CoreLogic reported its financial results for the quarter and year ending Dec. 31, 2018, the company announced.
Full-year highlights include revenues of $1.788 billion, down 3 percent as organic growth and benefits of acquisitions partially offset an estimated 15 percent drop in U.S. mortgage origination unit volumes and lower appraisal management company revenues.
Operating income from continuing operations of $223 million, down 7 percent as cost productivity benefits and favorable revenue mix partially offset U.S. mortgage market headwinds, increased investment spending and an $8 million non-cash impairment charge related to the planned exit of certain non-core software units, the report said.
“Net income from continuing operations of $122 million, down 18 percent, reflecting a one-time benefit of $38 million in the 2017 tax provision, attributable to the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” CoreLogic said. “Diluted EPS from continuing operations of $1.49 were down 15 percent, while the adjusted EPS of $2.72 was up at 15 percent.
“Adjusted EBITDA of $493 million was up 3 percent with the adjusted EBITDA margin at 28 percent,” the company added.
Fourth-quarter highlights included:
- Revenues of $403 million, down 11 percent, primarily driven by an estimated 25 percent drop in U.S. mortgage volumes and lower AMC revenues;
- Operating income from continuing operations of $29 million, down 56 percent, on lower mortgage market volumes, elevated investment spending, and the above described 2018 non-cash impairment charge;
- Net income from continuing operations of $13 million, down from $65 million, reflecting the effects of U.S. mortgage market headwinds, the 2017 tax benefit and the 2018 non-cash impairment charge; and
- Adjusted EBITDA of $103 million, compared with $117 million in 2017.
“CoreLogic continued to successfully execute against its long-term strategic plan in 2018 despite significant U.S. mortgage market headwinds,” CoreLogic President and CEO Frank Martell said in the report. “We also reduced our costs significantly and drove productivity. In addition, we continued to scale our core operations, expanded our international and insurance business, accelerated the transformation of our AMC and initiated the exit of certain non-core legacy units.
“Throughout 2018, we reinvested in our business with a focus on building our core capabilities in data and technology, which we expect will be a foundation for future growth and margin expansion,” Martell added.
Property Intelligence & Risk Management Solutions revenues fell 7 percent from 2017 levels to $168 million, due mainly to lower contributions from weather-related natural hazard solutions, the impact of lower U.S. mortgage loan volumes and unfavorable foreign currency translation. Underwriting & Workflow Solutions revenues totaled $239 million, down 14 percent from 2017 levels, as benefits from market outperformance and higher collateral valuation platform revenues partially offset mortgage market unit declines and lower AMC volumes, the company said.
Operating income from continuing operations totaled $29 million for the fourth quarter compared with $65 million in 2017. Lower operating income principally was attributable to the impact of a 25 percent decline in origination unit volumes, lower weather-related natural hazard revenues, higher investment spend, and the 2018 non-cash impairment charge discussed previously.