FactSet COO Pleased with $15M Revere Purchase
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- The chief operating officer of FactSet Research Systems Inc. expressed enthusiasm about his company’s recent acquisition of Revere Data LLC, and revealed the purchase price was $15 million, but offered few specifics regarding what will happen with its operations, including its office in Youngstown, during a conference call Tuesday.
FactSet, based in Norwalk, Conn., purchased Revere Data for $15 million, CEO Peter Walsh told analysts during a call to discuss the company’s fourth-quarter 2013 earnings, released earlier in the day. Nearly two weeks ago FactSet announced the purchase of San Francisco-based Revere, which opened an office in Youngstown in 2010.
“We’re excited about this latest acquisition, which is consistent with our strategy of buying businesses with data in areas adjacent to our core business that can be easily integrated into FactSet to service our clients,” Walsh said.
FactSet provides integrated financial information and analytical applications to the global investment community. Revere’s business “comprises industry taxonomy and supply chain relationship data,” Walsh said.
Not mentioned during the call was what will happen with Revere’s offices in San Francisco, New York and Youngstown, which have a combined 50 employees, Walsh said. Revere opened its Youngstown research office in 2010 in the Youngstown Business Incubator’s Semple Building, where relocating jobs from India.
Following the call, Rachel Stern, FactSet senior vice president, strategic resources, and general counsel, said she could not comment on future business plans. “We are delighted to have the Revere employees. It’s an exciting time for us and for Revere,” she remarked.
The Revere purchase, announced Sept. 5, did not impact results for FactSet’s fourth quarter 2013, which ended Aug. 31, but Walsh told analysts he expected first quarter 2014 operating margins will be impacted negatively by 30 basis points. Earnings per share will decline by 1 cent per share for the quarter and by a total 2 cents for all of fiscal year 2014. The projected impact on earnings “indicates to us that we think that we can improve [Revere Data’s] profitability over the next four quarters,” Walsh said.
FactSet had its best quarter since 2011 in terms of both client and user additions, Walsh said. FactSet ended the fiscal year with annual subscription value, or ASV, of $888 million, $606 million from U.S. operations and $282 million from international operations. Organic ASV grew by $25 million, or a 6% increase year over year. Adjusted earnings per share were $1.20, up 11% compared to the same period the previous fiscal year.
In the fourth quarter, revenues grew to $219 million, up 6% over the same period last year. That included U.S. revenues of $150 million, up 6%, and $69 million in non-U.S. revenues, up 5%.
“A keystone of growth for us is new client acquisition,” Walsh said. During the fourth quarter, FactSet added 60 net new clients, compared to four the prior quarter and to 57 a year earlier, for its highest number of net new clients in the past seven years. Total client count reached 2500, he reported. At the end of the fiscal year, the total number of employees was 6,258, an increase of 358 for the quarter.
Copyright 2013 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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