ARC Document Solutions Reports Results for Third Quarter 2017

WALNUT CREEK, Calif., Nov. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ARC Document Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: ARC), a leading document solutions provider to design, engineering, construction, and facilities management professionals, today reported its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2017.

Management Commentary

"We faced another challenging quarter in our continuing transformation even as we made progress in protecting our print revenue and built momentum in our new technology initiatives," said K. "Suri" Suriyakumar, Chairman, President and CEO of ARC Document Solutions. "While there were smaller declines in print volumes year over year, the sales mix and higher employee costs weighed on our margins, as did the effects of the recent hurricanes that swept through the Southeastern part of the U.S."

"The combination of lower sales and the pressure on our margins left us no choice but to revise our annual guidance for 2017," said Mr. Suriyakumar. "As we have stated on numerous occasions, managing change is never easy, and periods of disruption are part of the process. We remain encouraged by our efforts and the response from our markets, and are staying the course as we move through our transformation."

"We expect our fourth quarter performance to be similar to the third quarter, which supports our revised guidance," said Jorge Avalos, Chief Financial Officer. "Despite the pressures we faced in the period, ARC continues to generate strong cash flows, as evidenced by the 8% year-to-date growth, and is benefiting from a capital structure designed to support us through our transformation."

2017 Third Quarter Supplemental Information:

Net sales were $96.5 million, a 4.0% decrease compared to the third quarter of 2016.

Based on our performance in the third quarter of 2017, and the adoption of the new simplified goodwill impairment measurement accounting standard, we recognized a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $17.6 million.

There was one less business day in the third quarter of 2017 as compared to the third quarter of 2016.

Days sales outstanding were 55 in Q3 2017 and Q3 2016.

Architectural, engineering, construction and building owner/operators (AEC/O) customers comprised approximately 78% of our total net sales, while customers outside of construction made up approximately 22% of our total net sales.

Total number of MPS locations at the end of the third quarter has grown to approximately 10,000, a net gain of approximately 630 locations over Q3 2016.

Adjusted EBITDA excludes loss on extinguishment of debt, goodwill impairment, restructuring expense and stock-based compensation expense.

Outlook

ARC Document Solutions revised its annual forecast for 2017, anticipating fully-diluted annual adjusted earnings per share to be in the range of  $0.12 to $0.15, as compared to the  previous forecast of $0.24 to $0.29; annual cash provided by operating activities is projected to be in the range of $45 to $49 million as compared to the previous forecast of $49 to $54 million; and annual adjusted EBITDA is forecast to be in the range of $52 to $55 million as compared to the previous forecast of $58 million to $63 million.

Teleconference and Webcast

ARC Document Solutions will hold a conference call with investors and analysts on Wednesday, November 1, 2017, at 2 P.M. Pacific Time (5 P.M. Eastern Time) to discuss results for the Company's 2017 third quarter. To access the live audio call, dial 866-564-2842. International callers may join the conference by dialing +1 323-794-2094. The conference ID number is 6216256. A live webcast will also be made available on the investor relations page of ARC Document Solution's website at http://ir.e-arc.com. A recording of the webcast will be available for approximately 90 days following the call's conclusion.

About ARC Document Solutions (NYSE: ARC)

ARC Document Solutions distributes Documents and Information to facilitate communication for design, engineering and construction professionals, real estate managers and developers, facilities owners, and a variety of similar disciplines. The Company provides cloud and mobile solutions, professional services, and hardware to help its customers around the world reduce costs and increase efficiency, improve information access and control, and communicate faster, easier, and better. Follow ARC at www.e-arc.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on current opinions, estimates and assumptions of management regarding future events and the future financial performance of the Company. Words and phrases such as "building momentum," "guidance," "expect," "believe," "forecast," "outlook," and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements and all statements other than statements of historical fact, including, but not limited to, any projections regarding earnings, revenues and financial performance of the Company, could be deemed forward-looking statements. We caution you that such statements are only predictions and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. In addition to matters affecting the construction, managed print services, document management or reprographics industries, or the economy generally, factors that could cause actual results to differ from expectations stated in forward-looking statements include, among others, the factors described in the caption entitled "Risk Factors" in Item 1A in ARC Document Solution's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and other periodic filings and prospectuses. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

EBITDA and related ratios presented in this report are supplemental measures of our performance that are not required by or presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP"). These measures are not measurements of our financial performance under GAAP and should not be considered as alternatives to net income, income from operations, or any other performance measures derived in accordance with GAAP or as an alternative to cash flows from operating, investing or financing activities as a measure of our liquidity.

EBITDA represents net income before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

We have presented EBITDA and related ratios because we consider them important supplemental measures of our performance and liquidity. We believe investors may also find these measures meaningful, given how our management makes use of them. The following is a discussion of our use of these measures.

We use EBITDA to measure and compare the performance of our operating segments. Our operating segments' financial performance includes all of the operating activities except debt and taxation which are managed at the corporate level for U.S. operating segments. We use EBITDA to compare the performance of our operating segments and to measure performance for determining consolidated-level compensation. In addition, we use EBITDA to evaluate potential acquisitions and potential capital expenditures.

EBITDA and related ratios have limitations as analytical tools, and should not be considered in isolation, or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. Some of these limitations are as follows:

• They do not reflect our cash expenditures, or future requirements for capital expenditures and contractual commitments;
• They do not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, our working capital needs;
• They do not reflect the significant interest expense, or the cash requirements necessary, to service interest or principal payments on our debt;
• Although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized will often have to be replaced in the future, and EBITDA does not reflect any cash requirements for such replacements; and
• Other companies, including companies in our industry, may calculate these measures differently than we do, limiting their usefulness as comparative measures.

Because of these limitations, EBITDA and related ratios should not be considered as measures of discretionary cash available to us to invest in business growth or to reduce our indebtedness. We compensate for these limitations by relying primarily on our GAAP results and using EBITDA and related ratios only as supplements.

Our presentation of adjusted net income and adjusted EBITDA over certain periods is an attempt to provide meaningful comparisons to our historical performance for our existing and future investors. The unprecedented changes in our end markets over the past several years have required us to take measures that are unique in our history and specific to individual circumstances. Comparisons inclusive of these actions make normal financial and other performance patterns difficult to discern under a strict GAAP presentation. Each non-GAAP presentation, however, is explained in detail in the reconciliation tables above.

Specifically, we have presented adjusted net income attributable to ARC and adjusted earnings per share attributable to ARC shareholders for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016 to reflect the exclusion of loss on extinguishment and modification of debt, goodwill impairment, restructuring expense, and changes in the valuation allowances related to certain deferred tax assets and other discrete tax items. This presentation facilitates a meaningful comparison of our operating results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016. We believe these charges were the result of our capital restructuring, or other items which are not indicative of our actual operating performance.

We have presented adjusted EBITDA for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016 to exclude loss on extinguishment and modification of debt, goodwill impairment, restructuring expense and stock-based compensation expense. The adjustment of EBITDA for these items is consistent with the definition of adjusted EBITDA in our credit agreement; therefore, we believe this information is useful to investors in assessing our financial performance.

SOURCE ARC Document Solutions, Inc.