EXL Reports 2014 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Results and Provides Guidance for Calendar Year 2015

2014 Fourth Quarter Revenues of $135.3 Million and Adjusted Diluted EPS of $0.48

2014 Revenues of $499.3 Million and Adjusted Diluted EPS of $1.82

2015 Revenue Guidance of $570 million to $590 million

2015 Adjusted Diluted EPS Guidance of $1.85 to $1.95

ExlService Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq:EXLS), a leading provider of Operations Management and Analytics and Business Transformation services, today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2014 and the year ended December 31, 2014.

Rohit Kapoor, Vice Chairman and CEO, commented: “EXL had a strong finish to 2014 with record annual revenues and earnings. In 2014, we achieved revenues, excluding reimbursement of disentanglement costs, of $525.6 million and $1.82 of adjusted diluted EPS. Our revenue growth this year was led by our Analytics and Business Transformation segment and specifically Analytics, which grew 44% year over year. Operations Management made progress with the implementation of our proprietary Business EXLerator Framework™ across client relationships while adding to our suite of BPaaS offerings that integrate process management and technology platforms. The integration of our recent acquisitions is proceeding well, and we are starting to actively take our combined capabilities to market.

I am pleased to announce the signing of an agreement to acquire analytics firm RPM Direct. This strategic acquisition combines EXL’s large-scale analytics team with RPM’s leading data-driven marketing analytics expertise and proprietary data assets focused on insurance and healthcare. RPM maintains its own database on over 250 million consumers in the U.S. in order to drive optimal data-driven decision making and predictive analytics through a flexible, on-demand service model. With the acquisition of RPM, Analytics is now expected to represent more than 20% of EXL’s revenues.

Looking at the year ahead, I am optimistic about the demand environment, and see EXL extremely well positioned with a range of solutions to help our clients look deeper to find innovative solutions to their business challenges.”

Vishal Chhibbar, EXL’s CFO, commented: “In the fourth quarter, EXL achieved record revenues of $135.3 million, or $143.8 million, excluding reimbursement of disentanglement costs representing growth of 15.5% year-over year. Robust quarterly revenue growth combined with stable adjusted operating margins results in adjusted diluted earnings per share of $0.48, up 8.8% from the prior quarter.

We announced today that our Board of Directors authorized a three-year, $20 million annual common stock repurchase program, effective immediately. The share repurchase program will allow us to use our strong balance sheet, including $188 million of cash and short-term investments at December 31, 2014, to limit dilution from equity-based compensation.

For 2015, we are providing revenue guidance of $570 million to $590 million, representing annual revenue growth of 8.5% to 12.5%, and adjusted diluted earnings per share of $1.85 to $1.95. Our guidance excludes any contribution from the pending acquisition of RPM Direct.”

Our business is divided into two reporting segments: Operations Management (previously Outsourcing) and Analytics and Business Transformation (previously Transformation). We changed our reporting segment nomenclature for 2014 in order to better describe the nature of our engagements with our clients. The business composition of each reporting segment remains unchanged.

Reconciliations of adjusted financial measures to GAAP are included at the end of this release.

Revenues for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 were $135.3 million compared to $124.1 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2013 and $122.5 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2014. Revenues for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 were reduced by approximately $8.5 million due to the reimbursement of disentanglement costs. Operations Management revenues for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 were $103.1 million compared to $100.4 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2013 and $91.2 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2014. Analytics and Business Transformation revenues for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 were $32.2 million compared to $23.7 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2013 and $31.3 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2014.
Gross margin for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 was 32.5% compared to 42.0% for the quarter ended December 31, 2013 and 30.6% for the quarter ended September 30, 2014. Operations Management gross margin for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 was 32.8% compared to 43.4% for the quarter ended December 31, 2013 and 31.0% for the quarter ended September 30, 2014. Analytics and Business Transformation gross margin for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 was 31.5% compared to 35.7% for the quarter ended December 31, 2013 and 29.4% for the quarter ended September 30, 2014.
Operating margin for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 was 5.2% compared to 18.5% for the quarter ended December 31, 2013 and 4.4% for the quarter ended September 30, 2014. Adjusted operating margin for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 was 14.1% compared to 21.9% for the quarter ended December 31, 2013 and 14.3% for the quarter ended September 30, 2014. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 was $26.1 million compared to $31.8 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2013 and $24.4 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2014.
Net income for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 was $7.5 million compared to $15.9 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2013 and $6.1 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2014.
Diluted earnings per share for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 were $0.22, compared to $0.47 for the quarter ended December 31, 2013 and $0.18 for the quarter ended September 30, 2014. Adjusted diluted earnings per share for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 was $0.48 compared to $0.56 for the quarter ended December 31, 2013 and $0.44 for the quarter ended September 30, 2014.
Business Highlights

Signed an agreement to acquire analytics firm RPM Direct. The merger consideration for RPM is $47 million in cash plus contingent cash consideration of up to $23 million and approximately $4 million of restricted stock. The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2015, subject to the fulfillment of certain closing conditions and is expected to be accretive to adjusted EPS.
Exercised our option to increase credit commitments by $50 million with the same terms and conditions which were available in the credit agreement dated October 27, 2014.
Authorized a three-year, $20 million annual common stock repurchase program, effective immediately. Shares may be purchased through December 31, 2017 by the Company on the open market and through private transactions as determined by EXL’s management.
Elected Deborah Kerr to the Board of Directors effective January 1, 2015.
Announced the appointment of Nalin Miglani in the role of EVP, Chief Human Resource Officer.
Won 26 new clients for the year.
Expanded multiple operations management relationships, including migrating 25 new processes in the fourth quarter of 2014.
Awarded as an “Industry Leader” for security in the business process management (BPM) sector for major, industry-first initiatives in information security by NASSCOM-DSCI.
Named a leader in the transportation management segment of the 2014 “HfS Blueprint Report: Supply Chain Management BPO,” published by HfS Research.
Launched an integrated Accounts Receivables Management solution, which combines benchmarking and best practices with state-of-the-art technology and powerful analytics.
Recorded headcount as of December 31, 2014 of 22,800, compared to 23,050 as of September 30, 2014 and 22,200 as of December 31, 2013.
Reported employee attrition for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 of 33.5%, compared with 38.0% for the quarter ended September 30, 2014 and 25.0% for the quarter ended December 31, 2013.
2015 Outlook

Based on current visibility and an Indian rupee to U.S. dollar exchange rate of 62, the Company is providing the following guidance for calendar year 2015:

Revenue of $570 million to $590 million.
Adjusted diluted earnings per share, excluding the impact of stock-based compensation expense, amortization of intangibles and associated tax impacts, of $1.85 to $1.95.
Guidance excludes any contribution from the pending acquisition of RPM Direct.
Conference Call

ExlService Holdings, Inc. will host a conference call on Tuesday, February 24, 2015 at 8:00 a.m. (ET) to discuss the Company’s quarterly and annual operating and financial results. The conference call will be available live via the internet by accessing the investor relations section of EXL’s website at ir.exlservice.com, where an accompanying investor-friendly spreadsheet of historical operating and financial data can also be accessed. Please go to the website at least fifteen minutes prior to the call to register, download and install any necessary audio software.

To listen to the conference call via phone, please dial 1-877-303-6384 or 1-224-357-2191 and an operator will assist you. For those who cannot access the live broadcast, a replay will be available on the EXL website ir.exlservice.com).

EXLSERVICE HOLDINGS, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
(In thousands, except share and per share amounts)

(Audited) Year ended December 31, (Unaudited) Three months ended December 31,
2014 2013 2014 2013
Revenues, net $ 499,278 $ 478,452 $ 135,286 $ 124,123
Cost of revenues (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) 332,535 290,942 91,371 72,050
Gross profit 166,743 187,510 43,915 52,073
Operating expenses:
General and administrative expenses 65,381 58,797 18,389 14,532
Selling and marketing expenses 39,294 36,376 10,482 8,492
Depreciation and amortization 28,028 24,917 7,979 6,074
Total operating expenses 132,703 120,090 36,850 29,098
Income from operations 34,040 67,420 7,065 22,975
Other income/(expense) :
Foreign exchange loss (5) (4,990) 323 (1,864)
Interest and other income, net 3,603 2,547 743 786
Income before income taxes 37,638 64,977 8,131 21,897
Income tax provision 5,193 16,880 670 6,038
Net income $ 32,445 $ 48,097 $ 7,461 $ 15,859
Earnings per share:
Basic $ 0.99 $ 1.47 $ 0.23 $ 0.48
Diluted $ 0.96 $ 1.42 $ 0.22 $ 0.47
Weighted-average number of shares used in computing earnings per share:
Basic 32,804,606 32,750,178 32,986,276 32,788,489
Diluted 33,636,593 33,842,938 33,761,462 33,792,757

EXLSERVICE HOLDINGS, INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(Audited)
(In thousands, except share and per share amounts)

December 31, December 31,
2014 2013
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $ 176,499 $ 148,065
Short-term investments 11,577 5,987
Restricted cash 1,395 423
Accounts receivable, net 80,244 76,121
Prepaid expenses 5,783 5,168
Deferred tax assets, net 4,455 6,958
Advance income tax, net 9,905 2,024
Other current assets 12,533 7,881
Total current assets 302,391 252,627
Fixed assets, net 45,369 34,564
Restricted cash 3,258 3,568
Deferred tax assets, net 11,985 12,254
Intangible assets, net 46,979 34,115
Goodwill 139,599 107,407
Other assets 23,975 18,897
Total assets $ 573,556 $ 463,432
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable $ 4,663 $ 4,714
Deferred revenue 7,690 8,618
Accrued employee cost 37,606 29,405
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities 40,206 32,219
Current portion of capital lease obligations 803 1,119
Total current liabilities 90,968 76,075
Long term borrowings 50,000 —
Capital lease obligations, less current portion 560 1,371
Non-current liabilities 12,870 19,812
Total liabilities 154,398 97,258
Commitments and contingencies
Preferred stock, $0.001 par value; 15,000,000 shares authorized, none issued — —
Stockholders’ equity:
Common stock, $0.001 par value; 100,000,000 shares authorized, 34,203,352 shares issued and 32,905,467 shares outstanding as of December 31, 2014 and 33,342,312 shares issued and 32,172,183 shares outstanding as of December 31, 2013 34 33
Additional paid-in-capital 233,173 214,522
Retained earnings 269,424 236,979
Accumulated other comprehensive loss (55,509) (60,718)
Total stockholders’ equity including shares held in treasury 447,122 390,816
Less: 1,297,885 shares as of December 31, 2014 and 1,170,129 shares as of December 31, 2013, held in treasury, at cost (27,964) (24,642)
Total stockholders’ equity 419,158 366,174
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $ 573,556 $ 463,432
EXLSERVICE HOLDINGS, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (UNAUDITED)

Reconciliation of Adjusted Financial Measures to GAAP Measures

In addition to its reported operating results in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), EXL has included in this release adjusted financial measures (adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share) that the Securities and Exchange Commission defines as “non-GAAP financial measures.” The adjusted financial measures disclosed by the EXL should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP, and the financial results calculated in accordance with GAAP and reconciliations from those financial statements should be carefully evaluated. EXL believes that providing these adjusted measures may help investors better understand EXL’s underlying financial performance. Management also believes that these adjusted financial measures, when read in conjunction with EXL’s reported results, can provide useful supplemental information for investors analyzing period to period comparisons of the Company’s results and comparisons of the Company’s results with the results of other companies. EXL believes that it is unreasonably difficult to provide its financial outlook in accordance with GAAP for a number of reasons including, without limitation, EXL’s inability to predict its future stock-based compensation expense under ASC Topic 718 and the amortization of intangibles associated with further acquisitions, and the uncertainty around the reimbursement of transition and disentanglement costs for a disclosed client issue. EXL also incurs significant non-cash charges for depreciation that may not be indicative of the Company’s ability to generate cash flow.

Additionally, EXL provides certain information on a constant currency basis, which reflects a comparison of current period results translated at the prior period currency rates. This information is provided because EXL believes that it provides useful incremental information to investors regarding EXL’s operating performance.

The following table shows the reconciliation of these adjusted financial measures from GAAP measures for the year ended December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013, the three months ended December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013 and for the three months ended September 30, 2014:

Reconciliation of Adjusted Operating Income and Adjusted EBITDA
(Amounts in thousands)

Year Ended December 31, Three Months Ended December 31, Three Months Ended September 30,
2014 2013 2014 2013 2014
Revenues (GAAP) $ 499,278 $ 478,452 $ 135,286 $ 124,123 $ 122,457
add: Reimbursement of transition and disentanglement costs (a) 26,347 351 8,532 351 9,626
Revenues (Non-GAAP) $ 525,625 $ 478,803 $ 143,818 $ 124,474 $ 132,083
subtract: Cost of revenues (GAAP) (332,535) (290,942) (91,371) (72,050) (84,983)
subtract: Operating expenses (GAAP) (132,703) (120,090) (36,850) (29,098) (32,083)
Income from operations (Non- GAAP) $ 60,387 $ 67,771 $ 15,597 $ 23,326 $ 15,017
add: Stock-based compensation expense (b) 11,011 11,832 2,493 2,360 2,376
add: Amortization of acquisition-related intangibles (c) 6,623 6,300 2,157 1,536 1,441
Adjusted operating income (Non-GAAP) $ 78,021 $ 85,903 $ 20,247 $ 27,222 $ 18,834
Adjusted operating income margin as a % of Revenues (Non-GAAP) 14.8% 17.9% 14.1% 21.9% 14.3%
add: Depreciation 21,405 18,617 5,822 4,538 5,573
Adjusted EBITDA (Non-GAAP) $ 99,426 $ 104,520 $ 26,069 $ 31,760 $ 24,407
Adjusted EBITDA margin as a % of Revenues (Non-GAAP) 18.9% 21.8% 18.1% 25.5% 18.5%

(a) To exclude reimbursement of transition and disentanglement costs for a disclosed client issue.
(b) To exclude stock-based compensation expense under ASC Topic 718.
(c) To exclude amortization of acquisition-related intangibles.

Reconciliation of Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share
(Amounts in thousands, except per share data)

Year Ended December 31,
Three Months Ended December 31, Three Months Ended September 30,
2014 2013 2014 2013 2014
Net income (GAAP) $ 32,445 $ 48,097 $ 7,461 $ 15,859 $ 6,075
add: Stock-based compensation expense (a) 11,011 11,832 2,493 2,360 2,376
add: Amortization of acquisition-related intangibles (b) 6,623 6,300 2,157 1,536 1,441
add: reimbursement of transition and disentanglement costs (c) 26,347 351 8,532 351 9,626
subtract: Tax impact on stock-based compensation expense (4,205) (4,520) (951) (900) (907)
subtract: Tax impact on amortization of acquisition-related intangibles (879) (714) (348) (170) (191)
subtract: Tax impact on reimbursement of transition and disentanglement costs (10,012) (133) (3,242) (133) (3,658)
Adjusted net income (Non-GAAP) $ 61,330 $ 61,213 $ 16,102 $ 18,903 $ 14,762
Adjusted diluted earnings per share (Non-GAAP) $ 1.82 $ 1.81 $ 0.48 $ 0.56 $ 0.44

(a) To exclude stock-based compensation expense under ASC Topic 718.
(b) To exclude amortization of acquisition-related intangibles.
(c) To exclude reimbursement of transition and disentanglement costs for a disclosed client issue.