Progress Announces First Quarter 2021 Financial Results

Revenue and Earnings Per Share Exceed Guidance Ranges
Full Year Guidance Increased for Revenue, Earnings Per Share and Free Cash Flow

BEDFORD, Mass., March 25, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Progress (NASDAQ: PRGS), the leading provider of products to develop, deploy and manage high-impact business applications, today announced financial results for its fiscal first quarter ended February 28, 2021.

First Quarter 2021 Highlights:

• Revenue of $121.3 million increased 11% year-over-year on an actual currency basis, and 9% on a constant currency basis.
• Non-GAAP revenue of $131.8 million increased 16% on an actual currency basis, and 14% on a constant currency basis.
• Annualized Recurring Revenue (ARR) of $432 million increased 22% year-over-year on a constant currency basis with growth primarily driven by the acquisition of Chef Software.
• Operating margin was 23% and Non-GAAP operating margin was 43%.
• Diluted earnings per share was $0.42 compared to $0.46 in the same quarter last year, a decrease of 9%.
• Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share was $0.95 compared to $0.76 in the same quarter last year, an increase of 25%.

“The first quarter marked an excellent start to 2021 highlighted by better-than-expected growth on both the top and bottom line,” said Yogesh Gupta, CEO at Progress. “Our performance was stronger than expected across virtually all product lines and all of our key metrics. I am especially proud of the continued hard work and dedication of our entire organization and our first quarter results position us well as we continue to execute our total growth strategy.”

Additional financial highlights included (1) :

(1) See Legal Notice Regarding Non-GAAP Financial Information

Other fiscal first quarter 2021 metrics and recent results included:

• Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments were $114.4 million at the end of the quarter;
• DSO was 53 days compared to 49 days in the fiscal first quarter of 2020 and 54 days in the fiscal fourth quarter of 2020;
• Pursuant to the $250 million share authorization by the Board of Directors, Progress repurchased 0.4 million shares for $15.0 million during the first fiscal quarter of 2021. As of February 28, 2021, there was $175.0 million remaining under this authorization; and
• On March 23, 2021, our Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.175 per share of common stock that will be paid on June 15, 2021 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on June 1, 2021.

Anthony Folger, CFO, said: “Progress delivered strong financial results across the board in the first quarter, which has given us even greater confidence in our prospects for 2021. The integration of Chef is tracking ahead of plan and Chef’s first full quarter with Progress contributed better than expected performance and helped continue the trend of an increasing mix of revenue being derived from recurring sources.”

Select Performance Metrics:

Management evaluates our financial performance using a number of financial and operating metrics. These metrics are periodically reviewed and revised to reflect changes in our business.

Beginning this period, Progress is providing an ARR performance metric to help investors better understand and assess the performance of our business because our mix of revenue generated from recurring sources has increased in recent years. ARR represents the annualized contract value for all active and contractually binding term-based contracts at the end of a period. ARR includes maintenance, software upgrade rights, public cloud and on-premises subscription-based transactions and managed services. Additional information regarding ARR is contained in the company's Current Report on Form 8-K furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with this press release, which is also available on the Progress website within the investor relations section.

ARR does not have any standardized meaning and is therefore unlikely to be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies. ARR should be viewed independently of revenue and deferred revenue and is not intended to be combined with or to replace either of those items. ARR is not a forecast and the active contracts at the end of a reporting period used in calculating ARR may or may not be extended or renewed by our customers.

In addition, Progress is in the process of updating its segments based on changes to how performance is assessed and resources are allocated. Progress expects to begin operating as one distinct segment to align with the way that management internally analyzes the business. Progress previously reported results based on three segments. Progress plans to implement the new segment structure starting with results for the fiscal second quarter ending May 31, 2021.

2021 Business Outlook

Progress provides the following guidance for the fiscal year ending November 30, 2021 and the fiscal second quarter ending May 31, 2021:

Based on current exchange rates, the expected positive currency translation impact on Progress' fiscal year 2021 business outlook compared to 2020 exchange rates is approximately $5.8 million on GAAP and non-GAAP revenue, and approximately $0.02 on GAAP and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share. The expected positive currency translation impact on Progress' fiscal Q2 2021 business outlook compared to 2020 exchange rates on GAAP and non-GAAP revenue is approximately $2.4 million. The expected positive impact on GAAP and non-GAAP diluted Q2 2021 earnings per share is $0.01. To the extent that there are changes in exchange rates versus the current environment, this may have an impact on Progress' business outlook.

Conference Call

Progress will hold a conference call to review its financial results for the fiscal first quarter of 2021 at 5:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 25, 2021. The call can be accessed on the investor relations section of the company’s website, located at www.progress.com . Additionally, you can listen to the call by telephone by dialing 800-367-2403 or 334-777-6978, passcode 3276569. The conference call will include comments followed by questions and answers. An archived version of the conference call and supporting materials will be available on the Progress website within the investor relations section after the live conference call.

Legal Notice Regarding Non-GAAP Financial Information

Progress provides non-GAAP financial information as additional information for investors. These non-GAAP measures are not in accordance with, or an alternative to, generally accepted accounting principles in the United States ("GAAP"). Progress believes that the non-GAAP results described in this release are useful for an understanding of its ongoing operations and provide additional detail and an alternative method of assessing its operating results. A reconciliation of non-GAAP adjustments to the company's GAAP financial results is included in the tables below and is available on the Progress website at www.progress.com within the investor relations section. Additional information regarding the company's non-GAAP financial information is contained in the company's Current Report on Form 8-K furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with this press release, which is also available on the Progress website within the investor relations section.

Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains statements that are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Progress has identified some of these forward-looking statements with words like “believe,” “may,” “could,” “would,” “might,” “should,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “target,” “anticipate” and “continue,” the negative of these words, other terms of similar meaning or the use of future dates.

Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Progress' business outlook and financial guidance. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results or future events to differ materially from those anticipated by the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation:

(1) Economic, geopolitical and market conditions can adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition, including our revenue growth and profitability, which in turn could adversely affect our stock price. (2) We may fail to achieve our financial forecasts due to such factors as delays or size reductions in transactions, fewer large transactions in a particular quarter, fluctuations in currency exchange rates, or a decline in our renewal rates for contracts. (3) Our ability to successfully manage transitions to new business models and markets, including an increased emphasis on a cloud and subscription strategy, may not be successful. (4) If we are unable to develop new or sufficiently differentiated products and services, or to enhance and improve our existing products and services in a timely manner to meet market demand, partners and customers may not purchase new software licenses or subscriptions or purchase or renew support contracts. (5) We depend upon our extensive partner channel and we may not be successful in retaining or expanding our relationships with channel partners. (6) Our international sales and operations subject us to additional risks that can adversely affect our operating results, including risks relating to foreign currency gains and losses. (7) If the security measures for our software, services, other offerings or our internal information technology infrastructure are compromised or subject to a successful cyber-attack, or if our software offerings contain significant coding or configuration errors, we may experience reputational harm, legal claims and financial exposure. (8) We have made acquisitions, and may make acquisitions in the future, and those acquisitions may not be successful, may involve unanticipated costs or other integration issues or may disrupt our existing operations. (9) Delay or failure to realize the expected synergies and benefits of the Chef acquisition could negatively impact our future results of operations and financial condition. (10) The continuing impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak on our employees, customers, partners, and the global financial markets could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. For further information regarding risks and uncertainties associated with Progress' business, please refer to Progress' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2020. Progress undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release.

About Progress

Progress (NASDAQ: PRGS) provides the best products to develop, deploy and manage high-impact business applications. Our comprehensive product stack is designed to make technology teams more productive and we have a deep commitment to the developer community, both open source and commercial alike. With Progress, organizations can accelerate the creation and delivery of strategic business applications, automate the process by which apps are configured, deployed and scaled, and make critical data and content more accessible and secure—leading to competitive differentiation and business success. Over 1,700 independent software vendors, 100,000 enterprise customers, and three million developers rely on Progress to power their applications. Learn about Progress at www.progress.com or +1-800-477-6473.

Progress and Progress Software are trademarks or registered trademarks of Progress Software Corporation and/or its subsidiaries or affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. Any other names contained herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.