VIRGINIA BEACH, VA - (Marketwired - Sep 26, 2013) - JTH Holding, Inc. (NASDAQ: TAX) (the "Company"), the parent company of Liberty Tax Service, today reported that it has completed its restatement of fiscal years 2012 and 2011 and is reporting its results for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2013. All amounts included in this press release reflect the impact of the restatement. The Company continues to expect to file its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended April 30, 2013 and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended July 31, 2013 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by October 14, 2013, the date its plan for listing compliance is due to the NASDAQ.
"We have been working diligently and are pleased to have the restatement of our annual financial statements completed and we are reporting our fiscal 2013 results. The restatement affected the timing of when we recognized a portion of our revenues, but our underlying business and goals have not changed," said Mark Baumgartner, CFO. "Now that the accounting for the restatement is behind us, we have turned our attention to completing our SEC filings, including amending our previously filed fiscal 2013 10-Qs."
Restatement
As previously announced, the Company changed certain of its accounting policies in regards to the timing of revenue recognition for area developer and franchise fees. The policy changes approved by the Audit Committee of the Company's Board of Directors that are reflected in the restatement included:
As a result of the restatement, the Company estimates that non-recurring, pre-tax costs incurred during fiscal year 2014 attributable to the restatement will be in the range of $700,000 - $850,000. Additionally, since late August, the Company has been unable to renew its franchise disclosure documents with updated financial statements and is therefore unable to sell franchises until its annual financial statements are completed and franchise disclosure documents are up-to-date, which is expected to occur in October.
At the end of fiscal year 2013, due to changes in the Company's revenue recognition policies, the Company had a balance of $39.7 million in the unrecognized revenue portion of notes receivable and $16.9 million of deferred revenue, totaling $56.6 million in unrecognized revenue. Of the $56.6 million, $38.0 million was related to area developer fees and will be recognized over a weighted-average period of 4 years, subject to the receipt of payments on the notes receivable. The remaining $18.6 million is related to franchise fees and gains on the sale of company-owned offices, and the note balances associated with that revenue will be recognized over a weighted-average period of 2 years, subject to the receipt of payments on the notes receivable.
"Even with all the challenges this year presented, we are pleased that we were able to grow our market share and increase the number of customers we served during fiscal 2013 by 4%," said John Hewitt, Chairman and CEO. "At our annual franchise convention in early June, we received great feedback from our franchisees on things we did well and things we need to improve on. The morale of the franchisee base is high as we prepare for another year of working closely with them to grow the business."
Revenues for fiscal year 2013 increased 12.5% to $147.6 million compared to $131.2 million in the prior year period. The increase in revenue was driven primarily by increases in royalties and advertising fees, tax preparation fees and financial product revenue. The increase in royalties and advertising fees was the result of a 6.2% increase in systemwide revenue versus the prior year period. Tax preparation fees increased due to the higher number of company-owned offices because of the operation of Walmart kiosks and an increase in the number of returns processed through the Company's online product, eSmart. The increase in financial product revenue was a result of processing more products in-house through the Company's subsidiary, JTH Financial.
Operating expenses for fiscal year 2013 increased 13.1% to $116.8 million compared to $103.2 million in the prior year period. The increase was primarily due to an increase in employee compensation and benefits for personnel to support anticipated growth, operating additional company-owned offices and stock compensation expense.
During the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2013, the cash settlement of certain stock option transactions caused the accounting treatment of some of the outstanding stock options to change from being classified as equity instruments to liability instruments. This caused a one-time increase in stock compensation expense of $2.6 million, pre-tax, during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013. On June 7, 2013, the Board of Directors approved a new policy regarding the settlement of stock options. As a result, these options returned to being classified as equity instruments in the first quarter of fiscal 2014, which generated a one-time decrease in stock compensation expense during the first quarter of approximately $872,000, pre-tax.
Operating expenses for fiscal year 2013 included approximately $1.9 million of costs associated with being a public company that were not incurred in the prior year.
Cash and cash equivalents at April 30, 2013 were $19.0 million versus $19.8 million at April 30, 2012. The decrease in cash and cash equivalents was primarily due to an investment in marketable securities and the repurchase of common stock partially offset by the increase in net cash provided by operating activities. During the fiscal year, the Company repurchased approximately 422,000 shares of common stock for $6.5 million.
The Company's debt-to-total capital ratio at April 30, 2013 was 25.3% versus 30.2% at April 30, 2012. The decrease was primarily due to an increase in stockholders' equity and the repayment of a portion of the term loan during the fiscal year. At April 30, 2013, the Company had a zero balance on its $143.4 million revolving credit facility.
Cash flow from operations totaled $28.4 million for fiscal year 2013 compared to $20.4 million for fiscal year 2012. Cash flow from operations was positively impacted by an increase in net income and an increase in non-cash expenses.
For the fiscal year 2013, the Company served almost 2.3 million customers in the U.S. and Canada, an increase of 4.0% over the prior year. Tax returns prepared in offices in the U.S. and Canada grew 2.0% over the prior year. The Company believes the growth in returns was negatively impacted by the fiscal cliff legislation, which not only delayed the start of the tax season, but also resulted in an inability to file a number of forms even later into the season, the majority of states converting to modernized efiling for the first time, and changes the IRS implemented with regard to the Earned Income Tax Credit. Through July 25, 2013, the IRS reported total tax returns were down 0.5% versus the prior year through July 19, 2012.
Systemwide revenue for fiscal year 2013 in the U.S. and Canada grew 6.2% to $381.2 million from $359.1 million in fiscal year 2012. The increase in systemwide revenue was due to the growth in returns and a 4.0% increase in average net fee per return from $173 in fiscal year 2012 to $180 in fiscal year 2013.
The Company intends to host a conference call in conjunction with its first quarter of fiscal 2014 earnings report which will be announced at a later date. At that time, the Company will discuss results from fiscal 2013, the first quarter of fiscal 2014 and the restatement.
The Company's audited financial statements for the year ended April 30, 2013 will be available on the annual report page of its investor relations website after 9:00pm ET this evening, which can be reached at the following web address, http://ir.libertytax.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=233197&p=irol-reportsannual.
Founded in 1997 by CEO John T. Hewitt, JTH Holding, Inc. is the parent company of Liberty Tax Service. As the fastest-growing tax preparation franchise, Liberty Tax Service has prepared almost 16 million individual income tax returns. Liberty Tax Service also offers an online tax service, eSmart Tax, which enables customers to do their own taxes wherever there's a computer. eSmart Tax is backed by the tax professionals at Liberty Tax Service and its nationwide network of over 30,000 tax preparers, ready to offer their assistance at any time. For a more in-depth look at Liberty Tax Service, visit www.libertytax.com.
In addition to historical information, this release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including implied and express statements regarding the restatement of the Company's historical financial statements, the costs associated with the restatement, the filing of the Company's periodic reports with the SEC, the Company's ability to regain compliance under the NASDAQ Listing Rules, the Company's anticipated growth and expansion of its business, and the completion of the Company's franchise disclosure documents and related filings. These forward-looking statements are based upon the Company's current expectations and there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Because forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and speak only as of the date on which they are made, the Company's actual results could differ materially from these statements. These risks and uncertainties relate to, among other things, the impact of changes in our accounting practices on historical and future financial results; the consequences of any restatements of our financial statements; the timing for and results of the pending restatements, including our filings with the SEC; uncertainties regarding the Company's ability to attract and retain clients; meet its prepared returns targets; competitive factors; the Company's effective income tax rate; litigation defense expenses and costs of judgments or settlements; and changes in market, economic, political or regulatory conditions. Information concerning these risks and uncertainties is contained in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K and in other filings by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company does not undertake any duty to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
We report our financial results in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). However, we believe certain non-GAAP performance measures and ratios used in managing the business may provide additional meaningful comparisons between current year results and prior periods. Reconciliations to GAAP financial measures are provided below. These non-GAAP financial measures should be viewed in addition to, not as an alternative for, our reported GAAP results.
Darby Schoenfeld
JTH Holding, Inc.
Director of Investor Relations
(757) 453-6047
Martha O'Gorman
JTH Holding, Inc.
Chief Marketing Officer
(757) 301-8022