NEW YORK, April 29, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXLS), a leading operations management and analytics company, today announced its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2021.
Rohit Kapoor, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, “EXL had a strong start to the year with first quarter revenue of $261.4 million. Analytics growth accelerated with a 10.7% revenue increase from the first quarter of 2020. Adjusted diluted earnings per share for the quarter was $1.18, a 46% increase year-over-year. Our data-led value creation framework is resonating well in the market and we are driving revenue expansion with our existing clients as well as signing new logos. While we are in a favorable demand environment with a strong pipeline of opportunities, we also face significant pandemic related challenges in our delivery geographies, particularly in India and the Philippines.”
Maurizio Nicolelli, Chief Financial Officer, said, “Based on our strong first quarter financial results, the growth momentum in the business and an expectation of continued fulfillment levels, we are increasing our revenue guidance for 2021 to be in the range of $1.04 billion to $1.07 billion, representing a 8% to 11% increase year-over-year on a constant currency basis, from 2020. Our adjusted diluted earnings per share guidance for 2021 is increasing to $4.00 to $4.30, representing a 13% to 22% increase over the prior year.”
- Reconciliations of adjusted (non-GAAP) financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures, where applicable, are included at the end of this release under “Reconciliation of Adjusted Financial Measures to GAAP Measures”. These non-GAAP measures, including adjusted diluted EPS and constant currency measures, are not measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP.
Financial Highlights: First Quarter 2021
- Revenues for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 increased to $261.4 million compared to $246.0 million for the first quarter of 2020, an increase of 6.3% on a reported basis and 5.5% on a constant currency basis from the first quarter of 2020. Revenues increased by 5.0% sequentially on a reported basis and 4.7% on a constant currency basis, from the fourth quarter of 2020.
| Revenues | Gross Margin | |||||||||||||
| Three months ended | Three months ended | |||||||||||||
| Reportable Segments | March 31, 2021 | March 31, 2020 | March 31, 2021 | March 31, 2020 | ||||||||||
| (dollars in millions) | ||||||||||||||
| Insurance | $ | 91.1 | $ | 83.7 | 38.5 | % | 29.6 | % | ||||||
| Healthcare | 30.3 | 27.0 | 42.5 | % | 27.5 | % | ||||||||
| Emerging Business | 37.7 | 42.8 | 44.7 | % | 40.5 | % | ||||||||
| Analytics | 102.3 | 92.5 | 37.0 | % | 36.6 | % | ||||||||
| Total Revenues, net | $ | 261.4 | $ | 246.0 | 39.2 | % | 33.9 | % | ||||||
- Operating income margin for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 was 15.9%, compared to an operating income margin of 11.2% for the first quarter of 2020 and operating income margin of 15.4% for the fourth quarter of 2020. Adjusted operating income margin for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 was 20.2% compared to 14.8% for the first quarter of 2020 and 19.7% for the fourth quarter of 2020.
- Diluted earnings per share for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 was $0.93 compared to $0.65 for the first quarter of 2020 and $0.94 for the fourth quarter of 2020. Adjusted diluted earnings per share for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 was $1.18 compared to $0.81 for the first quarter of 2020 and $1.14 for the fourth quarter of 2020.
Business Highlights: First Quarter 2021
- Won 14 new clients in the first quarter of 2021, with five in our operations management businesses and nine in Analytics.
- Released LDS 2.0, EXL’s digital new business and underwriting solution for life and annuities insurers which includes a robust suite of automation and configuration tools.
- Released LifePRO® 20, EXL’s innovative digital policy administration platform that supports end-to-end digital insurance policy administration lifecycle.
- Recognized as a Visionary in the February 2021 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Data and Analytics Service Providers(2)
- Included in The Booming 15 lists in the ISG Index™, for the 13th quarter in a row.
Post-First Quarter Highlight
- As previously announced, subsequent to the first quarter of 2021, on April 19, 2021, Pavan Bagai, President and Chief Operating Officer, notified us that he will retire from the company effective October 1, 2021. Mr. Bagai’s responsibilities will be transitioned in an orderly manner to other members of EXL’s executive team over the course of the next several months.
2021 Guidance
Based on current visibility, and a U.S. Dollar to Indian Rupee exchange rate of 74.50, British Pound to U.S. Dollar exchange rate of 1.38, U.S. Dollar to the Philippine Peso exchange rate of 48.50 and all other currencies at current exchange rates, we are providing the following 2021 guidance:
- Revenue of $1.04 billion to $1.07 billion, representing an increase of 9% to 12% on a reported basis, and 8% to 11% on a constant currency basis, from 2020.
- Adjusted diluted earnings per share of $4.00 to $4.30, representing an increase of 13% to 22% from 2020.
About ExlService Holdings, Inc.
EXL (NASDAQ: EXLS) is a leading operations management and analytics company that helps our clients build and grow sustainable businesses. By orchestrating our domain expertise, data, analytics and digital technology, we look deeper to design and manage agile, customer-centric operating models to improve global operations, drive profitability, enhance customer satisfaction, increase data-driven insights, and manage risk and compliance. Headquartered in New York, EXL has approximately 31,600 professionals in locations throughout the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, India, the Philippines, Colombia, Canada, Australia and South Africa. EXL serves customers in multiple industries including insurance, healthcare, banking and financial services, utilities, travel, transportation and logistics, media and retail, among others. For more information, visit www.exlservice.com.
