Blackbaud Announces 2021 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Results

Full Year 2021 Financial Results Exceed Original Estimates; Blackbaud Announces Full Year 2022 Financial Guidance and Accelerates Timeline to Achieve Long-Term Aspirational Goals 

Charleston, S.C. (February 22, 2022) – Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB), the world’s leading cloud software company powering social good, today announced financial results for its fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2021.

“The fourth quarter was a strong finish to what was a very successful year for Blackbaud on a much-improved market backdrop,” said Mike Gianoni, president and CEO, Blackbaud. “I believe 2021 was a turning point for our market and our company. We’re carrying a lot of momentum into 2022 and we just layered on a tremendous acquisition in EVERFI. Our plan to progress up the Rule of 40 by balancing sustainable mid-to-high single-digit organic revenue growth and meaningful margin expansion over the next few years is a winning combination for Blackbaud and our shareholders. The mid-point of our financial guidance for this year calls for total revenue growth of approximately 17%, a significant acceleration in organic revenue growth to approximately 5%, and nearly 30% on a Rule of 40 basis which is roughly 250 basis points of improvement year over year at constant currency. Given our strong performance in 2021 and our acquisition of EVERFI, we’re also pulling forward our timeline to achieve our long-term aspirational goals by several years.”

Fourth Quarter 2021 Results Compared to Fourth Quarter 2020 Results:

• GAAP total revenue was $247.9 million, up 2.2%, with $238.6 million in GAAP recurring revenue, up 4.0%.
• Non-GAAP organic recurring revenue increased 4.0%.
• GAAP loss from operations was $6.6 million, with GAAP operating margin of (2.7)%, a decrease of 230 basis points.
• Non-GAAP income from operations was $49.0 million, with non-GAAP operating margin of 19.8%, a decrease of 420 basis points.
• GAAP net loss was $7.1 million, with GAAP diluted loss per share of $0.15, up $0.13 per share.
• Non-GAAP net income was $36.0 million, with non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.75, down $0.10 per share.
• Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA was $60.7 million, down $8.2 million, with non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA margin of 24.5%, a decrease of 390 basis points.
• GAAP net cash provided by operating activities was $43.9 million, an increase of $5.1 million. 
• Non-GAAP free cash flow was $29.7 million, an increase of $4.9 million, with non-GAAP free cash flow margin of 12.0%, an increase of 180 basis points.

“The continued acceleration of contractual recurring revenue and another strong transactional revenue performance drove Q4 recurring revenue growth of 4.0%,” said Tony Boor, executive vice president and CFO, Blackbaud. “This is a great indication of what’s achievable going forward as we continue to execute against the ten growth drivers outlined as part of our investor session this time last year. We anticipate the majority of our full year organic revenue growth in 2022 to come from accelerated contractual recurring revenue growth, continued strength in our transactional revenues, and the leveling off of our one-time services and other revenue after several years of strategically shifting away from one-time services. Our profitability and free cash flow well exceeded our initial expectations in 2021. The timing of some anticipated spend pushed from 2021 to 2022 in areas like innovation, customer success, security and cloud infrastructure and a higher velocity sales motion, but we’re well positioned to drive substantial margin expansion beyond 2022. We’re executing against our strategic plan to achieve the Rule of 40 as a company, and our accelerating growth combined with our margin expansion initiatives has us well positioned to accomplish this goal sooner than we originally anticipated.”

An explanation of all non-GAAP financial measures referenced in this press release, including the Rule of 40, is included below under the heading “Non-GAAP Financial Measures.” A reconciliation of the company’s non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP measures has been provided in the financial statement tables included below in this press release.

Recent Company Highlights

• Blackbaud acquired EVERFI, a SaaS leader powering corporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives that reach millions of learners each year. The acquisition doubles Blackbaud’s total addressable market to more than $20 billion, presents substantial cross-sell opportunity with YourCause® from Blackbaud and is expected to be significantly accretive to total revenue growth in 2022, and to pull forward the company’s timeline to achieve long-term financial goals.
• During the fourth quarter, Blackbaud repurchased 138,785 shares of its common stock at a total cost of $10.1 million, and in December 2021, the board of directors of Blackbaud reauthorized and replenished the company’s existing share repurchase program to $250.0 million.
• The Blackbaud Institute’s annual Charitable Giving Report found that overall U.S. giving grew 9% in 2021—the largest increase since 2012—and online giving has grown a substantial 42% since 2019.
• Newsweek named Blackbaud to its list of America’s Most Responsible Companies 2022—a recognition that highlights leaders in CSR and ESG policies. Blackbaud ranked in the top 25 in the software and telecommunications industry.  
• Blackbaud was recognized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation as a Citizens Award winner in the category of Best Corporate Steward—Small and Middle-Market Business, which honors companies for excellence in corporate citizenship.      
• Blackbaud provided updates on its Social Good Startup Program—an accelerator for early-stage startups impacting the Ecosystem of Good®. Since the program began in 2019, Blackbaud has supported 27 startups that have collectively raised more than $45 million in fundraising and have published multiple integrations to the Blackbaud Marketplace. 

Visit www.blackbaud.com/newsroom for more information about Blackbaud’s recent highlights.

Full-Year 2021 Results Compared to Full-Year 2020 Results:

• GAAP total revenue was $927.7 million, up 1.6%, with $880.9 million in GAAP recurring revenue, up 3.5%.
• Non-GAAP organic recurring revenue increased 3.5%.
• GAAP income from operations was $24.9 million, with GAAP operating margin of 2.7%, a decrease of 140 basis points.
• Non-GAAP income from operations was $200.8 million, with non-GAAP operating margin of 21.6%, an increase of 30 basis points.
• GAAP net income was $5.7 million, with GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.12, down $0.04 per share.
• Non-GAAP net income was $146.4 million, with non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of $3.04, up $0.10 per share.
• Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA was $246.1 million, up $4.2 million, with non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA margin of 26.5%, unchanged.
• GAAP net cash provided by operating activities was $213.7 million, an increase of $65.7 million.
• Non-GAAP free cash flow was $161.5 million, an increase of $85.4 million, with non-GAAP free cash flow margin of 17.4%, an increase of 910 basis points.

Financial Outlook 

Blackbaud today announced its 2022 full year financial guidance:

• Non-GAAP revenue of $1.075 billion to $1.095 billion; includes ~$120 million of expected EVERFI non-GAAP revenue
• Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA margin of 24.0% to 24.5%; includes ~$13 million of expected EVERFI non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA
• Non-GAAP earnings per share of $2.63 to $2.82
• Non-GAAP adjusted free cash flow of $165.0 million to $175.0 million

Included in its 2022 full year financial guidance are the following assumptions:

• Non-GAAP annualized effective tax rate is expected to be 20%
• Interest expense for the year is expected to be approximately $30.0 million to $33.0 million
• Fully diluted shares for the year are expected to be in the range of 52.0 million to 53.5 million
• Capital expenditures for the year are expected to be in the range of $60.0 million to $70.0 million, including approximately $45.0 million to $55.0 million of capitalized software development costs 

Blackbaud has not reconciled forward-looking full-year non-GAAP financial measures contained in this news release to their most directly comparable GAAP measures, as permitted by Item 10(e)(1)(i)(B) of Regulation S-K. Such reconciliations would require unreasonable efforts at this time to estimate and quantify with a reasonable degree of certainty various necessary GAAP components, including for example those related to compensation, acquisition transactions and integration, tax items or others that may arise during the year. These components and other factors could materially impact the amount of the future directly comparable GAAP measures, which may differ significantly from their non-GAAP counterparts. 

In order to provide a meaningful basis for comparison, Blackbaud now uses non-GAAP adjusted free cash flow in analyzing its operating performance. Non-GAAP adjusted free cash flow is defined as operating cash flow less capital expenditures, including costs required to be capitalized for software development, capital expenditures for property and equipment, and less cash outflows, net of insurance, related to the previously disclosed Security Incident discovered in May 2020 (the “Security Incident”). For full year 2022, Blackbaud currently expects net cash outlays of $25 million to $35 million for ongoing legal fees related to the Security Incident. In line with the Company’s  policy, all associated costs due to third-party service providers and consultants, including legal fees, are expensed as incurred. As of December 31, 2021, Blackbaud has not recorded a loss contingency related to the Security Incident as it is unable to reasonably estimate the possible amount or range of such loss. Please refer to the section below titled “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for more information on Blackbaud’s use of non-GAAP financial measures. 

Financial Goals 

Blackbaud today revised its long-term financial goals:

 

Conference Call Details

What: Blackbaud’s Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2021 Conference Call

When: February 23, 2022 

Time: 8:00 a.m. (Eastern Time)

Live Call: 1-877-407-3088 (US/Canada)

Webcast: Blackbaud’s Investor Relations Webpage

About Blackbaud

Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB) is the world’s leading cloud software company powering social good. Serving the entire social good community—nonprofits, higher education institutions, K–12 schools, healthcare organizations, faith communities, arts and cultural organizations, foundations, companies and individual change agents—Blackbaud connects and empowers organizations to increase their impact through cloud software, services, expertise and data intelligence. The Blackbaud portfolio is tailored to the unique needs of vertical markets, with solutions for fundraising and CRM, marketing, advocacy, peer-to-peer fundraising, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental, social and governance (ESG), school management, ticketing, grantmaking, financial management, payment processing and analytics. Serving the industry for more than four decades, Blackbaud is a remote-first company headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, with operations in the United States, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.blackbaud.com, or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.

Investor Contact

Steve Hufford, Director
Investor Relations
IR@blackbaud.com

Media Contact

media@blackbaud.com

Forward-Looking Statements

Except for historical information, all of the statements, expectations, and assumptions contained in this news release are forward-looking statements which are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the predictability of our financial condition and results of operations. These statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Although Blackbaud attempts to be accurate in making these forward-looking statements, it is possible that future circumstances might differ from the assumptions on which such statements are based. In addition, other important factors that could cause results to differ materially include the following: management of integration of acquired companies; uncertainty regarding increased business and renewals from existing customers; a shifting revenue mix that may impact gross margin; continued success in sales growth; cybersecurity and data protection risks and related liabilities; uncertainty regarding the COVID-19 disruption; potential litigation involving us; and the other risk factors set forth from time to time in the SEC filings for Blackbaud, copies of which are available free of charge at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or upon request from Blackbaud’s investor relations department. Blackbaud assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

Trademarks

All Blackbaud product names appearing herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of Blackbaud, Inc.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures 

Blackbaud has provided in this release financial information that has not been prepared in accordance with GAAP. Blackbaud uses non-GAAP financial measures internally in analyzing its operational performance. Accordingly, Blackbaud believes these non-GAAP measures are useful to investors, as a supplement to GAAP measures, in evaluating its ongoing operational performance and trends and in comparing its financial results from period-to-period with other companies in Blackbaud’s industry, many of which present similar non-GAAP financial measures to investors. However, these non-GAAP financial measures may not be completely comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies due to potential differences in the exact method of calculation between companies.

The non-GAAP financial measures discussed above exclude the impact of certain transactions that Blackbaud believes are not directly related to its operating performance in any particular period, but are for its long-term benefit over multiple periods. Blackbaud believes these non-GAAP financial measures reflect its ongoing business in a manner that allows for meaningful period-to-period comparisons and analysis of trends in its business.

While Blackbaud believes these non-GAAP measures provide useful supplemental information, non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP. Investors are encouraged to review the reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures.

Non-GAAP free cash flow is defined as operating cash flow less capital expenditures, including costs required to be capitalized for software development, and capital expenditures for property and equipment. In addition, and in order to provide a meaningful basis for comparison, Blackbaud now uses non-GAAP adjusted free cash flow in analyzing its operating performance. Non-GAAP adjusted free cash flow is defined as operating cash flow less capital expenditures, including costs required to be capitalized for software development, capital expenditures for property and equipment, and less cash outflows, net of insurance, related to the Security Incident. Blackbaud believes non-GAAP free cash flow and non-GAAP adjusted free cash flow provide useful measures of the company’s operating performance. Non-GAAP adjusted free cash flow is not intended to represent and should not be viewed as the amount of residual cash flow available for discretionary expenditures.

In addition, Blackbaud uses non-GAAP organic revenue growth, non-GAAP organic revenue growth on a constant currency basis and non-GAAP organic recurring revenue growth, in analyzing its operating performance. Blackbaud believes that these non-GAAP measures are useful to investors, as a supplement to GAAP measures, for evaluating the periodic growth of its business on a consistent basis. Each of these measures excludes incremental acquisition-related revenue attributable to companies acquired in the current fiscal year. For companies acquired in the immediately preceding fiscal year, each of these measures reflects presentation of full-year incremental non-GAAP revenue derived from such companies as if they were combined throughout the prior period. In addition, each of these measures excludes prior period revenue associated with divested businesses. The exclusion of the prior period revenue is to present the results of the divested businesses within the results of the combined company for the same period of time in both the prior and current periods. Blackbaud believes this presentation provides a more comparable representation of its current business’ organic revenue growth and revenue run-rate.

Rule of 40 is defined as non-GAAP organic revenue growth plus non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA margin. Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA is defined as GAAP net income plus interest, net; income tax provision; depreciation; amortization of intangible assets from business combinations; amortization of software development costs; acquisition-related deferred revenue write-down; stock-based compensation; acquisition-related integration costs; acquisition-related expenses; employee severance; restructuring and other real estate activities; and costs, net of insurance, related to the Security Incident.