Verisign Q1 2013 Report: net 1.99 million more .com/.net, 8.8 million new registrations, 15% revenue growth

VeriSign, Inc. reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2013. Verisign got a 15% year-over-year revenue growth in Q1 2013. The domain related numbers are:

• Verisign Registry Services added 1.99 million net new names and ended the first quarter with 123.1 million active domain names in the zone for .com and .net, representing a 5.5 percent increase year over year.
• In the first quarter, Verisign processed 8.8 million new domain name registrations as compared to 8.9 million for the same quarter a year prior.

To make a comparison with Q4 2012, Verisign Registry Services only added 1.25 million net new names in the fourth quarter of 2012 and the new .com and .net registrations totaled 7.9 million. It seems that 2013 started with a bang…

Here is the complete report:

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN), the global leader in domain names, today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2013.

First Quarter GAAP Financial Results
VeriSign, Inc., and subsidiaries (“Verisign”) reported revenue of $236 million for the first quarter of 2013, up 15 percent from the same quarter in 2012. Verisign reported net income of $85 million and diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.52 for the first quarter of 2013, compared to net income of $68 million and diluted EPS of $0.42 in the same quarter in 2012. The operating margin was 56.4 percent for the first quarter of 2013 compared to 48.1 percent for the same quarter in 2012.

First Quarter Non-GAAP Financial Results
Verisign reported, on a non-GAAP basis, net income of $94 million and diluted EPS of $0.58 for the first quarter of 2013, compared to net income of $68 million and diluted EPS of $0.42 for the same quarter in 2012. The non-GAAP operating margin was 59.6 percent for the first quarter of 2013 compared to 51.9 percent for the same quarter in 2012. A table reconciling the GAAP to the non-GAAP results (which excludes items described below) is appended to this release.

“The first quarter demonstrates our continued focus and discipline in the execution of our strategic framework,” commented Jim Bidzos, executive chairman, president and chief executive officer.

“We are pleased with the successful completion of our $750 million senior unsecured notes offering,” stated George Kilguss III, senior vice president and chief financial officer.

Financial Highlights

• On April 16, 2013, Verisign issued $750 million of 4.625% Senior Notes due May 2023. Verisign used a portion of the proceeds from the offering to repay the $100 million in outstanding indebtedness under its existing revolving credit facility and intends to use the remaining amount for general corporate purposes, including, but not limited to, the repurchase of shares under its share repurchase program.
• Verisign ended the first quarter with Cash, Cash Equivalents, Marketable Securities and Restricted Cash of $1.57 billion, an increase of $9 million from year-end 2012.
• Cash flow from operations was $151 million for the first quarter compared with $110 million for the same quarter in 2012.
• Deferred revenues on March 31, 2013, totaled $847 million, an increase of $34 million from year-end 2012.
• Capital expenditures were $17 million in the first quarter of 2013.
• During the first quarter, Verisign repurchased approximately 3.0 million shares of its common stock for a cost of approximately $132 million. At March 31, 2013, approximately $844 million remained available and authorized under the current share repurchase program.
• For purposes of calculating diluted EPS, the first quarter diluted share count included 7.9 million shares related to the subordinated convertible debentures, compared with 2.5 million shares in the same quarter in 2012. These represent diluted shares and not shares that have been issued.
• Due to the stock price exceeding the subordinated convertible debentures trigger price during the first quarter of 2013, holders have the option to convert the debentures into common stock during the second quarter of 2013. Consequently, the debt component of the subordinated convertible debentures, the related embedded derivative, and deferred tax liability were reclassified from long-term liabilities to current liabilities, while the associated unamortized debt issuance costs were reclassified from long-term assets to current assets, as of March 31, 2013.

Business Highlights

• Verisign Registry Services added 1.99 million net new names and ended the first quarter with 123.1 million active domain names in the zone for .com and .net, representing a 5.5 percent increase year over year.
• In the first quarter, Verisign processed 8.8 million new domain name registrations as compared to 8.9 million for the same quarter a year prior.

Non-GAAP Items
Non-GAAP financial results exclude the following items that are included under GAAP: discontinued operations, stock-based compensation, amortization of other intangible assets, impairments of goodwill and other intangible assets, restructuring charges, contingent interest payments to holders of the subordinated convertible debentures, unrealized gain/loss on contingent interest derivative on subordinated convertible debentures, and non-cash interest expense. Non-GAAP financial information is also adjusted for a 28 percent tax rate starting from the third quarter of 2012, and 30 percent for the other periods presented herein, both of which differ from the GAAP tax rate. A table reconciling the GAAP to non-GAAP operating income and net income is appended to this release.

About Verisign
As the global leader in domain names, Verisign powers the invisible navigation that takes people to where they want to go on the Internet. For more than 15 years, Verisign has operated the infrastructure for a portfolio of top-level domains that today include .com, .net, .tv, .edu, .gov, .jobs, .name and .cc, as well as two of the world’s 13 Internet root servers. Verisign’s product suite also includes Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Protection Services, iDefense Security Intelligence Services and Managed DNS. To learn more about what it means to be Powered by Verisign, please visit VerisignInc.com.