ATLANTA, March 03, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cardlytics, Inc., (NASDAQ: CDLX), a purchase intelligence platform that makes marketing more relevant and measurable, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2019. Supplemental information is available on the Investor Relations section of the Cardlytics' website at http://ir.cardlytics.com/.

“We experienced strong growth in 2019, as illustrated by our excellent fourth quarter results that exceeded our prior guidance,” said Scott Grimes, CEO & Co-Founder of Cardlytics. “Our team's efforts, coupled with our investments in the platform, will support the opportunity to deliver sustained growth for years to come.”

“We have seen strong early engagement with our program at Wells Fargo, which was launched during the fourth quarter and will continue to roll out through the first half of 2020,” said Lynne Laube, COO & Co-Founder of Cardlytics. “Our 2019 results reaffirm our belief that we will see increased logos and spend in 2020 as marketers fully understand the impact we can have on their business.”

Fourth Quarter 2019 Financial Results

• Total revenue was $69.3 million, an increase of 44.9% year-over-year, compared to $47.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2018.
  
  
• Net income attributable to common stockholders was $3.4 million, or $0.12 per diluted share, based on 26.1 million weighted-average common shares outstanding, compared to a net loss attributable to common stockholders of $(11.6) million, or $(0.53) per diluted share, based on 21.8 million weighted-average common shares outstanding in the fourth quarter of 2018.
  
  
• Non-GAAP net income was $5.2 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, based on 28.1 million non-GAAP weighted-average common shares outstanding, compared to a non-GAAP net loss of $(1.3) million, or $(0.06) per diluted share, based on 21.8 million non-GAAP weighted-average common shares outstanding in the fourth quarter of 2018.
  
  
• Billings, a non-GAAP metric, was $100.9 million, an increase of 43.7% year-over-year, compared to $70.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2018.
  
  
• Adjusted contribution, a non-GAAP metric, was $31.0 million, an increase of 40.4% year-over-year, compared to $22.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2018.
  
  
• Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP metric, was a gain of $6.9 million, an increase of $6.6 million year-over-year, compared to a gain of $0.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Fiscal Year 2019 Financial Results

• Total revenue was $210.4 million, an increase of 39.6%, compared to $150.7 million in 2018.
  
  
• Net loss attributable to common stockholders was $(17.1) million, or $(0.72) per diluted share, based on 23.7 million weighted-average common shares outstanding, compared to a net loss attributable to common stockholders of $(53.2) million, or $(2.79) per diluted share, based on 19.1 million weighted-average common shares outstanding in 2018.
  
  
• Non-GAAP net income was $(1.9) million, or $(0.08) per diluted share, based on 23.7 million non-GAAP weighted-average common shares outstanding, compared to a loss of $(14.8) million, or $(0.73) per diluted share, based on 20.2 million non-GAAP weighted-average common shares outstanding in 2018.
  
  
• Billings, a non-GAAP metric, was $316.1 million, an increase of 44.3%, compared to $219.0 million in 2018.
  
  
• Adjusted contribution, a non-GAAP metric, was $95.2 million, an increase of 37.1%, compared to $69.5 million in 2018.
  
  
• Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP metric, was a gain of $6.1 million, an increase of $12.6 million, compared to a loss of $(6.6) million in 2018.

“We are pleased with the incremental budget expansions that contributed to the acceleration we saw in the fourth quarter and back half of the year,” said David Evans, CFO of Cardlytics. “We are confident that strong execution against our key growth strategies will enable us to reach our long-term operational and financial goals.”

Key Metrics

• Average FI MAUs in the quarter were 133.4 million, an increase of 60.3%, compared to 83.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2018. For full year 2019, average FI MAUs were 122.6 million, an increase of 88.6%, compared to 65.0 million in 2018.
  
  
• ARPU in the quarter was $0.52, a decrease of (8.8)%, compared to $0.57 in the fourth quarter of 2018. For full year 2019, ARPU was $1.72, an decrease of (25.1)%, compared to $2.30 in 2018.

Definitions of FI MAUs and ARPU are included below under the caption “Non-GAAP Measures and Other Performance Metrics.”

First Quarter 2020 Financial Expectations

Cardlytics anticipates billings, revenue, adjusted contribution and adjusted EBITDA to be in the following ranges (in millions):

Earnings Teleconference Information

Cardlytics will discuss its fourth quarter and fiscal year 2019 financial results during a teleconference today, March 3, 2020, at 5:00 PM ET / 2:00 PM PT. The conference call can be accessed at (866) 385-4179 (domestic) or (210) 874-7775 (international), conference ID# 8886276. A replay of the conference call will be available through 8:00 PM ET / 5:00 PM PT on March 17, 2020 at (855) 859-2056 (domestic) or (404) 537-3406 (international). The replay passcode is 8886276. The call will also be broadcast simultaneously at http://ir.cardlytics.com/. Following the completion of the call, a recorded replay of the webcast will be available on Cardlytics’ website.

About Cardlytics

Cardlytics (NASDAQ: CDLX) uses purchase intelligence to make marketing more relevant and measurable. We partner with financial institutions to run their banking rewards programs that promote customer loyalty and deepen banking relationships. In turn, we have a secure view into where and when consumers are spending their money. We use these insights to help marketers identify, reach, and influence likely buyers at scale, as well as measure the true sales impact of marketing campaigns. Headquartered in Atlanta, Cardlytics has offices in London, New York, San Francisco and Visakhapatnam. Learn more at www.cardlytics.com.

Cautionary Language Concerning Forward-Looking Statements:

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including but not limited to our financial guidance for the first quarter of 2020, future growth, the roll-out of Wells Fargo, growth in marketers and marketer spend, and achievement of long-range goals. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date they were first issued and were based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections as well as the beliefs and assumptions of management. Words such as "expect," "anticipate," "should," "believe," "hope," "target," "project," "goals," "estimate," "potential," "predict," "may," "will," "might," "could," "intend," or variations of these terms or the negative of these terms and similar expressions are intended to identify these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which involve factors or circumstances that are beyond our control.

Our actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including but not limited to: our financial performance, including our revenue, margins, costs, expenditures, growth rates and operating expenses, and our ability to sustain revenue growth, generate positive cash flow and become profitable; our substantial dependence on our Cardlytics Direct product; risks related to our substantial dependence on JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association (“Chase”), Bank of America, National Association ("Bank of America"), Wells Fargo Bank, National Association (“Wells Fargo”) and a limited number of other financial institutions (“FIs”) partners; our ability to successfully implement Cardlytics Direct for Wells Fargo customers and maintain relationships with Chase, Wells Fargo and Bank of America; the amount and timing of budgets by marketers, which are affected by budget cycles, economic conditions and other factors; our ability to generate sufficient revenue to offset contractual commitments to FIs; our ability to attract new FI partners and maintain relationships with bank processors and digital banking providers; our ability to maintain relationships with marketers; our ability to adapt to changing market conditions, including our ability to adapt to changes in consumer habits, negotiate fee arrangements with new and existing FIs and retailers, and develop and launch new services and features; and other risks detailed in the “Risk Factors” section of our Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 3, 2020 and in subsequent periodic reports that we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.

The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent our views as of the date of this press release. We anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause our views to change.  We undertake no intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.

Non-GAAP Measures and Other Performance Metrics

To supplement the financial measures presented in our press release and related conference call or webcast in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”), we also present the following non-GAAP measures of financial performance: billings, adjusted contribution, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted FI Share and other third party costs, non-GAAP net income (loss) and non-GAAP income (loss) per share as well as certain other performance metrics, such as FI monthly active users (“FI MAUs”) and average revenue per user (“ARPU”).

A “non-GAAP financial measure” refers to a numerical measure of our historical or future financial performance or financial position that is included in (or excluded from) the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP in our financial statements. We provide certain non-GAAP measures as additional information relating to our operating results as a complement to results provided in accordance with GAAP. The non-GAAP financial information presented herein should be considered in conjunction with, and not as a substitute for or superior to, the financial information presented in accordance with GAAP and should not be considered a measure of liquidity. There are significant limitations associated with the use of non-GAAP financial measures. Further, these measures may differ from the non-GAAP information, even where similarly titled, used by other companies and therefore should not be used to compare our performance to that of other companies.

We have presented billings, adjusted contribution, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted FI Share and other third party costs, non-GAAP net income (loss) and non-GAAP net income (loss) per share as non-GAAP financial measures in this press release. Billings represents the gross amount billed to marketers for advertising campaigns in order to generate revenue. Billings is reported gross of both Consumer Incentives and FI Share. Our GAAP revenue is recognized net of Consumer Incentives and gross of FI Share. We define adjusted contribution as a measures by which revenue generated from our marketers exceeds the cost to obtain the purchase data and the digital advertising space from our FI partners. Adjusted contribution demonstrates how incremental marketing spend on our platform generates incremental amounts to support our sales and marketing, research and development, general and administration and other investments. Adjusted contribution is calculated by taking our total revenue less our FI Share and other third-party costs exclusive of a non-cash equity expense and amortization of deferred FI implementation costs, which are non-cash costs. Adjusted contribution does not take into account all costs associated with generating revenue from advertising campaigns, including sales and marketing expenses, research and development expenses, general and administrative expenses and other expenses, which we do not take into consideration when making decisions on how to manage our advertising campaigns. We define adjusted EBITDA as our net loss before income tax benefit; interest expense (income), net; depreciation and amortization expense; stock-based compensation expense; foreign currency (gain) loss; amortization of deferred FI implementation costs; costs associated with financing events; loss on extinguishment of debt; change in fair value of warrant liabilities, net; and a non-cash equity expense recognized in FI Share. We define non-GAAP net loss (income) as our net loss (income) before stock-based compensation expense; change in fair value of warrant liabilities; change in fair value of convertible promissory notes; foreign currency loss (gain); loss on extinguishment of debt; costs associated with financing events; and non-cash equity expense recognized in FI Share. Notably, any impacts related to minimum FI Share commitments in connection with agreements with certain FI partners are not added back to net loss in order to calculate adjusted EBITDA. We define non-GAAP net loss per share as non-GAAP net loss divided by non-GAAP weighted-average common shares outstanding, diluted, which includes our GAAP weighted-average common shares outstanding, diluted, and our weighted-average preferred shares outstanding, assuming conversion.

We believe the use of non-GAAP financial measures, as a supplement to GAAP measures, is useful to investors in that they eliminate items that are either not part of our core operations or do not require a cash outlay, such as stock-based compensation expense. Management uses these non-GAAP financial measures when evaluating operating performance and for internal planning and forecasting purposes. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures help indicate underlying trends in the business, are important in comparing current results with prior period results, and are useful to investors and financial analysts in assessing operating performance.

We define FI MAUs as targetable customers or accounts of our FI partners that logged in and visited the online or mobile banking applications of, or opened an email containing our offers from, our FI partners during a monthly period. We then calculate a monthly average of these FI MAUs for the periods presented. We define ARPU as the total Cardlytics Direct revenue generated in the applicable period calculated in accordance with GAAP, divided by the average number of FI MAUs in the applicable period.

CARDLYTICS, INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(Amounts in thousands)

CARDLYTICS, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(Amounts in thousands except per share amounts)

CARDLYTICS, INC.
STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION EXPENSE
(Amounts in thousands)

CARDLYTICS, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(Amounts in thousands)

CARDLYTICS, INC.
SUMMARY OF GAAP AND NON-GAAP RESULTS
(Dollars in thousands)

CARDLYTICS, INC.
RECONCILIATION OF GAAP REVENUE TO BILLINGS
(Amounts in thousands)

CARDLYTICS, INC.
RECONCILIATION OF GAAP GROSS PROFIT TO ADJUSTED CONTRIBUTION
(Amounts in thousands)

CARDLYTICS, INC.
RECONCILIATION OF GAAP NET INCOME (LOSS) TO ADJUSTED EBITDA
(Amounts in thousands)

CARDLYTICS, INC.
RECONCILIATION OF GAAP NET INCOME (LOSS) TO NON-GAAP NET INCOME (LOSS) AND NON-GAAP NET INCOME (LOSS) PER SHARE
(Amounts in thousands except per share amounts)

CARDLYTICS, INC.
RECONCILIATION OF FORECASTED GAAP REVENUE TO BILLINGS
(Amounts in millions)

Contacts:

Public Relations:

ICR
cardlyticspr@icrinc.com

Investor Relations:

William Maina
ICR, Inc.
(646) 277-1236
ir@cardlytics.com

Source: Cardlytics, Inc.