PERFICIENT INC - Annual Report: 2017 (Form 10-K)

Portions of the definitive proxy statement to be used in connection with the 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission no later than April 30, 2018, are incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K.

Some of the statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K that are not purely historical statements discuss future expectations, contain projections of results of operations or financial condition, or state other forward-looking information. Those statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the statements. The “forward-looking” information is based on various factors and was derived using numerous assumptions. In some cases, you can identify these so-called forward-looking statements by words like “may,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential,” or “continue” or the negative of those words and other comparable words. You should be aware that those statements only reflect our predictions and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual events or results may differ substantially. Important factors that could cause our actual results to be materially different from the forward-looking statements include (but are not limited to) the following:

(1)    the impact of the general economy and economic uncertainty on our business;

This discussion is not exhaustive, but is designed to highlight important factors that may impact our forward-looking statements. Because the factors referred to above, as well as the statements included under the heading “Risk Factors” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including documents incorporated by reference therein and herein, could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statement made by us or on our behalf, you should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements.

 

Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements. We are under no duty to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K to conform such statements to actual results.

 

All forward-looking statements, express or implied, included in this report and the documents we incorporate by reference and that are attributable to Perficient, Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively, “we,” “us,” “Perficient,” or the “Company”) are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. This cautionary statement should also be considered in connection with any subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements that the Company or any persons acting on our behalf may issue.

Item 1.

Business.

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Customer Relationship Management (“CRM”). We design, develop, and implement advanced CRM solutions that facilitate customer acquisition, service and support, and sales and marketing by understanding our clients’ needs through interviews, requirements-gathering sessions, call center analysis, developing an iterative prototype-driven solution, and integrating the solution to legacy processes and applications.

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Cloud Services. Agility, innovation, and rapid time-to-market are critical to maintaining competitive advantage and seizing market opportunities, and cloud computing has emerged as perhaps the key enabler for business efficiency and agility. We help clients leverage cloud technologies from strategy through implementation for maximum business value with cloud services that include: architecture; assessments (business value and health checks); strategy and road maps; and vendor evaluation and selection.

We have developed intellectual property assets, applications, utilities and products, that enable our clients to speed time to delivery and reduce total cost of ownership. In addition, we also sell certain internally developed software packages. These foundational tools include configurable Solution Accelerators and Industry Tools that can be customized to solve specific enterprise challenges. Our Solution Accelerators increase the velocity of solution development across key horizontal disciplines including content management, integration and APIs, business process management, enterprise search and tax compliance. Our Industry Tools enable enterprises to address industry-specific business process and workflow challenges. We offer tools for the healthcare, energy and utilities, financial services and retail markets. Our strong network of partnerships and cross-platform capabilities enable us to develop and deliver accelerators across a wide spectrum of solution areas and vendor platforms.

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Domain Expertise. We have acquired significant domain expertise in a core set of technology solutions and software platforms. These solutions include analytics, custom applications, management consulting, commerce, content management, business integration, customer relationship management, portals and collaboration, platform implementations, and business process management, among others. The platforms with which we have significant domain expertise and on which these solutions are built include IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, Salesforce, Adobe and Magento, among others.

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Industry Expertise. We serve many of the world’s largest and most-respected companies with extensive business process experience across a variety of markets. These markets include healthcare (including pharma and life sciences), financial services (including banking and insurance), automotive and transport products, retail and consumer goods, manufacturing, electronics and computer hardware, telecommunications, business services, leisure, media and entertainment, and energy and utilities markets.

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Delivery Model and Methodology. We believe our significant domain expertise enables us to provide high-value solutions through expert project teams that deliver measurable results by working collaboratively with clients through a user-centered, technology-based, and business-driven solutions methodology. Our methodology includes a proven execution process map we developed, which allows for repeatable, high quality services delivery. The methodology leverages the thought leadership of our senior strategists and practitioners to support the client project team and focuses on transforming our clients’ business processes to provide enhanced customer value and operating efficiency, enabled by web technology. As a result, we believe we are able to offer our clients the dedicated attention that small firms usually provide and the delivery and project management that larger firms usually offer.

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Client Relationships. We have built a track record of quality solutions and client satisfaction through the timely, efficient, and successful completion of numerous projects for our clients. As a result, we have established long-term relationships with many of our clients who continue to engage us for additional projects and serve as references for us. For the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015, 92%, 86% and 87%, respectively, of services revenues were derived from clients who continued to utilize our services from the prior year, excluding any revenues from acquisitions completed in that year.

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Vendor Relationship and Endorsements. We have built meaningful relationships with software providers, whose products we use to design and implement solutions for our clients. These relationships enable us to reduce our cost of sales and sales cycle times and increase win rates by leveraging our partners’ marketing efforts and endorsements. We also serve as a sales channel for our partners, helping them market and sell their software products. We are an IBM Premier Business Partner, a Microsoft National Solutions Provider and Global NSP Partner, an Oracle Platinum Partner, an Adobe Premium Partner, and a Salesforce Platinum Consulting Partner.  In 2017, we received multiple awards and recognition from our partners, including, among others:

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Offshore Capability. We serve our clients from locations in multiple markets throughout North America, and, in addition, we operate global development centers in Chennai and Nagpur, India and Hangzhou, China. These facilities are staffed with colleagues who have specializations that include application development, adapter and interface development, quality assurance and testing, monitoring and support, product development, platform migration, and portal development with expertise in IBM, Microsoft Oracle and Magento technologies. In addition to our offshore capabilities, we employ a number of foreign nationals in the United States on H1-B visas. The facility in Chennai, India is also a recruiting and development facility used to continue to grow our base of H1-B foreign national colleagues.  As of December 31, 2017, we had 296 colleagues at the Nagpur, India facility, 242 colleagues at the Chennai, India facility,   210 colleagues at the Hangzhou, China facility, and 203 colleagues with H1-B visas.  We intend to continue to leverage our existing offshore capabilities, especially in India, to support our growth and provide our clients flexible options for project delivery.

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Onshore Capability. The Company maintains a domestic delivery center (the “DDC”) in Lafayette, Louisiana. The DDC augments our offshore delivery centers in India and China, further optimizing our global network and comprehensive technology, delivery management and industry vertical expertise across North America. With the addition of the DDC, we have increased capabilities and improved service levels that cover the entire spectrum of the software development lifecycle. As of December 31, 2017, we had 47 colleagues at the DDC.

As of December 31, 2017, we had 3,024 employees, 2,362 of which were billable (excluding 216 billable subcontractors) and 446 of which were involved in sales, administration, and marketing. None of our employees are represented by a collective bargaining agreement, and we have never experienced a strike or similar work stoppage. We are committed to the continued development of our employees.

Item 1A.

Risk Factors.

We face risks associated with potential changes to federal, state, local and foreign laws, regulations and policies.

Significant changes to various federal, state, local and foreign laws, regulations and policies to which the Company is subject are under consideration by applicable government administrations and agencies. If enacted, these changes may affect our business in a manner that currently cannot be reliably predicted. These uncertainties may include changes in laws, regulations and policies in areas such as corporate taxation (including but not limited to the recently enacted Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the “2017 Tax Act”)), international trade, labor and employment law, immigration and health care, which individually or in the aggregate could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.

We are dependent upon retaining our senior executives and other experienced managers, and if we are unable to do so, our ability to develop new business and effectively lead our current projects could be jeopardized. We depend upon identifying, developing, and retaining key employees to provide leadership and direction for our businesses. This includes developing talent and leadership capabilities in emerging markets, where the depth of skilled employees is often limited and competition for these resources is great. Our geographic expansion strategy in emerging markets depends on our ability to attract, retain and integrate both local business leaders and people with the appropriate skills.

Similarly, our profitability depends upon our ability to effectively utilize personnel with the right mix of skills and experience to perform services for our clients, including our ability to transition employees to new assignments on a timely basis. If we are unable to effectively deploy our employees on a timely basis to fulfill the needs of our clients, our ability to perform our work profitably could suffer. If the utilization rate of our professionals is too high, it could have an adverse effect on employee engagement and attrition, the quality of the work performed and our ability to staff projects. If our utilization rate is too low, our profitability and the engagement of our employees could suffer. The costs associated with recruiting and training employees are significant. An important element of our global business model is the deployment of our employees around the world, which allows us to move talent as needed. Therefore, if we are not able to deploy the talent we need because of increased regulation of immigration or work visas, including limitations placed on the number of visas granted, limitations on the type of work performed or location in which it can be performed, and new or higher minimum salary requirements, it could be more difficult to staff our employees on client engagements and could increase our costs.

Our equity-based incentive compensation plans are designed to reward high-performing personnel for their contributions and provide incentives for them to remain with us. If the anticipated value of these incentives does not materialize because of volatility or lack of positive performance in our stock price, or if our total compensation package is not viewed as being competitive, our ability to attract and retain the personnel we need could be adversely affected.

There is a risk that at certain points in time and in certain markets, we will find it difficult to hire and retain a sufficient number of employees with the skills or backgrounds to meet current and/or future demand. In these cases, we might need to redeploy existing personnel or increase our reliance on subcontractors to fill certain labor needs, and if not done effectively, our profitability could be negatively impacted. Additionally, if demand for our services were to escalate at a high rate, we may need to adjust our compensation practices, which could put upward pressure on our costs and adversely affect our profitability if we are unable to recover these increased costs. At certain times, however, we may also have more personnel than we need in certain skill sets or geographies. In these situations, we must evaluate voluntary attrition and use reduced levels of new hiring and increased involuntary terminations as means to keep our supply of skills and resources in balance with client demand in those markets.

We maintain global development centers in India and China. We have offices in the United Kingdom and Canada. We are subject to certain risks related to expanding our presence into non-U.S. regions, including risks related to complying with a wide variety of national and local laws, restrictions on the import and export of certain technologies, and multiple and possibly overlapping tax structures. In addition, we may face competition from companies that may have more experience with operations in these countries or with international operations generally. We may also face difficulties integrating new facilities in different countries into our existing operations, as well as integrating employees that we hire in different countries into our existing corporate culture.

Approximately 9% of our billable workforce is comprised of skilled foreign nationals holding H1-B visas. We also operate recruiting and development facilities in India and China to continue to grow our base of H1-B foreign national colleagues. The H1-B visa classification enables us to hire qualified foreign workers in positions that require the equivalent of at least a bachelor’s degree in the U.S. in a specialty occupation such as technology systems engineering and analysis. The H1-B visa generally permits an individual to work and live in the U.S. for a period of three to six years, with some extensions available. The number of new H1-B petitions approved in any federal fiscal year is limited, making the H1-B visas necessary to bring foreign employees to the U.S. unobtainable in years in which the limit is reached. The number of H1-B visas available, and the process to obtain them, may be subject to significant change in connection with the change in administrations in the U.S. federal government. If we are unable to obtain all of the H1-B visas for which we apply, our growth may be hindered.

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procurement practices of clients and their use of third-party advisors.

We could be subject to significant legal liability and litigation expense if we fail to meet our contractual obligations, or otherwise breach obligations, to third parties, including clients, partners, employees and former employees, and other parties with whom we conduct business, or if our subcontractors breach or dispute the terms of our agreements with them and impede our ability to meet our obligations to our clients. We may enter into agreements with non-standard terms because we perceive an important economic opportunity or because our personnel did not adequately follow our contracting guidelines. In addition, the contracting practices of competitors, along with the demands of increasingly sophisticated clients, may cause contract terms and conditions that are unfavorable to us to become new standards in the marketplace. We may find ourselves committed to providing services or solutions that we are unable to deliver or whose delivery will reduce our profitability or cause us financial loss. If we cannot or do not meet our contractual obligations and if our potential liability is not adequately limited through the terms of our agreements, liability limitations are not enforced or a third party alleges fraud or other wrongdoing to prevent us from relying upon those contractual protections, we might face significant legal liability and litigation expense and our results of operations could be materially adversely affected. A failure of a client’s system based on our services or solutions could also subject us to a claim for significant damages that could materially adversely affect our results of operations. In addition to expense, litigation can be lengthy and disruptive to normal business operations, and litigation results can be unpredictable. While we maintain insurance for certain potential liabilities, this insurance does not cover all types and amounts of potential liabilities and is subject to various exclusions as well as caps on amounts recoverable. Even if we believe a claim is covered by insurance, insurers may dispute our entitlement to recovery for a variety of potential reasons, which may affect the timing and the amount of our recovery, if any.

We make estimates and assumptions in connection with the preparation of our consolidated financial statements, and any changes to those estimates and assumptions could adversely affect our financial results.

Our financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. The application of these principles requires us to make estimates and assumptions about certain items and future events that affect our reported financial condition, and our accompanying disclosure with respect to, among other things, revenue recognition, purchase accounting related fair value measurements, contingent consideration and income taxes. We base our estimates on historical experience, contractual commitments and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances at the time they are made. These estimates and assumptions involve the use of our judgment and can be subject to significant uncertainties, some of which are beyond our control. If our estimates, or the assumptions underlying such estimates, are not correct, actual results may differ materially from our estimates, and we may need to, among other things, adjust revenues or accrue additional charges that could adversely affect our results of operations.

Our results of operations and share price could be adversely affected if we are unable to maintain effective internal controls.

The accuracy of our financial reporting is dependent on the effectiveness of our internal controls. We are required to provide a report from management to our stockholders on our internal control over financial reporting that includes an assessment of the effectiveness of these controls. Internal control over financial reporting has inherent limitations, including human error, the possibility that controls could be circumvented or become inadequate because of changed conditions, and fraud. Because of these inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting might not prevent or detect all misstatements or fraud. If we cannot maintain and execute adequate internal control over financial reporting or implement required new or improved controls that provide reasonable assurance of the reliability of the financial reporting and preparation of our financial statements for external use, we could suffer harm to our reputation, fail to meet our public reporting requirements on a timely basis, be unable to properly report on our business and our results of operations, or be required to restate our financial statements, and our results of operations, our share price and our ability to obtain new business could be materially adversely affected.

We are subject to income taxes in numerous jurisdictions. We calculate and provide for income taxes in each tax jurisdiction in which we operate. Tax accounting often involves complex matters and requires our judgment to determine our corporate provision for income taxes and other tax liabilities. We are subject to ongoing tax audits in various jurisdictions. Tax authorities have disagreed, and may in the future disagree, with our judgments, or may take increasingly aggressive positions opposing the judgments we make. We regularly assess the likely outcomes of these audits to determine the appropriateness of our tax liabilities. However, our judgments might not be sustained as a result of these audits, and the amounts ultimately paid could be different from the amounts previously recorded.  See Note 10, Income Taxes, in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding the disallowance of certain research credits claimed by the Company and the Company’s actions to assert such credits. In addition, our effective tax rate in the future could be adversely affected by changes in the mix of earnings in countries with differing statutory tax rates, changes in the valuation of deferred tax assets and liabilities and changes in tax laws. Tax rates in the jurisdictions in which we operate may change as a result of macroeconomic or other factors outside of our control. Increases in the tax rate in any of the jurisdictions in which we operate could have a negative impact on our profitability. In addition, changes in tax laws (particularly the 2017 Tax Act signed into law on December 22, 2017), treaties, or regulations, or their interpretation or enforcement, may be unpredictable and could materially adversely affect our tax position. This legislation will make significant changes to the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Such changes include a reduction in the corporate tax rate, limitations on certain corporate deductions and credits, and a one-time repatriation tax on deemed repatriation of historical earnings of foreign subsidiaries among other changes. The changes included in the 2017 Tax Act are broad and complex.  The final transition impacts of the 2017 Tax Act may differ from the Company’s estimates, possibly materially, due to, among other things, changes in interpretations of the 2017 Tax Act, any legislative actions to address questions that arise because of the 2017 Tax Act, any changes in the accounting standards for income taxes or related interpretations in response to the 2017 Tax Act, or any updates or changes to estimates the Company has utilized to calculate the transition impacts, including impacts from changes to current year earnings estimates and foreign exchange rates of foreign subsidiaries. Certain of these changes could have a negative impact on our business. Additionally, adverse changes in the underlying profitability and financial outlook of our operations or changes in tax law could lead to changes in our valuation allowances against deferred tax assets on our consolidated balance sheets, which could materially affect our results of operations. Any of these occurrences could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.  See Note 10, Income Taxes, in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding the 2017 Tax Act.

Our results of operations could be adversely affected by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates.

Although we report our results of operations in U.S. dollars, a small portion of our revenues is denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. Unfavorable fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates could have an adverse effect on our results of operations.

Because our consolidated financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars, we must translate revenues and expenses, as well as assets and liabilities, into U.S. dollars at exchange rates in effect during or at the end of each reporting period. Therefore, changes in the value of the U.S. dollar against other currencies will affect our net revenues, operating income and the value of balance-sheet items, including intercompany payables and receivables, denominated in other currencies. These changes cause our growth in consolidated earnings stated in U.S. dollars to be higher or lower than our growth in local currency when compared against other periods. Our currency hedging program, which is designed to partially offset the impact on consolidated earnings related to the changes in value of certain balance sheet items, might not be successful.

As we continue to leverage our global delivery model, certain of our expenses are incurred in currencies other than those in which we bill for the related services. An increase in the value of certain currencies, such as the Indian Rupee, Chinese Yuan, Canadian dollar, British Pound and Euro, against the U.S. dollar could increase costs for delivery of services at off-shore sites by increasing labor and other costs that are denominated in local currency. Our contractual provisions or cost management efforts might not be able to offset their impact, and our currency hedging activities, which are designed to partially offset this impact, might not be successful. This could result in a decrease in the profitability of our contracts that are utilizing delivery center resources. Conversely, a decrease in the value of certain currencies, such as the Canadian dollar, Indian Rupee, Chinese Yuan, British Pound and Euro, against the U.S. dollar in which our revenue is recorded could place us at a competitive disadvantage compared to service providers that benefit to a greater degree from such a decrease and can, as a result, deliver services at a lower cost. In addition, our currency hedging activities are themselves subject to risk. These include risks related to counterparty performance under hedging contracts, risks related to ineffective hedges and risks related to currency fluctuations. We also face risks that extreme economic conditions, political instability, hostilities or natural disasters could impact or perhaps eliminate the underlying exposures that we are hedging. Such an event could lead to losses being recognized on the currency hedges then in place that are not offset by anticipated changes in the underlying hedge exposure.

As a result of any of the above factors, or any of the other risks described in this Item 1A, “Risk Factors,” our stock price could be difficult to predict, and our stock price in the past might not be a good indicator of the price of our stock in the future.

 

As of December 31, 2017, we had unrestricted cash and cash equivalents totaling $6.3 million and a borrowing capacity of $125.0 million, with $69.7 million unused capacity available, and a commitment from our lenders to increase our borrowing capacity by $75.0 million. Of the $6.3 million of cash and cash equivalents at December 31, 2017, $3.9 million was held by our Canadian, Indian and United Kingdom subsidiaries and is considered to be indefinitely reinvested in those operations. As of December 31, 2017, $1.8 million in cash and cash equivalents was held by our Chinese subsidiary and is not considered indefinitely reinvested. We intend to continue to make investments to support our business growth and may require additional funds if our capital is insufficient to pursue business opportunities and respond to business challenges. Accordingly, we may need to engage in equity or debt financings to secure additional funds. If we raise additional funds through further issuances of equity or convertible debt securities, our existing stockholders could suffer dilution, and any new equity securities we issue could have rights, preferences, and privileges superior to those of holders of our common stock. Any debt financing secured by us in the future could involve restrictive covenants relating to our capital raising activities and other financial and operational matters, which may make it more difficult for us to obtain additional capital and to pursue business opportunities, including potential acquisitions. In addition, we may not be able to obtain additional financing on terms favorable to us, if at all. If we are unable to obtain adequate financing or financing on terms satisfactory to us our ability to continue to support our business growth and to respond to business challenges could be significantly limited.

Our executive officers, directors, and 5% and greater stockholders beneficially own or control approximately 34% of the voting power of our common stock. This concentration of voting power of our common stock may make it difficult for our other stockholders to successfully approve or defeat matters that may be submitted for action by our stockholders. It may also have the effect of delaying, deterring, or preventing a change in control of the Company.

Item 1B.

Unresolved Staff Comments.

Item 2.

Properties.

Item 3.

Legal Proceedings.

Item 4.

Mine Safety Disclosures.

Not applicable.

Item 5.

Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.

On February 20, 2018, the last reported sale price of our common stock on The Nasdaq Global Select Market was $19.59 per share. There were approximately 359 stockholders of record of our common stock as of February 20, 2018, including 293 restricted account holders.

We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our common stock. Our credit facility currently restricts the payment of cash dividends. See Note 9, Line of Credit, for further information regarding the restrictions. Any future determination as to the declaration and payment of dividends will be made at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on our earnings, operating and financial condition, capital requirements and other factors deemed relevant by our board of directors, including the applicable requirements of the Delaware General Corporation Law.

None.

(1)	Average price paid per share includes commission.

Item 6.

Selected Financial Data.

Item 7.

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

We are an information technology and management consulting firm serving Forbes Global 2000® and other large enterprise companies with a primary focus on the United States. We help clients gain competitive advantage by using technology to: make their businesses more responsive to market opportunities; strengthen relationships with customers, suppliers, and partners; improve productivity; and reduce information technology costs. Our digital experience, business optimization and industry solutions enable these benefits by developing, integrating, automating, and extending business processes, technology infrastructure and software applications end-to-end within an organization and with key partners, suppliers, and customers. Our solutions include analytics, custom applications,  management consulting, commerce, content management, business integration, customer relationship management, portals and collaboration, platform implementations,  and business process management, among others. Our solutions enable our clients to operate a real-time enterprise that dynamically adapts business processes and the systems that support them to meet the changing demands of an increasingly global, Internet-driven, and competitive marketplace.

Services revenues are derived from professional services that include developing, implementing, integrating, automating and extending business processes, technology infrastructure, and software applications. Most of our projects are performed on a time and materials basis, while a portion of our revenues is derived from projects performed on a fixed fee basis. Fixed fee engagements represented approximately 8% of our services revenues for the year ended December 31, 2017 compared to 11% for each of the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015. The decrease in fixed fee revenues is primarily attributable to an organic decrease in fixed fee engagements overall.  For time and material projects, revenues are recognized and billed by multiplying the number of hours our professionals expend in the performance of the project by the established billing rates. For fixed fee projects, revenues are generally recognized using an input method based on the ratio of hours expended to total estimated hours. Amounts invoiced and collected in excess of revenues recognized are classified as deferred revenues. In conjunction with services provided, we occasionally receive referral fees under partner programs. These referral fees are recognized when earned and recorded within services revenues. On most projects, we are also reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses including travel and other project-related expenses. These reimbursements are included as a component of revenues. The aggregate amount of reimbursed expenses will fluctuate depending on the location of our clients, the total number of our projects that require travel, and whether our arrangements with our clients provide for the reimbursement of such expenses.

Software and Hardware Revenues

Software and hardware revenues are derived from sales of third-party and internally developed software and hardware. Revenues from sales of third-party software and hardware are generally recorded on a gross basis provided that we act as a principal in the transaction. Revenues from sales of third-party software-as-a-service arrangements where we are not the primary obligor are recorded on a net basis. Software and hardware revenues are expected to fluctuate depending on our clients’ demand for these products.

Further, delivery of software and hardware sales, when sold contemporaneously with services, can generally occur at varying times depending on the specific client project arrangement. Delivery of services generally occurs over a period of time consistent with the timeline as outlined in the client contract.

 

There are no significant cancellation or termination-type provisions for our software and hardware sales. Contracts for our professional services provide for a general right, to the client or us, to cancel or terminate the contract within a given period of time (generally 10 to 30 days’ notice is required). The client is responsible for any time and expenses incurred up to the date of cancellation or termination of the contract.

Cost of Revenues

Cost of revenues consists of cost of services, software and hardware costs, and reimbursable expenses.  Cost of services consists primarily of cash and non-cash compensation and benefits (including bonuses and non-cash compensation related to equity awards), costs associated with subcontractors and other unreimbursed project-related expenses. Cost of revenues does not include depreciation of assets used in the production of revenues which are primarily personal computers, servers, and other information technology related equipment.

Selling, General, and Administrative Expenses

Selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”) expenses are primarily composed of sales-related costs, general and administrative salaries, stock compensation expense, office costs, recruiting expense, variable compensation costs, marketing costs and other miscellaneous expenses. We have access to sales leads generated by our software vendors, most notably IBM, Oracle and Microsoft, whose products we use to design and implement solutions for our clients. These relationships enable us to optimize our selling costs and sales cycle times and increase win rates through leveraging our partners’ marketing efforts and endorsements.

Plans for Growth and Acquisitions

Our goal is to continue to build one of the leading information technology consulting firms by expanding our relationships with existing and new clients and through the continuation of our disciplined acquisition strategy. Our future growth plan includes expanding our business with a primary focus on customers in the United States, both organically and through acquisitions. We also intend to further leverage our existing offshore capabilities to support our future growth and provide our clients flexible options for project delivery.

When analyzing revenue growth by base business compared to acquired companies in the Results of Operations section below, revenue attributable to base business includes revenue from an acquired company that has been owned for a full four quarters after the date of acquisition.

United States Tax Reform

The 2017 Tax Act was signed into law on December 22, 2017. The law includes significant changes to the U.S. corporate income tax system, including a federal corporate tax rate reduction from 35% to 21%, limitations on the deductibility of interest expense and executive compensation, and the transition of U.S. international taxation from a worldwide tax system to a territorial tax system. This change may result in a U.S. tax liability on those earnings which have not previously been repatriated to the U.S., with future foreign earnings potentially not subject to U.S. income taxes when repatriated. See Note 10, Income Taxes, in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for a discussion of the Company’s repatriation of earnings from the Company’s Chinese subsidiary. The majority of the provisions will have an impact on Perficient beginning in fiscal years 2018 and 2019. However, there are certain transitional impacts of the 2017 Tax Act which affected the Company’s tax provision during the fourth quarter of 2017.  As part of the transition to the new territorial tax system, the 2017 Tax Act imposed a one-time repatriation tax on deemed repatriation of historical earnings of foreign subsidiaries, which produced a $1.1 million tax expense payable over eight years. As a result, a $0.1 million current liability and a $1.0 million non-current liability were recorded in the Company’s consolidated financial statements during the fourth quarter of 2017.  The reduction of the federal corporate tax rate caused the Company to adjust its U.S. deferred tax assets and liabilities to the lower federal base rate of 21%.  The reduction in the corporate tax rate resulted in a provisional net tax credit of $3.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2017.  In addition, as a result of the 2017 Tax Act, changes to the net tax cost of certain China dividends repatriated during 2017 created a $1.6 million tax credit during the fourth quarter of 2017.

 There were no specific impacts of the 2017 Tax Act that could not be reasonably estimated which the Company accounted for under prior tax law.  However, the SEC has issued rules that would allow for a measurement period of up to one year after the enactment date of the 2017 Tax Act to finalize the recording of the related tax impacts.  Based on a continued analysis of the estimates and further guidance on the application of the law, it is anticipated that additional revisions may occur throughout the allowable measurement period. We currently anticipate finalizing and recording any resulting adjustments within a year of the enactment date. See Note 10, Income Taxes, in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding the 2017 Tax Act.

Revenue Recognition Standard Adopted January 1, 2018

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, which requires an entity to recognize the amount of revenue to which it expects to be entitled for the transfer of promised goods or services to customers. ASU No. 2014-09 replaced most existing revenue recognition guidance in U.S. GAAP. In 2015, the FASB deferred the effective date of ASU No. 2014-09 by one year. In 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-08, Principal versus Agent Considerations, ASU No. 2016-10, Identifying Performance Obligations and Licensing, ASU No. 2016-12, Narrow-Scope Improvements and Practical Expedients and ASU No. 2016-20, Technical Corrections and Improvements to Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, all of which further amended ASU No. 2014-09. The Company adopted the standard on January 1, 2018 using the modified retrospective method, which requires a cumulative-effect adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings within stockholders’ equity, as will be fully presented in the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31, 2018. The Company has determined that the most significant impact upon adoption is to third-party software and hardware revenue, which has primarily been recorded on a gross basis as the principal in the transaction through December 31, 2017 and will be presented on a net basis as the agent as of January 1, 2018. Had the Company historically presented third-party software and hardware revenues on a net basis, software and hardware revenues would have been $5.3 million, $6.4 million, and $5.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively.  As the Company adopted ASU No. 2014-09 using the modified retrospective method, the gross versus net presentation will not impact the historical presentation, but will impact the 2018 presentation. Additionally, as the agent, revenue from multi-year sales of third-party software and support will be recognized upfront as the performance obligation is fulfilled, rather than annually as invoiced to the customer. The impact from this timing change is expected to be immaterial. Variable consideration related to service contracts, such as volume discounts and holdbacks, may be recognized earlier under the new standard, and the Company is currently evaluating the impact of this change on contracts that are open as of December 31, 2017. The adoption of ASU No. 2014-09 and its amendments will also result in additional disclosures around the nature and timing of performance obligations, contract costs, and deferred revenue, as well as significant judgments and practical expedients used by the Company.

Services revenues increased 4% to $434.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2017 from $418.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2016. The increase in services revenues was primarily due to acquisitions. Services revenues attributable to our base business decreased $17.9 million while services revenues attributable to acquired companies was $33.6 million, resulting in a total increase of $15.7 million.

    Cost of Revenues (exclusive of depreciation and amortization, discussed separately below). Cost of revenues decreased 4% to $323.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2017 from $335.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2016.  The decrease in cost of revenues is primarily related to software and hardware costs which decreased 24% to $33.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2017 from $43.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2016, as a result of the decrease in software license sales. Software and hardware costs as a percentage of software and hardware revenues was 86.2% for the year ended December 31, 2017 and 87.2% for the year ended December 31, 2016. Services revenue costs increased 2% to $278.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2017 from $273.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2016 due to an increase in service revenue as noted above. Services costs as a percentage of services revenues decreased to 64.0% for the year ended December 31, 2017 from 65.4% for the year ended December 31, 2016 primarily driven by improvements in the North American average bill rate and utilization, as well as a $1.0 million cost reduction related to labor incentives earned by the Company’s Louisiana and China operations.  The average bill rate for our professionals decreased to $126 per hour for the year ended December 31, 2017 from $127 per hour for the year ended December 31, 2016 primarily due to the impact of a higher mix of lower bill rate offshore resources.

Selling, General and Administrative. SG&A expenses increased 7% to $108.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2017 from $101.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2016 primarily due to acquisitions completed during the first half of 2017 and the fluctuations in expenses as detailed in the following table. SG&A expenses, as a percentage of total revenues, increased to 22.3% for the year ended December 31, 2017 from 20.8% for the year ended December 31, 2016.

Depreciation. Depreciation expense decreased 3% to $4.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2017 from $4.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2016. The decrease in depreciation expense is primarily attributable to certain property and equipment becoming fully depreciated. Depreciation expense as a percentage of total revenues was 1.0% for each of the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016.

Amortization. Amortization expense increased 12% to $15.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2017 from $13.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2016. The increase in amortization expense was due to the addition of intangible assets from the 2016 and 2017 acquisitions, partially offset by intangible assets from previous acquisitions becoming fully amortized. Amortization expense as a percentage of total revenues was 3.1% for the year ended December 31, 2017 and 2.7% for the year ended December 31, 2016.

Adjustment to Fair Value of Contingent Consideration. An unfavorable adjustment of $3.2 million was recorded during the year ended December 31, 2017 which represents the net impact of the fair market value adjustments to the Clarity, RAS, and Bluetube revenue and  earnings-based contingent consideration liabilities in addition to the accretion of the fair value estimate for the revenue and earnings-based contingent consideration related to the acquisition of Bluetube and Clarity. A favorable adjustment of $1.7 million was recorded during the year ended December 31, 2016 which represents the net impact of the fair market value adjustments to the Enlighten revenue and earnings-based contingent consideration liability partially offset by the accretion of the fair value estimate for the revenue and earnings-based contingent consideration related to the acquisition of Zeon, Market Street, Enlighten and Bluetube.

Provision for Income Taxes. We provide for federal, state, and foreign income taxes at the applicable statutory rates adjusted for non-deductible expenses. The effective income tax rate decreased to 31.5% for the year ended December 31, 2017 from 32.9% for the year ended December 31, 2016. The decrease in the effective rate is primarily due to the effects of certain foreign withholding taxes, a foreign toll charge on historic foreign earnings, and a revaluation of ending deferred income tax caused by passage of the 2017 Tax Act. These favorable items were partially offset by an increase in our unrecognized tax benefits. See Note 10, Income Taxes, in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding the 2017 Tax Act.

Year Ended December 31, 2016 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2015

Revenues. Total revenues increased 3% to $487.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2016 from $473.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2015.

Services revenues increased 2% to $418.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2016 from $411.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2015. The increase in services revenues was primarily due to acquisitions. Services revenues attributable to our base business decreased $9.3 million while services revenues attributable to acquired companies was $16.4 million, resulting in a total increase of $7.1 million.

Software and hardware revenues increased 7% to $50.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2016 from $46.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2015 primarily due to acquisitions. Reimbursable expenses increased 19% to $18.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2016 from $15.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2015. The increase in reimbursable expenses is primarily due to the acquisition of Enlighten in which media buy expenses are passed through to customers.  We do not realize any profit on reimbursable expenses.

Selling, General and Administrative. SG&A expenses increased 1% to $101.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2016 from $100.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2015 primarily due to acquisitions completed during the second half of 2015 and October 2016 and the fluctuations in expenses as detailed in the following table. SG&A expenses, as a percentage of total revenues, decreased to 20.8% for the year ended December 31, 2016 from 21.1% for the year ended December 31, 2015.

Depreciation. Depreciation expense increased 8% to $4.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2016 from $4.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2015. The increase in depreciation expense is primarily attributable to an increase in capital expenditures to support our growth. Depreciation expense as a percentage of total revenues was 1.0% and 0.9% for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

Amortization. Amortization expense decreased 3% to $13.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2016 from $13.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2015. The decrease in amortization expense was due to intangible assets related to previous acquisitions becoming fully amortized partially offset by the addition of intangible assets from the 2015 and 2016 acquisitions. Amortization expense as a percentage of total revenues was 2.7% for the year ended December 31, 2016 and 2.9% for the year ended December 31, 2015.

Acquisition Costs. Acquisition-related costs of $1.3 million were incurred during 2016 compared to $1.2 million during 2015. Costs were incurred for legal, accounting, tax, investment bank and advisor fees, and valuation services performed by third parties in connection with merger and acquisition-related activities.

Adjustment to Fair Value of Contingent Consideration. A favorable adjustment of $1.7 million was recorded during the year ended December 31, 2016 which represents the net impact of the fair market value adjustments to the Enlighten revenue and earnings-based contingent consideration liability partially offset by the accretion of the fair value estimate for the revenue and earnings-based contingent consideration related to the acquisition of Zeon, Market Street, Enlighten and Bluetube. An adjustment of $0.4 million was recorded during the year ended December 31, 2015 for the accretion of the fair value estimate for the revenue and earnings-based contingent consideration related to the acquisitions of the Zeon, Market Street, and Enlighten.

Provision for Income Taxes. We provide for federal, state, and foreign income taxes at the applicable statutory rates adjusted for non-deductible expenses. The effective income tax rate increased to 32.9% for the year ended December 31, 2016 from 29.9% for the year ended December 31, 2015. The increase in the effective rate is primarily due to an additional research and development tax credit recorded during the year ended December 31, 2015 related to the finalization of the Company’s 2014 research and development tax assessment. The increase in the effective rate year ended December 31, 2016 was partially offset by an incremental research and development tax credit related to the current year and a favorable impact related to the early adoption of ASU No. 2016-09. See Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies-Recent Accounting Pronouncements, in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding the adoption of ASU No. 2016-09.

During the year ended December 31, 2017, we used $37.9 million for acquisitions and $4.3 million to purchase property and equipment and to develop software. During the year ended December 31, 2016, we used $7.5 million for acquisitions and $6.1 million to purchase property and equipment and to develop software. During the year ended December 31, 2016, we also purchased and subsequently sold short-term investments of $0.9 million and settled $2.8 million of Company-owned life insurance (“COLI”) policies, the proceeds of which were used to fund new COLI policies. For the year ended December 31, 2015, we used $37.8 million for acquisitions (net of cash acquired) and $4.4 million to purchase property and equipment and to develop software.

On June 9, 2017, we entered into a Credit Agreement, as amended (the “Credit Agreement”), with Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as administrative agent and the other lenders parties thereto.  The Credit Agreement replaces the Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement dated as of July 31, 2013 between the Company, Silicon Valley Bank and the other lenders and signatories thereto (the “Prior Credit Agreement”). The new credit facility was used to repay amounts due under the Prior Credit Agreement and will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes. In connection with the new agreement, the Company wrote off $0.2 million in unamortized credit facility fees associated with the Prior Credit Agreement, which was included in “Net interest expense” on the Consolidated Statements of Operations during the year ended December 31, 2017. The Credit Agreement provides for revolving credit borrowings up to a maximum principal amount of $125.0 million, subject to a commitment increase of $75.0 million. All outstanding amounts owed under the Credit Agreement become due and payable no later than the final maturity date of June 9, 2022.

The Credit Agreement also allows for the issuance of letters of credit in the aggregate amount of up to $10.0 million at any one time; outstanding letters of credit reduce the credit available for revolving credit borrowings. As of December 31, 2017, the Company had one outstanding letter of credit for $0.3 million. Substantially all of the Company’s assets are pledged to secure the credit facility.

Borrowings under the Credit Agreement bear interest at the Company’s option of the prime rate (4.50% on December 31, 2017) plus a margin ranging from 0.00% to 0.50% or one-month LIBOR (1.56% on December 31, 2017) plus a margin ranging from 1.00% to 1.75%. The Company incurs an annual commitment fee of 0.15% to 0.20% on the unused portion of the line of credit. The additional margin amount and annual commitment fee are dependent on the level of outstanding borrowings. As of December 31, 2017, the Company had $69.7 million of unused borrowing capacity.

At December 31, 2017, we were in compliance with all covenants under the Credit Agreement.

Prior to 2018, our Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to $135.0 million of our common stock. On February 20, 2018, our Board of Directors authorized the expansion of our stock repurchase program by authorizing the repurchase of up to an additional $25.0 million of our common stock for a total repurchase program of $160.0 million and extended the expiration date of the program to December 31, 2019. The program could be suspended or discontinued at any time, based on market, economic, or business conditions.  The timing and amount of repurchase transactions will be determined by our management based on its evaluation of market conditions, share price, and other factors.

 

 

Since the program’s inception on August 11, 2008, we have repurchased approximately $135.0 million (12.4 million shares) of our outstanding common stock through December 31, 2017.

As of December 31, 2017, there was $55.0 million outstanding under the Credit Agreement as compared to $32.0 million outstanding under the Prior Credit Agreement as of December 31, 2016. The amounts under the Credit Agreement are classified as “Long-term debt” within the Consolidated Balance Sheets and will become due and payable no later than the final maturity date of June 9, 2022.

Service revenues are primarily derived from professional services provided on a time and materials basis. For time and material contracts, service revenues are recognized and billed by multiplying the number of hours expended in the performance of the contract by the established billing rates. For fixed fee projects, service revenues are generally recognized using an input method based on the ratio of hours expended to total estimated hours. Amounts invoiced and collected in excess of revenues recognized are classified as deferred revenues. In conjunction with services provided, the Company occasionally receives referral fees under partner programs. These referral fees are recognized when earned and recorded within service revenues. Revenues from software and hardware sales are generally recorded on a gross basis considering the Company’s role as a principal in the transaction.  Revenues from sales of third-party software-as-a-service arrangements where the Company is not the primary obligor are recorded on a net basis. On many projects the Company is also reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses including travel and other project-related expenses.  These reimbursements are included as a component of revenues. We did not realize any profit on reimbursable expenses.

Unbilled revenues represent the project time and expenses that have been incurred, but not yet billed to the client, prior to the end of the fiscal period. For time and materials projects, the client is invoiced for the amount of hours worked multiplied by the billing rates as stated in the contract. For fixed fee arrangements, the client is invoiced according to the agreed-upon schedule detailing the amount and timing of payments in the contract. Clients are typically billed monthly for services provided during that month, but can be billed on a more or less frequent basis as determined by the contract. If the time and expenses are worked/incurred and approved at the end of a fiscal period and the invoice has not yet been sent to the client, the amount is recorded as unbilled revenue once the Company verifies all other revenue recognition criteria have been met.

Revenues are recognized when the following criteria are met: (1) persuasive evidence of the customer arrangement exists; (2) fees are fixed and determinable; (3) delivery and acceptance have occurred; and (4) collectability is deemed probable. The Company’s policy for revenue recognition in instances where multiple deliverables are sold contemporaneously to the same customer is in accordance with the FASB Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Subtopic 985-605, Software – Revenue Recognition, ASC Subtopic 605-25, Revenue Recognition – Multiple-Element Arrangements, and ASC Section 605-10-S99 (Staff Accounting Bulletin Topic 13,  Revenue Recognition). Specifically, if the Company enters into contracts for the sale of services and software or hardware, then the Company evaluates whether each element should be accounted for separately by considering the following criteria: (1) whether the deliverables have value to the client on a stand-alone basis; and (2) whether delivery or performance of the undelivered item or items is considered probable and substantially in the control of the Company (only if the arrangement includes a general right of return related to the delivered item). Further, for sales of software and services, the Company also evaluates whether the services are essential to the functionality of the software and if it has fair value evidence for each deliverable. If the Company has concluded that the separation criteria are met, then it accounts for each deliverable in the transaction separately, based on the relevant revenue recognition policies. Generally, all deliverables of the Company’s multiple element arrangements meet these criteria and are accounted for separately, with the arrangement consideration allocated among the deliverables using vendor specific objective evidence of the selling price. As a result, the Company generally recognizes software and hardware sales upon delivery to the customer and services consistent with the policies described herein.

Further, delivery of software and hardware sales, when sold contemporaneously with services, can generally occur at varying times depending on the specific client project arrangement. Delivery of services generally occurs over a period of time consistent with the timeline as outlined in the client contract.

The Company may provide multiple services under the terms of an arrangement and is required to assess whether one or more units of accounting are present.  Service fees are typically accounted for as one unit of accounting, as fair value evidence for individual tasks or milestones is not available.  The Company follows the guidelines discussed above in determining revenues; however, certain judgments and estimates are made and used to determine revenues recognized in any accounting period. If estimates are revised, material differences may result in the amount and timing of revenues recognized for a given period.

 

Revenues are presented net of taxes assessed by governmental authorities.  Sales taxes are generally collected and subsequently remitted on all software and hardware sales and certain services transactions as appropriate.

The Company allocates the purchase price, including contingent consideration, of our acquisitions to the assets and liabilities acquired, including identifiable intangible assets, based on their respective fair values at the date of acquisition. Such fair market value assessments are primarily based on third-party valuations using assumptions developed by management that require significant judgments and estimates that can change materially as additional information becomes available. The purchase price allocated to intangibles is based on unobservable factors, including but not limited to, projected revenues, expenses, customer attrition rates, royalty rates, a weighted average cost of capital, among others.  The weighted average cost of capital uses a market participant’s cost of equity and after-tax cost of debt and reflects the risk inherent in the cash flows. The approach to valuing the contingent consideration associated with the purchase price also uses similar unobservable factors such as projected revenues and expenses over the term of the contingent earn-out period, discounted for the period over which the contingent consideration is measured. Based upon these assumptions, the contingent consideration is then valued using a Monte Carlo simulation. The Company finalizes the purchase price allocation within 12 months of the acquisition date as certain initial accounting valuation estimates are finalized.

The Company calculates and provides for income taxes in each jurisdiction in which it operates. Deferred tax assets and liabilities, measured using enacted tax rates, are recognized for the future tax consequences of temporary differences between financial reporting and tax bases of assets and liabilities. A valuation allowance reduces the deferred tax assets to the amount that is more likely than not to be realized. The Company has established liabilities or reduced assets for uncertain tax positions when it believes those tax positions are not more likely than not of being sustained if challenged. The Company evaluates these uncertain tax positions and adjusts the related tax assets and liabilities in light of changing facts and circumstances each quarter. On December 22, 2017, the U.S. government enacted the 2017 Tax Act.  The 2017 Tax Act significantly revised the future ongoing U.S. corporate income tax by, among other things, lowering U.S. corporate income tax rates and implementing a territorial tax system.  See Note 10, Income Taxes, in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding the 2017 Tax Act.

Item 7A.

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.

Item 8.

Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.