non-GAAP income from operations was $49.0 million, with non-GAAP operating margin of 19.8%, a decrease of 420 basis points.
  • GAAP net loss was $7.1 million, with GAAP diluted loss per share of $0.15, up $0.13 per share.
  • Non-GAAP net income was $36.0 million, with non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.75, down $0.10 per share.
  • Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA was $60.7 million, down $8.2 million, with non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA margin of 24.5%, a decrease of 390 basis points.
  • GAAP net cash provided by operating activities was $43.9 million, an increase of $5.1 million.
  • Non-GAAP free cash flow was $29.7 million, an increase of $4.9 million, with non-GAAP free cash flow margin of 12.0%, an increase of 180 basis points.

“The continued acceleration of contractual recurring revenue and another strong transactional revenue performance drove Q4 recurring revenue growth of 4.0%,” said Tony Boor, executive vice president and CFO, Blackbaud. “This is a great indication of what’s achievable going forward as we continue to execute against the ten growth drivers outlined as part of our investor session this time last year. We anticipate the majority of our full year organic revenue growth in 2022 to come from accelerated contractual recurring revenue growth, continued strength in our transactional revenues, and the leveling off of our one-time services and other revenue after several years of strategically shifting away from one-time services. Our profitability and free cash flow well exceeded our initial expectations in 2021. The timing of some anticipated spend pushed from 2021 to 2022 in areas like innovation, customer success, security and cloud infrastructure and a higher velocity sales motion, but we’re well positioned to drive substantial margin expansion beyond 2022. We’re executing against our strategic plan to achieve the Rule of 40 as a company, and our accelerating growth combined with our margin expansion initiatives has us well positioned to accomplish this goal sooner than we originally anticipated.”

An explanation of all non-GAAP financial measures referenced in this press release, including the Rule of 40, is included below under the heading “Non-GAAP Financial Measures.” A reconciliation of the company’s non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP measures has been provided in the financial statement tables included below in this press release.

Recent Company Highlights

  • Blackbaud acquired EVERFI, a SaaS leader powering corporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives that reach millions of learners each year. The acquisition doubles Blackbaud’s total addressable market to more than $20 billion, presents substantial cross-sell opportunity with YourCause® from Blackbaud and is expected to be significantly accretive to total revenue growth in 2022, and to pull forward the company’s timeline to achieve long-term financial goals.
  • During the fourth quarter, Blackbaud repurchased 138,785 shares of its common stock at a total cost of $10.1 million, and in December 2021, the board of directors of Blackbaud reauthorized and replenished the company’s existing share repurchase program to $250.0 million.
  • The Blackbaud Institute’s annual Charitable Giving Report found that overall U.S. giving grew 9% in 2021—the largest increase since 2012—and online giving has grown a substantial 42% since 2019.
  • Newsweek named Blackbaud to its list of America’s Most Responsible Companies 2022—a recognition that highlights leaders in CSR and ESG policies. Blackbaud ranked in the top 25 in the software and telecommunications industry.
  • Blackbaud was recognized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation as a Citizens Award winner in the category of Best Corporate Steward—Small and Middle-Market Business, which honors companies for excellence in corporate citizenship.
  • Blackbaud provided updates on its Social Good Startup Program—an accelerator for early-stage startups impacting the Ecosystem of Good®. Since the program began in 2019, Blackbaud has supported 27 startups that have collectively raised more than $45 million in fundraising and have published multiple integrations to the Blackbaud Marketplace.

Visit www.blackbaud.com/newsroom for more information about Blackbaud’s recent highlights.

Full-Year 2021 Results Compared to Full-Year 2020 Results:

  • GAAP total revenue was $927.7 million, up 1.6%, with $880.9 million in GAAP recurring revenue, up 3.5%.
  • Non-GAAP organic recurring revenue increased 3.5%.
  • GAAP income from operations was $24.9 million, with GAAP operating margin of 2.7%, a decrease of 140 basis points.
  • Non-GAAP income from operations was $200.8 million, with non-GAAP operating margin of 21.6%, an increase of 30 basis points.
  • GAAP net income was $5.7 million, with GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.12, down $0.04 per share.
  • Non-GAAP net income was $146.4 million, with non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of $3.04, up $0.10 per share.
  • Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA was $246.1 million, up $4.2 million, with non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA margin of 26.5%, unchanged.
  • GAAP net cash provided by operating activities was $213.7 million, an increase of $65.7 million.
  • Non-GAAP free cash flow was $161.5 million, an increase of $85.4 million, with non-GAAP free cash flow margin of 17.4%, an increase of 910 basis points.

Financial Outlook

Blackbaud today announced its 2022 full year financial guidance:

  • Non-GAAP revenue of $1.075 billion to $1.095 billion; includes ~$120 million of expected EVERFI non-GAAP revenue
  • Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA margin of 24.0% to 24.5%; includes ~$13 million of expected EVERFI non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA
  • Non-GAAP earnings per share of $2.63 to $2.82
  • Non-GAAP adjusted free cash flow of $165.0 million to $175.0 million

Included in its 2022 full year financial guidance are the following assumptions:

  • Non-GAAP annualized effective tax rate is expected to be 20%
  • Interest expense for the year is expected to be approximately $30.0 million to $33.0 million
  • Fully diluted shares for the year are expected to be in the range of 52.0 million to 53.5 million
  • Capital expenditures for the year are expected to be in the range of $60.0 million to $70.0 million, including approximately $45.0 million to $55.0 million of capitalized software development costs

Blackbaud has not reconciled forward-looking full-year non-GAAP financial measures contained in this news release to their most directly comparable GAAP measures, as permitted by Item 10(e)(1)(i)(B) of Regulation S-K. Such reconciliations would require unreasonable efforts at this time to estimate and quantify with a reasonable degree of certainty various necessary GAAP components, including for example those related to compensation, acquisition transactions and integration, tax items or others that may arise during the year. These components and other factors could materially impact the amount of the future directly comparable GAAP measures, which may differ significantly from their non-GAAP counterparts.

In order to provide a meaningful basis for comparison, Blackbaud now uses non-GAAP adjusted free cash flow in analyzing its operating performance. Non-GAAP adjusted free cash flow is defined as operating cash flow less capital expenditures, including costs required to be capitalized for software development, capital expenditures for property and equipment, and less cash outflows, net of insurance, related to the previously disclosed Security Incident discovered in May 2020 (the “Security Incident”). For full year 2022, Blackbaud currently expects net cash outlays of $25 million to $35 million for ongoing legal fees related to the Security Incident. In line with the Company’s  policy, all associated costs due to third-party service providers and consultants, including legal fees, are expensed as incurred. As of December 31, 2021, Blackbaud has not recorded a loss contingency related to the Security Incident as it is unable to reasonably estimate the possible amount or range of such loss. Please refer to the section below titled “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for more information on Blackbaud’s use of non-GAAP financial measures.

Financial Goals

Blackbaud today revised its long-term financial goals:

Near-Term

Mid-Term

Long-Term

Current

Prior

Current

Prior

Current

Prior

FY 2022
Guidance
Mid-Point

FY 2021

2024-2025

3-4 Years
Post-
Pandemic

2027-2028

Aspirational

Non-GAAP Organic
Revenue Growth

~5%

Variable

Mid to High
Single-Digit
Annually

Mid Single-
Digit
Annually

High Single-
Digit
Annually

Mid to High
Single-Digit
Annually

Rule of 401

~30%

25%+

35%+

35%+

40%+

40%+

1 Measured by Non-GAAP organic revenue growth plus Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA margin; both at constant currency

Conference Call Details

What:

Blackbaud’s Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2021 Conference Call

When: 

February 23, 2022

Time: 

8:00 a.m. (Eastern Time)

Live Call: 

1-877-407-3088 (US/Canada)

Webcast: 

Blackbaud’s Investor Relations Webpage

PRNewswire

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *