FNF Core Reports First Quarter 2015 Adjusted EPS of $0.37, Adjusted Pre-Tax Title Margin of 10.3%, Black Knight Organic Revenue Growth of 11% and Adjusted EBITDA Margin of 41.9%

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., May 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Fidelity National Financial, Inc. today reported the operating results of its core segment FNF, a leading provider of title insurance, technology and transaction services to the real estate and mortgage industries, for the three-month period ended March 31, 2015.

• Total revenue of approximately $1.6 billion in the first quarter versus $1.4 billion in the first quarter of 2014
• Adjusted first quarter net earnings of $106 million versus adjusted net earnings of $62 million for the first quarter of 2014
• Adjusted first quarter core diluted EPS of $0.37 versus adjusted core diluted EPS of $0.22 in the first quarter of 2014
• First quarter core free cash flow used of $6 million versus $120 million used in the first quarter of 2014

Title

• Approximately $1.4 billion in total revenue, adjusted pre-tax earnings of $140 million and adjusted pre-tax title margin of 10.3% for the first quarter versus approximately $1.2 billion in total revenue, adjusted pre-tax earnings of $66 million and an adjusted pre-tax title margin of 5.5% in the first quarter of 2014
• Adjusted pre-tax title margin of 10.3% was a 480 basis point improvement over the first quarter 2014 adjusted pre-tax title margin of 5.5%
• ServiceLink generated $206 million in revenue, adjusted EBITDA of $23 million, an adjusted EBITDA margin of 11%, adjusted pre-tax earnings of $18 million and an adjusted pre-tax margin of 9% for the first quarter
• Open orders per day of 9,475 for the first quarter versus 7,689 open orders per day for the first quarter of 2014
• Closed orders per day of 5,656 for the first quarter versus 4,836 closed orders per day for the first quarter of 2014
• First quarter purchase orders opened and closed increased by 8% and 8%, respectively, versus the first quarter of 2014; purchase orders opened and closed increased by 7% and 6%, respectively, versus the first quarter of 2014 excluding ServiceLink default related purchase orders
• Total commercial revenue of $213 million, a 22% increase over total commercial revenue in the first quarter of 2014; first quarter national commercial title revenue of $119 million, a 14% increase from the first quarter of 2014, driven by a 5% improvement in the commercial fee per file and a 9% increase in closed orders; open national commercial orders increased by 4% over the prior year
• Overall first quarter average fee per file of $1,833, a 1% decrease versus the first quarter of 2014
• Title claims paid of $60 million, a decrease of $7 million, or 10%, from the first quarter of 2014

 

 

 

Black Knight

• Total revenue of $227 million, led by Servicing Technology revenue of approximately $157 million
• Revenue growth of 11% for the first quarter compared to the first quarter of 2014, led by Data & Analytics, RealEC and Origination Technology
• Adjusted EBITDA of $96 million and adjusted EBITDA margin of 41.9%, a 750 basis point margin improvement from the first quarter of 2014

"This was a great start to the year for both our title insurance and Black Knight businesses," said Chairman William P. Foley, II.  "The significant rate decline in January helped us generate a 63% increase in refinance open orders  and a 49% increase in refinance closed orders in the first quarter versus the first quarter of 2014.  Additionally, purchase open orders showed improving strength, growing by 12% in February and 10% in March versus the prior year months.  Consequently, we were able to achieve a solid 10.3% pre-tax title margin in what is our seasonally weakest quarter of the year.  We also believe that we are well positioned to benefit from any continued seasonal improvement in the purchase market as we enter the spring and summer months, with a goal of achieving pre-tax title margins that approach or meet our 15%-20% pre-tax title margin target.

"Black Knight also had a strong start to 2015, generating 11% revenue growth, led by Data & Analytics, RealEC and Origination Technology, and an adjusted EBITDA margin of 41.9%, a 750 basis point margin improvement over the first quarter of 2014.  In the first quarter, we started recognizing revenue from a large, multi-year data licensing agreement with a major industry participant  and had one month of revenue from a large loan origination technology contract with a large national bank.  We are also on track to launch and close the Black Knight initial public offering over the next several weeks and we look forward to Black Knight operating as an FNF majority-owned, publicly-traded company."

Conference Call
We will host a call with investors and analysts to discuss first quarter 2015 FNF Core results on Tuesday, May 5, 2015, beginning at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time.  A live webcast of the conference call will be available on the Events and Multimedia page of the FNF Investor Relations website at www.fnf.com.  The conference call replay will be available via webcast through the FNF Investor Relations website at www.fnf.com.  The telephone replay will be available from 1:00 p.m. Eastern time on May 5, 2015, through May 12, 2015, by dialing 800-475-6701 (USA) or 320-365-3844 (International).  The access code will be 357912.

About FNF
Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (FNF) is organized into two groups, FNF Core FNF and FNF Ventures FNFV. Through our Core operations, FNF is a leading provider of title insurance, technology and transaction services to the real estate and mortgage industries.  FNF is the nation's largest title insurance company through its title insurance underwriters - Fidelity National Title, Chicago Title, Commonwealth Land Title, Alamo Title and National Title of New York - that collectively issue more title insurance policies than any other title company in the United States.  FNF also provides industry-leading mortgage technology solutions and transaction services, including MSP®, the leading residential mortgage servicing technology platform in the U.S., through its majority-owned subsidiaries, Black Knight Financial Services, LLC and ServiceLink Holdings, LLC.  In addition, in our FNFV group, we own majority and minority equity investment stakes in a number of entities, including American Blue Ribbon Holdings, LLC, J. Alexander's, LLC , Ceridian HCM, Inc., Fleetcor Technologies, Inc. and Digital Insurance, Inc.  More information about FNF can be found at www.fnf.com.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) is the term used to refer to the standard framework of guidelines for financial accounting. GAAP includes the standards, conventions, and rules accountants follow in recording and summarizing transactions and in the preparation of financial statements. In addition to reporting financial results in accordance with GAAP, the Company has provided non-GAAP financial measures, which it believes are useful to help investors better understand its financial performance, competitive position and prospects for the future. These non-GAAP measures include earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), adjusted earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation and amortization (Adjusted EBITDA), adjusted earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation as a percent of adjusted revenue (Adjusted EBITDA margin), adjusted net earnings, adjusted EPS and free cash flow.

Any non-GAAP measures should be considered in context with the GAAP financial presentation and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for GAAP net earnings. Further, FNF's non-GAAP measures may be calculated differently from similarly titled measures of other companies. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures to related GAAP measures are provided below.

Black Knight IPO Information
The proposed Black Knight initial public offering will be made only by means of a prospectus.  A copy of the preliminary prospectus may be obtained, when available, from the book-running manager(s) of the proposed offering.

A registration statement on Form S-1 relating to the proposed offering has been filed with the SEC, but has not yet become effective.  The shares to be registered may not be sold nor may offers to buy be accepted prior to the time when the registration statement becomes effective.  Copies of the registration statement can be accessed through the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.  This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

Forward-Looking Statements and Risk Factors
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements regarding our expectations, hopes, intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management. Because such statements are based on expectations as to future financial and operating results and are not statements of fact, actual results may differ materially from those projected. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.  No assurance can be given as to the value of Black Knight's common stock, the price at which its common stock may be offered in the proposed offering, the trading price of such common stock after the proposed offering or whether a liquid market for such common stock will develop or be maintained.  The risks and uncertainties which forward-looking statements are subject to include, but are not limited to: changes in general economic, business and political conditions, including changes in the financial markets; weakness or adverse changes in the level of real estate activity, which may be caused by, among other things, high or increasing interest rates, a limited supply of mortgage funding or a weak U. S. economy; our potential inability to find suitable acquisition candidates, acquisitions in lines of business that will not necessarily be limited to our traditional areas of focus, or difficulties in integrating acquisitions; our dependence on distributions from our title insurance underwriters as a main source of cash flow; significant competition that our operating subsidiaries face; compliance with extensive government regulation of our operating subsidiaries.

This press release should be read in conjunction with the press release filed for the results of FNFV on this same date as well as the risks detailed in the "Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information," "Risk Factors" and other sections of the Company's Form 10-Q,10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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SOURCE Fidelity National Financial, Inc.