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Exhibit 99.2
Final Transcript

Conference Call Transcript
ABCD Q3 2010 Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Earnings Conference Call
Event Date/Time: Nov 04, 2010 / 09:00PM GMT
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Final Transcript
Nov 04, 2010 / 09:00PM GMT, ABCD Q3 2010 Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Earnings Conference Call
CORPORATE PARTICIPANTS
Shannan Overbeck
Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Investor Relations
Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Investor Relations
Ron Klausner
Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Executive Officer
Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Executive Officer
Brad Almond
Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Financial Officer
Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Financial Officer
Dave Cappellucci
Cambium Learning Group, Inc. President
Cambium Learning Group, Inc. President
CONFERENCE CALL PARTICIPANTS
AJ Guido
Goldentree Analyst
Goldentree Analyst
Randy Baron
SM Investors Analyst
SM Investors Analyst
Barry Lucas
Gabelli Company Analyst
Gabelli Company Analyst
PRESENTATION
Operator
Good afternoon and welcome to the Cambium Learning Group Q3 Earnings Call. (OPERATOR
INSTRUCTIONS.) Please note this event is being recorded.
I would now like to turn the conference over to Ms. Shannan Overbeck. Ms. Overbeck, please go
ahead.
Shannan Overbeck Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Investor Relations
Thank you, operator. My name is Shannan Overbeck and Im Cambium Learning Groups Head of
Investor Relations. On the call today is Ron Klausner, Cambium Learning Groups Chief Executive
Officer; Dave Cappellucci, the Groups President; and Brad Almond, Chief Financial Officer. Ron and
Brad have some prepared comments and Dave is available for questions.
Before we begin, I have a few comments regarding the information we are providing today. Please
note that some statements made on todays call are forward-looking in nature and are based upon
assumptions and subject to risks and uncertainties. The risks and uncertainties associated with
these statements could cause Cambium Learning Groups actual performance to differ materially from
those reflected in statements made today. Examples of these assumptions and risks are described in
our Annual Report filed in March of this year. Cambium Learning Group does not undertake any duty
to update the statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
On todays call, EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted sales will be presented, and it should be
noted that these measures will differ from those offered on the GAAP financial statements just
released today. These are non-GAAP financial measures that the company believes will provide useful
information to investors because they reflect underlying performance of the company, including the
recent acquisition of Voyager Learning Company, and provide investors with a view of the combined
companys operations from managements perspective. These measures are used frequently by
management in the operation of the business. Reconciliations of these figures to GAAP are included
in our press release schedule, which can be found on our corporate website,
cambiumlearninggroup.com, and our Form 10-Q to be filed with the SEC.
Following todays prepared statements, we will take questions. A transcript and webcast of todays
call will also be available on the companys corporate website.
Let me now turn the call over to Ron.
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Final Transcript
Nov 04, 2010 / 09:00PM GMT, ABCD Q3 2010 Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Earnings Conference Call
Ron Klausner Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Executive Officer
Thank you, Shannan, and thank you, everyone, for joining the call.
Today I will provide an overview of the market, an update on funding and our six goals for 2010.
Then Ill turn the call over to Brad who will discuss our third-quarter financial results.
First, I would like to talk about the recent trends we are seeing in the market. State and local
budget constraints continue to impact our customers, and as a result, they are buying more
cautiously and/or later in the cycle, closer to when they are actually implementing the programs.
Larger deals are increasingly subject to a selling process guided by Requests for Proposals RFPs
that states and local districts issue under a more formal competitive bid process. This has the
effect of extending the sales cycle when compared with the non-RFP sales process. We have heard
this may also be affecting a few other companies outside of the formal state adoption processes,
which seem to be a segment of the market recording modest growth thus far in 2010.
While controlling costs, we still have made significant investments that are beginning to pay off
and position us for 2011. Investments include the launch of DIBELS Next, a leading reading
assessment tool; RAVE-O, our reading program based on the work of renowned neuroscientist Dr.
Maryanne Wolf; web-based student-centric capabilities in the Cambium Technologies segment; and
major enhancements to our student data management system.
Ill now touch on the progress weve made towards the six goals which we previously laid out.
Goal one. Achieve sales, adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow. Overall, while we continue to struggle
with orders down 11% year to date in the face of a challenging market and economic
conditions, earnings remain on par with prior year. The adjusted EBITDA for the trailing 12 months
ended September 30, 2010 was $50 million compared to $51 million for the 12 months ended December
31, 09. Weve held earnings relatively flat in the face of top-line pressure through successful
execution of our plan to achieve our targeted synergy savings and through proactive cost
management. Brad will elaborate.
Voyager orders were down 20% year-to-date. Year-versus-year declines in the Voyager segment are
primarily in large deals over $150,000. Securing stimulus-driven funds has been difficult for us,
unlike 2009 when we believe we realized approximately $10 million in full-year sales directly
funded by stimulus dollars. The Texas Reading Adoption and the final phase of Reading First funding
have also had a more adverse impact than expected, or approximately $8 million to $12 million below
prior year. Mid-year budget adjustments also have had an unfavorable effect on our higher-priced
intense interventions. According to a recent poll conducted by the Association of Supervision and
Curriculum Development, two-thirds of administrators felt that cut-backs had a significant impact
on purchases.
Although mid-year budget adjustments have been problematic, many experts expect a more stable
environment in 2010-11, and mid-year budget adjustments are not likely to be repeated to the extent
of 2009-2010.
We believe we have stabilized the Voyager business unit. A fully-integrated sales force has now
mastered acquired products. Orders are up approximately $1.3 million in the states of Washington,
Oregon, North Carolina and North Jersey all states with additional sales coverage. While not yet
closed, Voyager has in the pipeline three significant stimulus-funded deals. All are seven figures.
Finally, we increased our ability to articulate our efficacy story due to our enhanced data
management system. Sopris reversed its decline in Q3 with an increase of 10%. We are beginning to
see our investments in the segment pay off, including providing the unit with its own sales force;
the redesign of the website to better drive e-commerce and generate e-leads and investments I
mentioned previously. We expect this unit to be a growth engine in 2011. The Cambium Learning
Technologies segment is our fastest-growing segment, with strong subscription-based renewal rates
and growth through new customer acquisitions led by Learning A-Z and ExploreLearning. This segment
had a year-to-date growth rate of 17%. Learning A-Z has led the way with a year-to-date increase of
32%. The growth has been fueled by e-commerce sales; its student-centric program, RAZ-Kids; and a
continued high renewal rate. ExploreLearning realized a year-to-date increase of 26% due to new
installations and strong renewals of large customers. Kurzweil was down 22% for the quarter. In our
view, the primary driver for the decline related to a new release. Customers chose to wait for the
new product to be in the market. The next development initiative will provide delivery of these
products via the web. With these new developments, we expect to reverse the sales trend in 2011.
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Nov 04, 2010 / 09:00PM GMT, ABCD Q3 2010 Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Earnings Conference Call
Goal two. Complete the integration effectively and efficiently. We said we would cumulatively
achieve $10.5 million in synergy savings with one-time expense of $7 million. We continue to be on
track to achieve that objective.
In our judgment, one of our critical value propositions is student outcomes. One of our largest
one-time costs was the enhancement of our data management system, including the addition of
LANGUAGE!, our adolescent literacy program; TransMath, our alternative math program; and Read Well,
our K-2 reading program. This data management development will enable us to measure student
progress for all of our major solutions and positions us for metrics for example, graduation
rate and student achievement growth likely to be included when ESEA is reauthorized. ESEA is
Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
Goals three and four. Diversify our portfolio and have a greater web presence. We made several
investments in order to better diversify our product portfolio. In 2010, we will invest
approximately $20 million in total development spending, 70% of which will be incurred for
development of technology offerings. This is a marked shift from print-based development to
technology from the combined company spending in the past few years.
While the total amount spent was similar, print products represented the bigger portion of the
investment historically. We will spend approximately $7 million in development spending on our CLT
segment in an effort to continue to grow those units. Included in these investments was the release
of Kurzweil Version 12.
As previously mentioned, another investment weve made is the redesign of our Sopris website to
drive e-commerce and e-leads, which will be in production in late November. We expect to replicate
Learning A-Z e-commerce outcomes in our larger Sopris division.
The company as a whole continues to develop software as a service, as well as imbed software for
practice as a valuable augmentation of traditional print-based materials. We are forecast to spend
approximately $6.3 million in 2010 on SaaS. Investments include adaptive learning for the four
basic mathematical operations; DIBELS has been significantly enhanced to conduct online student
assessment; and Learning A-Z, with more student-centric capabilities.
Goal five. Increase market share of at-risk students while improving student achievement. Lee
County Public School is a diverse district in Florida, serving more than 80,000 students. The
district implemented ReadWell as its core literacy program for kindergarten students in all 38
elementary schools. After 7 months of using ReadWell in kindergarten, 64% of students scored above
the 75th percentile on the state assessment versus an expected 25%. 82% of students scored above
the 50th percentile on the state assessment versus an expected 50%.
Successful student outcomes like the ones in Lee County create loyalty among our customers and can
result in additional purchases from surrounding districts and schools. As a matter of fact, Lee
County implemented our transitional mathematics program district-wide this year after a highly
successful limited two-year pilot.
Goal six. Increase our footprint through acquisitions. Our focus continues to be on integrating the
core businesses, sales execution and increased development of our web-based products. Weve looked
at numerous acquisition opportunities in 2010, and for the ones that were strategic fits, we
remained disciplined and selective. Well continue to concentrate on identifying and pursuing
strategic acquisitions in 2011, consistent with our goals of diversifying our product offerings and
increasing our technology and services footprint across our divisions.
In summary, in a challenging year, weve struggled with large orders in the Voyager segment, which
will cause a sales decline year-on-year. However, we protected earnings from this sales impact
while still making some key investments for growth. Weve continued to diversify revenue, with a
greater portion coming from online products, and a significant portion of our revenues continue to
come from renewable sources. Our execution of our synergy cost reduction plans will result in an
annuity of cost savings with incremental synergy savings probable in 2011. 2010 was a learning
year, as our sales producers have made great progress in the mastery of unfamiliar products.
Historically, our return on investments has been a strong suit of our company, and some of the bets
and learnings made in 2010 position us to solid returns in 2011.
Now Ill turn the call over to Brad.
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Nov 04, 2010 / 09:00PM GMT, ABCD Q3 2010 Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Earnings Conference Call
Brad Almond Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Financial Officer
Thanks, Ron
Similar to our previous calls, in order to provide better business context and to present the
results in the same manner as measured by management, we continue to provide various non-GAAP
adjusted numbers for both 2009 and 2010. This adjusted methodology is consistent with how we have
presented results since the merger. The majority of my comments will be regarding these adjusted
results unless I note otherwise. A table reconciling from GAAP to adjusted EBITDA was provided in
our earnings release and will be provided in the MD&A section of our 10-Q. As we have a seasonal
business, my comments are directed primarily at the year-to-date results through September 30,
2010.
As Ron explained in detail, our order volume is down 11% year-to-date versus prior year. Order
volume is our metric for the shipment of product for the ordering of online subscriptions and it
serves as a leading indicator of revenue.
Revenue is shown on our financial statement and referred to in my comments as sales or adjusted
sales.
Through Q2, we had experienced a 10% decline in total order volume but experienced increased sales
versus prior year. We indicated that sales would soon reflect the order volume decline unless the
order trend was reversed. The temporary effects, which resulted in increased sales in the face of
declining order volume, have abated, and adjusted sales now more closely reflect the order volume
trends.
Year-to-date, we have adjusted sales of $145 million, compared with $157 million in 2009, which is
a decline of 8%. Adjusted sales declined in the Voyager segment by 13%, declined in the Sopris
segment by 7% and increased in the Cambium Learning Technologies segment by 9%.
As variances between order volume and sales can be confusing, it is helpful to simply look at sales
in conjunction with changes in deferred revenues. As part of our MD&A section of our SEC filings,
we present adjusted deferred revenues for this purpose. The adjustment made to deferred revenue
matches the adjustment we make to sales in order to eliminate the purchase accounting impact on
deferred revenue.
Year-to-date, the change in adjusted deferred revenues was a decline of $3 million, meaning we have
recognized sales out of deferred revenue at a pace slightly faster than it was replenished in 2010.
For comparative purposes, we increased deferred revenues in the same 9-month period of 2009 by
almost $6 million.
While the increase in CLT orders, which carry a high degree of orders that are deferred and
recognized as sales ratably, has bolstered deferred revenue balances, the decline is from two
areas. First, we built up deferred revenues in the Voyager segment in 2009 with significant
multi-year stimulus-funded transactions, which have not been replicated in 2010. Secondly, the
general sales decline in the Voyager segment has been from products which carry a higher deferred
revenue component. Not replacing both of these types of transactions with similar ones in 2010 has
not built up deferred revenue enough to offset last years transactions as they are recognized into
sales.
While we had some net reduction in adjusted deferred revenue in 2010, we have maintained a healthy
balance of almost $36 million. This represents this is a representation of the renewable
component of our business model, and it will provide future sales and EBITDA recognition. As a
general trend, we believe the future is one of more technology subscription products, and as such,
we think the decline in deferred revenue is temporary.
So taken together, adjusted sales plus the change in deferred revenues for the first 9 months of
2010 has been $142 million, compared with $163 million for 2009 calculated the same way a net
change of 13% down. This 13% decline versus the order volume decline of 11% is attributed to a
single $2.4 million transaction which was ordered and shipped at the end of Q3 but did not get
recognized into sales or deferred revenue until early Q4. With that adjustment, these two metrics
of sales plus change in deferred revenue, as well as order volume, would both be a decline of
around 11%.
We believe this method of looking at adjusted sales plus change in deferred revenue is easier to
follow and common in businesses with a high degree of technology-delivered products, and as such,
it will be used as one of our key metrics.
Regarding spending, total adjusted spending, including cost of goods sold, R&D, selling and
marketing and G&A, is down by $11.6 million when compared with prior year. Q2 year-to-date, we have
saved $3.6 million, so we can see that the savings are accelerating. We believe that we will
continue on pace to recognize our 2010 annual targeted synergies and have saved over $7 million to
date, staying on track to deliver 2010 EBITDA savings of $9.5 million compared with the prior year.
In addition to the synergy savings, we believe that we have saved over $4 million from lower
variable costs due to lower sales and lower order volumes and we have reduced other discretionary
spending by approximately $2 million.
These savings were partially offset with planned investments we made in our Sopris and CLT business
units which are over $2 million to date.
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Nov 04, 2010 / 09:00PM GMT, ABCD Q3 2010 Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Earnings Conference Call
As previously commented, we have been operating in a challenging funding environment which has had
a negative impact on the Voyager business unit. However, we have been successful in absorbing the
volume declines in our Voyager business unit and, for the most part, have protected the
year-on-year adjusted EBITDA.
We accomplished this partially with sales increases in the technology segment, delivery on
prior-period multi-year deals, but mainly via our success in achieving cost reductions from the
merger synergies.
Year-to-date adjusted EBITDA is $41 million, compared with $42 million for the first 9 months of
2009. The adjusted EBITDA for the trailing 12 months ended September 30, 2010, was $50 million,
compared with $51 million for the 12 months ended December 31, 2009. Both measurements essentially
down $1 million each.
For comparable purposes, we should consider the impact of the change in our licensing agreement to
provide the DIBELS assessment to a third party. Under our previous agreement with the third party,
the licenses for this imbedded assessment were paid in Q1 of 2009 and were $1.7 million. Under the
new agreement, it will be paid in Q4 2010 and we expect it to be closer to $1 million to $1.2
million. Modifying adjusted EBITDA for this timing element related to the license, we have flat
adjusted EBITDA year-to-date.
A second factor to consider, simply for comparative purposes, is the delayed sales recognition
associated with that shipment of $2.4 million in product at the end of the quarter. The delay,
which was far greater than we would typically experience in terms of a quarter-end delay in sales
recognition, resulted in $1.8 million in EBITDA being pushed into Q4.
As we now look to the end of the year, we continue to find that providing earnings guidance is
challenging, which is not typical for our business which normally has clarity for the full year by
now. As Ron mentioned, as we gain traction in putting the integration behind us, we were able to
identify significant opportunities with some of our most satisfied customers regarding available
stimulus funding. We have in the pipeline three specific transactions far beyond the proposal stage
that are each in excess of $2 million and one in particular with a large range of potential sales
dollars. If successful, these transactions would provide some catch-up to the year-to-date decline
in stimulus-funded sales versus prior year.
For that reason, a wide range of outcomes exists for both adjusted sales and adjusted EBITDA, and
we will again need to refrain from issuing guidance on the full year.
Let me close with a quick update on liquidity. For the 9 months ended September 30, 2010, we have
cash on hand equal to $5.8 million. We began paying down the revolver in Q3 and on September 30,
the balance was $11 million, and as of today, the balance is only $5 million with the expected
payoff of this balance in the next few weeks.
Full-year EBITDA to cash conversion does not become evident until year-end due to seasonality. With
a September 30 accounts receivable balance of $3.4 million compared with a beginning-of-year
balance of $19 million, we have significant positive cash flow remaining between now and the end of
the year as we collect outstanding receivables.
Unlike the beginning of 2010, when we had recently closed the merger and paid all transaction costs
in cash, we expect to enter 2011 with a health cash balance and zero drawn on the revolver. Plus,
we will have expended the majority of the integration costs related to this transaction. For a
business that generates substantial conversion of EBITDA to cash, this bodes well for building cash
balances through operations in 2011.
That concludes our prepared remarks. Id like to turn the call over to the operator. However,
before I do so, I stated that we had a receivables balance of $3.4 million; we actually have a
September 30 receivable balance of $34 million, again compared to a beginning-of-year balance of
$19 million. So roughly a $15-million swing in accounts receivable between beginning of year and
our current balance.
Now Id like to turn the call over to the operator.
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Nov 04, 2010 / 09:00PM GMT, ABCD Q3 2010 Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Earnings Conference Call
QUESTION AND ANSWER
Operator
Thank you. We will now begin the question-and-answer session. (OPERATOR INSTRUCTIONS.) Our
first question is from AJ Guido from Goldentree. Please go ahead.
AJ Guido Goldentree Analyst
Hi, guys. Thanks for taking my questions. A couple questions just on some of the things you
talked about in the fourth quarter. So this transaction that was paid in 1Q 09 in the fourth
quarter of this year, youre expecting $1 million to $1.2 million. So thats pretty much
incremental EBITDA that wasnt there last year, if Im looking at year-over-year comps?
Brad Almond Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Financial Officer
Thats correct. Theres no costs associated with it so itll be an increase to sales and a
comparable increase to EBITDA.
AJ Guido Goldentree Analyst
Okay.
Brad Almond Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Financial Officer
But thats exactly right.
AJ Guido Goldentree Analyst
So in the fourth quarter of last year, you guys must have did about what? $9 million of
EBITDA? 9 or 10?
Brad Almond Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Financial Officer
Yes. 8.8 actually.
AJ Guido Goldentree Analyst
8.8. Okay. And then on this shipment of $2.4 million, which you say translates into $1.8
million of EBITDA, thats a done deal. Thats already gone and we should expect that in the books.
Brad Almond Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Financial Officer
That is correct.
AJ Guido Goldentree Analyst
Okay. So youll eventually be looking at $2.8 million of kind of new EBITDA that theoretically
should help your comps. Correct?
Brad Almond Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Financial Officer
That is correct.
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Nov 04, 2010 / 09:00PM GMT, ABCD Q3 2010 Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Earnings Conference Call
AJ Guido Goldentree Analyst
Okay. One other question I have. Just on your free cash flow. I know the characteristics of
the business. You generate a lot of free cash relative to EBITDA. But how much have you would
you say the conversion happens in like the fourth quarter, just as a percentage? Like say if you
did 50 if youre going to do $40 million in free cash flow, would half of it come in the fourth
quarter? 25% roughly?
Brad Almond Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Financial Officer
Lets see here. Give me one second. Over 70% of it can come in the last quarter.
AJ Guido Goldentree Analyst
Okay. So 70% can come in the last . So we should expect a pretty healthy cash balance, even
after the revolvers paid at the end of the year, if it comes in as planned, I guess.
Brad Almond Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Financial Officer
Thats correct.
AJ Guido Goldentree Analyst
Okay. And I guess if I can, Ill keep going. I only have two more. And just on these three
specific go ahead.
Brad Almond Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Financial Officer
Let me just remind you as well. The other thing thats a little different on the cash flow is
weve expended a lot of money for integration costs, and in fact, of the $7 million, we expect to
expend, weve spent $6 million of it. And thats why were going to see a lot more cash conversion
in the fourth quarter than we normally would. That 70%s probably not typical; its just probably
more typical for this year, given the expansion of all the integration costs.
AJ Guido Goldentree Analyst
Okay. So throughout the year, you spend some of the free cash is what youre saying, and
thats why
Brad Almond Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Financial Officer
We spent $6 million of it. Correct.
AJ Guido Goldentree Analyst
Okay. Alright. On these three transactions, you said, I think, each ones over $2 million. Now
those are just the I guess the process where the sales process is being elongated and youre
still normally you would have closed on them earlier, or are these like new opportunities? If
you can just give a little more color on those.
Ron Klausner Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Executive Officer
All three are new opportunities. Not necessarily do they mean new customers, but new
opportunities. For ARRA or Stimulus funding theres a cliff, meaning the money has to be spent
by September 30, 2011. And so for those districts in this space who think our value proposition can
make a difference for their children, theyre looking to get a jump on that money before it comes
down to the wire. Thats essentially what these deals are.
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Nov 04, 2010 / 09:00PM GMT, ABCD Q3 2010 Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Earnings Conference Call
AJ Guido Goldentree Analyst
Okay. Alright. So, I mean, theoretically Im sorry?
Ron Klausner Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Executive Officer
Is that clear?
AJ Guido Goldentree Analyst
Yes. So theoretically, they have another roughly 10, 11 months to kind of decide.
Ron Klausner Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Executive Officer
They do.
AJ Guido Goldentree Analyst
Okay.
Ron Klausner Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Executive Officer
But theyre all advanced.
AJ Guido Goldentree Analyst
Theyre all advanced? When you say advanced I know you what does that exactly mean?
Ron Klausner Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Executive Officer
Advanced means that in all three cases, they have given us a verbal okay. They have not gotten
the necessary authorizations, meaning that if, for example, a board needed to approve it, they have
not gone through that process yet.
AJ Guido Goldentree Analyst
And in your experience, like if somebody gives you a verbal, what is how long is the
process until you actually get the completion if it does go through?
Ron Klausner Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Executive Officer
Well, usually its a couple of months. The concern I have for right now is that generally
there are a couple of board meetings before the end of the year one in November, one in
December. Many other months outside of December, there is often more than one board meeting. And
December, its not uncommon for them to cancel a board meeting. So given where we are in the
process at this point in the year, theres a little angst will we be able to get it over the
finish line or not. But generally, if theyve given us a verbal, within 60 days we would expect
that deal to come through.
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Nov 04, 2010 / 09:00PM GMT, ABCD Q3 2010 Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Earnings Conference Call
AJ Guido Goldentree Analyst
Okay. And can you just talk about you made a few comments around about things stabilizing
just on the order side. You talked about, I think, Voyager. You thought youd see it stabilize. But
it seems to me that the orders are still declining. I just wanted to understand, I mean,with the
two things we talked about at the beginning of my questions youve got the $1 million to $1.2
million of EBITDA and then the $1.8 million that kind of helps on a comparable basis, but if those
werent there, would we expect do the orders look like a lot like I guess would we expect
the same type of EBITDA for the fourth quarter that we saw in the third quarter, I guess? Or have
things actually turned in your shipping more and do you expect some growth?
Ron Klausner Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Executive Officer
Okay. And theres a couple of questions in there. Let me try the first question.
AJ Guido Goldentree Analyst
Okay.
Ron Klausner Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Executive Officer
If Im clear in understanding it. When I say stabilized, I mean that when we look forward,
when we see whats in our pipeline, when we see what we believe is happening with the 10-11
fiscal year of states which ends June 30 there appears to be more stability. And so the bets
weve made, whats in the pipeline, a little bit better funding source and the notion that money is
going to have to be spent that hasnt been spent by 9/30/11 leads me to believe, based on our
results and what we have positioned, that we will start to see stabilized results moving forward.
AJ Guido Goldentree Analyst
Okay. And I guess on the Cambium Learning side, it does seem like the growth kind of tapered
off. Is that just tougher comps or
Ron Klausner Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Executive Officer
The growth tapered off in Kurzweil, so Kurzweil had a decline of 22% for the quarter. Learning
A-Z still had very, very strong growth in the quarter.
AJ Guido Goldentree Analyst
And you talked about because of the product delay. When will you start to if that is
true, when would you start to recognize those sales in the new product on Kurzweil?
Ron Klausner Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Executive Officer
Well, we unfortunately have missed the peak selling period. So well start to see some sales,
but I dont really expect to see some material turnaround til 2011.
AJ Guido Goldentree Analyst
Okay. Thank you. Ill get back in the queue. Thanks.
Ron Klausner Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Executive Officer
30% for the quarter. So Learning A-Z kept at the consistent gains that theyve had all year.
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Nov 04, 2010 / 09:00PM GMT, ABCD Q3 2010 Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Earnings Conference Call
AJ Guido Goldentree Analyst
You said Learning A-Z was 30% in the quarter?
Ron Klausner Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Executive Officer
30% for the quarter, 32% year-to-date. Correct.
AJ Guido Goldentree Analyst
Okay. Okay. Alright. Thank you very much.
Ron Klausner Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Executive Officer
Thank you, AJ.
Operator
Our next question is from Randy Baron with SM Investors. Please go ahead.
Randy Baron SM Investors Analyst
Hi, guys. Good afternoon.
Ron Klausner Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Executive Officer
Hi, Randy.
Randy Baron SM Investors Analyst
Ron, let me just throw something theoretical at you and get your take on it. Whats to I
dont know what the verb is to force these three municipalities to do the deal this year? I
mean, the school year I mean, it would be kind of middle school year. How does the timing work
from the I guess the school board perspective? Like why wouldnt they say, Well, its going to
be for next September anyway, so well do it in
Ron Klausner Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Executive Officer
Well, they youre absolutely right. They might. Two of the three in two of the three
deals, they are not serving a significant number of children that are at-risk, and the way we have
positioned this and this is multi-year is that we could get going right after Christmas. So
if we get this now, we can get going and then it will lead into the 11-12 school year as well.
The third one, without citing who they are because it would be inappropriate its an
all-year-round school district. So they could more easily implement our program at any point that
they chose. But thats a multi-year deal as well.
Randy Baron SM Investors Analyst
Are these three
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Nov 04, 2010 / 09:00PM GMT, ABCD Q3 2010 Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Earnings Conference Call
Ron Klausner Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Executive Officer
But youre absolutely right. They could delay.
Randy Baron SM Investors Analyst
Are these three the last of the stimulus money or there may be some more to come early next
year?
Ron Klausner Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Executive Officer
No. If you look and the government websites there are government websites that show you
state by state and it even goes down by district by funding source how much has been obligated
or how much has not been obligated, and we do see that there are still a significant amount of
money that has not been obligated in many districts across the country. Its just these three weve
had advance discussions with. They have verbally said, Yes, were going to go forward.
Randy Baron SM Investors Analyst
And how does this compare to the Race to the Top money?
Ron Klausner Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Executive Officer
Well, Race to the Top is technically part of stimulus, and so Race to the Top as you know,
$4 billion. Twelve states have received that money and so this is a component. Race like I say,
Race to the Top is a component of stimulus. And Race to the Top probably will be funded again in
the next federal fiscal year, or at least I would think it would be, although maybe not with the
new Congress.
Randy Baron SM Investors Analyst
So are these three, I guess, municipalities were talking about part of Race to the Top?
Ron Klausner Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Executive Officer
One is, two are not.
Randy Baron SM Investors Analyst
Okay. Brad, let me make sure I have the account receivable number right. You said $34 million
Brad Almond Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Financial Officer
Correct.
Randy Baron SM Investors Analyst
Versus $19 million? Of the $19 million at the beginning of the year, how much of that has been
received as of the end of the third quarter?
Brad Almond Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Financial Officer
We would have received substantially all of it.
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Nov 04, 2010 / 09:00PM GMT, ABCD Q3 2010 Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Earnings Conference Call
Randy Baron SM Investors Analyst
Okay.
Brad Almond Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Financial Officer
Our average days is probably around 55 days.
Randy Baron SM Investors Analyst
So theres not like a bad debt issue here.
Brad Almond Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Financial Officer
No. No. Theres a timing of deals issue. ARs just a little higher than we would expect to be.
As we know, the deals have elongated. Deals have pushed out. So were sitting on, at the end of
September, $34 million of AR. So our goal is obviously to collect substantially all of that by end
of year, and some portion of what we sell in October and probably early November. Things we sell in
late November and late December or into December are a little more challenging. Ultimately, our
year-end cash balance is going to be highly itll be driven by what we have AR today, but also
these large deals that were talking about the timing of those. You could end up with a good
cash balance and also a very sizeable AR balance, and we also could end up with a very good ending
cash balance as well. But
Randy Baron SM Investors Analyst
Well, it sounds like, with the revolver pay down, whats the use of cash going to be in 2011?
Brad Almond Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Financial Officer
Well, were going to the thing weve stated the most of obviously as Ron mentioned,
were out looking at tuck-in acquisitions. So weve stated all along that our intention is to build
up enough cash on the balance sheet to be able to go do those and use cash for them as needed.
Randy Baron SM Investors Analyst
Okay. And then I guess my last question is can you break out what the renewal rates are by
segment and maybe compare that year-over-year? I know that 09 is tricky because of the pro forma,
but what are renewal rates today in CLT, for example? But all three segments. And then how does
that compare to the history?
Brad Almond Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Financial Officer
I was so close to being able to answer that. Were just churning the data now and Ive got it
but I havent vetted it out yet. Were close. Remember we combined two new business units. Weve
merged all the data together and weve got to make sure customer accounts arent duplicated in the
data pulls. So Ive got a little more work to do before I think were ready to put that out
publicly, but were close.
Randy Baron SM Investors Analyst
But thats the historic number. So whats the third-quarter number today? Like CLTs renewal
rate is what percent?
Brad Almond Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Financial Officer
Ill use CLT because theyre known and theyre historic. Now CLT has three different units in
itself. Theres Kurzweil IntelliTools, theres ExploreLearning and Learning A-Z. For the two
subscription-based businesses Learning A-Z and ExploreLearning weve historically had
about an 80% renewal rate. Kurzweil IntelliTools is less than that because its sold right now as a
perpetual software of our hardware sale. So I would put it sub-50%, at least on a year-on-year
basis, for those customers.
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Nov 04, 2010 / 09:00PM GMT, ABCD Q3 2010 Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Earnings Conference Call
Randy Baron SM Investors Analyst
Still pretty high numbers, though.
Brad Almond Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Financial Officer
I think so. And overall I dont want to I hate to dodge the question because were so
close to having the data. We continue to believe we have a highly-renewable business. We tend to
have customers. We tend to retain them and keep them for long periods of time, so I dont want to
make it sound like we dont have good retention rates. We do. Its a pretty sensitive number. When
we put it out, wed like for it to be pretty well-vetted and supportable.
Randy Baron SM Investors Analyst
Well, fantastic. Thanks, guys.
Brad Almond Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Financial Officer
Thanks.
Ron Klausner Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Executive Officer
Thank you, Randy.
Operator
Your next question is from Barry Lucas with Gabelli Company. Please go ahead.
Barry Lucas Gabelli Company Analyst
Thank you and good evening. Just a question or two on the competitive landscape. Acknowledging
that budget constraints are contributing to a longer sales cycle and a more difficult sales cycle,
but what are you seeing in terms of competition? Are you losing orders to competitors? Are the
basal publishers becoming more active? And if you are losing business, to whom are you losing it.
And throw in the other one. With tight budgets, whats the pricing environment like?
Ron Klausner Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Executive Officer
Dave, do you want to take that?
Dave Cappellucci Cambium Learning Group, Inc. President
Sure. Well, I think theres a couple of things that sort of enter into that. The this year
tends to be a larger year for kind of formal adoptions of basals. So Florida math, for example.
Texas reading is actually having some pretty considerable impact on our sales there. Florida and
Texas combined account for almost half of Voyagers year-to-date sales decline. Now in both
situations, its really not as much a loss of share to those programs that are going in, but
generally, I think you can appreciate putting in a basal program and putting in a major
intervention are both pretty challenging in and of themselves. Certainly to do both in one year. So
if I could go to the Texas so if I go to the Texas, for example, were seeing what we did
experience in Alabama, lets say, in 2008, where even pre-merger, both companies had strong legacy
reading intervention
business. 2008 was a reading adoption and both companies actually suffered a temporary sort of
decline that year. And thankfully, there was a Florida intervention reading for both companies that
sort of made up for it. We really dont have that type of a phenomenon to help offset what were
seeing out of Texas. And in Florida, same thing. Theyre kind of focused on putting in their math
program. And so math intervention, while we are still selling some in Florida, it takes a bit of a
second seat to what theyre doing on the core kind of tier one side. So certainly with a 20% down
figure and if we just want to think about dollars, were probably losing some dollars that are
going elsewhere, but I think if we want to think about share in terms of numbers of heads in our
program and are they pulling our the kids our heads out and putting in a different program? I
wouldnt guess that thats what were seeing kind of across the landscape.
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Nov 04, 2010 / 09:00PM GMT, ABCD Q3 2010 Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Earnings Conference Call
Barry Lucas Gabelli Company Analyst
Okay. Thats helpful. And pricing?
Dave Cappellucci Cambium Learning Group, Inc. President
Pricing is no, we really have a kind of rate-rate pricing. We dont vary really very much
from that at all where were sort of bound in a lot of states by state contracts that prohibit us
from doing that. So its not as much that we are certainly there are challenges and I think when
you see the funding constraints that were experiencing, in many cases its not that the district
spent no money. They have less money and you sometimes get this counter-cyclicality. What money
they have, they turn to the less-expensive kind of footprint products more of the supplementary.
You almost see a bump in supplementary and the big programs suffer a bit because theyve got money,
but just maybe not enough to do something comprehensive.
Barry Lucas Gabelli Company Analyst
Helpful. Thank you.
Dave Cappellucci Cambium Learning Group, Inc. President
You bet.
Operator
(OPERATOR INSTRUCTIONS.) This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would now like to
turn the conference back over to Mr. Brad Almond for any closing remarks.
Brad Almond Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Chief Financial Officer
Great. Thanks. Id like to thank everyone for their attendance on todays call and we look
forward to providing you with year-end results. Thanks.
Operator
The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending todays presentation. You may now
disconnect.
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Final Transcript
Nov 04, 2010 / 09:00PM GMT, ABCD Q3 2010 Cambium Learning Group, Inc. Earnings Conference Call
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