Earnings Labs

Harte Hanks, Inc. (HHS)

Q3 2024 Earnings Call· Thu, Nov 14, 2024

$2.86

+3.25%

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Transcript

Operator

Operator

Good afternoon. And welcome to the Harte Hanks Third Quarter 2024 Earnings Call. [Operator Instructions] Please note this conference is being recorded. I will now turn the conference over to your host, Tom Baumann of FNK, Investor Relations. Tome, the floor is yours.

Tom Baumann

Analyst

Thank you. Hosting the call today are Kirk Davis, Chief Executive Officer; and David Garrison, Chief Financial Officer. Before we begin, I want to remind participants that during the call, management’s prepared remarks may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Management may also make additional forward-looking statements in response to your questions today. Therefore, the company claims protection under safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ from results discussed today, and therefore, we will refer you to a more detailed discussion of these risks and uncertainties in the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, any projections as to the company’s future performance represented by management include estimates as of today, November 14, 2024, and the company assumes no obligation to update these projections in the future as market conditions change. This webcast and certain financial information provided on the call, including reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to comparable GAAP financial measures, are available in the earnings press release that was issued shortly after the market closed. A copy of that press release and other corporate disclosure is available on the Investor Relations section of the Harte Hanks website at hartehanks.com. With that, I would now like to turn the call over to Kirk. Kirk, the call is yours.

Kirk Davis

Analyst

Thank you, Tom. And thank you to all of our participants for joining our call. Over past year, Harte Hanks has been committed to transforming our business, building path towards sustainable growth and optimizing free cash flow. In Q3, we reported a 1.1% year-over-year revenue increase, an improvement from the negative 16.6% revenue decline on a comparable basis so adjusted for acquired revenue that we reported in Q3 2023. Moreover, we are showing improvement compared to the results of the previous six quarters, during which revenues declined by an average of negative 8.8% on a cumulative basis, also adjusted for acquired revenue. However, we want to set realistic expectations by acknowledging that our revenue turnaround won't follow a perfectly straight upward path. Instead, we anticipate some natural fluctuations and occasional declines as part of our journey to sustainable growth, we will see that in Q4 where we expect a low to mid-single digit revenue decline. Our strategy is focused on creating lasting value, which sometimes requires periods of investment and recalibration. We are proactively addressing long standing challenges that have impacted our company positioning ourselves for more resilient future. Our focus remains on growing free cash flow as the transformative changes in our sales, marketing and now, including our customer organization, continue gaining traction. As we approach 2025, and with the recent addition of our company's first Chief Customer Data Officer, we are much better positioned to seize key growth opportunities through our newly established Customer Excellence and Growth division, CEG, under our CEG vision, our customer experience and sales and marketing teams are united in creating a positive, consistent, end to end customer experience. Our team is focused on uncovering the key drivers of Harte Hanks’ customer loyalty, as well as to identify the root causes of client revenue…

David Garrison

Analyst

Thank you. Kirk, I will review the third quarter consolidated results, including revenues for each business segment. The revenues in the third quarter were $47.6 million, which grew by 1.1% when compared to $47.1 million for the third quarter of 2023. Growth in Customer Care and Sales Services segments were offset by declines in the other two segments. Revenues in Customer Care segment were $13.1 million in the third quarter of 2024 compared to $11.8 million in the same quarter prior year. Multiple customers in the entertainment industry expanded workloads driving the revenue increases for this quarter. Sales Services increased to $4.2 million compared to $2.2 million in the third quarter of 2023, the increase of volume from a large client was the majority of this increase. The Marketing Service segment revenues fell to $9.1 million in the third quarter of 2024 compared to $10.6 million in the prior year. Customer budget reductions and the end of certain programs account for the decrease in the segment year-over-year. Fulfillment and logistics revenues were $21.3 million in the third quarter of 2024 compared to $22.5 million in the prior year. The decrease was the result of lower logistics volume and rates not being outpaced by new and expanded programs in the fulfillment operations. Operating expenses in Q3 were $45.7 million, including restructuring expenses of $836,000. This is compared to $44.2 million in the same period of 2023. Project Elevate resulted in a cost of $836,000 of restructuring charges for the quarter. We expect to incur additional expenses in the execution of Project Elevate during the remainder of the program, ending in Q4 of 2025. These expenditures related to the operation of Project Elevate and cost associated with the termination of contracts and reductions in workforce. We are on plan for $6 million…

Kirk Davis

Analyst

Thanks Dave. Before we conclude, I want to thank all of you, our investors, employees and partners, for your continued support and commitment. As we look forward, we are focused on growing our free cash flow and enhancing our ability to adapt, grow and lead in our segments by prioritizing innovation and our customers evolving needs. This time, we'd be happy to take any questions.

Operator

Operator

[Operator Instructions] : :

Operator

Operator

I am not seeing anyone come into the queue just at the moment. Okay, I will now hand back over to Kirk for his closing remarks.

Kirk Davis

Analyst

Thank you for joining our call. We appreciate it. We wish you a good evening, and we look forward to keeping you apprised of our company's developments as we move forward. Thanks very much.

Operator

Operator

Thank you very much everybody. This does conclude today's conference. You may disconnect your phone lines at this time. And have a wonderful rest of the day. Thank you for your participation.