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Exhibit 99.1


New York | Lauren Gioia | Jennifer Park | Lauren.Gioia@Sothebys.com | Jennifer.Park@Sothebys.com | +1 212 606 7176

SOTHEBY’S REPORTS SECOND QUARTER 2016 FINANCIAL RESULTS
                               
NEW YORK, 8 August 2016 - Sotheby’s (NYSE: BID) today reported its financial results for the second quarter and six months ended 30 June 2016.

For the three months ended 30 June 2016, Sotheby’s reported net income of $89.0 million and diluted earnings per share of $1.52 which compares to $67.6 million and $0.96, respectively, a year ago. Sotheby’s reported Adjusted Net Income* of $88.6 million and Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share* of $1.51 which compares to $73.1 million and $1.04, respectively, in the prior period. This represents a 21% increase in Adjusted Net Income*, but a 45% improvement in Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share* due to the common stock repurchases over the past year. Adjustments between GAAP and non-GAAP figures are largely the result of $5.8 million of after-tax leadership transition severance costs in the prior period.

The comparison to second quarter results of 2015 is impacted by a 16% decrease in Net Auction Sales reflecting a comparable decline in the global art market. The effect of lower sales levels is somewhat mitigated by improved auction commission margin, from 15.5% in the second quarter of 2015 to 16.4% in the current quarter. The comparison of the current and prior year periods is also significantly influenced by a change in the timing of the summer Contemporary Art sales in London, which were held in the second quarter of 2016 after occurring in the third quarter in 2015. Also favorably impacting the comparison of second quarter results is lower variable compensation costs ($16.8 million, or 51%, decrease in incentive compensation expense and a $7.3 million, or 76%,

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Exhibit 99.1

decline in share-based payment expense), a decrease in inventory losses and a lower effective income tax rate.

“While we would certainly prefer to see a stronger art market, we are pleased with the progress we have been making on our strategic initiatives and the beneficial changes to our team and organization,” said Tad Smith, Sotheby’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “When the art market improves - and it certainly will - our company is poised to do very well for shareholders. Until then, we continue burnishing Sotheby’s for even more success and being very careful on capital allocation."

For the six months ended 30 June 2016, Sotheby’s reported net income of $63.1 million and diluted earnings per share of $1.03 which compares to $72.8 million and $1.04, respectively, in the prior year first half. This decrease is largely due to the same factors as affected the second quarter - lower sales volumes associated with the decline in the art market, partially offset by increased auction commission margin, lower variable compensation expenses, a favorable effective income tax rate, and the benefit of share repurchases on diluted earnings per share.

Chief Financial Officer Mike Goss said, “Given the pronounced seasonality of the art auction market, we believe investors should focus on six month results versus prior periods, rather than merely a single quarter. The comparison of quarterly results can be skewed by changes in the timing of when auctions occur, such as the summer Contemporary sales in London. Looking at the first six months of this year, investors will have a realistic view of the current market, but they will also see our improved auction commission margins, meaningful cost control, and the impact of our ongoing share repurchase program.” Goss also noted that the Company had 55.1 million common shares outstanding at 30 June 2016, a 21% reduction in the past twelve months.





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Exhibit 99.1

Non-GAAP Financial Measures
*Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share are non-GAAP financial measures. See Appendix B for a description of these non-GAAP financial measures and reconciliation to the most comparable GAAP amount.

Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains certain “forward-looking statements” (as such term is defined in Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) relating to future events and the financial performance of Sotheby’s. Such statements are only predictions and involve risks and uncertainties, resulting in the possibility that the actual events or performances will differ materially from such predictions. Major factors, which Sotheby’s believes could cause the actual results to differ materially from the predicted results in the “forward-looking statements” include, but are not limited to, the overall strength of the global economy and financial markets, political conditions in various countries, competition with other auction houses and art dealers, the amount and quality of property available for consignment and the marketability at auction of such property. Please refer to our most recently filed Form 10-Q (and/or 10-K) for a complete list of Risk Factors.

Investor Relations Information
All Sotheby’s Press Releases and SEC filings are available on our web site at www.sothebys.com. An outline of the conference call as well as an accompanying slide presentation will be available at http://investor.shareholder.com/bid/events.cfm.
Sotheby’s will host a conference call at 9:00 AM EDT on 8 August 2016, to discuss its second quarter 2016 financial results. Please dial 888-371-8897 and for callers outside the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada, please dial 1-970-315-0479, approximately 15 minutes before the scheduled start of the call. The call reservation number is 45957209. The conference call will also be accessible via webcast on the Investor Relations section of the Sotheby’s web site at http://investor.shareholder.com/bid/events.cfm.

About Sotheby’s
Sotheby’s has been uniting collectors with world-class works of art since 1744. Sotheby’s became the first international auction house when it expanded from London to New York (1955), the first to conduct sales in Hong Kong (1973), India (1992) and France (2001), and the first international fine art auction house in China (2012). Today, Sotheby’s presents auctions in nine different salesrooms, including New York, London, Hong Kong and Paris, and Sotheby’s BidNow program allows visitors to view all auctions live online and place bids in real-time from anywhere in the world. Sotheby’s offers collectors the resources of Sotheby’s Financial Services, the world’s only full-service art financing company, as well as private sale opportunities in more than 70 categories, including S|2, the gallery arm of Sotheby’s Contemporary Art department, and two retail businesses, Sotheby’s Diamonds and Sotheby’s Wine. Sotheby’s has a global network of 80 offices in 40 countries and is the oldest company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (BID).

For More News from Sotheby’s
News & Video: http://www.sothebys.com/en/news-video.html
Twitter: www.twitter.com/sothebys
Instagram: www.instagram.com/sothebys
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sothebys
Weibo: www.weibo.com/sothebyshongkong
WeChat: WeChat (ID: sothebyshongkong)





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Appendix A

SOTHEBY’S
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENTS
(UNAUDITED)
(Thousands of dollars, except per share data)

 
 
Three Months Ended
 
Six Months Ended
 
 
June 30, 2016
 
June 30, 2015
 
June 30, 2016
 
June 30, 2015
Revenues:
 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 
Agency commissions and fees
 
$
273,764

 
$
310,377

 
$
354,829

 
$
438,259

Inventory sales
 
5,281

 
7,005

 
12,075

 
19,988

Finance
 
14,750

 
11,970

 
29,505

 
24,657

License fees
 
2,897

 
2,468

 
5,059

 
4,442

Other
 
1,973

 
186

 
3,728

 
335

Total revenues
 
298,665

 
332,006

 
405,196

 
487,681

Expenses:
 
 

 
 

 
 
 
 
Agency direct costs
 
31,243

 
32,730

 
40,782

 
44,569

Cost of inventory sales
 
7,381

 
16,989

 
18,119

 
28,702

Cost of finance revenues
 
4,153

 
3,874

 
8,547

 
7,262

Marketing
 
4,408

 
4,748

 
9,421

 
8,808

Salaries and related
 
75,227

 
108,182

 
143,398

 
171,112

General and administrative
 
40,909

 
44,731

 
76,585

 
79,460

Depreciation and amortization
 
5,492

 
4,781

 
10,788

 
9,563

Voluntary separation incentive programs (net)
 
(231
)
 

 
(538
)
 

CEO separation and transition costs
 

 
43

 

 
4,232

Restructuring charges (net)
 

 
(530
)
 

 
(889
)
Total expenses
 
168,582

 
215,548

 
307,102

 
352,819

Operating income
 
130,083

 
116,458

 
98,094

 
134,862

Interest income
 
275

 
630

 
671

 
759

Interest expense
 
(7,638
)
 
(9,074
)
 
(15,184
)
 
(17,735
)
Other income (expense)
 
374

 
245

 
421

 
(1,714
)
Income before taxes
 
123,094

 
108,259

 
84,002

 
116,172

Equity in earnings of investees
 
191

 
1,982

 
587

 
3,126

Income tax expense
 
34,355

 
42,789

 
21,569

 
46,713

Net income
 
88,930

 
67,452

 
63,020

 
72,585

Less: Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest
 
(34
)
 
(120
)
 
(60
)
 
(189
)
Net income attributable to Sotheby's
 
$
88,964

 
$
67,572

 
$
63,080

 
$
72,774

Basic earnings per share - Sotheby’s common shareholders
 
$
1.54

 
$
0.97

 
$
1.04

 
$
1.04

Diluted earnings per share - Sotheby's common shareholders
 
$
1.52

 
$
0.96

 
$
1.03

 
$
1.04

Weighted average basic shares outstanding
 
57,104

 
69,332

 
60,063

 
69,211

Weighted average diluted shares outstanding
 
57,712

 
69,884

 
60,682

 
69,794

Cash dividends declared per common share
 
$

 
$
0.10

 
$

 
$
0.20




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Appendix B

NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
GAAP refers to generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America. Included in this earnings release are financial measures presented in accordance with GAAP and also on a non-GAAP basis. The non-GAAP financial measures presented in this earnings release are: Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share. Sotheby's definition of these non-GAAP financial measures is provided in the following paragraphs. Management cautions users of Sotheby's financial statements that amounts presented in accordance with its definitions of these non-GAAP financial measures may not be comparable to similar measures disclosed by other companies because not all companies and analysts calculate such measures in the same manner.
Adjusted Net Income is defined as Net Income Attributable to Sotheby's, excluding the after-tax impact of charges related to certain contractual severance agreements (net, recorded within Salaries and Related Costs), leadership transition severance costs (recorded within Salaries and Related Costs), charges related to Sotheby's voluntary separation incentive programs (net), CEO Separation and Transition Costs, and Restructuring Charges (net). Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share is defined as Diluted Earnings Per Share excluding the per share impact of charges related to certain contractual severance agreements (net, recorded within Salaries and Related Costs), leadership transition severance costs (recorded within Salaries and Related Costs), charges related to Sotheby's voluntary separation incentive programs (net), CEO Separation and Transition Costs, and Restructuring Charges (net).
Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share are important supplemental measures used by the Board of Directors and management in their financial and operational decision making processes, for internal reporting, and as part of Sotheby's forecasting and budgeting processes, as they provide helpful measures of Sotheby's core operations. These measures allow the Board of Directors and management to view operating trends, perform analytical comparisons, and benchmark performance between periods. Management also believes that these measures may be used by securities analysts, investors, financial institutions, and other interested parties in their evaluation of Sotheby's.
The following is a reconciliation of Net Income Attributable to Sotheby's to Adjusted Net Income for the three months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015 (in thousands of dollars):
 
 
Three Months Ended June 30,
 
 
2016
 
2015
Net income attributable to Sotheby's
 
$
88,964

 
$
67,572

Add: Contractual severance agreement charges (net), net of tax of $152 and $0
 
(232
)
 

Add: Leadership transition severance costs, net of tax of $0 and $3,743
 

 
5,758

Add: Voluntary separation incentive programs charges (net), net of tax of $90 and $0
 
(141
)
 

Add: CEO separation and transition costs, net of tax of $0 and $75
 

 
118

Add: Restructuring charges (net), net of tax of $0 and
 

 
(387
)
Adjusted Net Income
 
$
88,591

 
$
73,061

Variance versus prior period - $
 
$
15,530

 
 
Variance versus prior period - %
 
21
%
 
 
The income tax effect of each line item in the reconciliation of Net Income Attributable to Sotheby's to Adjusted Net Income is computed using the relevant jurisdictional tax rates for each item.









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Appendix B

The following is a reconciliation of Diluted Earnings Per Share to Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share for the three months ended June 30, 2016 and 2015:
 
 
Three Months Ended June 30,
 
 
2016
 
2015
Diluted earnings per share
 
$
1.52

 
$
0.96

Add: Contractual severance agreement charges (net), per share
 
(0.01
)
 

Add: Leadership transition severance costs, per share
 

 
0.08

Add: Voluntary separation incentive program charges (net), per share
 

 

Add: CEO separation and transition costs, per share
 

 
0.01

Add: Restructuring charges (net), per share
 

 
(0.01
)
Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share
 
$
1.51

 
$
1.04

Variance versus prior period - $
 
$
0.47

 
 
Variance versus prior period - %
 
45
%
 
 




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