ATLANTA, Dec. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DLH Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: DLHC), a leading provider of innovative healthcare services and solutions to federal agencies, today announced financial results for its fiscal fourth quarter ended September 30, 2020.

Highlights of Fiscal Year 2020

• Annual revenue rose to $209.2 million in fiscal 2020 from $160.4 million in fiscal 2019, reflecting growth in key programs, new awards, and recent acquisitions, more than offsetting the impact from COVID-19 on certain programs and services.
• Earnings were $7.1 million, or $0.54 per diluted share, for fiscal 2020 versus $5.3 million, or $0.41 per diluted share, for the prior-year period.
• Operating cash flow was $19.5 million for the fiscal year; senior bank debt was reduced by $19.0 million during fiscal 2020 and by $33.0 million since the June 2019 acquisition, resulting in a debt balance of $37.0 million, prior to closing the IBA transaction.
• On September 30, 2020, the Company completed the acquisition of Irving Burton Associates (“IBA”), a leading provider of technology-enabled military health solutions, for $32.0 million.
• The Company's backlog strengthened to $688.4 million at fiscal year end, following the successful Head Start recompete and the acquisition of IBA.

Management Discussion
“With fiscal 2020 now behind us, I’m proud to say that DLH has, once again, performed very well under rather unpredictable and challenging circumstances – solidifying its leadership position in the federal markets we serve,” stated DLH President and Chief Executive Officer Zach Parker. “Revenue for the year topped $209.2 million, operating income rose to $13.5 million, and we generated $19.5 million in cash from operations. We continued to pay down debt and invest in new business development activities, strengthening our management team while winning new contracts, including some dedicated to helping find a vaccine for COVID-19.

“In addition, we just completed the acquisition of Irving Burton Associates, significantly improving our position within several key military agencies and bolstering our capabilities in research and engineering, data analytics, and artificial intelligence. With this latest transaction under our belt – which brought a backlog of over $140 million – we believe we have successfully transformed DLH into a well-rounded, advanced technology enterprise. We have broad capabilities to meet the needs of our three core markets and have laid the foundation for future growth. Utilizing our secure, cloud-based applications and highly credentialed staff, we will focus on further differentiating the Company and increasing our penetration with the agencies we serve, expanding in areas where we can provide higher value-added solutions. DLH is well-positioned as we start fiscal 2021 on strong financial footing. With a clear track record of execution, we intend to continue to use our cash flow to de-lever the Company, invest for the future, and work to increase returns for our shareholders.”

Results for the Three Months Ended September 30, 2020
Revenue for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 was $50.7 million versus $54.2 million in the prior-year period. The decrease was due primarily to deferrals in monitoring and compliance programs and reduction of non-labor costs from the changing business conditions due to the ongoing pandemic.

Income from operations was $2.7 million for the quarter versus $3.4 million in the prior-year period and, as a percent of revenue, the Company reported an operating margin of 5.3% in fiscal 2020 versus 6.3% in fiscal 2019. The current year fourth quarter performance reflects $0.9 million of acquisition costs (related to IBA), partially offset by lower general and administrative (G&A) expenses and reduced depreciation and amortization expense. Interest expense in the quarter declined to $0.8 million, versus $1.2 million for the three months ended September 30, 2019, due to lower outstanding debt for most of the period, prior to the acquisition of IBA. Income before taxes was $1.9 million for the quarter versus $2.2 million in fiscal 2019, representing 3.8% and 4.1% of revenue, respectively, for each quarter.

For the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019, DLH recorded a $0.6 million provision for tax expense in each period. The Company reported net income of approximately $1.4 million, or $0.10 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 versus $1.6 million, or $0.12 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019. As a percent of revenue, net income was 2.7% for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 versus 2.9% for the prior year period.

On a non-GAAP basis, EBITDA for the three months ended September 30, 2020 was approximately $4.4 million versus $5.3 million in the prior-year period, or 8.6% and 9.8% of revenue, respectively, with the current quarter's performance reflecting the impact of $0.9 million in acquisition costs.

Key Financial Indicators
DLH generated $19.5 million in operating cash during fiscal 2020, versus $18.0 million last year. Senior bank debt was reduced by $19.0 million for the fiscal year and $33.0 million since the June 2019 acquisition, resulting in a remaining debt balance of $37.0 million, prior to closing the IBA acquisition on September 30. The Company anticipates strong operating cash flow in fiscal 2021, and intends to continue using free cash flow to make debt prepayments when possible.

As of September 30, 2020, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $1.4 million and debt outstanding of $70.0 million, versus cash of $1.8 million and debt outstanding of $56.0 million as of September 30, 2019. DLH financed the acquisition of IBA (which closed on September 30, 2020) through an amendment to its existing secured credit facility, comprised of a syndicated term loan of $70.0 million and revolving credit facility of $25.0 million. At September 30, 2020, the Company did not have any outstanding balance on the revolving credit facility.

At September 30, 2020, total backlog was approximately $688.4 million compared to $414.1 million as of September 30, 2019, representing growth of 66.2% from the prior year. The increase in backlog was primarily due to successful recompete of the Head Start contract and the acquired backlog from IBA. Funded backlog was approximately $121.3 million and unfunded backlog was $567.1 million.

Fiscal Year 2021 Expectations for Non-Operational Expenses
The Company expects interest expense of approximately $3.0 million for fiscal 2021, based on its fixed rate debt and a projection of interest expense on its floating rate debt of 1.0% LIBOR, plus applicable credit spread. The Company expects fiscal year 2021 amortization of acquired intangibles of $1.5 million from the IBA transaction completed on September 30, 2020, reflecting allocation of approximately $30.0 million of the purchase price to intangible assets, with average lives of 10 years. The Company expects total amortization, including from prior acquisitions, to be $6.3 million in fiscal year 2021. In addition, the Company anticipates its tax rate to remain at 29.0% for fiscal 2021 and will continue to leverage the favorable tax attributes of acquisitions and net operating losses to minimize required cash payments.

About DLH

DLH (NASDAQ:DLHC) ) is a comprehensive health solutions and services provider that delivers a full range of technology-enabled health services across various civilian agencies, the military health system, and the Veterans Administration. The Company's services range from providing virtual pharmacy health consultation for CHAMPVA beneficiaries to veteran pharmacy fulfillment and medical logistics; conducting scientific research and clinical trials toward disease prevention and health promotion; performing medical research and development and enhancing health information technology systems (including telemedicine and electronic health records); and evaluating policy deployment and compliance with applicable protocols and guidelines, with a goal of enhancing the Company's readiness posture while providing safe, effective and integrated solutions and services to the public, armed service members, and veterans who have secured this nation's freedom. DLH has over 2,200 employees serving numerous government agencies. For more information, visit the corporate website at www.dlhcorp.com