VeriSign, Inc. (VRSN), today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2014.
Fourth Quarter GAAP Financial Results
VeriSign, Inc. and subsidiaries (“Verisign”) reported revenue of $256 million for the fourth quarter of 2014, up 4.2% from the same quarter in 2013.
Verisign reported net income of $65 million and diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.48 for the fourth quarter of 2014, compared to net income of $292 million and diluted EPS of $1.94 in the same quarter in 2013.
The operating margin was 55.6 percent for the fourth quarter of 2014 compared to 53.0% for the same quarter in 2013.
For the year ended Dec. 31, 2014, Verisign reported revenue of $1.01 billion, up 4.7% from $965 million in 2013.
Verisign reported net income of $355 million and diluted EPS of $2.52 in 2014, compared to net income of $544 million and diluted EPS of $3.49 in 2013.
The operating margin for 2014 was 55.9% compared to 54.7% in 2013.
Financial Highlights
Verisign ended the fourth quarter with cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $1.4 billion, a decrease of $299 million as compared with year-end 2013.
Cash flow from operations was $170 million for the fourth quarter of 2014 and $601 million for the full year 2014 compared with $147 million for the same quarter in 2013 and $579 million for the full year 2013.
Deferred revenues on Dec. 31, 2014, totaled $890 million, an increase of $35 million from year-end 2013.
Capital expenditures were $9 million in the fourth quarter and $39 million for the full year.
During the fourth quarter, Verisign repurchased 3.7 million shares of its common stock for $209 million. During the full year 2014, Verisign repurchased 16.3 million shares of its common stock for $867 million.
Effective Jan. 30, 2015, the Board of Directors approved an additional authorization for share repurchases of approximately $453 million of common stock, which brings the total amount to $1 billion authorized and available under Verisign’s share buyback program, which has no expiration.
For purposes of calculating diluted EPS, the fourth quarter diluted share count included 14.7 million shares related to subordinated convertible debentures, compared with 13.7 million shares in the same quarter in 2013. These represent diluted shares and not shares that have been issued.
Business Highlights
Verisign Registry Services added 0.59 million net new names during the fourth quarter, ending with 130.6 million .com and .net domain names in the domain name base, which represents a 2.7 percent increase over the base at the end of the fourth quarter in 2013.
In the fourth quarter, Verisign processed 8.2 million new domain name registrations for .com and .net, the same as for the fourth quarter in 2013. During 2014, Verisign processed 34 million new domain name registrations, the same as in 2013.
The final .com and .net renewal rate for the third quarter of 2014 was 72.0% compared with 72.7% for the same quarter in 2013.
Renewal rates are not fully measurable until 45 days after the end of the quarter.
