UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 20549

 

FORM 8-K

 

CURRENT REPORT PURSUANT

TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

Date of report (Date of earliest event reported): October 24, 2007

 

ACXIOM CORPORATION

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

 

DELAWARE

(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation)

 

                

501-342-1000

(Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code)

 

Not Applicable

(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

 

 

 

o    Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

 

o    Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

 

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Item 2.02      Results of Operations and Financial Condition.

 

On October 24, 2007, Acxiom Corporation (the “Company”) issued a press release announcing the results of its financial performance for the second quarter of fiscal year 2008. The press release is furnished herewith as Exhibit 99.1 and incorporated by reference herein.

 

The Company’s press release and other communications from time to time include certain non-GAAP financial measures. A “non-GAAP financial measure” is defined as a numerical measure of a company’s financial performance, financial position or cash flows that excludes (or includes) amounts that are included in (or excluded from) the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP in the Company’s financial statements.

 

The attached press release utilizes a non-GAAP measure of free cash flow available to equity. Free cash flow available to equity is defined as operating cash flow less cash used by investing activities (excluding the impact of cash paid in acquisitions), less required payments of debt. The Company’s management believes that this measure of free cash flow available to equity is superior to the previously reported free cash flow, since it represents the amount of money available for the Company’s discretionary spending after funding all required obligations including scheduled debt payments, and it therefore provides a useful measure of liquidity for assessing the amount of cash available for general corporate and strategic purposes.

 

The attached press release also presents management’s expectation for full year diluted earnings per share on a non-GAAP basis by excluding the earnings per share impact of unusual items. Management believes this is a meaningful measure since unusual items are inherently difficult to forecast. The non-GAAP measure of diluted earnings per share is reconciled to expected GAAP diluted earnings per share within the body of the press release, by disclosing the unusual items which have been excluded for the year-to-date historical period, as well as the one known unusual item expected for the future period.

 

The non-GAAP financial measures used by the Company in the attached press release may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance or liquidity prepared in accordance with GAAP.

 

 

 

The following exhibits are furnished herewith:

 

 

 

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SIGNATURE

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

 

 

 

ACXIOM CORPORATION

 

By:    /s/ Jerry C. Jones 

 

 

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EXHIBIT INDEX

 

 

 

 

 

For more information, contact:

 

Katharine Boyce

Investor Relations Coordinator

Acxiom Corporation

(501) 342-1321

EACXM

 

Acxiom^® Announces Second-Quarter Results

 

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — October 24, 2007 — Acxiom^® Corporation (NASDAQ: ACXM) today announced financial results for the second quarter of fiscal 2008 ended September 30, 2007. Acxiom will hold a conference call at 4:30 p.m. CDT today to discuss this information further. Interested parties are invited to the call, which will be broadcast via the Internet at www.acxiom.com.

 

Revenue for the three-month period was $351.0 million, an increase of 0.8 percent over $348.3 million for the comparable prior-year period. Income from operations for the three-month period equaled $20.4 million compared to $41.9 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2006. Earnings of $.13 per diluted share include the impact of $14.8 million, or 4 cents per diluted share, in unusual expense items net of income tax effect in the quarter as detailed below.

 

For the six-month period ended September 30, 2007, revenue totaled $689.2 million, an increase of 0.6 percent over $685.0 million for the comparable prior-year period. Income from operations for the six-month period was $24.5 million compared to $78.2 million for the six months ended September 30, 2006. The diluted loss per share of $.01 includes the impact of $35.4 million, or 27 cents per diluted share, in unusual expense items net of income tax effect for the six-month period.

 

Charles D. Morgan, Acxiom’s company leader and chairman of the board stated, “We are moving forward as an independent, publicly owned company. Despite the distraction of the recent course of events, the company posted a slight revenue increase for the quarter. In addition, we instituted an expense reduction plan during mid-September and we expect to see the benefit of the plan during the second half of the fiscal year.”

 

Details of Acxiom’s second-quarter performance include:

 

 

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in the six-month period related to the write-off of certain long-term assets related to amended contracts with certain information technology outsourcing clients. Also included were restructuring charges, primarily severance payments, of $5.3 million and $5.7 million for the quarter and the six-month period, respectively. Finally, a charge of $2.3 million was recorded during the second quarter related to a lease termination payment. These expenses, including income tax effects, reduced second-quarter and year-to-date diluted earnings per share by $.04 and $.27, respectively.

 

In fiscal 2008, Acxiom implemented a new organizational alignment with three operating divisions. Organization highlights are as follows:

 

 

Other Second-Quarter Highlights

 

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and target high-value marketing segments based on users’ online behaviors. Those users are then targeted through relevant banners on the company’s network of websites.

Outlook

For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2008, revenue is expected to be flat to up 1 percent compared to fiscal 2007. Earnings per diluted share, before the effect of any unusual gains or losses, is expected to be in the range of $.69 to $.73. Reflecting the $35.4 million of unusual items recorded during the first two quarters of the fiscal year, and including the receipt of the $65 million merger termination fee in the third quarter, earnings per diluted share for the fiscal year are expected to be between $.91 and $.95.

In previous communications, the Company provided financial guidance under a Financial Road Map. At the present time, the Company no longer intends to update this guidance. As such, previous guidance issued under the Financial Road Map should no longer be relied upon.

About Acxiom Corporation

Acxiom Corporation (NASDAQ: ACXM; www.acxiom.com) integrates data, services and technology to create and deliver customer and information management solutions for many of the largest, most respected companies in the world. The core components of Acxiom's innovative solutions are Customer Data Integration (CDI) technology, data, database services, IT outsourcing, consulting and analytics, and privacy leadership. Founded in 1969, Acxiom is headquartered in Little Rock, Ark., with locations throughout the United States and Europe, and in Australia, China, and Canada. For more information, visit www.acxiom.com.

This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Such statements may include but are not necessarily limited to the following: that we expect to remain focused on improving operating results, that we expect to see the full impact of expense reductions during the second half of the fiscal year and that we expect revenue and earnings to be within the ranges noted above. The following are important factors, among others, that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements: The possibility that certain contracts may not be closed, or may not be closed within the anticipated time frames; the possibility that clients may attempt to reduce the amount of business they do with the Company; the possibility that in the event of a change of control of the Company that certain of the clients of the Company would invoke certain provisions in their contracts resulting in a decline in the revenue and profit of the Company; the possibility that certain contracts may not generate the anticipated revenue or profitability; the possibility that negative changes in economic or other conditions might lead to a reduction in demand for our products and services; the possibility of an economic slowdown or that economic conditions in general will not be as expected; the possibility that the historical seasonality of our business may change; the possibility that significant customers may experience extreme, severe economic difficulty; the possibility that the integration of acquired businesses may not be as successful as planned; the possibility that the fair value of certain of our assets may not be equal to the carrying value of those assets now or in future time periods; the possibility that sales cycles may lengthen; the possibility that we may not be able to attract and retain qualified technical and

 

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leadership associates, or that we may lose key associates to other organizations; the possibility that we won’t be able to properly motivate our sales force or other associates; the possibility that we won’t be able to achieve cost reductions and avoid unanticipated costs; the possibility that we won’t be able to continue to receive credit upon satisfactory terms and conditions; the possibility that competent, competitive products, technologies or services will be introduced into the marketplace by other companies; the possibility that we may be subjected to pricing pressure due to market conditions and/or competitive products and services; the possibility that there will be changes in consumer or business information industries and markets that negatively impact the Company; the possibility that changes in accounting pronouncements may occur and may impact these projections; the possibility that we won’t be able to protect proprietary information and technology or to obtain necessary licenses on commercially reasonable terms; the possibility that we may encounter difficulties when entering new markets or industries; the possibility that there will be changes in the legislative, accounting, regulatory and consumer environments affecting our business, including but not limited to litigation, legislation, regulations and customs relating to our ability to collect, manage, aggregate and use data; the possibility that data suppliers might withdraw data from us, leading to our inability to provide certain products and services; the possibility that we may enter into short-term contracts which would affect the predictability of our revenues; the possibility that the amount of ad hoc, volume-based and project work will not be as expected; the possibility that we may experience a loss of data center capacity or interruption of telecommunication links or power sources; the possibility that we may experience failures or breaches of our network and data security systems, leading to potential adverse publicity, negative customer reaction, or liability to third parties; the possibility that postal rates may increase, thereby leading to reduced volumes of business; the possibility that our clients may cancel or modify their agreements with us; the possibility that we will not successfully complete customer contract requirements on time or meet the service levels specified in the contracts, which may result in contract penalties or lost revenue; the possibility that we experience processing errors which result in credits to customers, re-performance of services or payment of damages to customers; the possibility that the services of the United States Postal Service, their global counterparts and other delivery systems may be disrupted; and the possibility that we may be affected by other competitive factors.

Other factors are detailed from time to time in our periodic reports and registration statements filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. We believe that we have the product and technology offerings, facilities, associates and competitive and financial resources for continued business success, but future revenues, costs, margins and profits are all influenced by a number of factors, including those discussed above, all of which are inherently difficult to forecast.

We undertake no obligation to update the information contained in this press release or any other forward-looking statement.

Acxiom, InfoBase and Personicx are registered trademarks of Acxiom Corporation.

 

 

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