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Pluralsight Announces Third Quarter 2018 Results

October 24, 2018 4:05 PM

SILICON SLOPES, Utah, Oct. 24, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pluralsight (Nasdaq: PS), the enterprise technology learning company, today announced financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2018.

“We achieved our sixth consecutive quarter of greater than 50% growth in B2B billings, while demonstrating the inherent levers to profitability in our model,” said Aaron Skonnard, co-founder and CEO of Pluralsight. “Our platform gives tech leaders unprecedented insights into the skill gaps across their organizations, and we provide the tools to close them, enabling enterprises to accelerate innovation.”

Financial Highlights for the Third Quarter 2018

For information regarding the non-GAAP financial measures discussed in this press release, please see the section titled “Non-GAAP Financial Measures.” Reconciliations between GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures are provided in the tables of this press release.

Financial Outlook

Pluralsight is providing the following financial guidance for the fourth quarter 2018, and the full years 2018 and 2019:

Fourth Quarter 2018 guidance:

Full Year 2018 guidance:

Full Year 2019 guidance:

Guidance for non-GAAP financial measures excludes equity-based compensation, amortization of acquired intangible assets, and loss on debt extinguishment. Pluralsight has not reconciled its expectations as to adjusted pro forma net loss per share to their most directly comparable GAAP measures because certain items cannot be reasonably predicted. Accordingly, a reconciliation for expectations of adjusted pro forma net loss per share is not available without unreasonable effort.

Conference Call Information

Pluralsight will host a conference call for analysts and investors to discuss its third quarter 2018 results and outlook for its fourth quarter 2018, and the full years 2018 and 2019, today at 2:30 p.m., Mountain time (4:30 p.m. Eastern time).

Date:Wednesday, October 24
Time:2:30 p.m. MT (4:30 p.m. ET)
Webcast:https://investors.pluralsight.com/
Dial-in number:(877) 350-6732 or (629) 228-0693, conference ID: 1166607

A live audio webcast of the conference call will also be accessible from the Pluralsight website at investors.pluralsight.com. A telephonic replay of the call will be available three hours after the call, will run for seven days, and may be accessed by dialing (855) 859-2056 or (404) 537-3406 and entering the passcode 1166607.

About Pluralsight

Pluralsight is an enterprise technology learning platform that delivers a unified, end-to-end learning experience for businesses across the globe. Through its subscription service, companies are empowered to move at the speed of technology, increasing proficiency, innovation and efficiency. Founded in 2004, brought online in 2011, and trusted by Fortune 500 companies, Pluralsight provides subscribers with on-demand access to a digital ecosystem of learning tools, including adaptive skill tests, directed learning paths, expert-authored courses, interactive labs and live mentoring.

Pluralsight and the Pluralsight logo are trademarks of Pluralsight, LLC in the United States and in jurisdictions throughout the world.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding our future financial and operating performance, including our financial outlook for the fourth quarter 2018, and the full years 2018 and 2019. There are a significant number of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from statements made in this press release, including: the pace of market adoption of cloud-based learning solutions; our ability to expand our course library and develop new platform features; competition; our ability to attract and retain customers; our ability to increase sales of subscriptions to our platform to customers; our ability to expand our sales and marketing capabilities; and general market, political, economic, and business conditions.

Additional risks and uncertainties that could affect our financial results are included under the captions “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our final prospectus filed with the SEC on May 17, 2018 (File No. 333-224301), which is available on our website at investors.pluralsight.com and on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Additional information will also be set forth in other filings that we make with the SEC from time to time. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to us as of the date hereof, and we do not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements provided to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made, except as required by law.

Key Business Metrics

Billings. Billings represents total revenue plus the change in deferred revenue in the period, as presented in our condensed consolidated statements of cash flows. Billings in any particular period represents amounts invoiced to customers and reflects subscription renewals and upsells to existing customers plus sales to new customers. We use billings to measure our ability to sell subscriptions to our platform to both existing and new customers. We use billings from business customers and our percentage of billings from business customers to measure and monitor our ability to sell subscriptions to our platform to business customers.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Pluralsight has provided in this press release financial information that has not been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (GAAP). Pluralsight uses the non-GAAP financial measures of non-GAAP gross profit, non-GAAP gross margin, non-GAAP operating loss, adjusted pro forma net loss, adjusted pro forma net loss per share and free cash flow in analyzing its financial results and believes that the use of these metrics is useful to investors as an additional tool to evaluate ongoing operating results and trends and in comparing Pluralsight’s financial results with other companies in its industry, many of which present similar non-GAAP financial measures.

The presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for comparable GAAP financial measures, and should be read only in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. A reconciliation of our historical non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP measures have been provided in the financial statement tables included in this press release, and investors are encouraged to review these reconciliations.

Non-GAAP gross profit. We define non-GAAP gross profit as gross profit plus equity-based compensation and amortization related to acquired intangible assets.

Non-GAAP gross margin. We define non-GAAP gross margin as non-GAAP gross profit divided by our revenue.

Non-GAAP operating loss. We define non-GAAP operating loss as loss from operations plus equity-based compensation and amortization of acquired intangible assets.

Adjusted pro forma net loss and adjusted pro forma net loss per share. We define adjusted pro forma net loss as net loss attributable to Pluralsight, Inc. adjusted for the reallocation of loss attributable to non-controlling interests from the assumed exchange of LLC Units of Pluralsight Holdings for newly-issued shares of Class A common stock of Pluralsight, Inc. and further adjusted for equity-based compensation, amortization of acquired intangible assets, and loss on debt extinguishment. We define adjusted pro forma net loss per share as adjusted pro forma net loss divided by the weighted-average shares of Class A common stock outstanding, assuming the full exchange of all outstanding LLC Units of Pluralsight Holdings for newly-issued shares of Class A common stock of Pluralsight, Inc.

Free cash flow. We define free cash flow as cash provided by (used in) operating activities less purchases of property and equipment and purchases of our content library.

PLURALSIGHT, INC.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations(in thousands, except per share amounts)(unaudited)

Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30,
2018 2017 2018 2017
Revenue $61,553 $43,286 $164,769 $119,416
Cost of revenue(1)(2) 15,331 12,582 46,107 35,678
Gross profit 46,222 30,704 118,662 83,738
Operating expenses(1)(2):
Sales and marketing 41,392 29,410 109,792 70,254
Technology and content 17,227 12,448 47,045 33,979
General and administrative 17,398 19,094 48,138 34,773
Total operating expenses 76,017 60,952 204,975 139,006
Loss from operations (29,795) (30,248) (86,313) (55,268)
Other (expense) income:
Interest expense (342) (3,252) (6,476) (8,376)
Loss on debt extinguishment (4,085) (1,882)
Other income, net 654 55 689 124
Loss before income taxes (29,483) (33,445) (96,185) (65,402)
Provision for income taxes (254) (90) (506) (216)
Net loss $(29,737) $(33,535) $(96,691) $(65,618)
Less: Net loss attributable to non-controlling interests (15,578) (28,284)
Net loss attributable to Pluralsight, Inc. $(14,159) $(33,535) $(68,407) $(65,618)
Less: Accretion of Series A redeemable convertible preferred units (34,375) (176,275) (57,200)
Net loss attributable to common shares $(14,159) $(67,910) $(244,682) $(122,818)
Net loss per share, basic and diluted(3) $(0.23) $(0.41)
Weighted-average common shares used in computing basic and diluted net loss per share(3) 62,472 62,400

(1) Includes equity-based compensation expense as follows:

Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30,
2018 2017 2018 2017
Cost of revenue $40 $5 $86 $15
Sales and marketing 4,372 631 9,343 2,010
Technology and content 2,790 499 5,839 1,489
General and administrative 8,842 11,762 21,704 15,474
Total equity-based compensation $16,044 $12,897 $36,972 $18,988

PLURALSIGHT, INC.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (cont.)(in thousands)(unaudited)

(2) Includes amortization of acquired intangible assets as follows:

Three Months EndedSeptember 30, Nine Months EndedSeptember 30,
2018 2017 2018 2017
Cost of revenue $880 $1,642 $6,803 $4,926
Sales and marketing 161 389 483
Technology and content 176 176 529 528
General and administrative 27 81
Total amortization of acquired intangible assets $1,056 $2,006 $7,721 $6,018

(3) Represents net loss per share of Class A common stock and weighted-average shares of Class A common stock outstanding for the periods following the reorganization transactions and Pluralsight, Inc.'s initial public offering.

PLURALSIGHT, INC.

Key Business Metrics and Non-GAAP Financial Measures(dollars in thousands)(unaudited)

Key Business Metrics

Three Months EndedSeptember 30, Nine Months EndedSeptember 30,
2018 2017 2018 2017
Billings $72,243 $50,005 $192,959 $134,917
Billings from business customers $61,143 $39,920 $161,018 $105,092
% of billings from business customers 85% 80% 83% 78%

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Three Months EndedSeptember 30, Nine Months EndedSeptember 30,
2018 2017 2018 2017
Reconciliation of gross profit to non-GAAP gross profit:
Gross profit $46,222 $30,704 $118,662 $83,738
Equity-based compensation 40 5 86 15
Amortization of acquired intangible assets 880 1,642 6,803 4,926
Non-GAAP gross profit $47,142 $32,351 $125,551 $88,679
Gross margin 75% 71% 72% 70%
Non-GAAP gross margin 77% 75% 76% 74%
Reconciliation of loss from operations to non-GAAP operating loss:
Loss from operations $(29,795) $(30,248) $(86,313) $(55,268)
Equity-based compensation 16,044 12,897 36,972 18,988
Amortization of acquired intangible assets 1,056 2,006 7,721 6,018
Non-GAAP operating loss $(12,695) $(15,345) $(41,620) $(30,262)

PLURALSIGHT, INC.

Key Business Metrics and Non-GAAP Financial Measures(in thousands, except per share amounts)(unaudited)

Three Months EndedSeptember 30, Nine Months EndedSeptember 30,
2018 2017 2018 2017
Adjusted pro forma net loss per share
Numerator:
GAAP net loss attributable to common shares $(14,159) $(67,910) $(244,682) $(122,818)
Accretion of Series A redeemable convertible preferred units 34,375 176,275 57,200
Reallocation of net loss attributable to non-controlling interests from the assumed exchange of LLC Units of Pluralsight Holdings for Class A common stock (15,578) (28,284)
Equity-based compensation 16,044 12,897 36,972 18,988
Amortization of acquired intangibles 1,056 2,006 7,721 6,018
Loss on debt extinguishment 4,085 1,882
Adjusted pro forma net loss $(12,637) $(18,632) $(47,913) $(38,730)
Denominator:
Weighted-average shares of Class A common stock outstanding 62,472 31,314
Weighted-average LLC Units of Pluralsight Holdings that are convertible into Class A common stock 68,734 47,922 58,529 47,831
Adjusted pro forma weighted-average common shares outstanding, basic and diluted 131,206 47,922 89,843 47,831
Adjusted pro forma net loss per share $(0.10) $(0.39) $(0.53) $(0.81)
Reconciliation of net cash provided by (used in) operating activities to free cash flow:
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities $1,934 $(6,866) $(14,283) $(10,816)
Less: Purchases of property and equipment (2,002) (1,434) (6,576) (4,459)
Less: Purchases of content library (841) (540) (2,345) (1,769)
Free cash flow $(909) $(8,840) $(23,204) $(17,044)

PLURALSIGHT, INC.

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets(in thousands)(unaudited)

September30, 2018 December31, 2017
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $208,626 $28,267
Accounts receivable, net 47,801 38,229
Prepaid expenses and other current assets 8,037 5,125
Total current assets 264,464 71,621
Property and equipment, net 22,503 22,457
Content library, net 7,547 13,441
Intangible assets, net 1,935 2,854
Goodwill 123,119 123,119
Other assets 2,080 2,928
Total assets $421,648 $236,420
Liabilities, redeemable convertible preferred units, and stockholders' equity/members’ deficit
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable $6,834 $6,029
Accrued expenses 31,415 26,514
Accrued author fees 9,331 7,879
Deferred revenue 130,555 103,107
Total current liabilities 178,135 143,529
Deferred revenue, net of current portion 8,649 8,194
Long-term debt 116,037
Facility financing obligation 7,500 7,513
Other liabilities 1,090 458
Total liabilities 195,374 275,731
Redeemable convertible preferred units 405,766
Stockholders' equity/members’ deficit:
Preferred stock
Class A common stock 6
Class B common stock 6
Class C common stock 1
Additional paid-in capital 443,182
Members’ capital
Accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income (34) 25
Accumulated deficit (335,863) (445,102)
Total stockholders' equity attributable to Pluralsight, Inc./members' deficit 107,298 (445,077)
Non-controlling interests 118,976
Total stockholders' equity/members' deficit 226,274 (445,077)
Total liabilities, redeemable convertible preferred units, and stockholders' equity/members’ deficit $421,648 $236,420

PLURALSIGHT, INC.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows(in thousands)(unaudited)

Three Months EndedSeptember 30, Nine Months EndedSeptember 30,
2018 2017 2018 2017
Operating activities
Net loss $(29,737) $(33,535) $(96,691) $(65,618)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities:
Depreciation of property and equipment 1,973 1,741 6,331 4,367
Amortization of acquired intangible assets 1,056 2,006 7,721 6,018
Amortization of course creation costs 507 379 1,437 1,050
Equity-based compensation 16,044 12,897 36,972 18,988
Provision for doubtful accounts 135 172 493 360
Amortization of debt discount and debt issuance costs 768 1,215 1,074
Debt extinguishment costs 17 4,197 931
Deferred tax benefit (34) (98)
Changes in assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable (11,687) (4,553) (10,352) (2,720)
Prepaid expenses and other assets 868 11 (2,990) (3,204)
Accounts payable 1,516 1,060 928 2,388
Accrued expenses and other liabilities 9,751 5,080 6,912 8,721
Accrued author fees 835 389 1,452 1,328
Deferred revenue 10,690 6,719 28,190 15,501
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities 1,934 (6,866) (14,283) (10,816)
Investing activities
Purchases of property and equipment (2,002) (1,434) (6,576) (4,459)
Purchases of content library (841) (540) (2,345) (1,769)
Net cash used in investing activities (2,843) (1,974) (8,921) (6,228)
Financing activities
Proceeds from initial public offering, net of underwriting discounts and commissions 332,080
Payments of costs related to initial public offering (3,998) (175) (7,083) (175)
Borrowings of long-term debt 20,000 115,000
Repayments of long-term debt (137,710) (85,000)
Payments of debt extinguishment costs (17) (2,179)
Payments of debt issuance costs (28) (450) (837)
Payments to settle equity appreciation rights (325)
Taxes paid related to net share settlement (78)
Proceeds from the issuance of common units 3,114 3,136
Redemption of incentive units (2,801) (2,801)
Payments of facility financing obligation (5) (4) (13) (12)
Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities (4,020) 106 204,242 29,311
Effect of exchange rate change on cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash (50) 14 (136) 38
Net (decrease) increase in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash (4,979) (8,720) 180,902 12,305
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash, beginning of period 214,358 40,422 28,477 19,397
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash, end of period $209,379 $31,702 $209,379 $31,702
Reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash:
Cash and cash equivalents $208,626 $31,492 $208,626 $31,492
Restricted cash included in other assets 753 210 753 210
Total cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash $209,379 $31,702 $209,379 $31,702

Investor Relations Contact:Mark McReynoldsInvestor RelationsPluralsight801-784-9007[email protected]

Media Contact:DJ AndersonCommunications/PressPluralsight801-784-9007[email protected]

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Source: Pluralsight, Inc.

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