CACI International [CACI] on Wednesday posted mixed financial results in its fourth quarter driven by record sales and bookings although earnings fell due to a number of investments and an accounting change.
Net income dropped nearly 4 percent to $50 million, $1.96 earnings per share, from $51.8 million ($2.05 EPS) a year ago, missing consensus estimates by 17 cents per a share.
The bottom line was down primarily due to $13 million in one-time investments in the quarter on information technology systems to enhance security and efficiency, increased business development and research and development, and human resources initiatives, Tom Mutryn, CACI’s chief financial officer, said Thursday morning on the company’s earnings call.
Net income was also down due to adoption of a new accounting standard that spread award fees throughout the fiscal year, which reduced earnings by $7 million in the fourth quarter, Mutryn said.
John Mengucci, CACI’s new president and CEO, said on the call that the company is investing in internal research and development “at the convergence of signals intelligence (SIGINT), electronic warfare, cyber and communications.”
Sales in the quarter increased 17 percent to $1.4 billion from $1.2 billion a year ago, with most of the growth due to acquisitions. Organic revenue was up 3 percent.
CACI booked $3.7 billion in awards, with 61 percent of orders representing new business.
“We went up against the best incumbents and the best competitors in our market space and won,” Mengucci said at the outset of the earnings call about the company’s strong bookings for the fiscal year. He said the company won 70 percent of all its new business competitions in fiscal year 2019 “and established new beachheads in the areas of secure communications, electronic warfare, SIGINT and cyber.”
Backlog at the end of the quarter stood at $16.9 billion, up 50 percent from $11.3 billion a year ago. Funded backlog was $2.9 billion, up 36 percent from $2.1 billion a year ago.
For the fiscal year, sales were up 12 percent to a record $5 billion, with organic growth up just under 3 percent. Net income slid 12 percent to $265.6 million ($10.46 EPS). Contract awards for the year were a record $10.3 billion, with 67 percent for new business.
CACI left its guidance intact for FY ’20, which began on July 1. The outlook for sales is between $5.5 billion and $5.7 billion and net income between $295 million ($11.52 EPS) and $315 million ($12.30 EPS).
Mengucci said that the recent two-year budget deal agreed to by Congress and signed by President Trump provides “healthy spending levels for defense and non-defense customers, particularly in areas aligned to CACI capabilities.” The deal provides “fiscal stability” and gives the company’s customers that ability to plan and invest with “greater visibility and consistency,” he said.
Acquisitions remain the top capital priority for CACI, Mengucci said. The company is actively looking for deals in two main buckets, enterprise information technology and business systems, and in the SIGINT, electronic warfare, cyber and communications area, he said.