| Nuance Announces Fourth Fiscal Quarter 2007 Results |
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Strong Demand for Speech Solutions, Continued Operational Performance and Synergies from Acquisitions Fuel Results above ExpectationsBURLINGTON, Mass., November 15, 2007 – Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) today announced financial results for the fourth fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2007. Nuance reported revenues of $179.9 million in the quarter ended September 30, 2007, a 40 percent increase over revenues of $128.1 million in the quarter ended September 30, 2006. On a GAAP basis, Nuance recognized a net loss of $3.4 million, or $(0.02) per share, in the quarter ended September 30, 2007, compared with a net loss of $7.2 million, or $(0.04) per share, in the quarter ended September 30, 2006. In addition to using GAAP results in evaluating the business, management also believes it is useful to evaluate results using non-GAAP measures. Using a non-GAAP measure, the Company reported non-GAAP revenue of approximately $187.2 million, up 41 percent from the same period last year. Using a non-GAAP measure, Nuance reported non-GAAP net income of $37.0 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, for the period ending September 30, 2007, compared to non-GAAP net income of $26.3 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, in the quarter ended September 30, 2006. These GAAP figures exclude revenues lost to purchase accounting in conjunction with the Company’s acquisition of BeVocal, Inc., VoiceSignal Technologies, Inc. and Tegic Communications. The non-GAAP net income amount excludes non-cash taxes and interest, amortization of intangible assets, non-cash amortization of stock-based compensation, and acquisition-related transition and integration costs and charges. See “GAAP to non-GAAP Reconciliation” below for further information on the Company’s non-GAAP measures. “Nuance ended 2007 on a particularly high note, delivering robust performance in several major product areas and producing strong organic revenue growth,” said Paul Ricci, chairman and CEO of Nuance. “Our results in the fourth quarter reflect favorable trends and momentum the Company experienced throughout 2007. In particular, we have witnessed strong demand from customers and partners across our diverse speech markets, improved operational performance through expense discipline and operating leverage, and enjoyed strategic and operational synergies from recent acquisitions. Combined, these factors delivered results for the quarter and the year above expectations and positioned Nuance for continued achievement in 2008.” Consistent with the Company’s strategy and recent trends, highlights from the quarter include:
Nuance to Host Quarterly Conference Call at 8:30 a.m. TodayIn conjunction with the announcement, Nuance will broadcast its quarterly conference call over the Internet at 8:30 a.m. ET. Those who wish to listen to the live broadcast should visit the Investor Relations section of the Company’s Web site at www.nuance.com at least 15 minutes prior to the event and follow the instructions provided to ensure that the necessary audio applications are downloaded and installed. The conference call can also be heard via telephone by dialing (800) 230-1766 or (612) 234-9960 five minutes prior to the call and referencing conference code 894553. A replay of the call will be available within 24 hours of the announcement. To access the replay, dial (800) 475-6701 or (320) 365-3844 and refer to access code 894553. About Nuance Communications, IncNuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) is a leading provider of speech and imaging solutions for businesses and consumers around the world. Its technologies, applications and services make the user experience more compelling by transforming the way people interact with information and how they create, share and use documents. Every day, millions of users and thousands of businesses experience Nuance’s proven applications. For more information, please visit www.nuance.com. Trademark reference: Nuance, the Nuance logo, Dictaphone, iChart and OmniPage are registered trademarks or trademarks of Nuance Communications, Inc. or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners. Safe Harbor and Forward-Looking Statements Statements in this document regarding the future demand for, performance of, and opportunities for growth in Nuance’s speech, imaging, healthcare and dictation solutions, opportunities provided by the acquisitions of VoiceSignal and Tegic and any other statements about Nuance managements’ future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans or prospects constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements that are not statements of historical fact (including statements containing the words “believes,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “expects,” or “estimates” or similar expressions) should also be considered to be forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements, including: fluctuations in demand for Nuance’s existing and future products; economic conditions in the United States and abroad; Nuance’s ability to control and successfully manage its expenses, inventory and cash position; the effects of competition, including pricing pressure; possible defects in Nuance’s products and technologies; the ability of Nuance to successfully integrate operations and employees of acquired businesses; the ability to realize anticipated synergies from acquired businesses; and the other factors described in Nuance’s annual report on Form 10 K/A for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2006 and Nuance’s quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Nuance disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this document. The unaudited financial results presented in this press release are subject to change based on the completion of the audit of our fiscal 2007 financial statements. The information included in this press release should not be viewed as a substitute for full financial statements. Discussion of Non-GAAP Financial Measures Management utilizes a number of different financial measures, both GAAP and non-GAAP, in analyzing and assessing the overall performance of our business, for making operating decisions and for forecasting and planning for future periods. We consider the use of non-GAAP revenue helpful in understanding the performance of our business, as it excludes the purchase accounting impact on acquired deferred revenue. We also consider the use of non-GAAP earnings per share helpful in assessing the organic performance of the continuing operation of our business from a cash perspective. By organic performance we mean performance as if we had not incurred certain costs and expenses associated with acquisitions. By continuing operations we mean the ongoing results of the business excluding certain unplanned costs. While our management uses these non-GAAP financial measures as a tool to enhance their understanding of certain aspects of our financial performance, our management does not consider these measures to be a substitute for, or superior to, the information provided by GAAP revenue and earnings per share. Consistent with this approach, we believe that disclosing non-GAAP revenue and non-GAAP earnings per share to the readers of our financial statements provides such readers with useful supplemental data that, while not a substitute for GAAP revenue and earnings per share, allows for greater transparency in the review of our financial and operational performance. In assessing the overall health of our business during the fiscal quarters and years ended September 30, 2006 and 2007, and, in particular, in evaluating our revenue and earnings per share, our management has either included or excluded items in three general categories, each of which are described below. Acquisition Related Revenues and Expenses. We included revenue related to our acquisitions of Dictaphone, BeVocal, VoiceSignal and Tegic that we would otherwise recognize but for the purchase accounting treatment of this transaction to allow for more accurate comparisons to our financial results of our historical operations, forward looking guidance and the financial results of our peer companies. We also excluded certain expense items resulting from acquisitions to allow more accurate comparisons of our financial results to our historical operations, forward looking guidance and the financial results of our peer companies. These items include the following: (i) acquisition-related transition and integration costs; (ii) amortization of intangible assets associated with our acquisitions; and (iii) costs associated with the investigation of the restatement of the financial results of an acquired entity (SpeechWorks International, Inc.). In recent years, we have completed a number of acquisitions, which result in non-continuing operating expenses which would not otherwise have been incurred. For example, we have incurred transition and integration costs such as retention bonuses for employees of acquired businesses. In addition, actions taken by an acquired company, prior to an acquisition, could result in expenses being incurred by us, such as expenses incurred as a result of the restatement of the financial results of SpeechWorks International, Inc. We believe that providing non-GAAP information for certain revenue and expenses related to material acquisitions allows the users of our financial statements to review both the GAAP revenue and expenses in the period, as well as the non-GAAP revenue and expenses, thus providing for enhanced understanding of our historic and future financial results and facilitating comparisons to less acquisitive peer companies. Additionally, had we internally developed the products acquired, the amortization of intangible assets would have been expensed historically, and we believe the assessment of our operations excluding these costs is relevant to our assessment of internal operations and comparisons to industry performance. Non-Cash Expenses. We provide non-GAAP information relative to the following non-cash expenses: (i) stock-based compensation; (ii) certain accrued interest; and (iii) certain accrued income taxes. Because of varying available valuation methodologies, subjective assumptions and the variety of award types, we believe that the exclusion of stock-based compensation allows for more accurate comparisons of our operating results to our peer companies. Further, we believe that excluding stock-based compensation expense allows for a more accurate comparison of our financial results to previous periods during which our equity compensation programs relied more heavily on equity-based awards that were not required to be reflected on our income statement. We believe that excluding non-cash interest expense and non-cash income taxes provides our senior management as well as other users of our financial statements, with a valuable perspective on the cash based performance and health of the business, including our current near-term projected liquidity. Other Expenses. We exclude certain other expenses that are the result of other, unplanned events to measure our operating performance as well as our current and future liquidity both with and without these expenses. Included in these expenses are items such as non-acquisition-related restructuring charges. These events are unplanned and arose outside of the ordinary course of our continuing operations. We assess our operating performance with these amounts included, but also excluding these amounts; the amounts relate to costs which are unplanned, and therefore by providing this information we believe our management and the users of our financial statements are better able to understand the financial results of what we consider to be our organic continuing operations. We believe that providing the non-GAAP information to investors, in addition to the GAAP presentation, allows investors to view our financial results in the way management views the operating results. We further believe that providing this information allows investors to not only better understand our financial performance but more importantly, to evaluate the efficacy of the methodology and information used by management to evaluate and measure such performance. The non-GAAP financial measures described above, and used in this press release, should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, a measure of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. Further, investors are cautioned that there are material limitations associated with the use of non-GAAP financial measures as an analytical tool. In particular, many of the adjustments to our GAAP financial measures reflect the inclusion or exclusion of items that are recurring and will be reflected in our financial results for the foreseeable future. In addition, other companies, including other companies in our industry, may calculate non-GAAP net income (loss) differently than we do, limiting it’s usefulness as a comparative tool. Management compensates for these limitations by providing specific information regarding the GAAP amounts included and excluded from the non-GAAP financial measures. In addition, as noted above, our management evaluates the non-GAAP financial measures together with the most directly comparable GAAP financial information. Nuance Communications, Inc. |