LiveRamp (RAMP) Q4 2019 earnings summary

Executive summary

• FY19 revenue rose 29.8% to $285.6M; subscription revenue grew 37.6% to $236.7M, driven by new customers and upsell.

• The October 2018 AMS sale reshaped operations around a single identity and data-connectivity platform; the $1.7B sale gain drove reported net earnings of $1.03B.

• Direct customers grew more than 20%; the platform served over 665 direct customers and connected to an ecosystem of more than 600 partners.

Financial highlights

• FY19 revenue was $285.6M, up 29.8% YoY; subscription revenue increased 37.6% to $236.7M and Marketplace and Other revenue rose 1.8% to $48.9M.

• Gross profit rose to $164.9M from $123.7M; gross margin expanded to 57.7% from 56.2%.

• Operating loss widened to $198.1M from $133.5M; continuing-operations net loss increased to $133.9M from $67.3M.

• Net earnings were $1.03B, or $13.71 diluted EPS, including the AMS sale gain; continuing-operations diluted loss was $1.79 per share.

• Operating expenses rose 41.1% to $363.0M, including $102.7M in non-cash stock compensation and $19.9M in restructuring and other charges.

Outlook and guidance

• Long-term goal: build a $1B business by FY24, supported by customer expansion, broader use-case adoption, product innovation and a larger addressable market.

• FY20 R&D investment was expected to remain near FY19's $85.7M level.

• Growth priorities included expanding upsell, establishing connected data as an industry standard, and extending beyond digital media through Data Store, LiveRamp TV, B2B and second-party data.