COSTAR GROUP, INC. - Quarter Report: 2007 March (Form 10-Q)
UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
FORM
10-Q
[X]
QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE
ACT
OF 1934
For
the quarterly period ended March 31, 2007
OR
[
] TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE
ACT OF 1934
For
the transition period from ______ to ______
Commission
file number 0-24531
CoStar
Group, Inc.
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware
|
|
52-2091509
|
(State
or other jurisdiction of
incorporation
or organization)
|
|
(I.R.S.
Employer
Identification
No.)
|
2
Bethesda Metro Center, 10th Floor
Bethesda,
Maryland 20814
(Address
of principal executive offices) (zip code)
(301) 215-8300
(Registrant’s
telephone number, including area code)
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to
be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the
registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to
such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes [X] No [
]
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an
accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of “accelerated
filer and large accelerated filer” in Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934.
Large
accelerated filer [X ] Accelerated
filer [ ] Non-accelerated
filer [ ]
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule
12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes [ ] No [X]
As
of May
1, 2007 there were 19,194,545 shares of the registrant’s common stock
outstanding.
COSTAR
GROUP, INC.
PART
I
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FINANCIAL
INFORMATION
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Item 1.
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Financial
Statements
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3
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3
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4
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5
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6
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Item 2.
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13
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Item 3.
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22
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Item 4.
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22
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PART
II
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OTHER
INFORMATION
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Item 1.
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23
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Item 1A.
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23
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|||
Item 2.
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23
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Item 3.
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23
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Item 4.
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23
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Item 5.
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23
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Item 6.
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24
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25
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2
PART
I ¾
FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Item
1.
|
Financial
Statements
|
COSTAR
GROUP, INC.
(in
thousands, except per share data)
(unaudited)
Three
Months Ended
|
|||||||
March
31,
|
|||||||
2007
|
2006
|
||||||
Revenues
|
$
|
44,831
|
$
|
37,274
|
|||
Cost
of revenues
|
17,826
|
12,926
|
|||||
Gross
margin
|
27,005
|
24,348
|
|||||
Operating
expenses:
|
|||||||
Selling
and marketing
|
13,166
|
10,925
|
|||||
Software
development
|
3,070
|
2,898
|
|||||
General
and administrative
|
8,063
|
7,569
|
|||||
Purchase
amortization
|
1,270
|
1,108
|
|||||
25,569
|
22,500
|
||||||
Income
from operations
|
1,436
|
1,848
|
|||||
Other
income, net
|
1,862
|
1,426
|
|||||
Income
before income taxes
|
3,298
|
3,274
|
|||||
Income
tax expense, net
|
1,484
|
1,414
|
|||||
Net
income
|
$
|
1,814
|
$
|
1,860
|
|||
Net
income per share ¾
basic
|
$
|
0.10
|
$
|
0.10
|
|||
Net
income per share ¾
diluted
|
$
|
0.09
|
$
|
0.10
|
|||
Weighted
average outstanding shares ¾
basic
|
18,896
|
18,692
|
|||||
Weighted
average outstanding shares ¾
diluted
|
19,207
|
19,269
|
See
accompanying notes.
3
COSTAR
GROUP, INC.
(in
thousands)
March
31,
|
December
31,
|
||||||
2007
|
2006
|
||||||
ASSETS
|
(unaudited)
|
||||||
Current
assets:
|
|||||||
Cash
and cash equivalents
|
$
|
43,118
|
$
|
38,159
|
|||
Short-term
investments
|
107,230
|
119,989
|
|||||
Accounts
receivable, less allowance for doubtful accounts of
approximately
$2,606 and $1,966 as of March 31, 2007 and
December
31, 2006
|
10,103
|
9,202
|
|||||
Deferred
income taxes, net
|
7,904
|
7,904
|
|||||
Prepaid
expenses and other current assets
|
4,028
|
3,497
|
|||||
Total
current assets
|
172,383
|
178,751
|
|||||
Deferred
income taxes
|
5,119
|
6,973
|
|||||
Property
and equipment, net
|
19,616
|
18,407
|
|||||
Goodwill,
net
|
61,600
|
46,497
|
|||||
Intangibles
and other assets, net
|
30,847
|
23,172
|
|||||
Deposits
|
1,287
|
1,637
|
|||||
Total
assets
|
$
|
290,852
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$
|
275,437
|
|||
LIABILITIES
AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
|
|||||||
Current
liabilities:
|
|||||||
Accounts
payable and deferred rent
|
$
|
3,018
|
$
|
3,212
|
|||
Accrued
wages and commissions
|
7,531
|
6,018
|
|||||
Accrued
expenses
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10,628
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6,098
|
|||||
Deferred
revenue
|
12,256
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8,817
|
|||||
Total
current liabilities
|
33,433
|
24,145
|
|||||
Deferred
income taxes
|
2,497
|
1,182
|
|||||
Total
stockholders’ equity
|
254,922
|
250,110
|
|||||
Total
liabilities and stockholders’ equity
|
$
|
290,852
|
$
|
275,437
|
|||
See
accompanying notes.
4
COSTAR
GROUP, INC.
(in
thousands)
(unaudited)
Three
Months Ended
March
31,
|
|||||||
2007
|
2006
|
||||||
Operating
activities:
|
|||||||
Net
income
|
$
|
1,814
|
$
|
1,860
|
|||
Adjustments
to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating
activities:
|
|||||||
Depreciation
|
1,744
|
1,354
|
|||||
Amortization
|
1,866
|
1,459
|
|||||
Stock-based
compensation expense related to stock options and restricted
stock
|
1,529
|
998
|
|||||
Income
tax expense, net
|
1,484
|
1,108
|
|||||
Provision
for losses on accounts receivable
|
517
|
295
|
|||||
Changes
in operating assets and liabilities, net of acquisitions
|
2,189
|
(276
|
)
|
||||
Net
cash provided by operating activities
|
11,143
|
6,798
|
|||||
Investing
activities:
|
|||||||
Purchases
of short-term investments
|
(26,382
|
)
|
(25,461
|
)
|
|||
Sales
of short-term investments
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39,225
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34,272
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|||||
Purchases
of property and equipment and other assets
|
(2,581
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)
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(1,225
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)
|
|||
Acquisition,
net of cash acquired
|
(16,737
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)
|
-
|
||||
Net
cash (used in) provided by investing activities
|
(6,475
|
)
|
7,586
|
||||
Financing
activities:
|
|||||||
Proceeds
from exercise of stock options
|
362
|
2,629
|
|||||
Net
cash provided by financing activities
|
362
|
2,629
|
|||||
Effect
of foreign currency exchange rates on cash and cash
equivalents
|
(71
|
)
|
15
|
||||
Net
increase in cash and cash equivalents
|
4,959
|
17,028
|
|||||
Cash
and cash equivalents at the beginning of period
|
38,159
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28,065
|
|||||
Cash
and cash equivalents at the end of period
|
$
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43,118
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$
|
45,093
|
|||
See
accompanying notes.
5
COSTAR
GROUP, INC.
1.
|
ORGANIZATION
|
CoStar
Group, Inc. (the “Company”) has created a comprehensive, proprietary database of
commercial real estate information for metropolitan areas throughout the
United
States, the United Kingdom, and France. Based on its unique database, the
Company provides information services to the commercial real estate and related
business community and operates within two segments, United States and
International. The Company’s information services are typically distributed to
its clients under subscription-based license agreements, which have a minimum
term of one year and renew automatically.
2.
|
SUMMARY
OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING
POLICIES
|
Basis
of Presentation
The
consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and
its
wholly owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany balances and
transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. Accounting policies are
consistent for each operating segment.
Interim
Financial Statements
The
accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of the
Company have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally
accepted in the United States for interim financial information. In the opinion
of the Company’s management, the financial statements reflect all adjustments
necessary to present fairly the Company’s financial position at March 31, 2007,
the results of its operations for the three months ended March 31, 2007 and
2006, and its cash flows for the three months ended March 31, 2007 and 2006.
These adjustments are of a normal recurring nature.
Certain
notes and other information have been condensed or omitted from the interim
financial statements presented in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
Therefore, these financial statements should be read in conjunction with
the
Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2006.
The
results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2007 are not
necessarily indicative of future financial results.
Use
of Estimates
The
preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles
generally accepted in the United States requires management to make estimates
and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements
and
accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those
estimates.
Reclassifications
Certain
previously reported amounts have been reclassified to conform to the Company’s
current presentation.
Foreign
Currency Translation
The
Company’s functional currency in its foreign locations is the local currency.
Assets and liabilities are translated into U.S. dollars as of the balance
sheet
date. Revenues, expenses, gains and losses are translated at the average
exchange rates in effect during each period. Gains and losses resulting from
translation are included in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss).
Net
gains or losses resulting from foreign currency exchange
6
COSTAR
GROUP, INC.
NOTES
TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (unaudited)—
(CONTINUED)
2.
|
SUMMARY
OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES —
(CONTINUED)
|
Foreign
Currency Translation (continued)
transactions
are included in the consolidated statements of operations. The Company had
a
comprehensive loss of approximately $11,000 for the three months ended March
31,
2007 and comprehensive income of $220,000 for the three months ended March
31,
2006. There were no material gains or losses from foreign currency exchange
transactions for the three months ended March 31, 2007 and 2006.
Comprehensive
Income
During
the three months ended March 31, 2007 and 2006, total comprehensive income
was
approximately $1.9 million. As of March 31, 2007, accumulated comprehensive
income included foreign currency translation adjustments of approximately
$4.7 million and an unrealized loss on short-term investments of approximately
$61,000.
Net
Income Per Share
Net
income per share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average
number of common shares outstanding during the period on a basic and diluted
basis. The Company’s potentially dilutive securities include stock options and
restricted stock. Diluted net income per share considers the impact of
potentially dilutive securities except in periods in which there is a net
loss,
as the inclusion of the potentially dilutive common shares would have an
anti-dilutive effect.
The
following table sets forth the calculation of basic and diluted net income
per
share (in thousands, except per share data):
Three
Months Ended
March
31,
|
|||||||
2007
|
2006
|
||||||
(unaudited)
|
|||||||
Numerator:
|
|||||||
Net
income
|
$
|
1,814
|
$
|
1,860
|
|||
Denominator:
|
|||||||
Denominator
for basic net income per share ¾
weighted-average outstanding shares
|
18,896
|
18,692
|
|||||
Effect
of dilutive securities:
|
|||||||
Stock
options
|
311
|
577
|
|||||
Denominator
for diluted net income per share ¾
weighted-average outstanding shares
|
19,207
|
19,269
|
|||||
Net
income per share ¾
basic
|
$
|
0.10
|
$
|
0.10
|
|||
Net
income per share ¾
diluted
|
$
|
0.09
|
$
|
0.10
|
7
COSTAR
GROUP, INC.
NOTES
TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (unaudited)—
(CONTINUED)
2.
|
SUMMARY
OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES —
(CONTINUED)
|
Stock-Based
Compensation
On
January 1, 2006, the Company adopted Statement of Financial Accounting Standards
No. 123R “Share Based Payment” (“SFAS 123R”), which addresses the accounting for
share-based payment transactions in which the Company receives employee services
in exchange for equity instruments. The statement eliminates the Company’s
ability to account for share-based compensation transactions as prescribed
by
Accounting Principles Board Opinion No. 25, “Accounting for Stock Issued to
Employees” (“APB No. 25”), and generally requires that equity instruments issued
in such transactions be accounted for using a fair-value based method and
the
fair value of such equity instruments be recognized as expenses in the
consolidated statements of operations.
Stock-based
compensation expense for stock options and restricted stock included in the
Company’s results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2007 and
2006, was as follows (in thousands):
Three
Months Ended
March
31,
|
|||||||
2007
|
2006
|
||||||
(unaudited)
|
|||||||
Cost
of revenues
|
$
|
254
|
$
|
28
|
|||
Selling
and marketing
|
379
|
320
|
|||||
Software
development
|
95
|
43
|
|||||
General
and administrative
|
801
|
607
|
|||||
Total
|
$
|
1,529
|
$
|
998
|
Options
to purchase 35,680 shares were exercised during the three months ended March
31,
2007.
Recent
Accounting Pronouncements
In
September 2006, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued SFAS
No. 157, “Fair Value Measurements” or “SFAS 157”, which defines fair value,
establishes a framework for measuring fair value in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) in the United States of America, and
expands disclosures about fair value measurements. SFAS 157 does not
require any new fair value measurements under GAAP and is effective for fiscal
years beginning after November 15, 2007. The effects of adoption will
be determined by the types of instruments carried at fair value in the Company’s
financial statements at the time of adoption as well as the method utilized
to
determine their fair values prior to adoption. Based on the Company’s
current use of fair value measurements, SFAS 157 is not expected to have
a
material effect on the results of operations or financial position of the
Company.
In
February 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 159, Fair Value Option for
Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities — Including an amendment of FASB
Statement No. 115 (“SFAS No. 159”),
which permits entities to choose to measure many financial instruments and
certain other items at fair value. We are currently in the process of assessing
the provisions of SFAS No. 159 and determining how the elective
application of these fair value measurements would affect our current accounting
policies and procedures. We have not yet determined whether we will elect
to
measure items subject to SFAS No. 159 at fair value, and as a result,
have not assessed any potential impacts of adoption on our consolidated
financial statements.
8
COSTAR
GROUP, INC.
NOTES
TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (unaudited)—
(CONTINUED)
3.
|
ACQUISITIONS
|
On
December 21, 2006, CoStar Limited, a wholly-owned U.K. subsidiary of CoStar,
acquired Grecam S.A.S. (“Grecam”), a provider of commercial property information
and market-level surveys, studies and consulting services, located in Paris,
France. The Company acquired all of the outstanding capital stock of Grecam,
for
approximately $2.0 million in cash.
On
February 16, 2007, CoStar Limited acquired all of the outstanding capital
stock of Property Investment Exchange (“Propex”), for approximately
$22.0 million, consisting of cash, deferred consideration of $2.9 million
included in accrued expenses as of March 31, 2007, and 21,526 shares of
CoStar common stock. The purchase price is subject to downward adjustment
based
on Propex’s financial position as of the closing date. Propex provides web-based
commercial property information and operates an electronic platform that
facilitates the exchange of investment property in the U.K. Propex’s suite of
electronic platforms and listing websites give users access to the U.K.
commercial property investment and leasing markets.
These
acquisitions were accounted for using purchase accounting. The purchase price
for each acquisition was primarily allocated to acquired database technology,
customer base, trade names, and goodwill. The acquired database technology
is
being amortized on a straight-line basis over 4 years. The customer base,
which
consists of one distinct intangible asset for each acquisition and
is composed of acquired customer contracts and the related customer
relationships, is being amortized on a 125% declining balance method over
10
years. Trade names are being amortized on a straight-line basis over 3 years.
Goodwill is not amortized, but is subject to annual impairment tests. The
results of operations of Grecam and Propex have been consolidated with those
of
the Company since the respective dates of the acquisitions and are not
considered material to the consolidated financial statements of the Company.
Accordingly, pro forma financial information has not been presented for either
acquisition.
4.
|
GOODWILL
|
Goodwill
consists of the following (in thousands):
March
31,
|
December
31,
|
||||||
2007
|
2006
|
||||||
(unaudited)
|
|||||||
Goodwill
|
$
|
72,823
|
$
|
57,720
|
|||
Accumulated
amortization
|
(11,223
|
)
|
(11,223
|
)
|
|||
Goodwill,
net
|
$
|
61,600
|
$
|
46,497
|
The
Company recorded goodwill of approximately $15.3 million for the Propex
acquisition in February 2007, offset by a purchase accounting adjustment
in the
goodwill estimate previously recorded for the Grecam acquisition in December
2006.
9
COSTAR
GROUP, INC.
NOTES
TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (unaudited)—
(CONTINUED)
5.
|
INTANGIBLES
AND OTHER ASSETS
|
Intangibles
and other assets consist of the following (in thousands except amortization
period data):
March
31,
2007
|
December
31,
2006
|
Weighted-
Average Amortization Period (in years)
|
||||||||
(unaudited)
|
||||||||||
Building
photography
|
$
|
10,180
|
$
|
9,902
|
5
|
|||||
Accumulated
amortization
|
(5,840
|
)
|
(5,567
|
)
|
||||||
Building
photography, net
|
4,340
|
4,335
|
||||||||
Acquired
database technology
|
21,301
|
22,101
|
4
|
|||||||
Accumulated
amortization
|
(20,223
|
)
|
(20,107
|
)
|
||||||
Acquired
database technology, net
|
1,078
|
1,994
|
||||||||
Acquired
customer base
|
50,060
|
44,949
|
10
|
|||||||
Accumulated
amortization
|
(30,539
|
)
|
(29,414
|
)
|
||||||
Acquired
customer base, net
|
19,521
|
15,535
|
||||||||
Acquired
tradename and other
|
9,165
|
4,198
|
6
|
|||||||
Accumulated
amortization
|
(3,257
|
)
|
(2,890
|
)
|
||||||
Acquired
tradename and other, net
|
5,908
|
1,308
|
||||||||
Intangibles
and other assets, net
|
$
|
30,847
|
$
|
23,172
|
6.
|
INCOME
TAXES
|
The
income tax provision for the three months ended March 31, 2007 and March
31,
2006, reflects a 45.0% and 43.2% effective tax rate, respectively. The Company
establishes a valuation allowance with respect to deferred tax assets associated
with future tax benefits that the Company is not certain it will be able
to
realize. As of March 31, 2007, the Company continues to maintain a valuation
allowance of approximately $337,000 for certain state net operating loss
carryforwards.
The
Company adopted FASB Interpretation 48, Accounting for Uncertainty in Income
Taxes (“FIN
48”), at the beginning of fiscal year 2007. As a result of the implementation
of
FIN 48, the Company recognized no material adjustment in the liability for
unrecognized income tax benefits. At the adoption date of January 1, 2007,
the
Company had $226,000 of unrecognized tax benefits, all of which would favorably
affect the effective tax rate if recognized in future periods.
The
Company’s federal and state income tax returns for tax years 2003 through 2006
remain open to examination. The Company’s U.K. income tax returns for tax years
2001 through 2006 remain open to examination.
10
COSTAR
GROUP, INC.
NOTES
TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (unaudited)—
(CONTINUED)
6.
|
INCOME
TAXES (CONTINUED)
|
The
Company’s continuing practice is to recognize interest and penalties related to
income tax matters in income tax expense. As of January 1, 2007, included
in the
$226,000 of unrecognized tax benefits is $31,000 accrued for interest and
$52,000 accrued for penalties.
7.
|
COMMITMENTS
AND CONTINGENCIES
|
Currently,
and from time to time, the Company is involved in litigation incidental to
the
conduct of its business. The Company is not a party to any lawsuit or proceeding
that, in the opinion of management, is likely to have a material adverse
effect
on its financial position or results of operations.
8.
|
SEGMENT
REPORTING
|
Due
to
the increased size, complexity, and funding requirements associated with
the
Company’s international expansion in 2007, the Company began to manage the
business geographically in two operating segments, with the primary areas
of
measurement and decision-making being the United States and International,
which
includes the U.K. and France. Management relies on an internal management
reporting process that provides revenue and segment EBITDA, which is the
Company’s net-income before interest, income taxes, depreciation and
amortization. Management believes that segment EBITDA is an appropriate measure
for evaluating the operational performance of segments. EBITDA is used by
management to internally measure operating and management performance and
to
evaluate the performance of business. However, this measure should be considered
in addition to, not as a substitute for, or superior to, income from operations
or other measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with
GAAP.
11
COSTAR
GROUP, INC.
NOTES
TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (unaudited)—
(CONTINUED)
8.
|
SEGMENT
REPORTING (CONTINUED)
|
Summarized
information by segment was as follows (in thousands):
|
Three
Months Ended
|
||||||||
|
March
31,
|
||||||||
|
2007
|
2006
|
|||||||
(unaudited)
|
|||||||||
Revenues
|
|||||||||
United
States
|
$
|
40,181
|
$
|
34,424
|
|||||
International
|
4,650
|
2,850
|
|||||||
Total
Revenues
|
$
|
44,831
|
$
|
37,274
|
|||||
|
|
||||||||
EBITDA
|
|
||||||||
United
States
|
$
|
5,850
|
$
|
4,681
|
|||||
International
|
(804
|
)
|
(20
|
)
|
|||||
Total
EBITDA
|
$
|
5,046
|
$
|
4,661
|
|||||
|
|
||||||||
Reconciliation
of EBITDA to Net Income
|
|
||||||||
EBITDA
|
$
|
5,046
|
$
|
4,661
|
|||||
Purchase
amortization in cost of revenues
|
(325
|
)
|
(256
|
)
|
|||||
Purchase
amortization in operating expenses
|
(1,270
|
)
|
(1,108
|
)
|
|||||
Depreciation
and other amortization
|
(2,015
|
)
|
(1,449
|
)
|
|||||
Interest
income, net
|
1,862
|
1,426
|
|||||||
Income
tax expense, net
|
(1,484
|
)
|
(1,414
|
)
|
|||||
Net
Income
|
$
|
1,814
|
$
|
1,860
|
International
EBITDA includes a corporate allocation of approximately $775,000 and $252,000
for the three months ended March 31, 2007 and 2006, respectively. The corporate
allocation represents costs incurred for United States employees involved
in
international management and expansion activities.
12
The
following Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results of Operations contain “forward-looking statements,” including statements
about our beliefs and expectations. See “Cautionary Statement Concerning
Forward-Looking Statements” at the end of this Item 2. for additional factors
relating to such statements, and see “Risk Factors” in Item 1A. of Part II of
this Report for a discussion of certain risk factors applicable to our business,
financial condition and results of operations.
The
following discussion should be read in conjunction with our Annual Reports
on
Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and
other
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the condensed
consolidated financial statements and related notes included in this Quarterly
Report on Form 10-Q.
Overview
CoStar
is
the leading provider of information services to the commercial real estate
industry in the United States and the United Kingdom based on the fact that
we
offer the most comprehensive commercial real estate database available, have
the
largest research department in the industry, provide more information services
than any of our competitors and believe we generate more revenues than any
of
our competitors. We have created a standardized information platform where
the
members of the commercial real estate and related business community can
continuously interact and facilitate transactions by efficiently exchanging
accurate and standardized commercial real estate information. Our integrated
suite of online service offerings includes information about space available
for
lease, comparable sales information, tenant information, information about
properties for sale, information for clients’ web sites, information about
industry professionals and their business relationships, analytic information,
data integration, property marketing and industry news. Our service offerings
span all commercial property types — office, industrial, retail, land,
mixed-use, hospitality and multifamily.
Since
1994, we have expanded the geographical coverage of our existing information
services and developed new information services. In addition to internal
growth,
this expansion included the acquisitions of Chicago ReSource, Inc. in Chicago
in
1996 and New Market Systems, Inc. in San Francisco in 1997. In August 1998,
we expanded into the Houston region through the acquisition of Houston-based
real estate information provider C Data Services, Inc. In January 1999, we
expanded further into the Midwest and Florida by acquiring LeaseTrend, Inc.
and
into Atlanta and Dallas/Fort Worth by acquiring Jamison Research, Inc. In
February 2000, we acquired Comps, a San Diego-based provider of commercial
real estate information. In November 2000, we acquired First Image Technologies,
Inc. In September 2002, we expanded further into Portland, Oregon through
the
acquisition of certain assets of Napier Realty Advisors d/b/a REAL-NET. In
January 2003, we established a base in the United Kingdom with our acquisition
of London-based Property Intelligence. In May 2004, we expanded into Tennessee
through the acquisition of Peer Market Research, Inc., and in September 2004,
we
extended our coverage of the United Kingdom through the acquisition of Scottish
Property Network. In September 2004, we strengthened our position in Denver,
Colorado through the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of RealComp,
Inc., a local comparable sales information provider. In January 2005, we
acquired National Research Bureau (“NRB”), a leading provider of
U.S. shopping center information. Additionally, in December 2006, our U.K.
subsidiary, CoStar Limited, acquired Grecam S.A.S. (“Grecam”), a provider of
commercial property information and market-level surveys, studies and consulting
services located in Paris, France. In February 2007, CoStar Limited also
acquired Property Investment Exchange Limited (“Propex”), a provider of
commercial property information and operator of an investment property exchange
located in London, England. The more recent acquisitions are discussed later
in
this section under the heading “Recent Acquisitions.”
Our
current expansion plan began in 2004 and included entering 21 new metropolitan
markets throughout the United States, as well as expanding the geographical
boundaries of many of our existing U.S. and U.K. markets during 2005 and
2006.
As of February 2006, our expansion into the 21 new markets was
complete.
13
In
early
2005, we announced the launch of a major effort to expand our coverage of
retail
real estate information. The new retail component of our flagship product,
CoStar Property Professional, was unveiled in May 2006 at the International
Council of Shopping Centers’ convention in Las Vegas.
In
July
2006, we announced our intention to commence actively researching commercial
properties in approximately 100 new Metropolitan Statistical Areas (“MSAs”)
across the United States in an effort to expand the geographical coverage
of our
service offerings, including our new retail service. During 2006, in connection
with our plan to actively research commercial properties in these new MSAs,
we
increased our U.S. field research fleet by adding 89 vehicles and hired
researchers to staff these vehicles. Further, in support of our expanded
research efforts, we opened a research facility under a short-term lease
in
White Marsh, Maryland and hired and trained additional researchers and other
personnel. In March 2007, we signed a long-term lease for a new research
facility in White Marsh, Maryland.
As
a
result of our recent acquisitions of Propex and Grecam, we intend to invest
further in our U.K. and French operations and to expand the coverage of our
service offerings within the U.K. and France. CoStar intends to integrate
its
U.K. and French operations more fully with those of the U.S. and eventually
to introduce a consistent international platform of service
offerings.
Our
current expansion plan, including further geographical expansion into
approximately 100 new MSAs, expansion of coverage of retail real estate
information, expansion of our coverage in existing markets and expansion
of our
U.K. and French operations, has caused, and will continue to cause, our cost
structure to escalate in advance of the revenues that we expect to generate
from
these new markets and services, which may reduce our earnings or earnings
growth.
We
also
expect to continue to develop and distribute new services, expand existing
services, consider strategic acquisitions, and expand our sales and marketing
organization. Any future significant expansion could reduce our profitability
and significantly increase our capital expenditures. Therefore, while we
expect
current service offerings in existing markets to remain generally profitable
and
provide substantial funding for our overall business, it is possible that
further overall expansion could cause us to generate losses and negative
cash
flow from operations in the future.
We
expect
2007 revenue to grow over 2006 revenue as a result of further penetration
of our
services in our potential customer base across our platform, successful cross
selling of our services to our existing customer base, continued geographic
expansion and acquisitions. We expect that 2007 EBITDA, which is our net-income
before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, could increase
from 2006 based on the growth in EBITDA from U.S. operations, which will
be
partially offset by our plan to expand and integrate our international
operations. We anticipate that our EBITDA for our existing core platform
will
continue to grow principally due to growth in revenue.
In
2006,
we issued restricted stock and stock options to our officers, directors and
employees, and as a result we recorded additional compensation expense in
our
consolidated statement of operations. We plan to continue the use of alternative
stock-based compensation for our officers, directors and employees, which
may
include, among other things, restricted stock or stock option grants that
typically will require us to record additional compensation expense in our
consolidated statement of operations and reduce our net income. We incurred
approximately $4.2 million in total equity compensation expense in 2006,
and expect to incur approximately $6.0 million in 2007.
Our
subscription-based information services, consisting primarily of CoStar Property
Professional, CoStar Tenant, CoStar COMPS Professional, FOCUS services, Propex
services, and Grecam services, currently generate approximately 95% of our
total
revenues. Our contracts for our subscription-based information services
typically have a minimum term of one year and renew automatically. Upon renewal,
many of the subscription contract rates may increase in accordance with contract
provisions or as a result of contract renegotiations. To encourage clients
to
use our services regularly, we generally charge a fixed monthly amount for
our
subscription-based services rather than fees based on actual system usage.
Contract rates are based on the number of sites, number of users, organization
size, the client’s business focus and the number of services to which a client
subscribes. Our subscription clients generally pay contract fees on a monthly
basis, but in some cases may pay us on a quarterly or annual basis. We recognize
this revenue on a straight-line basis over the life of the contract. Annual
and
quarterly
14
advance
payments result in deferred revenue, substantially reducing the working
capital
requirements generated by accounts receivable.
For
the
three months ended March 31, 2007 and 2006, our contract renewal rates were
approximately 92.4% and 94.0%, respectively.
Application
of Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
The
preparation of financial statements and related disclosures in conformity
with
generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") requires management to
make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets
and
liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date
of
the financial statements and revenues and expenses during the period reported.
The following accounting policies involve a “critical accounting estimate”
because they are particularly dependent on estimates and assumptions made
by
management about matters that are highly uncertain at the time the accounting
estimates are made. In addition, while we have used our best estimates based
on
facts and circumstances available to us at the time, different estimates
reasonably could have been used in the current period. Changes in the accounting
estimates we use are reasonably likely to occur from period to period, which
may
have a material impact on the presentation of our financial condition and
results of operations. We review these estimates and assumptions periodically
and reflect the effects of revisions in the period that they are determined
to
be necessary.
Valuation
of long-lived and intangible assets and goodwill
We
assess
the impairment of long-lived assets, identifiable intangibles and goodwill
whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value
may
not be recoverable. Factors we consider important that could trigger an
impairment review include the following:
• Significant
underperformance relative to historical or projected future operating results;
• Significant
changes in the manner of our use of the acquired assets or the strategy for
our
overall business;
• Significant
negative industry or economic trends; or
• Significant
decline in our market capitalization relative to net book value for a sustained
period.
When
we
determine that the carrying value of long-lived and identifiable intangible
assets may not be recovered based upon the existence of one or more of the
above
indicators, we measure any impairment based on a projected discounted cash
flow
method using a discount rate determined by our management to be commensurate
with the risk inherent in our current business model.
Goodwill
and identifiable intangible assets not subject to amortization are tested
annually by operating segment on October 1st
of each
year for impairment, and are tested for impairment more frequently based
upon
the existence of one or more of the above indicators. We measure any impairment
loss to the extent that the carrying amount of the asset exceeds its fair
value.
Accounting
for Income Taxes
As
part
of the process of preparing our consolidated financial statements, we are
required to estimate our income taxes in each of the jurisdictions in which
we
operate. This process requires us to estimate our actual current tax exposure
and assess the temporary differences resulting from differing treatment of
items, such as deferred revenue or deductibility of certain intangible assets,
for tax and accounting purposes. These differences result in deferred tax
assets
and liabilities, which are included within our consolidated balance sheet.
We
must then also assess the likelihood that our deferred tax assets will be
recovered from future taxable income, and to the extent we believe that it
is
more likely than not that some portion or all of our deferred tax assets
will
not be realized, we must establish a valuation allowance. To the extent we
establish a valuation allowance or change the allowance in a period, we must
reflect the corresponding increase or decrease within the tax provision in
the
statement of operations for that period.
As
of
March 31, 2007, we continued to maintain a valuation allowance of approximately
$337,000 primarily for certain state net operating loss carryforwards. At
March
31, 2007, we had net operating loss carryforwards for
15
federal
income tax purposes of approximately $43.1 million, which expire, if unused,
from the year 2013 through the year 2023. Our decision to maintain only
a
minimal valuation allowance on our deferred tax asset is based on our
expectation that we will recognize taxable income from operations in the
future,
which will enable us to use our net operating loss carryforwards. We believe
our
expectation that we will recognize taxable income in the future is supported
by
our increase in net earnings over the last three years, our revenue growth,
and
renewal rates with our existing customers, and our business model, which
permits
some control over future costs. We will continue to evaluate our expectation
of
future taxable income during each quarter. If we are unable to conclude
that it
is more likely than not that we will realize the future tax benefits associated
with our deferred tax assets, then we may be required to establish a valuation
allowance against some or all of the deferred tax assets.
Our
U.K.
expansion is expected to generate net operating losses in the U.K. The losses
in
the U.K. will generate a lower tax benefit than if the losses were incurred
in
the U.S. because the corporate tax rates are lower in the U.K. than in the
U.S.,
thereby creating a higher overall effective tax rate in 2007. For 2007, we
expect to record income tax expense on our results from operations at an
effective rate of approximately 45%. In 2007, however, we expect the majority
of
our taxable income to be offset by our net operating loss carryforwards.
As a
result, we expect our cash payments for taxes to be limited primarily to
federal
alternative minimum taxes and to state income taxes in certain states.
In
determining the quarterly annual provision for income taxes, we use an estimated
annual effective tax rate based on expected annual income by jurisdiction,
statutory tax rates, permanent timing difference, and tax planning opportunities
available in the various jurisdictions in which we operate.
Non-GAAP
Financial Measure
We
prepare and publicly release quarterly unaudited financial statements prepared
in accordance with GAAP. We also disclose and discuss certain non-GAAP financial
measures in our public releases. Currently, the non-GAAP financial measure
that
we disclose is EBITDA, which is our net income before interest, income taxes,
depreciation and amortization. We disclose EBITDA on a company-wide and an
operating segment basis in our earnings releases, investor conference calls
and
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The non-GAAP financial
measure that we use may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported
by other companies. Also, in the future, we may disclose different non-GAAP
financial measures in order to help our investors more meaningfully evaluate
and
compare our future results of operations to our previously reported results
of
operations.
We
view
EBITDA as an operating performance measure and as such we believe that the
GAAP
financial measure most directly comparable to it is net income. In calculating
EBITDA we exclude from net income the financial items that we believe should
be
separately identified to provide additional analysis of the financial components
of the day-to-day operation of our business. We have outlined below the type
and
scope of these exclusions and the material limitations on the use of these
non-GAAP financial measures as a result of these exclusions. EBITDA is not
a
measurement of financial performance under GAAP and should not be considered
as
a measure of liquidity, as an alternative to net income or as an indicator
of
any other measure of performance derived in accordance with GAAP. Investors
and
potential investors in our securities should not rely on EBITDA as a substitute
for any GAAP financial measure, including net income. In addition, we urge
investors and potential investors in our securities to carefully review the
reconciliation of EBITDA to net income set forth below, in our earnings releases
and in other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and to
carefully review the GAAP financial information included as part of our
Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and our Annual Reports on Form 10-K
that are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as our
quarterly earnings releases, and compare the GAAP financial information with
our
EBITDA.
EBITDA
is
used by management to internally measure our operating and management
performance and by investors as a supplemental financial measure to evaluate
the
performance of our business. We believe that EBITDA, when viewed with our
GAAP
results and the accompanying reconciliation, provides additional information
that is useful to gain an understanding of the factors and trends affecting
our
business. We have spent more than 19 years building our database of
commercial real estate information and expanding our markets and services
partially through acquisitions of complementary businesses. Due to the expansion
of our information services, which included acquisitions, our net income
has
included significant charges for purchase amortization, depreciation and
other
amortization. EBITDA excludes these charges and provides meaningful information
about
16
the
operating performance of our business, apart from charges for purchase
amortization, depreciation and other amortization. We believe the disclosure
of
EBITDA helps investors meaningfully evaluate and compare our performance
from
quarter to quarter and from year to year. We also believe EBITDA is a measure
of
our ongoing operating performance because the isolation of non-cash charges,
such as amortization and depreciation, and non-operating items, such as
interest
and income taxes, provides additional information about our cost structure,
and,
over time, helps track our operating progress. In addition, investors,
securities analysts and others have regularly relied on EBITDA to provide
a
financial measure by which to compare our operating performance against
that of
other companies in our industry.
Set
forth
below are descriptions of the financial items that have been excluded from
our
net income to calculate EBITDA and the material limitations associated with
using this non-GAAP financial measure as compared to net income:
· |
Purchase
amortization in cost of revenues may be useful for investors to consider
because it represents the use of our acquired database technology,
which
is one of the sources of information for our database of commercial
real
estate information. We do not believe these charges reflect the current
and ongoing cash charges related to our operating cost
structure.
|
· |
Purchase
amortization in operating expenses may be useful for investors to
consider
because it represents the estimated attrition of our acquired customer
base and the diminishing value of any acquired tradenames. We do
not
believe these charges necessarily reflect the current and ongoing
cash
charges related to our operating cost
structure.
|
· |
Depreciation
and other amortization may be useful for investors to consider because
they generally represent the wear and tear on our property and equipment
used in our operations. We do not believe these charges necessarily
reflect the current and ongoing cash charges related to our operating
cost
structure.
|
· |
The
amount of net interest income we generate may be useful for investors
to
consider and may result in current cash inflows or outflows. However,
we
do not consider the amount of net interest income to be a representative
component of the day-to-day operating performance of our
business.
|
· |
Net
income tax expense may be useful for investors to consider because
it
generally represents the taxes which may be payable for the period
and the
change in deferred income taxes during the period and may reduce
the
amount of funds otherwise available for use in our business. However,
we
do not consider the amount of net income tax expense to be a
representative component of the day-to-day operating performance
of our
business.
|
Management
compensates for the above-described limitations of using non-GAAP measures
by
only using a non-GAAP measure to supplement our GAAP results and to provide
additional information that is useful to gain an understanding of the factors
and trends affecting our business.
The
following table shows our EBITDA reconciled to our net income and our cash
flows
from operating, investing and financing activities for the indicated periods
(in
thousands of dollars):
17
Three
Months Ended
March
31,
|
|||||||
2007
|
2006
|
||||||
(unaudited)
|
|||||||
Net
income
|
$
|
1,814
|
$
|
1,860
|
|||
Purchase
amortization in cost of revenues
|
325
|
256
|
|||||
Purchase
amortization in operating expenses
|
1,270
|
1,108
|
|||||
Depreciation
and other amortization
|
2,015
|
1,449
|
|||||
Interest
income, net
|
(1,862
|
)
|
(1,426
|
)
|
|||
Income
tax expense, net
|
1,484
|
1,414
|
|||||
EBITDA
|
$
|
5,046
|
$
|
4,661
|
|||
Cash
flows provided by (used in)
|
|||||||
Operating
activities
|
$
|
11,143
|
$
|
6,798
|
|||
Investing
activities
|
(6,475
|
)
|
7,586
|
||||
Financing
activities
|
|
362
|
|
2,629
|
Comparison
of Three Months Ended March 31, 2007 and Three Months Ended March 31,
2006
Revenues.
Revenues increased from $37.3 million in the first quarter of 2006 to $44.8
million in the first quarter of 2007. This increase in revenue is due to
further
penetration of our subscription-based information services, the successful
cross-selling into our customer base across our service platform in existing
markets combined with continued high renewal rates, and additional revenues
from
acquired companies, including Grecam in December 2006 and Propex in February
2007. Our subscription-based information services, consisting primarily of
CoStar Property Professional, CoStar Tenant, CoStar COMPS Professional, FOCUS
services, Propex services, and Grecam services currently generate 95% of
our
total revenues.
Gross
Margin.
Gross
margin increased from $24.3 million in the first quarter of 2006 to $27.0
million in the first quarter of 2007. The gross margin percentage decreased
from
65.3% in the first quarter of 2006 to 60.2% in the first quarter of 2007.
The
decrease in gross margin percentage was principally due to an increase in
the
cost of revenues from $12.9 million for the first quarter of 2006 to $17.8
million for the first quarter of 2007. The increase in cost of revenues resulted
from research department hiring, training, compensation and other operating
costs, the addition of offshore resources for our retail and 100 MSA expansions,
as well as costs of acquisitions.
Selling
and Marketing Expenses.
Selling
and marketing expenses increased from $10.9 million in the first quarter
of 2006
to $13.2 million in the first quarter of 2007, and remained consistent as
a
percentage of revenues at 29.3% in the first quarter of 2006 and 29.4% in
the
first quarter of 2007. The increase in the amount of selling and marketing
expenses is primarily due to increased sales commissions and growth in the
sales
force, as well as costs associated with sales and marketing efforts for our
current expansion plan.
Software
Development Expenses.
Software development expenses increased from $2.9 million in the first quarter
of 2006 to $3.1 million in the first quarter of 2007 and decreased as a
percentage of revenues from 7.8% in the first quarter of 2006 to 6.8% in
the
first quarter of 2007. The increase in the amount of software and development
expenses was due to the hiring of new employees to support our continued
focus
on enhancements to our existing services, development of new services and
development costs for our internal information systems.
General
and Administrative Expenses.
General
and administrative expenses increased from $7.6 million in the first
quarter of 2006 to $8.1 million in the first quarter of 2007 and decreased
as a
percentage of revenues from 20.3% in the first quarter of 2006 to 18.0% in
the
first quarter of 2007. The increase in the amount includes increases in equity
compensation and costs associated with the Propex acquisition. The decrease
in
the percentage was primarily due to our continued efforts to control and
leverage our overhead costs.
18
Purchase
Amortization.
Purchase
amortization increased from $1.1 million in the first quarter of 2006 to
$1.3
million in the first quarter of 2007, and decreased as a percentage of revenues
from 3.0% in the first quarter of 2006 to 2.8% in the first quarter of 2007.
This increase in the amount was due to the acquisitions of Grecam in December
2006 and Propex in February 2007.
Other
Income, Net. Other
income increased from $1.4 million in the first quarter of 2006 to $1.9 million
in the first quarter of 2007. This increase was primarily due to higher interest
income as a result of higher total cash, cash equivalents and short-term
investment balances for the first quarter of 2007 and increased interest
rates
for the first quarter of 2007 as compared to the first quarter of 2006.
Income
Tax Expense, Net. Income
tax expense remained relatively consistent at $1.4 million in the first quarter
of 2006 and $1.5 million in the first quarter of 2007.
Business
Segment Results
Due
to
the increased size, complexity, and funding requirements associated with
our
international expansion in 2007, we began to manage our business geographically
in two operating segments, with our primary areas of measurement and
decision-making being the United States and International, (which includes
the
U.K. and France). Management relies on an internal management reporting process
that provides revenue and segment EBITDA, which is our net income before
interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization. Management believes
that
segment EBITDA is an appropriate measure for evaluating the operational
performance of our segments. EBITDA is used by management to internally measure
our operating and management performance and to evaluate the performance
of our
business. However, this measure should be considered in addition to, not
as a
substitute for, or superior to, income from operations or other measures
of
financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP.
Segment Revenues.
U.S.
revenues increased from $34.4 million in the first quarter of 2006 to $40.2
million in the first quarter of 2007. This increase in U.S revenue is due
to
further penetration of our U.S. subscription-based information services and
the
successful cross-selling into our customer base across our service platform
in
existing markets, combined with continued high renewal rates. International
revenues increased from $2.9 million in the first quarter of 2006 to $4.7
million in the first quarter of 2007. This increase in international revenue
is
principally a result of a combination of a further penetration of our
subscription-based information services and the acquisitions of Propex and
Grecam.
Segment
EBITDA.
U.S.
EBITDA increased from $4.7 million in the first quarter of 2006 to $5.9 million
in the first quarter of 2007. The increase in U.S. EBITDA was due to increased
revenue, partially offset by increased research costs, sales commissions,
and
growth in the sales force as a result of our current expansion. International
EBITDA increased from a loss of $20,000 in the first quarter of 2006
to a loss of $804,000 in the first quarter of 2007. This increased loss is
due
to our increased investment in international expansion. International EBITDA
also includes a corporate allocation of approximately $775,000 and $252,000
for
the three months ended March 31, 2007 and 2006, respectively. The corporate
allocation represents costs incurred for United States employees involved
in
international management and expansion activities.
Recent
Acquisitions
Grecam.
S.A.S. On
December 21, 2006, CoStar Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of CoStar, acquired
Grecam S.A.S. (“Grecam”), a provider of commercial property information and
market-level surveys, studies and consulting services located in Paris, France.
CoStar Limited acquired all of the outstanding capital stock of Grecam, for
approximately $2.0 million in cash.
Propex.
On
February 16, 2007, CoStar Limited acquired Property Investment Exchange
(“Propex”), a provider of web-based commercial property information and operator
of an electronic platform that facilitates the exchange of investment
property in the U.K. Propex’s suite of electronic platforms and listing websites
give users access to the U.K. commercial property investment and leasing
markets. CoStar Limited acquired all outstanding capital stock of Propex
for
approximately $22.0 million in cash, deferred consideration, and common stock.
19
Accounting
Treatment.
These
acquisitions have been accounted for using purchase accounting. The purchase
price for each acquisition was allocated primarily to acquired database
technology, customer base, trade names, and goodwill. The acquired database
technology is being amortized on a straight-line basis over 4 years. The
customer base for the acquisitions, which consists of one distinct intangible
asset composed of acquired customer contracts and the related customer
relationships, is being amortized on a 125% declining balance method over
10
years. Trade names are being amortized on a straight-line basis over 3 years.
Goodwill will not be amortized, but is subject to annual impairment tests.
The
results of operations of Grecam and Propex have been consolidated with our
results since the date of acquisition and are not considered material to
our
consolidated financial statements. Accordingly, pro forma financial information
has not been presented for either acquisition.
Liquidity
and Capital Resources
Our
principal sources of liquidity are cash, cash equivalents and short-term
investments. Total cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments decreased
from $158.1 million at December 31, 2006 to $150.3 million at March 31, 2007.
The decrease in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments during
the
three months ended March 31, 2007 is primarily due to our acquisition of
Propex
on February 16, 2007, which used approximately $16.7 million, net of cash
acquired, and purchases of property and equipment partially offset by earnings
before non-cash charges for taxes, stock-based compensation, provision for
losses on accounts receivable, depreciation, amortization, and changes in
working capital.
Net
cash
provided by operating activities for the three months ended March 31, 2007
was
$11.1 million compared to $6.8 million for the three months ended March 31,
2006. This $4.3 million increase in net cash provided by operating activities
was principally due to changes in working capital and increased earnings
before
non-cash charges for taxes, stock-based compensation, provision for losses
on
accounts receivable, depreciation, amortization, and changes in working capital.
Net
cash
used by investing activities was $6.5 million for the three months ended
March
31, 2007, compared to net cash provided by investing activities of $7.6 million
for the three months ended March 31, 2006. This $14.1 million increase in
net
cash used by investing activities was principally due to the acquisition
of
Propex for approximately $16.7 million, net of acquired cash and increased
purchases of property and equipment, partially offset by increased net sales
of
short-term investments.
Net
cash
provided by financing activities was $362,000 for the three months ended
March
31, 2007, compared to $2.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2006.
This $2.3 million decrease in net cash provided by financing activities was
the
result of a decrease in proceeds from exercises of stock options in the three
months ended March 31, 2007 compared to the three months ended March 31,
2006.
During
the three months ended March 31, 2007, we incurred capital expenditures of
approximately $2.6 million. Additionally, we expect to incur approximately
$2.0
to $4.0 million of capital expenditures in the second quarter of 2007 and
continue to expect to incur approximately $12.0 million of capital expenditures
for the year ended December 31, 2007. We also expect to incur approximately
$1.4
million of pre-tax incremental expense during the second quarter of 2007
for
seasonal costs associated with the International Council of Shopping Centers’
(“ICSC”) tradeshow, which occurs during the second quarter.
On
March
9, 2007, the Company entered into an operating lease agreement, pursuant
to
which the Company has agreed to lease approximately 32,341 square feet of
office
space located in White Marsh, Maryland. The lease has an initial term of
60
months and an average base rent of $24.95 per rentable square foot per
year.
To
date,
we have grown in part by acquiring other companies and we may continue to
make
acquisitions. Our acquisitions may vary in size and could be material to
our
current operations. We expect to use cash, stock, debt or other means of
funding
to make these acquisitions.
Based
on
current plans, we believe that our available cash combined with positive
cash
flow provided by operating activities should be sufficient to fund our
operations for at least the next 12 months.
20
For
the
foreseeable future, we expect to record income tax expense on our results
from
operations at an effective rate of approximately 45%. In 2007, however, we
expect the majority of our taxable income to be absorbed by our net operating
loss carryforwards. As a result, we expect our cash payments for taxes to
be
limited primarily to payments of federal alternative minimum taxes and state
income taxes in certain states.
Recent
Accounting Pronouncements
In
June
2006, the FASB issued FASB Interpretation No. 48 (“FIN 48”) “Accounting for
Uncertainty in Income Taxes - an interpretation of FASB Statement No. 109”,
which became effective for the Company beginning 2007. FIN 48 addressed the
determination of how tax benefits claimed or expected to be claimed on a
tax
return should be recorded in the financial statements. Under FIN 48, we must
recognize the tax benefit from an uncertain tax position only if it is
more-likely-than-not that the tax position will be sustained upon examination
by
the taxing authorities, based on the technical merits of the position. The
tax
benefits recognized in the financial statements from such a position are
measured based on the largest benefit that has a greater than fifty percent
likelihood of being realized upon ultimate resolution. The impact of our
reassessment of our tax positions in accordance with FIN 48 did not have
a
material impact on our results of operations and financial
condition.
In
September 2006, the FASB issued SFAS No. 157, “Fair Value
Measurements” or “SFAS 157”, which defines fair value, establishes a
framework for measuring fair value in accordance with generally accepted
accounting principles (“GAAP”) in the United States of America, and expands
disclosures about fair value measurements. SFAS 157 does not require any
new fair value measurements under GAAP and is effective for fiscal years
beginning after November 15, 2007. The effects of adoption will be
determined by the types of instruments carried at fair value in our financial
statements at the time of adoption as well as the method utilized to determine
their fair values prior to adoption. Based on our current use of fair value
measurements, SFAS 157 is not expected to have a material effect on our
results of operations or financial position.
In
February 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 159, Fair Value Option for
Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities — Including an amendment of FASB
Statement No. 115 (“SFAS No. 159”),
which permits entities to choose to measure many financial instruments and
certain other items at fair value. We are currently in the process of assessing
the provisions of SFAS No. 159 and determining how the elective
application of these fair value measurements would affect our current accounting
policies and procedures. We have not yet determined whether we will elect
to
measure items subject to SFAS No. 159 at fair value and, as a result,
have not assessed any potential impacts of adoption on our consolidated
financial statements.
Cautionary
Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
We
have
made forward-looking statements in this Report and make forward-looking
statements in our press releases and conference calls that are subject to
risks
and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements include information that is
not
purely historic fact and include, without limitation, statements concerning
our
financial outlook for 2007 and beyond, our possible or assumed future results
of
operations generally, and other statements and information regarding assumptions
about our revenues, EBITDA, fully diluted net income, taxable income, cash
flow
from operating activities, available cash, operating costs, amortization
expense, intangible asset recovery, net income per share, diluted net income
per
share, weighted-average outstanding shares, capital and other expenditures,
effective tax rate, equity compensation charges, future taxable income, purchase
amortization, financing plans, geographic expansion, capital structure,
contractual obligations, legal proceedings and claims, our database, database
growth, services and facilities, employee relations, future economic
performance, management’s plans, goals and objectives for future operations and
growth and markets for our stock. The sections of this Report which contain
forward-looking statements include the Financial Statements and Related Notes,
“Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations”, “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk”,
“Legal Proceedings” and “Risk Factors”.
Our
forward-looking statements are also identified by words such as “believes,”
“expects,” “thinks,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “estimates” or similar
expressions. You should understand that these forward-looking statements
are
estimates reflecting our judgment, beliefs and expectations, not guarantees
of
future performance. They are subject to a number of assumptions, risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. The following important
factors, in
21
addition
to those discussed or referred to under the heading “Risk Factors” in Item 1A.
of Part II of this report, and other unforeseen events or circumstances,
could
affect our future results and could cause those results or other outcomes
to
differ materially from those expressed or implied in our forward-looking
statements: general economic conditions; customer retention; competition;
our
ability to identify and integrate acquisitions; our ability to integrate
our
U.S. and international product offerings; our ability to continue to expand
successfully; our ability to effectively penetrate the market for retail
real
estate information and gain acceptance in that market; our ability to control
costs; litigation; changes in accounting policies or practices; changes
or
consolidations within the commercial real estate industry; release of new
and
upgraded services by us or our competitors; data quality; development of
our
sales force; employee retention; technical problems with our services;
managerial execution; changes in relationships with real estate brokers
and
other strategic partners; foreign currency fluctuations; legal and regulatory
issues; changes in accounting policies or practices; and successful adoption
of
and training on our services.
Accordingly,
you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which
speak
only as of, and are based on information available to us on, the date of
this
Report. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable
to us or any person acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their
entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section.
We do not undertake any obligation to update any such statements or release
publicly any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events
or
circumstances after the date of this Report or to reflect the occurrence
of
unanticipated events.
We
provide information services to the commercial real estate and related business
community in the United States, United Kingdom, and France. Our functional
currency for our operations in the United Kingdom and France is the local
currency. As such, fluctuations in the British Pound or Euro may have an
impact
on our business, results of operations and financial condition. We currently
do
not use financial instruments to hedge our exposure to exchange rate
fluctuations with respect to our foreign subsidiaries. We may seek to enter
hedging transactions in the future to reduce our exposure to exchange rate
fluctuations, but we may be unable to enter into hedging transactions
successfully, on acceptable terms or at all. As of March 31, 2007, accumulated
other comprehensive income included a gain from foreign currency translation
adjustments of approximately $4.7 million.
We
do not
have material exposure to market risks associated with changes in interest
rates
related to cash equivalent securities held as of March 31, 2007.
We
have a
substantial amount of intangible assets. Although, as of March 31, 2007,
we
believe our intangible assets will be recoverable, changes in the economy,
the
business in which we operate and our own relative performance could change
the
assumptions used to evaluate intangible asset recoverability. In the event
that
we determine that an asset has been impaired, we would recognize an impairment
charge for the excess amount by which the carrying amount of the impaired
asset
exceeds the fair value of the asset. We continue to monitor these assumptions
and their effect on the estimated recoverability of our intangible
assets.
Item
4.
|
We
maintain disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that
information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under
the
Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the
time
periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is
accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive
Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow for timely
decisions regarding required disclosure. In designing and evaluating the
disclosure controls and procedures, management recognized that any controls
and
procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only
reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives, and management
is required to apply its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship
of
possible controls and procedures.
As
of
March 31, 2007, we carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with
the
participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and
our
Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation
of our
disclosure controls and procedures. Based on the foregoing, our Chief Executive
Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls
and
procedures were effective and were operating at the reasonable assurance
level.
22
There
have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during
our
most recent fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably
likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial
reporting.
PART
II ¾
OTHER INFORMATION
Item
1.
|
Currently,
and from time to time, we are involved in litigation incidental to the conduct
of our business. We are not a party to any lawsuit or proceeding that, in
the
opinion of our management, is likely to have a material adverse effect on
our
financial position or results of operations.
Item
1A.
|
In
addition to the other information set forth in this report, you should carefully
consider the factors discussed in Part I, “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in our Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006, which could materially
affect our business, financial condition or future results. The risks described
in our Annual Report on Form 10-K are not the only risks facing our Company.
Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we
currently deem to be immaterial also may materially adversely affect our
business, financial condition and/or results of operations.
The
following table is a summary of our repurchases of common stock during each
of
the three months in the quarter ended March 31, 2007:
ISSUER
PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Month
|
Total
Number of Shares Purchased
|
Average
Price Paid per Share
|
Total
Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans
or
Programs
|
Maximum
Number of Shares that May Yet Be Purchased Under the Plans or
Programs
|
|||||||||
January
1 through 31, 2007
|
114(1
|
)
|
$
|
49.99
|
--
|
--
|
|||||||
February
1 through 28, 2007
|
--
|
--
|
--
|
--
|
|||||||||
March
1 through 31, 2007
|
3,017(1
|
)
|
$
|
45.45
|
--
|
--
|
|||||||
Total
|
3,131(1
|
)
|
$
|
45.62
|
--
|
--
|
(1) The
number of shares purchased consists of shares of common stock tendered by
employees to the Company to satisfy the employees’ tax withholding obligations
arising as a result of vesting of restricted stock grants under the Company’s
1998 Stock Incentive Plan, as amended, which shares were purchased by the
Company based on their fair market value on the vesting date. None of these
share purchases were part of a publicly announced program to purchase common
stock of the Company.
Item
3.
|
None
None
Item
5.
|
None
23
Item
6.
|
3.1
Restated
Certificate of Incorporation (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1
to the
Registration Statement on Form S-1 of the Registrant (Reg. No. 333-47953)
filed
with the Commission on March 13, 1998 (the “1998 Form S-1”)
3.2 Certificate
of Amendment of Restated Certificate of Incorporation (Incorporated by reference
to Exhibit 3.1 to the Registrant’s Report on Form 10-Q for the period ending
June 30, 1999)
3.3
Amended
and Restated By-Laws (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to the 1998
Form
S-1)
10.1 CoStar
Group, Inc. 2007 Stock Incentive Plan (filed herewith)
10.2 White
Marsh Lease (filed herewith)
31.1 Certification
of Principal Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act
of 2002 (filed herewith)
31.2 Certification
of Principal Financial Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act
of 2002 (filed herewith)
32.1 Certification
of Principal Executive Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1350, as adopted
pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (filed
herewith)
32.2 Certification
of Principal Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1350, as adopted
pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (filed
herewith)
24
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant
has
duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto
duly authorized.
|
|
COSTAR
GROUP, INC.
|
||
|
Date:
May 9, 2007
|
By:
|
|
/s/
Frank A.
Carchedi
|
|
|
|
Frank
A. Carchedi
Chief
Financial Officer
(Principal
Financial and Accounting Officer and Duly Authorized
Officer)
|