WATERTOWN, Mass., Dec. 11, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- athenahealth, Inc. (Nasdaq:ATHN) (the "Company"), a leading provider of cloud-based electronic health record (EHR), practice management, and care coordination services to medical groups and health systems, today reaffirmed financial guidance for fiscal year 2013 and announced financial guidance for fiscal year 2014. The Company will host its Sixth Annual Investor Summit tomorrow, Thursday, December 12, 2013, starting at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time to provide an update on the Company's business and share management's outlook for future financial and operational performance.

The Company's fiscal year 2013 and 2014 guidance is presented below:

"We are very excited about our growth opportunities and are pleased to present an ambitious financial plan for fiscal year 2014. We expect a year of continued investment as we broaden our service portfolio and deepen our capabilities to transform and support the full continuum of care," said Tim Adams, the Company's Chief Financial Officer. "We are highly confident that our strategic investments are expanding our addressable market and our portfolio of services while strengthening our position to achieve the ultimate goal of becoming this nation's health information backbone."

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In the Company's earnings releases, conference calls, slide presentations, and webcasts, the Company may use or discuss non-GAAP financial measures, as defined by SEC Regulation G. The GAAP financial measure most directly comparable to each non-GAAP financial measure used or discussed, and a reconciliation of the differences between each non-GAAP financial measure and the comparable GAAP financial measure, are included in this press release. The Company's earnings press releases containing such non-GAAP reconciliations can be found on the Investors section of the Company's web site at http://www.athenahealth.com.

Webcast Information

A live webcast of the Company's Sixth Annual Investor Summit can be accessed via the Investors section of the Company's website at http://www.athenahealth.com. A replay of this webcast will be available on the website within 24 hours following the event and will remain available through March 12, 2014.

About athenahealth

athenahealth is a leading provider of cloud-based services for electronic health record (EHR), practice management, and care coordination. athenahealth's mission is to be caregivers' most trusted service, helping them do well doing the right thing. For more information, please visit www.athenahealth.com or call 888-652-8200.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements reflecting management's expectations for future financial and operational performance and operating expenditures, expected growth, and business outlook; statements regarding the benefits of and potential market for the Company's service offerings; statements about the Company's investments in growth and the development of its services; statements regarding the Company's role as a health information backbone; and statements found under the Company's "Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures to Comparable GAAP Measures For Fiscal Year 2013 Guidance" and "Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures to Comparable GAAP Measures For Fiscal Year 2014 Guidance" sections of this release. The forward-looking statements in this release do not constitute guarantees of future performance. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements. In particular, the risks and uncertainties include, among other things: the Company's fluctuating operating results; the Company's variable sales and implementation cycles, which may result in fluctuations in its quarterly results; risks associated with the acquisition and integration of companies and new technologies; risks associated with its expectations regarding its ability to maintain profitability; the impact of increased sales and marketing expenditures, including whether increased expansion in revenues is attained and whether impact on margins and profitability is longer term than expected; changes in tax rates or exposure to additional tax liabilities; the highly competitive industry in which the Company operates and the relative immaturity of the market for its service offerings; and the evolving and complex governmental and regulatory compliance environment in which the Company and its clients operate. Existing and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise the information contained in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances, or otherwise. For additional disclosure regarding these and other risks faced by the Company, please see the disclosures contained in its public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, available on the Investors section of the Company's website at http://www.athenahealth.com and on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov.

Explanation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The Company reports its financial results in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or GAAP. However, management believes that, in order to properly understand the Company's short-term and long-term financial and operational trends, investors may wish to consider the impact of certain non-cash or non-recurring items, when used as a supplement to financial performance measures in accordance with GAAP. These items result from facts and circumstances that vary in frequency and impact on continuing operations. Management also uses results of operations before such items to evaluate the operating performance of the Company and compare it against past periods, make operating decisions, and serve as a basis for strategic planning. These non-GAAP financial measures provide management with additional means to understand and evaluate the operating results and trends in the Company's ongoing business by eliminating certain non-cash expenses and other items that management believes might otherwise make comparisons of the Company's ongoing business with prior periods more difficult, obscure trends in ongoing operations, or reduce management's ability to make useful forecasts. Management believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide additional means of evaluating period-over-period operating performance. In addition, management understands that some investors and financial analysts find this information helpful in analyzing the Company's financial and operational performance and comparing this performance to its peers and competitors.

Management defines "Non-GAAP Adjusted Gross Profit" as total revenue, less direct operating expense, plus (1) stock-based compensation expense allocated to direct operating expense and (2) amortization of purchased intangible assets allocated to direct operating expense, and "Non-GAAP Adjusted Gross Margin" as Non-GAAP Adjusted Gross Profit as a percentage of total revenue. Management considers these non-GAAP financial measures to be important indicators of the Company's operational strength and performance of its business and a good measure of its historical operating trends. Moreover, management believes that these measures enable investors and financial analysts to closely monitor and understand changes in the Company's ability to generate income from ongoing business operations.

Management defines "Non-GAAP Adjusted Operating Income" as the sum of GAAP net (loss) income before provision for (benefit from) income taxes, total other (income) expense, stock-based compensation expense, amortization of capitalized stock-based compensation related to software development, amortization of purchased intangible assets, integration costs, transaction costs, and gain on early termination of lease and "Non-GAAP Adjusted Operating Income Margin" as Non-GAAP Adjusted Operating Income as a percentage of total revenue. Management defines "Non-GAAP Adjusted Net Income" as the sum of GAAP net (loss) income before stock-based compensation expense, amortization of capitalized stock-based compensation related to software development, amortization of purchased intangible assets, integration costs, transaction costs, gain on early termination of lease and any tax impact related to these items, and "Non-GAAP Adjusted Net Income per Diluted Share" as Non-GAAP Adjusted Net Income divided by weighted average diluted shares outstanding. Management considers all of these non-GAAP financial measures to be important indicators of the Company's operational strength and performance of its business and a good measure of its historical operating trends, in particular the extent to which ongoing operations impact the Company's overall financial performance. In 2014, the Company will use a non-GAAP tax rate of 40% to normalize the tax impact to its non-GAAP Adjusted Net Income per Diluted Share because a small change in pre-tax GAAP income could result in a volatile GAAP effective tax rate due to the expected nominal GAAP net loss.

Management excludes each of the items identified below from the applicable non-GAAP financial measure referenced above for the reasons set forth with respect to that excluded item:

• Stock-based compensation expense and amortization of capitalized stock-based compensation related to software development — These are excluded because they are non-cash expenditures that management does not consider part of ongoing operating results when assessing the performance of the Company's business, and also because the total amount of the expenditure is partially outside of the Company's control because it is based on factors such as stock price, volatility, and interest rates, which may be unrelated to the Company's performance during the period in which the expense is incurred.
• Amortization of purchased intangible assets — Purchased intangible assets are amortized over their estimated useful life and generally cannot be changed or influenced by management after the acquisition. Accordingly, this item is not considered by management in making operating decisions. Management does not believe such charges accurately reflect the performance of the Company's ongoing operations for the period in which such charge is incurred.
• Integration costs — Integration costs are the severance and retention bonuses for certain employees relating to the Epocrates acquisition. Accordingly, these costs are not considered by management in making operating decisions, and management believes that such expenses do not have a direct correlation to future business operations. Management does not believe such charges accurately reflect the performance of the Company's ongoing operations for the period in which such charge is incurred.
• Transaction costs — Transaction costs are non-recurring costs related to specific transactions. Accordingly, these costs are not considered by management in making operating decisions, and management believes that such expenses do not have a direct correlation to future business operations. Management does not believe such charges accurately reflect the performance of the Company's ongoing operations for the period in which such charge is incurred.
• Gain on early termination of lease — Gain on early termination of lease is a non-recurring gain related to the early termination of the lease for the Arsenal property, which was purchased by the Company in 2013. Accordingly, this gain is not considered by management in making operating decisions, and management believes that this gain does not have a direct correlation to future business operations. Management does not believe such gain accurately reflects the performance of the Company's ongoing operations for the period in which such gain is recorded.