Diplomat Announces 1st Quarter Financial Results

FLINT, Mich., May 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Diplomat Pharmacy, Inc. (NYSE: DPLO), the nation's largest independent specialty pharmacy, announced financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2017.  All comparisons, unless otherwise noted, are to the quarter ended March 31, 2016.

First Quarter 2017 Highlights include:

• Revenue of $1,079 million, compared to $996 million, an increase of 8%
• Total prescriptions dispensed of 220,000, compared to 232,000
• Gross margin of 7.9% versus 8.0%
• Gross profit per prescription dispensed of $383, compared to $332
• Net income attributable to Diplomat of $4.4 million, compared to $15.4 million
• Adjusted EBITDA of $26.8 million, compared to $29.0 million
• Adjusted EBITDA margin of 2.5% versus 2.9%
• EPS of $0.06 per diluted common share versus $0.23
• Adjusted EPS of $0.19 versus $0.23

Phil Hagerman, CEO and Chairman of Diplomat, commented "Our financial results in the first quarter of 2017 were in-line with our expectations. Diplomat's high-touch, high-service model serves as a competitive advantage in the growing trend of independent specialty pharmacies leading smaller limited distribution panels. We further expanded our hub and pharma service offering through the acquisition of WRB Communications, Inc., and firmly believe these services will prove to be highly complementary to our core specialty pharmacy business." Mr. Hagerman continued, "I'm also incredibly pleased with the additions we've made to the Diplomat team, including our new chief financial officer and treasurer, Atul Kavthekar, and our new board members."

First Quarter Financial Summary:

Revenue for the first quarter of 2017 was $1,079 million, compared to $996 million in the first quarter of 2016, an increase of $83 million or 8%.  The increase was driven by approximately $116 million of revenue from our acquisitions, approximately $74 million from the impact of manufacturer price increases, and approximately $48 million from drugs that were new in the past year.  These increases were partially offset by a decrease due to contracts that were not renewed as well as a decrease in hepatitis C versus the prior year period.  Our revenue increase year over year, excluding the impact of the contract losses was $198 million or 22%. 

Gross profit in the first quarter of 2017 was $85.0 million and generated a 7.9% gross margin, compared to $79.2 million and 8.0% in the first quarter of 2016.  The gross margin decline in the quarter was primarily due to an increase in direct and indirect remuneration ("DIR") fees versus the first quarter of 2016.  The decline was also attributable to a continued shift in mix towards higher priced but lower percent margin drugs.  These margin declines were partially offset by the impact of manufacturer price increases in the first quarter of 2017 versus the prior year period.

Selling, general, and administrative expenses ("SG&A") for the first quarter of 2017 were $76.5 million, an increase of $22.3 million, compared to $54.2 million in the first quarter of 2016.  This increase is primarily driven by the non-repeat of a favorable $9.1 million Q1 2016 change in the fair value of contingent consideration associated with our acquisitions during Q1 2016.  We also experienced an increase of $5.9 million related to employee cost, including employee cost for our acquired entities.  The increased employee expense was attributable to the increased clinical and administrative complexity generally associated with our infusion business as well as the mix of our other business.  Also contributing to the SG&A expense increase was a $3.6 million increase in amortization expense from definite-lived intangible assets associated with our acquired entities.  We also experienced increases in other SG&A; including freight, insurance, and other miscellaneous expenses.  As a percentage of revenue, SG&A, excluding change in fair value of contingent consideration was 7.1% for the three months ended March 31, 2017, compared to 6.4% in the prior year period.  This increase is primarily attributable to the increase in acquisition related amortization and the increased operating complexity associated with both our acquisitions and new drugs.

Net income attributable to Diplomat for the first quarter of 2017 was $4.4 million compared to $15.4 million in the first quarter of 2016.  This decrease was primarily driven by the revenue, gross profit, and SG&A explanations above. Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter of 2017 was $26.8 million compared to $29.0 million in the first quarter of 2016, a decrease of $2.2 million. 

Earnings per share for the first quarter of 2017 was $0.07, compared to $0.24 for the first quarter of 2016.  On a diluted basis, earnings per share was $0.06 in the first quarter of 2017, compared to $0.23 in the prior year period.  Diluted non-GAAP adjusted earnings per share ("Adjusted EPS") was $0.19 in the first quarter of this year compared to $0.23 in the first quarter of 2016.   

2017 Financial Outlook

For the full-year 2017, we are maintaining our previous financial guidance:

• Revenue between $4.3 and $4.7 billion
• Net income attributable to Diplomat between $6.5 and $15.5 million
• Adjusted EBITDA between $95 and $103 million
• Diluted EPS between $0.09 and $0.23
• Adjusted EPS between $0.54 and $0.70

Our EPS and Adjusted EPS expectations assume approximately 68,600,000 weighted average common shares outstanding on a diluted basis and a tax rate of 35% and 40%, for the high and low of the range, respectively, for the full year 2017, which could differ materially. 

Earnings Conference Call Information

As previously announced, the Company will hold a conference call to discuss its first quarter performance this evening, May 8, 2017, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.  Shareholders and interested participants may listen to a live broadcast of the conference call by dialing 877-201-0168 (or 647-788-4901 for international callers) and referencing participant code 6760661 approximately 15 minutes prior to the call.  A live webcast and transcript of the conference call will be available on the investor relations section of the Company's website for approximately 90 days.

About Diplomat

Diplomat (NYSE: DPLO) is the nation's largest independent provider of specialty pharmacy services—helping patients and providers in all 50 states. The company offers medication management programs for people with complex chronic diseases and delivers unique solutions for manufacturers, hospitals, payors, providers, and more. Diplomat opened its doors in 1975 as a neighborhood pharmacy with one essential tenet: "Take good care of patients and the rest falls into place." Today, that tradition continues—always focused on improving patient care and clinical adherence. For more information, visit diplomat.is.

Non-GAAP Information

Adjusted EPS adds back, net of income taxes, the impact of all merger and acquisition related expenses, including amortization of intangible assets, the change in fair value of contingent consideration, as well as transaction-related costs.  We exclude merger and acquisition-related expenses from Adjusted EPS because we believe the amount of such expenses in any specific period may not directly correlate to the underlying performance of our business operations and such expenses can vary significantly between periods as a result of new acquisitions, full amortization of previously acquired intangible assets, or ultimate realization of contingent consideration.  Investors should note that acquisitions, once consummated, contribute to revenue in the periods presented as well as future periods and should also note that amortization and contingent consideration expenses may recur in future periods.  A reconciliation of Adjusted EPS, a non-GAAP measure, to EPS as prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States ("GAAP") can be found in the appendix.

We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) attributable to Diplomat before interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, share-based compensation, change in fair value of contingent consideration and other merger and acquisition-related expenses, restructuring and impairment charges, and certain other items that we do not consider indicative of our ongoing operating performance (which are itemized below in the reconciliation to net income (loss) attributable to Diplomat).  Adjusted EBITDA is not in accordance with, or an alternative to, GAAP.  In addition, this non‑GAAP measure is not based on any comprehensive set of accounting rules or principles.  You should be aware that in the future we may incur expenses that are the same as or similar to some of the adjustments in the presentation, and we do not infer that our future results will be unaffected by unusual or non-recurring items. 

We consider Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS to be supplemental measures of our operating performance.  We present Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS because they are used by our Board of Directors and management to evaluate our operating performance.  Adjusted EBITDA is also used as a factor in determining incentive compensation, for budgetary planning and forecasting overall financial and operational expectations, for identifying underlying trends, and for evaluating the effectiveness of our business strategies.  Further, we believe they assist us, as well as investors, in comparing performance from period-to-period on a consistent basis.  Other companies in our industry may calculate Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS differently than we do and these calculations may not be comparable to our Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EPS metrics.  A reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure, to net income (loss) attributable to Diplomat can be found in the appendix.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Forward-looking statements give current expectations or forecasts of future events or our future financial or operating performance, and include Diplomat's expectations regarding revenues, net income (loss) attributable to Diplomat, Adjusted EBITDA, EPS, Adjusted EPS, market share, the performance of acquisitions and growth strategies.  The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on management's good-faith belief and reasonable judgment based on current information, and these statements are qualified by important risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those forecasted or indicated by such forward-looking statements.  These risks and uncertainties include: our ability to adapt to changes or trends within the specialty pharmacy industry; significant and increasing pricing pressure from third-party payors; the amount of direct and indirect remuneration fees, as well as the timing of assessing such fees and the non-transparent methodology used to calculate such fees; the outcome of material legal proceedings related to direct and indirect remuneration fees; our relationships with key pharmaceutical manufacturers; bad publicity about, or market withdrawal of, specialty drugs we dispense; a significant increase in competition from a variety of companies in the health care industry; our ability to expand the number of specialty drugs we dispense and related services; maintaining existing patients; revenue concentration of the top specialty drugs we dispense; our ability to maintain relationships with a specified wholesaler and two pharmaceutical manufacturers; increasing consolidation in the healthcare industry; managing our growth effectively; limited experience with acquisitions and our ability to recognize the expected benefits therefrom on a timely basis or at all; managing recent turnover among key employees; potential disruption to our workforce and operations due to recent cost savings and restructuring initiatives; and the additional factors set forth in "Risk Factors" in Diplomat's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 and in subsequent reports filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission.  Except as may be required by any applicable laws, Diplomat assumes no obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements, which are made as of the date hereof or the earlier date specified herein, whether as a result of new information, future developments, or otherwise.

INVESTOR CONTACT:
Bob East, Westwicke Partners 
443-213-0500 | Diplomat@westwicke.com

Adjusted EBITDA

The table below presents a reconciliation of net income attributable to Diplomat Pharmacy, Inc. to Adjusted EBITDA for the periods indicated.

Adjusted EPS (diluted)

Below is a reconciliation of net income attributable to Diplomat Pharmacy, Inc. per diluted share to Adjusted EPS for the periods indicated.

2017 Full Year Guidance: GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliation

The tables below present a reconciliation of net income attributable to Diplomat Pharmacy, Inc. to Adjusted EBITDA and net income attributable to Diplomat Pharmacy, Inc. per diluted share to Adjusted EPS for the year ended December 31, 2017.

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SOURCE Diplomat Pharmacy, Inc.