ServiceMaster Delivers Solid First-Quarter 2019 Results with Revenue Growth of 13 Percent

  • Terminix revenue increased 14 percent year-over-year, including
    3 percent organically
  • ServiceMaster Brands revenue increased 5 percent year-over-year
  • ServiceMaster net income of $70 million included a $40 million
    tax-free realized gain on investment in frontdoor, inc.
  • Successful monetization of remaining frontdoor, inc. shares
    drove $484 million in net debt reduction
  • Guidance affirmed for full-year 2019 revenue, Adjusted EBITDA,
    and organic growth

MEMPHIS, Tenn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/search?q=%24SERV&src=ctag” target=”_blank”gt;$SERVlt;/agt; lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/earnings?src=hash” target=”_blank”gt;#earningslt;/agt;–ServiceMaster
Global Holdings, Inc.
(NYSE: SERV), a leading provider of
essential services to residential and commercial customers in the
termite, pest control, cleaning and restoration markets, today announced
unaudited first-quarter 2019 results. The American Home Shield segment,
which was separated in a tax-free transaction on October 1, 2018, is
reported in discontinued operations for prior periods.

For the quarter ended March 31, 2019, the company reported a
year-over-year revenue increase of 13 percent to $482 million with net
income of $70 million, or $0.51 per share. Net income benefited from a
$40 million tax-free realized gain on the monetization of the company’s
16.7 million shares in frontdoor, inc. Adjusted EBITDA(1) for
the quarter was $109 million, and adjusted net income(2) was
$45 million, or $0.33 per share, versus $28 million, or $0.21 per share,
for the same period in 2018.

“Our solid performance in the quarter reflects the consistent progress
we are making on executing our strategic initiatives,” said
ServiceMaster Chief Executive Officer Nik Varty. “In our pest control
core, organic growth of 3 percent in the quarter included 4 percent
growth in residential pest and 2 percent in termite and home services,
despite the impact of unseasonably cold weather and flooding on our
operations and lead flow. We see positive trends in commercial pest with
customer retention reaching three-year highs, driven by continued
improvement in customer service as we leverage the best practices of
Copesan and enhance the customer experience we deliver. ServiceMaster
Brands grew revenue organically 5 percent in the first quarter. Our
focus on high-growth market verticals is paying dividends with
healthcare cleaning and disinfection up 7 percent and commercial
restoration up 35 percent in the quarter. Strategic M&A also continues
to be a growth driver, with 11 pest control acquisitions in the quarter.”

“We recently launched the Terminix Tick Defend System, in response to
increasing tick borne illnesses. This is a reflection of our improved
ability to leverage our product knowledge and application expertise to
rapidly assess market needs and respond with innovative solutions for
our customers. We also delivered on a major shareholder commitment as we
successfully monetized our holdings in Frontdoor. With the proceeds, we
further reduced our net debt levels by $484 million giving us additional
flexibility to execute on our strategic initiatives. We remain
diligently focused on profitability while investing in growth with a new
operating system and a dedicated commercial pest team. Overall, solid
first-quarter performance keeps us on track with our 2019 guidance
expectations.”

 

Consolidated Performance

 
        Three Months Ended March 31,
$ millions 2019     2018     B/(W)
Revenue $ 482 $ 428 $ 54
YoY growth 13 %
Gross Margin 221 201 19
% of revenue 45.8 % 47.1 % (1.3)pts
SG&A 136 125 10
% of revenue (28.2 )% (29.3 )% 1.1pts
Income from Continuing Operations before Income Taxes 79 23 56
% of revenue 16.4 % 5.4 % 11.0pts
Net Income 70 40 30
% of revenue 14.5 % 9.4 % 5.1pts
Adjusted Net Income(2) 45 28 16
% of revenue 9.3 % 6.6 % 2.7pts
Adjusted EBITDA(1) 109 97 11
% of revenue 22.6 % 22.7 % (0.2)pts
Net Cash Provided from Operating Activities from Continuing
Operations
90 84 7
Free Cash Flow(3) 81 65 16
 
 

Segment Performance

 

Revenue and Adjusted EBITDA for each reportable segment and
Corporate were as follows:

 
        Three Months Ended March 31,
Revenue     Adjusted EBITDA
$ millions 2019     B/(W) vs. PY 2019       B/(W) vs. PY
Terminix $ 419 $ 51 $ 83 $ (3 )
YoY growth / % of revenue 14 % 19.8 % (3.7)pts
ServiceMaster Brands 62 3 23
YoY growth / % of revenue 5 % 36.9 % (0.9)pts
Corporate(4) 3 3
Costs historically allocated to American Home Shield             11  
Total $ 482 $ 54 $ 109 $ 11
YoY growth / % of revenue 13 % 22.6 % (0.2)pts
 

Reconciliations of net income to adjusted net income and Adjusted
EBITDA, as well as a reconciliation of net cash provided from operating
activities from continuing operations to free cash flow, are set forth
below in this press release.

Terminix

Terminix reported 14 percent year-over-year revenue growth in the first
quarter of 2019, including over 4 percent organic growth in residential
pest control services, 2 percent organic growth in termite and home
services, and 43 percent growth from acquisitions in commercial pest
control, principally from the March 2018 Copesan acquisition and the
January 2019 acquisition of Assured Environments. Similar to the prior
year, first-quarter 2019 revenue growth was negatively impacted by
approximately $3 million due to unseasonably cold weather conditions and
flooding that affected branch operations and lead flow.

Adjusted EBITDA in the first quarter decreased by $3 million
year-over-year, partially the result of $6 million of investments in
growth, including $2 million increased sales and marketing expense to
drive continued growth and $2 million in Salesforce implementation costs
as the company replaces legacy operating systems. First-quarter Adjusted
EBITDA was also burdened by $4 million in spin related dis-synergies.
These costs were partially offset by $6 million in flow-through from
higher organic revenue and $4 million in contribution from acquisitions.

ServiceMaster Brands

ServiceMaster Brands reported a $3 million, or 5 percent, year-over-year
revenue increase in the first quarter of 2019. Organic growth of 5
percent included 7 percent growth in healthcare cleaning and 17 percent
growth in commercial cleaning national accounts. Organic growth in
commercial restoration of 35 percent was aided by the completion of a
large one-time job during the quarter. Normalized for the completion of
this job, commercial restoration organic growth would have been 19
percent.

Adjusted EBITDA in the first quarter was relatively flat with the flow
through of higher revenue largely offset by the absorption of
dis-synergies in the quarter.

Corporate

Adjusted EBITDA in the three months ended March 31, 2019 increased $3
million from the prior year. The increase is primarily related to
favorable claims settlements related to the company’s workers’
compensation, auto and general liability program.

Historically Allocated Services

The company has historically incurred the cost of certain
corporate-level activities that we performed on behalf of our
businesses, including American Home Shield, such as executive functions,
communications, public relations, finance and accounting, tax, treasury,
internal audit, human resources operations and benefits, risk management
and insurance, supply management, real estate management, legal,
marketing, facilities, information technology and other general
corporate support services. The cost of such activities were
historically allocated to our segments, including American Home Shield.
Certain corporate expenses which were historically allocated to the
American Home Shield segment are not permitted to be classified as
discontinued operations under U.S. GAAP (“Historically Allocated
Services”). Such Historically Allocated Services amounted to $11 million
for the three months ended March 31, 2018.

The costs of Historically Allocated Services which were not transferred
to American Home Shield will be borne by our remaining businesses in the
future as dis-synergies. We continue to estimate total dis-synergies to
be approximately $18 million in 2019.

Share Repurchase Plan

On February 19, 2019, our Board of Directors approved a three-year
extension to the company’s share repurchase plan allowing up to $150
million of repurchases through February 2022. During the month of March,
the company purchased 36,360 shares at average price of $47.02 for a
total of $2 million. As of March 31, 2019, there remains $148 million of
capacity under the share repurchase plan.

Frontdoor Share Monetization

In the first quarter we monetized the 16.7 million shares of frontdoor
common stock we retained after the spin-off, resulting in net proceeds
of $486 million.

In the first quarter, we prepaid $434 million aggregate principal amount
of term loans outstanding under our senior secured term loan facility.
We also purchased approximately $7 million in aggregate principal amount
of our 7.45% notes maturing in 2027 at a price of 105.5% and $3 million
in aggregate principal amount of our 7.25% notes maturing in 2038 at a
price of 99.5%. The repurchased notes were delivered to the trustee for
cancellation.

Subsequent to the end of the quarter, we prepaid $38 million of our
senior secured term loan facility and purchased $1 million in aggregate
principal amount of our 7.45% notes maturing in 2027 at a price of
105.5% of the principal amount.

The resulting $484 million of debt reduction puts the company within its
targeted leverage range and allows significant flexibility to pursue
strategic initiatives.

Free Cash Flow

Free cash flow was $81 million for the three months ended March 31, 2019
compared to $65 million for the three months ended March 31, 2018. The
$16 million improvement was driven by higher adjusted EBITDA, net of
taxes, a decrease in cash interest as a result of debt reduction, and
lower property additions compared to prior year due to 2018 purchases
related to our Global Service Center relocation. First-quarter 2019 free
cash flow to adjusted EBITDA conversion was 75 percent. The company
expects free cash flow to range between 50 to 60 percent of Adjusted
EBITDA in 2019.

Full-Year 2019 Outlook

The company expects full-year 2019 revenue to range from $2,020 million
to $2,050 million, or an increase of 6 to 8 percent compared to 2018.
Organic revenue growth at Terminix is expected to range from 2 to 3
percent. ServiceMaster Brands will continue to focus on high value
business verticals and revenue channels such as commercial restoration,
healthcare and commercial cleaning national accounts and is expected to
drive organic growth in the mid-single digits.

Full-year 2019 Adjusted EBITDA is anticipated between $435 million and
$445 million. Terminix is expected to contribute approximately 30
percent incremental margins, excluding incremental spin dis-synergies of
$11 million and $9 million of investments related to the Salesforce
implementation. At ServiceMaster Brands, continuing growth in national
accounts will increase Adjusted EBITDA but creates slight margin
pressure in 2019. We expect a positive inflection point in our
year-over-year Adjusted EBITDA margins in the second half of the year as
a result of revenue conversion more than offsetting year-over-year
dis-synergies and investments in growth.

A reconciliation of the forward-looking 2019 Adjusted EBITDA outlook to
net income is not being provided as the company does not currently have
sufficient data to accurately estimate the variables and individual
adjustments for such reconciliation.

First-Quarter 2019 Earnings Conference Call

The company will hold a conference call to discuss its first-quarter
2019 financial and operating results at 8 a.m. central time (9 a.m.
eastern time) on Tuesday, May 7, 2019.

Participants may join this conference call by dialing 800.695.3360 (or
international participants, +1.303.223.2693). Additionally, the
conference call will be available via webcast. A slide presentation
highlighting the company’s results will also be available. To
participate via webcast and view the presentation, visit the company’s
investor relations home page.

The call will be available for replay until June 6, 2019. To access the
replay of this call, please call 800.633.8284 and enter reservation
number 21922791 (international participants: +1.402.977.9140,
reservation number 21922791). Or you can review the webcast on the
company’s investor relations home page.

About ServiceMaster

ServiceMaster Global Holdings, Inc. is a leading provider of termite and
pest control, cleaning and restoration services in both the residential
and commercial markets, operating through an extensive service network
of more than 8,000 company-owned locations and franchise and license
agreements. The company’s portfolio of well-recognized brands includes
AmeriSpec (home inspections), Copesan (commercial national accounts pest
management), Furniture Medic (cabinet and furniture repair), Merry Maids
(residential cleaning), ServiceMaster Clean (commercial cleaning),
ServiceMaster Restore (restoration and reconstruction), Terminix
(termite and pest control), and Terminix Commercial (commercial termite
and pest control). The company is headquartered in Memphis, Tenn. Go to www.servicemaster.com
for more information about ServiceMaster or follow the company at twitter.com/ServiceMaster
or Facebook.com/ServiceMaster.

Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements and cautionary
statements, including 2019 revenue and Adjusted EBITDA outlook and
organic revenue growth projections. Forward-looking statements can be
identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as “believes,”
“expects,” “may,” “will,” “shall,” “should,” “would,” “could,” “seeks,”
“aims,” “projects,” “is optimistic,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates,”
“anticipates” or other comparable terms. Forward-looking statements are
subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which may
be beyond our control, including, without limitation, the risks and
uncertainties discussed in the “Risk Factors” and “Information Regarding
Forward-Looking Statements” sections in the company’s reports filed with
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Such risks, uncertainties
and changes in circumstances include, but are not limited to: lawsuits,
enforcement actions and other claims by third parties or governmental
authorities; compliance with, or violation of environmental health and
safety laws and regulations; the effects of our substantial
indebtedness; weakening general economic conditions; weather conditions
and seasonality; the success of our business strategies, and costs
associated with restructuring initiatives. We caution you that
forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or
outcomes and that actual performance and outcomes, including, without
limitation, our actual results of operations, financial condition and
liquidity, and the development of the market segments in which we
operate, may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the
forward-looking statements contained in this press release. The company
assumes no obligation to update the information contained herein, which
speaks only as of the date hereof.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release contains certain non-GAAP financial measures.
Non-GAAP measures should not be considered as an alternative to GAAP
financial measures. Non-GAAP measures may not be calculated like or
comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies. See non-GAAP
reconciliations below in this press release for a reconciliation of
these measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures.
Adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income, adjusted earnings per share and
free cash flow are not measurements of the company’s financial
performance under GAAP and should not be considered as an alternative to
net income, net cash provided by operating activities from continuing
operations or any other performance or liquidity measures derived in
accordance with GAAP. Management uses these non-GAAP financial measures
to facilitate operating performance and liquidity comparisons, as
applicable, from period to period. We believe these non-GAAP financial
measures are useful for investors, analysts and other interested parties
as they facilitate company-to-company operating performance and
liquidity comparisons, as applicable, by excluding potential differences
caused by variations in capital structures, taxation, the age and book
depreciation of facilities and equipment, restructuring initiatives and
equity-based, long-term incentive plans.

_______________________________________________

(1) Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income before: gain from
discontinued operations, net of income taxes; provision for income
taxes; interest expense; depreciation and amortization expense;
acquisition-related costs; fumigation related matters; non-cash
stock-based compensation expense; restructuring charges; loss on
extinguishment of debt; and realized (gain) on investment in frontdoor,
inc. The company’s definition of Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable
to similarly titled measures of other companies.

(2) Adjusted net income is defined as net income before: amortization
expense; fumigation related matters; restructuring charges;
acquisition-related costs; realized (gain) on investment in frontdoor,
inc.; gain from discontinued operations, net of income taxes; loss on
extinguishment of debt; and the tax impact of the aforementioned
adjustments and the impact of tax law change on deferred taxes. The
company’s definition of adjusted net income may not be comparable to
similarly titled measures of other companies. Adjusted earnings per
share is calculated as adjusted net income divided by the
weighted-average diluted common shares outstanding.

(3) Free cash flow is defined as net cash provided from operating
activities from continuing operations less property additions, net of
government grant fundings for property additions.

(4) Corporate includes the unallocated expenses of our corporate
functions.

 
 
 
 

SERVICEMASTER GLOBAL HOLDINGS, INC.
Consolidated
Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income

(In
millions, except per share data)

 
        Three Months Ended
March 31,
2019     2018
Revenue $ 482 $ 428
Cost of services rendered and products sold 261 226
Selling and administrative expenses 136 125
Amortization expense 6 3
Acquisition-related costs 1
Fumigation related matters 1
Restructuring charges 7 12
Realized (gain) on investment in frontdoor, inc. (40 )
Interest expense 27 37
Interest and net investment income (1 )
Loss on extinguishment of debt   6    
Income from Continuing Operations before Income Taxes 79 23
Provision for income taxes   9     6
Income from Continuing Operations 70 17
Gain from discontinued operations, net of income taxes       23
Net Income $ 70   $ 40
Total Comprehensive Income $ 68   $ 50
Weighted-average common shares outstanding – Basic 135.8 135.2
Weighted-average common shares outstanding – Diluted 136.4 135.6
Basic Earnings Per Share:
Income from Continuing Operations $ 0.51 $ 0.12
Gain from discontinued operations, net of income taxes 0.17
Net Income 0.51 0.30
Diluted Earnings Per Share:
Income from Continuing Operations $ 0.51 $ 0.12
Gain from discontinued operations, net of income taxes 0.17
Net Income 0.51 0.30
 
 
 
 

SERVICEMASTER GLOBAL HOLDINGS, INC.
Consolidated
Statements of Financial Position

(In millions, except
share data)

 
        As of     As of
March 31, December 31,
2019 2018
Assets:
Current Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $ 255 $ 224
Investment in frontdoor, inc. 445
Receivables, less allowances of $20 and $21, respectively 183 186
Inventories 46 45
Prepaid expenses and other assets   64     61  
Total Current Assets   548     962  
Other Assets:
Property and equipment, net 201 201
Operating lease right-of-use assets 105
Goodwill 2,037 1,956
Intangible assets, primarily trade names, service marks and
trademarks, net
1,603 1,588
Restricted cash 89 89
Notes receivable 44 43
Long-term marketable securities 17 21
Deferred customer acquisition costs 74 77
Other assets   52     87  
Total Assets $ 4,769   $ 5,023  
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity:
Current Liabilities:
Accounts payable $ 94 $ 89
Accrued liabilities:
Payroll and related expenses 47 60
Self-insured claims and related expenses 55 58
Accrued interest payable 20 14
Other 57 61
Deferred revenue 100 95
Current portion of lease liability 17
Current portion of long-term debt   52     49  
Total Current Liabilities   443     425  
Long-Term Debt 1,289 1,727
Other Long-Term Liabilities:
Deferred taxes 483 484
Other long-term obligations, primarily self-insured claims 156 182
Long-term lease liability   119      
Total Other Long-Term Liabilities   757     666  
Commitments and Contingencies
Stockholders’ Equity:
Common stock $0.01 par value (authorized 2,000,000,000 shares with
147,605,165 shares issued and 136,046,435 outstanding at March 31,
2019 and 147,209,928 shares issued and 135,687,558 outstanding at
December 31, 2018)
2 2
Additional paid-in capital 2,318 2,309
Retained Earnings 226 156
Accumulated other comprehensive income 3 5
Less common stock held in treasury, at cost (11,558,730 shares at
March 31, 2019 and 11,552,370 shares at December 31, 2018)
  (269 )   (267 )
Total Stockholders’ Equity   2,280     2,204  
Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity $ 4,769   $ 5,023  
 
 
 
 

SERVICEMASTER GLOBAL HOLDINGS, INC.
Consolidated
Statements of Cash Flows

(In millions)

 
        Three Months Ended
March 31,
2019     2018
Cash and Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash at Beginning of
Period
$ 313 $ 563
Cash Flows from Operating Activities from Continuing Operations:
Net Income 70 40
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided from
operating activities:
Gain from discontinued operations, net of income taxes (23 )
Depreciation expense 19 17
Amortization expense 6 3
Amortization of debt issuance costs 1 1
Amortization of lease right-of-use assets 5
Fumigation related matters 1
Payments on fumigation related matters (1 )
Realized (gain) on investment in frontdoor, inc. (40 )
Loss on extinguishment of debt 6
Deferred income tax provision 3 2
Stock-based compensation expense 4 4
Gain on sale of marketable securities (1 )
Restructuring charges 7 12
Payments for restructuring charges (5 ) (4 )
Other 13 9
Change in working capital, net of acquisitions:
Receivables 8 14
Inventories and other current assets (2 ) (10 )
Accounts payable 6 9
Deferred revenue 5 5
Accrued liabilities (24 ) (11 )
Accrued interest payable 6 3
Current income taxes   4     12  
Net Cash Provided from Operating Activities from Continuing
Operations
  90     84  
Cash Flows from Investing Activities from Continuing Operations:
Property additions (9 ) (20 )
Government grant fundings for property additions 1
Business acquisitions, net of cash acquired (100 ) (92 )
Sales and maturities of available-for-sale securities 3
Origination of notes receivable (25 ) (23 )
Collections on notes receivable   42     24  
Net Cash Used for Investing Activities from Continuing Operations   (89 )   (110 )
Cash Flows from Financing Activities from Continuing Operations:
Borrowings of debt 600
Payments of debt (572 ) (95 )
Repurchase of common stock (2 )
Issuance of common stock   5     2  
Net Cash Provided from (Used for) Financing Activities from
Continuing Operations
  31     (93 )
Cash Flows from Discontinued Operations:
Cash (used for) provided from operating activities (1 ) 58
Cash used for investing activities       (3 )
Net Cash (Used for) Provided from Discontinued Operations   (1 )   55  
Cash Increase (Decrease) During the Period   31     (64 )
Cash and Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash at End of Period $ 344   $ 500  
 
 
 
 

Contacts

Investor Relations:
Jesse Jenkins
901.597.8259
[email protected]

Media:
James Robinson
901.597.7521
[email protected]

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