Dubai - UAE, April 28, 2019-- Juniper Networks (NYSE: JNPR), an industry leader in automated, scalable and secure networks, today reported preliminary financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2019 and provided its outlook for the three months ending June 30, 2019.

 

First Quarter 2019 Financial Performance

 

Net revenues were $1,001.7 million, a decrease of 7% year-over-year, and 15% sequentially.

 

GAAP operating margin was 4.3%, a decrease from 5.1% in the first quarter of 2018, and a decrease from 16.7% in the fourth quarter of 2018.

 

Non-GAAP operating margin was 11.2%, a decrease from 12.3% in the first quarter of 2018, and a decrease from 21.1% in the fourth quarter of 2018.

 

GAAP net income was $31.1 million, a decrease of 10% year-over-year, and a decrease of 84% sequentially, resulting in diluted earnings per share of $0.09.

 

Non-GAAP net income was $92.7 million, a decrease of 7% year-over-year and a decrease of 55% sequentially, resulting in non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.26.

 

“The first quarter played out largely as we expected, with slightly better than forecasted sales across each of our core verticals,” said Rami Rahim, chief executive officer, Juniper Networks. “While we are pleased with the progress we experienced versus our guidance, we are not satisfied with these results and remain focused on delivering a return to growth later this year. We believe the investments we are making in our go-to-market organization, new products we are bringing to market and the acquisition of Mist Systems should position us to achieve this objective.”

 

“We exceeded our profitability targets during the first quarter, with non-GAAP gross margin, non-GAAP operating margin and non-GAAP earnings per share all coming in above the mid-point of our guidance,” said Ken Miller, chief financial officer, Juniper Networks. “While we were delayed in executing our proposed $300 million accelerated share repurchase program during the first quarter, due to our acquisition of Mist Systems, we plan to execute this program during the current quarter given our ongoing belief in our future prospects.”

 

Balance Sheet and Other Financial Results

 

Total cash, cash equivalents, and investments as of March 31, 2019 were $3,502.7 million, compared to $3,448.4 million as of March 31, 2018, and $3,758.1 million as of December 31, 2018.

 

Net cash flows provided by operations for the first quarter of 2019 was $159.4 million, compared to $271.1 million in the first quarter of 2018, and $212.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2018.

 

Days sales outstanding in accounts receivable, or “DSO,” was 58 days in the first quarter of 2019, compared to 57 days in the first quarter of 2018, and 58 days in the fourth quarter of 2018.

 

Capital expenditures were $27.9 million, and depreciation and amortization expense was $51.0 million during the first quarter of 2019.

 

Juniper’s Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.19 per share to be paid on June 24, 2019 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on June 3, 2019.

 

Outlook

 

These metrics are provided on a non-GAAP basis, except for revenue and share count. Non-GAAP earnings per share is on a fully diluted basis. The outlook assumes that the exchange rate of the U.S. dollar to other currencies will remain relatively stable at current levels.

 

Our Q2 revenue outlook reflects normal seasonal trends.

 

We expect revenue to grow on a sequential basis beyond the second quarter. While we continue to expect better trends during the second half of the year, we do expect to see some impact from seasonality during the third quarter. We expect to return to year-over-year growth in the fourth quarter. We remain confident in the long-term financial model we outlined at our Investor Day in November last year.

 

Full year non-GAAP gross margins are expected to improve directionally with revenue volume from Q1'19 levels, and we believe non-GAAP gross margin for the year will be toward the mid-point of our long-term financial model.

 

We plan to manage our operating expenses prudently; however, we expect the Mist Systems acquisition to be dilutive in 2019. Based on our current forecast, we expect non-GAAP operating expenses on a full year basis to be flat to slightly up versus 2018.

 

For the remainder of 2019, we expect a non-GAAP tax rate lower than Q1'19 levels.

 

We expect higher interest income compared to the prior year.

 

Due to the acquisition of Mist Systems and a higher than anticipated tax rate, we expect non-GAAP earnings per share of $1.75 +/- $0.05 for 2019. If not for these items, our non-GAAP EPS guidance for the year would remain unchanged.

 

Our guidance for the quarter ending June 30, 2019 is as follows:

• Revenue will be approximately $1,100 million, plus or minus $30 million.

• Non-GAAP gross margin will be approximately 59.5%, plus or minus 1%.

• Non-GAAP operating expenses will be approximately $485 million, plus or minus $5 million.

• Non-GAAP operating margin will be approximately 15.5% at the midpoint of revenue guidance.

• Non-GAAP net income per share will be approximately $0.39, plus or minus $0.03. This assumes a share count of approximately 350 million.

 

All forward-looking non-GAAP measures exclude estimates for amortization of intangible assets, share-based compensation expenses, acquisition-related charges, restructuring benefits or charges, impairment charges, strategic partnership-related charges, legal reserve and settlement charges or benefits, supplier component remediation charges and recoveries, gain or loss on equity investments, retroactive impact of certain tax settlements, significant effects of tax legislation and judicial or administrative interpretation of tax regulations, including the impact of income tax reform, non-recurring income tax adjustments, valuation allowance on deferred tax assets, and the income tax effect of non-GAAP exclusions, and do not include the impact of tariffs and the impact of any future acquisitions, divestitures, or joint ventures that may occur in the period. Juniper is unable to provide a reconciliation of non-GAAP guidance measures to corresponding U.S. generally accepted accounting principles or GAAP measures on a forward-looking basis without unreasonable effort due to the overall high variability and low visibility of most of the foregoing items that have been excluded. For example, share-based compensation expense is impacted by the Company’s future hiring needs, the type and volume of equity awards necessary for such future hiring, and the price at which the Company’s stock will trade in those future periods. Amortization of intangible assets is significantly impacted by the timing and size of any future acquisitions. The items that are being excluded are difficult to predict and a reconciliation could result in disclosure that would be imprecise or potentially misleading. Material changes to any one of these items could have a significant effect on our guidance and future GAAP results. Certain exclusions, such as amortization of intangible assets and share-based compensation expenses, are generally incurred each quarter, but the amounts have historically and may continue to vary significantly from quarter to quarter.