Q1'09 Revenue Increases by 12% Year-Over-Year to $32.3 Million Q1'09 Net Income Increases by 161% Year-Over-Year to $5.4 Million Q1'09 Earnings Per Share of $0.12
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, May 6, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MercadoLibre, Inc. (Nasdaq:MELI) (http://www.mercadolibre.com), host of the largest online commerce platform in Latin America, today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2009.
Marcos Galperin, President and Chief Executive Officer of MercadoLibre, Inc., commented, "We are pleased that we have continued our strong positive momentum into 2009 and are very encouraged by our performance. We have been particularly gratified with the continued growth in successful items, which has consistently accelerated over the past 4 quarters, as this is a key to the ongoing success of our company. As we move forward, we plan to continue our focus on a number of important initiatives that will enable us to continue enhancing our platform and further elevate the user experience as we drive long-term growth."
Financial Results
First Quarter 2009 Financial Results Summary
MercadoLibre reported consolidated net revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2009 of $32.3 million, representing a year-over-year growth rate of 12.1%.
Revenue growth was driven by increased consumer demand for both the MercadoLibre Marketplace and MercadoPago Payments offerings. Successful items on MercadoLibre grew 29.4%, gross merchandise volume in local currencies grew 40.7% and total payments volume in local currencies grew 31.9% year over year, despite a weaker macroeconomic environment throughout Latin America. Marketplace revenue grew 10.5% to $26.0 million from $23.5 million in the prior year quarter and Payments revenue grew 18.8% to $6.4 million from $5.4 million in the prior year first quarter, both impacted by weakened local currency exchange rates against the U.S. dollar. Local currency consolidated net revenues for the first quarter of 2009 grew 36.9% over the same quarter of 2008.
First quarter 2009 gross profit margin increased slightly to 79.5% when compared to 79.1% for the first quarter of 2008. Gross profit grew 12.6% to $25.7 million from $22.8 million in the prior year quarter.
Income from operations grew 3.4% to $6.8 million in the first quarter of 2009 compared to $6.5 million in the first quarter of 2008. Operating income margin for the first quarter of 2009 was 20.9%, a decrease from 22.7% for the same period one year earlier.
Income from operations was negatively impacted by $2.0 million from the re-measurement of U.S. dollar denominated expenses in the company's Venezuelan subsidiaries, of which $0.5 million were recorded as cost of net revenues and $1.6 million as operating expenses, and by $0.4 million incurred in withholding taxes in Brazil and Mexico.
Net income for the three-month period ending March 31, 2009 was $5.4 million, an increase of 160.7% over the $2.1 million of net income for the same period of 2008. Net income margin was 16.7% for the quarter compared to 7.2% for the same quarter during 2008. Net income for the first quarter 2009, measured in local currencies, grew 198.4% over the same period one year earlier. Net Income, or Earnings, per share for the quarter were $0.12.
The blended tax rate for the first quarter of 2009 fell to 23.7% versus a blended tax rate of 58.1% for the first quarter of 2008 as a consequence of certain non recurring items and improvements in the company's tax planning.
Foreign currency gains for the first quarter of 2009 were $1.9 million, versus a loss of $1.0 million for the prior year period. Foreign exchange gains were primarily a consequence of the appreciation of U.S. dollar denominated assets, and of the re-measurement of U.S. dollar denominated accounts payable in Venezuela being recognized as either cost of net revenues or operational expenses in 2009, instead of being reported as foreign currency losses as was the case in the first quarter of 2008.
Key Performance Metrics
The following table summarizes certain key performance metrics for the three months ended March 31, 2008 and 2009.
Three Months ended March 31, ------------------------- (in millions) 2008 2009 % YoY growth ------------------------- Total confirmed registered users at end of period 26.5 35.7 34.6% New confirmed registered users during period 1.6 1.9 20.2% Gross merchandise volume during period $449.7 $520.9 15.8% Successful items during period 4.6 6.0 29.4% --------------------------------------------------------------------- Total payment volume during period $ 52.3 $ 53.2 1.6% Total payment transactions during period 0.4 0.5 27.6% ---------------------------------------------------------------------
Conference Call and Webcast
MercadoLibre will host a conference call and audio webcast on May 6, 2009 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The conference call may be accessed by dialing 719-325-4766 and requesting inclusion in the call for MercadoLibre. The live conference call can be accessed via audio webcast at the investor relations section of the Company's website, at http://investor.mercadolibre.com. An archive of the webcast will be available for one week following the conclusion of the conference call.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This press release includes financial measures defined as "non-GAAP financial measures" by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). See "Non-GAAP Measures of Financial Performance" for more information about these measures.
Definition of Selected Operational Metrics
New confirmed registered users -- Measure of the number of new users who have registered on the MercadoLibre Marketplace and confirmed their registration.
Total confirmed registered users -- Measure of the cumulative number of users who have registered on the MercadoLibre Marketplace and confirmed their registration.
Gross merchandise volume -- Measure of the total U.S. dollar sum of all transactions completed through the MercadoLibre Marketplace, excluding motor vehicles, vessels, aircraft, real estate, and services.
Successful items -- Measure of the number of items sold/purchased through the MercadoLibre Marketplace.
Total payment volume -- Measure of total U.S. dollar value of all transactions paid for using MercadoPago.
Total payment transactions -- Measure of the total number of transactions paid for using MercadoPago.
Gross profit margin -- Defined as gross profit as a percentage of net revenues.
Operating margin -- Defined as income from operations as a percentage of net revenues.
Net Income margin -- Defined as net income as a percentage of net revenues.
Blended tax rate -- Defined as income and alternative income taxes plus deferred income tax as a percentage of pre-tax income.
Effective tax rate -- Defined as the provision for income taxes as a percentage of pre-tax income.
Local currency financial metric growth -- Calculated by using the average monthly exchange rates for each month during 2008 and applying them to the corresponding months in 2009, so as to calculate what financial results would have been had exchange rates remained stable from one year to the next.
About MercadoLibre
MercadoLibre is the largest online commerce platform in Latin America. We are market leaders in e-commerce in each of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela, based on unique visitors and page views during 2008. Additionally, we have recently launched online trading platforms in Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Panama. With a population of over 550 million people and a region with one of the world's fastest-growing Internet penetration rates, we provide buyers and sellers a robust online trading environment that fosters the development of a large and growing e-commerce community. We offer a technological and commercial solution that addresses the distinctive cultural and geographic challenges of operating an online trading platform in Latin America.
The MercadoLibre, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=4193
Forward-Looking Statements
Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact, including statements about the company's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements and should be evaluated as such. Such forward-looking statements reflect, among other things, the company's current expectations, plans, projections and strategies, anticipated financial results, future events and financial trends affecting the company's business, all of which are subject to known or unknown risk and uncertainties that may cause the company's actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, including general market conditions, adverse changes in the company's markets and other risks disclosed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Because of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions, investors should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements.
Financial Tables
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets March 31, December 31, 2009 2008 ------------- ------------- (Unaudited) (Audited) Assets Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents $ 17,006,309 $ 17,474,112 Short-term investments 29,354,094 31,639,400 Accounts receivable, net 3,481,627 3,856,392 Funds receivable from customers 3,209,827 2,322,416 Prepaid expenses 804,176 426,869 Deferred tax assets 1,118,510 1,628,871 Other assets 2,299,824 2,953,164 ------------- ------------- Total current assets 57,274,367 60,301,224 Non-current assets: Long-term investments 13,763,469 9,218,153 Property and equipment, net 6,730,431 5,940,160 Goodwill and intangible assets, net 71,431,003 72,911,546 Deferred tax assets 12,708 14,270 Other assets 11,686,512 8,353,396 ------------- ------------- Total non-current assets 103,624,123 96,437,525 Total assets $160,898,490 $156,738,749 ============= ============= Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity Current liabilities: Accounts payable and accrued expenses $ 17,877,233 $ 16,941,173 Funds payable to customers 16,034,604 14,727,891 Social security payable 3,538,167 4,387,943 Taxes payable 4,234,491 4,989,704 Loans payable and other financial liabilities 18,490,600 14,963,421 Deferred tax liabilities -- -- Other liabilities -- -- Provisions 565,653 299,753 ------------- ------------- Total current liabilities 60,740,748 56,309,885 Non-current liabilities: Social security payable 1,144,606 339,854 Loans payable -- 3,050,061 Deferred tax liabilities 2,370,161 2,556,120 Other liabilities 1,116,395 1,058,848 ------------- ------------- Total non-current liabilities 4,631,162 7,004,883 Total liabilities $ 65,371,910 $ 63,314,768 ============= ============= Commitments and contingencies Shareholders' equity: Common stock, $0.001 par value, 110,000,000 shares authorized, 44,073,967 and 44,070,367 shares issued and outstanding at March 31, 2009 and December 31, 2008, respectively 44,074 44,071 Additional paid-in capital 119,904,615 119,807,007 Accumulated deficit (10,161,080) (15,552,256) Accumulated other comprehensive loss (14,261,029) (10,874,841) ------------- ------------- Total shareholders' equity 95,526,580 93,423,981 Total liabilities and shareholders' equity $160,898,490 $156,738,749 ============= =============
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income Three months ended March 31, 2009 2008 ------------- ------------- (Unaudited) Net revenues $ 32,322,501 $ 28,840,730 Cost of net revenues (6,633,986) (6,018,281) ------------- ------------- Gross profit 25,688,515 22,822,449 Operating expenses: Product and technology development (2,633,419) (1,744,511) Sales and marketing (10,216,177) (9,214,659) General and administrative (6,071,375) (4,947,604) Compensation Cost related to acquisitions -- (373,473) ------------- ------------- Total operating expenses (18,920,971) (16,280,247) ------------- ------------- Income from operations 6,767,544 6,542,202 ------------- ------------- Other income (expenses): Interest income and other financial gains 929,663 749,354 Interest expense and other financial charges (2,510,184) (1,362,800) Foreign currency gain / (loss) 1,875,486 (988,715) ------------- ------------- Net income before income / asset tax expense 7,062,509 4,940,041 ------------- ------------- Income / asset tax expense (1,671,333) (2,872,364) ------------- ------------- Net income $ 5,391,176 $ 2,067,677 ============= ============= Three months ended March 31, 2009 2008 ------------- ------------- Basic EPS Basic net income per common share $ 0.12 $ 0.05 ============= ============= Weighted average shares 44,069,134 44,227,460 ============= ============= Diluted EPS Diluted net income per common share $ 0.12 $ 0.05 ============= ============= Weighted average shares 44,130,866 44,368,011 ============= =============
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows Three months ended March 31, 2009 2008 ------------- ------------- (Unaudited) Cash flows from operations: Net income $ 5,391,176 $ 2,067,677 Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities: Depreciation and amortization 956,491 707,450 Interest expense 234,294 -- Realized gains on investments (365,117) (555,455) Unrealized gains on investments -- (82,368) Stock-based compensation expense - stock options 436 1,224 Stock-based compensation expense - restricted shares 16,933 20,075 LTRP accrued compensation 205,251 -- Deferred income taxes 462,974 (495,224) Changes in assets and liabilities, excluding the effect of acquisitions: Accounts receivable (592,602) 292,236 Funds receivable from customers (908,809) 3,880,478 Prepaid expenses (393,388) (3,673,183) Other assets (2,465,124) 273,814 Accounts payable and accrued expenses 613,690 3,533,141 Funds payable to customers 1,322,085 (141,227) Provisions 296,001 (383,137) Deferred tax liabilities (185,959) 1,670,766 Other liabilities (78,893) (217,596) ------------- ------------- Net cash provided by operating activities 4,509,439 6,898,671 ------------- ------------- Cash flows from investing activities: Purchase of investments (33,656,429) (48,626,371) Proceeds from sale and maturity of investments 31,222,728 63,604,369 Payment for businesses acquired, net of cash acquired -- (16,824,065) Purchase of intangible assets (918,479) (7,344) Purchases of property and equipment (1,738,040) (1,139,166) ------------- ------------- Net cash used in investing activities (5,090,220) (2,992,577) ------------- ------------- Cash flows from financing activities: Decrease in short term debt (57,175) (6,216,965) Loans received -- 9,018 Stock options exercised -- 4,502 Issuance of common stock 3 -- ------------- ------------- Net cash used in financing activities (57,172) (6,203,445) ------------- ------------- Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents 170,150 567,871 ------------- ------------- Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents (467,803) (1,729,480) ------------- ------------- Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of the period 17,474,112 15,677,407 ------------- ------------- Cash and cash equivalents, end of the period $ 17,006,309 $ 13,947,927 ============= =============
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows Three months ended March 31, 2009 2008 ------------- ------------- (Unaudited) Supplemental cash flow information: Cash paid for interest $ 2,041,212 $ 922,850 Cash paid for income taxes $ 2,284,364 $ 2,647,361 Acquisition of Classified Media Group: Cash and cash equivalents $ -- $ 554,739 Accounts receivable -- 56,613 Other current assets -- 904,791 Non current assets -- 365,190 ------------- ------------- Total assets acquired -- 1,881,333 ------------- ------------- Accounts payable and accrued expenses -- 69,516 Taxes payable -- 459,462 Social security payable -- 243,141 Non current liabilities -- 14,000 Provisions -- 408,336 ------------- ------------- Total liabilities assumed -- 1,194,455 ------------- ------------- Net assets acquired -- 686,878 ------------- ------------- Goodwill -- 13,037,504 Trademarks -- 5,622,188 Deferred Income Tax on Trademarks -- (1,967,766) ------------- ------------- Total purchase price -- 17,378,804 ------------- ------------- Cash and cash equivalents acquired -- (554,739) ------------- ------------- Payment for businesses acquired, net of cash acquired $ -- $ 16,824,065 ============= =============
The following tables summarize the financial results of our reporting segments: Three months ended March 31, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------ Marketplaces ------------------------------------------------------ Brazil Argentina Mexico Venezuela ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Net revenues $ 9,878,197 $ 4,965,877 $ 2,868,922 $ 6,365,820 Direct costs (6,605,658) (2,176,755) (1,795,937) (4,051,050) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Direct contribution 3,272,539 2,789,122 1,072,985 2,314,770 Operating expenses and indirect costs of net revenues Income from operations Other income (expenses): Interest income and other financial gains Interest expense and other financial results Foreign currency gain Net income before income / asset tax expense Three months ended March 31, 2009 ------------------------------------------------------ Marketplaces ------------------------------------------------------ Other Countries Total Payments Consolidated ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Net revenues $ 1,875,105 $ 25,953,921 $ 6,368,580 $ 32,322,501 Direct costs (999,405) (15,628,805) (4,081,206) (19,710,011) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Direct contribution 875,700 10,325,116 2,287,374 12,612,490 Operating expenses and indirect costs of net revenues (5,844,946) ------------ Income from operations 6,767,544 ------------ Other income (expenses): Interest income and other financial gains 929,663 Interest expense and other financial results (2,510,184) Foreign currency gain 1,875,486 ------------ Net income before income / asset tax expense $ 7,062,509 ============ Three months ended March 31, 2008 ------------------------------------------------------ Marketplaces ------------------------------------------------------ Brazil Argentina Mexico Venezuela ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Net revenues $ 11,875,567 $ 3,526,352 $ 2,939,845 $ 3,757,931 Direct costs (7,526,444) (1,851,805) (2,023,247) (2,616,075) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Direct contribution 4,349,123 1,674,547 916,598 1,141,856 Operating expenses and indirect costs of net revenues Income from operations Other income (expenses): Interest income and other financial gains Interest expense and other financial results Foreign currency loss Net income before income / asset tax expense Three months ended March 31, 2008 ------------------------------------------------------ Marketplaces ------------------------------------------------------ Other Countries Total Payments Consolidated ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Net revenues $ 1,380,962 $ 23,480,657 $ 5,360,073 $ 28,840,730 Direct costs (516,274) (14,533,845) (3,683,667) (18,217,512) ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------ Direct contribution 864,688 8,946,812 1,676,406 10,623,218 Operating expenses and indirect costs of net revenues (4,081,016) ------------ Income from operations 6,542,202 ------------ Other income (expenses): Interest income and other financial gains 749,354 Interest expense and other financial results (1,362,800) Foreign currency loss (988,715) ------------ Net income before income / asset tax expense $ 4,940,041 ============
Non-GAAP Measures of Financial Performance
This press release includes certain non-GAAP financial measures as defined under Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Rules to supplement the company's condensed consolidated financial statements presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP.
These measures are not in accordance with, or an alternative to, measures prepared in accordance with GAAP and may be different from non-GAAP measures used by other companies. In addition, these non-GAAP measures are not based on any comprehensive set of accounting rules or principles. Non-GAAP measures have limitations in that they do not reflect all of the amounts associated with MercadoLibre's results of operations as the corresponding GAAP measures.
Reconciliation to the most comparable GAAP measure of all non-GAAP financial measures included in this press release can be found in the tables included at the end of this press release.
These non-GAAP measures are provided to enhance investors' overall understanding of the company's current financial performance. Specifically, the company believes the non-GAAP measures provide useful information to both management and investors by excluding certain compensation expenses and unusual foreign currency effects that may not be indicative of its core operating results, thereby enhancing an investor's ability to make period over period comparisons of the company's results. The company believes the inclusion of these non-GAAP measures provides an element of consistency in the company's financial reporting and uses these measures in internal budgets and models and in determining executive compensation benchmarks.
EBITDA is a common financial measure defined by MercadoLibre as income from operations plus depreciation and amortization.
MercadoLibre defines non-GAAP free cash flow as net cash provided by operating activities less property, plant and equipment investments and intangible assets.
MercadoLibre also includes each of income from operations, net income, earnings per basic and diluted share, EBITDA, blended and effective tax rates and certain margin percentages for the quarter ended March 31, 2009 after excluding (or adding back) the following charges required by GAAP:
Compensation Costs Related to Acquisitions: This amount relates to the purchase price of the shares of CMG and its subsidiaries. Under EITF 95-8 "Accounting for Contingent Consideration Paid to the Shareholders of an Acquired Enterprise in a Purchase Business Combination", we have recognized a contingent consideration paid to former shareholders as compensation for services. As of March 31, 2008 the accrued compensation costs amounted to $0.4 million. Total compensation paid in cash amounts to $1.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2008. This compensation was paid out in the second quarter of 2008. The following tables show a reconciliation of this exclusion from the GAAP measures to the non-GAAP measures.
Long term retention compensation costs: In addition to annual salary and bonus, MercadoLibre has adopted a long term retention component of executive compensation that pays cash and grants shares of common stock to employees ratably in succeeding years based on achievement of company and individual performance benchmarks during the measurement year. The U.S. GAAP compensation cost of approved and projected retention plans is recognized in accordance with the graded-vesting attribution method and is accrued up to each payment day. The non-GAAP measures were calculated with the cost of each year being accrued in the full fiscal year immediately preceding the payment date. The following table shows the impact of the difference in the accruing method as if the LTRP were a cash bonus and to highlight this accruing matter.
Reconciliation of certain Non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measures
Three months ended March 31, ----------------------------- 2009 2008 ------------- ------------- Income from operations $ 6,767,544 $ 6,542,203 Long term retention plan compensation 167,260 -- Compensation costs related to acquisitions 373,473.00 ------------- ------------- Non-GAAP income from operations $ 6,934,803 $ 6,915,676 ------------- ------------- Non-GAAP income from operations margin 21.5% 24.0% ------------- ------------- Depreciation and Amortization 956,491 707,450 ------------- ------------- Non-GAAP EBITDA $ 7,891,294 $ 7,623,125 ------------- ------------- Non-GAAP EBITDA operating margin 24.4% 26.4% ------------- ------------- Three months ended March 31, ----------------------------- 2009 2008 ------------- ------------- Net income $ 5,391,176 $ 2,067,677 Long term retention plan compensation net of tax effect 115,360 -- Venezuelan foreign currency re-measurement effect (1,047,924) -- Compensation costs related to acquisitions -- 373,473 ------------- ------------- Non-GAAP net income $ 4,458,611 $ 2,441,150 ------------- ------------- Basic net income per common share: $ 0.12 $ 0.05 ------------- ------------- Non-GAAP basic net income per common share: $ 0.10 $ 0.06 ------------- ------------- Shares used in basic net income per share calculation: 44,069,134 44,227,460 ------------- ------------- Diluted net income per common share $ 0.12 $ 0.05 ------------- ------------- Non-GAAP diluted net income per common share: $ 0.10 $ 0.06 ------------- ------------- Shares used in diluted net income per share calculation: 44,130,866 44,368,011 ------------- ------------- Three months ended March 31, ----------------------------- 2009 2008 ------------- ------------- Income and asset tax expense $ 1,671,333 $ 2,872,364 Income taxes related with long term retention plan compensation 51,900 -- Income taxes related with Venezuelan foreign currency effects (539,840) -- ------------- ------------- Non-GAAP income and asset tax expense $ 1,183,393 $ 2,872,364 ------------- ------------- Income before income taxes $ 7,062,509 $ 4,940,041 Long term retention plan compensation 167,260 -- Venezuelan foreign currency re-measurement effect (1,587,764) -- Compensation costs related to acquisitions -- 373,473 ------------- ------------- Non-GAAP income before income taxes $ 5,642,004 $ 5,313,514 ------------- ------------- Blended tax rate (1) 23.7% 58.1% ------------- -------------- Non-GAAP Blended tax rate (1) 21.0% 54.1% ------------- ------------- Effective tax rate (2) (3) 18.0% 48.3% ------------- ------------- Non-GAAP Effective tax rate (2) (3) 22.5% 44.9% ------------- ------------- (1) Blended tax rate defined as income and asset tax expense as a percentage of income before income and asset tax. (2) Effective income tax rate defined as the provision for income taxes as a percentage of income before income tax. (3) The effective tax rate does not include the effect of the Mexican Tax called Impuesto Empresarial a Tasa Unica (IETU). Three months ended March 31, ----------------------------- 2009 2008 ------------- ------------- Net cash provided by operating activities $ 4,509,439 $ 6,898,671 Compensation costs related to acquisitions -- 373,473 ------------- ------------- Non-GAAP net cash provided by operating activities $ 4,509,439 $ 7,272,144 ------------- ------------- Net cash used in investing activities $ (5,090,220) $ (2,992,577) Purchase of intangible assets -- (373,473) ------------- ------------- Non-GAAP net cash used in investing activities $ (5,090,220) $ (3,366,050) ------------- ------------- Three months ended March 31, ----------------------------- 2009 2008 ------------- ------------- Net cash provided by operating activities $ 4,509,439 $ 6,898,671 Less: Purchase of intangible assets $ (918,479) $ (7,344) Less: Purchase of property and equipment, net $ (1,738,040) $ (1,139,166) ------------- ------------- Non-GAAP free cash flow $ 1,852,920 $ 5,752,161 ------------- ------------- Three months ended March 31, ----------------------------- 2009 2008 ------------- ------------- Net revenue $ 32,322,501 $ 28,840,730 ------------- ------------- GAAP Net Income $ 5,391,176 $ 2,067,677 Earnings per share (basic) $ 0.12 $ 0.05 Earnings per share (diluted) $ 0.12 $ 0.05 ------------- ------------- Non-GAAP Net Income $ 4,458,611 $ 2,441,150 Earnings per share (basic) $ 0.10 $ 0.06 Earnings per share (diluted) $ 0.10 $ 0.06
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