If the first quarter is a sign of things to come, Ellie Mae (ELLI) could indeed be headed for another record year.
After reporting record revenue in fourth quarter of 2014, with its net income rising 153% from the same period in 2013, the company reported revenue of $54.2 million in first quarter of 2015, up 68% from $32.2 million in same time period last year.
Ellie Mae’s strong performance was predicted earlier in the week by analysts with RBC Capital Markets, who increased RBC’s price target on Ellie Mae to $65 and categorized the company’s stock as “outperform,” citing better loan origination volume for Ellie Mae and other factors.
Ellie Mae President and CEO Jonathan Corr said that the company had a great start to the year with an “outstanding” first quarter.
“In addition to another highly successful Encompass user experience, the quarter ended with financial results that exceeded our revenue, net income and adjusted EBITDA objectives,” Corr said.
“Our clients closed more loans than expected due to origination volumes that were above initial industry forecasts, but our customers also outpaced the mortgage industry as a whole,” Corr continued.
“On top of this, our active user base increased by nearly ten thousand seats and we continued to drive customer adoption across our product portfolio,” Corr added. “Combined, these factors helped grow average revenue per user by 38%. Our results demonstrate the leverage in our business model when expectations are exceeded across multiple fronts.”
Ellie Mae reported total revenue for the first quarter of 2015 of $54.2 million, compared to $32.2 million for the first quarter of 2014. The company’s net income for the first quarter of 2015 was $3.6 million, or $0.12 per diluted share, compared to net income of $0.8 million, or $0.03 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2014. The company’s diluted share count for the first quarter of 2015 was 30.4 million, as compared to 29.1 million during the first quarter of 2014.
The company also reported:
- The total number of active Encompass users increased 25% year-over-year to 119,000
- The total number of active users of the SaaS version of Encompass increased 40% year-over-year to 95,000, or 80% of all active Encompass users
- Total SaaS Encompass revenue in the first quarter increased 64% year-over-year to $32.5 million, representing 60% of total revenue for the first quarter of 2015
- Revenue per average active Encompass user in the first quarter increased 38% year-over-year to $474
Ellie Mae also released its guidance for the second quarter and the rest of 2015.” For the second quarter of 2015, we expect revenue to be in the range of $59.0 million to $60.0 million,” the company said. “Net income is expected to be in the range of $1.0 million to $1.5 million, or $0.03 to $0.05 per diluted share. Adjusted net income is expected to be in the range of $8.6 million to $9.3 million, or $0.28 to $0.30 per diluted share. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of $12.1 million to $13.3 million for the quarter.”
The company also said its 2015 revenue is expected to be in the range of $223.0 million to $226.0 million, up from the previously provided range of $203.0 million to $206.0 million.
The company's net income is expected to be in the range of $4.0 million to $5.0 million, or $0.13 to $0.16 per diluted share, up from the previously provided range of $0.5 million to $1.5 million, or $0.02 to $0.05 per diluted share. Adjusted net income is expected to be in the range of $34.4 million to $36.1 million, or $1.09 to $1.13 per diluted share, up from the previously provided range of $27.1 million to $29.0 million, or $0.86 to $0.91 per diluted share. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of $48.6 million to $51.3 million, up from the previously provided range of $37.8 million to $40.8 million.
