AUSTIN, Texas, March 20, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Asure Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASUR), a leading provider of Human Capital Management (HCM) and workplace management software, reported results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2016. The company also reported pro forma unaudited results, which included results from the acquisition of Mangrove Software as if it was completed on January 1, 2015.

Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2016 Operational Highlights

• Appointed seasoned sales executive, Eyal Goldstein, to the new position of Chief Revenue Officer, and reorganized the sales team to optimize cloud sales for 2017.
   
• Total bookings for the fourth quarter of 2016 were up 13% year-over-year. For fiscal 2016, total bookings were up 11% compared to fiscal 2015.
   
• At quarter-end, backlog totaled $2.5 million, a 36% decrease compared to the prior quarter and a 10% decrease from the year-ago quarter as the company accelerated the movement of customers through the implementation process. The company continues to expect enterprise clients to move through the implementation process throughout 2017, which will result in conversion from backlog to reported revenue growth.
   
• Secured several new wins in the fourth quarter of 2016 across a range of industry verticals with leading enterprises, including Procter & Gamble Co. - P&G, Deutsche Bank AG, London, Genpact, Arrow Electronics, Rogers Communications Inc., Akron Children's Hospital and Pearson.
   
• Sold and installed Version 8 of core HCM software at 12 new customers during the fourth quarter of 2016.
   
• Cross-sell opportunities grew 46% from the third quarter of 2016, reflecting the increasing amount of synergies realized by the company since its acquisition of Mangrove Software in March 2016.
   
• Overall pipeline of deals increased 32% from the prior quarter, as the company continues to integrate its sales team to sell its entire suite of time and labor, workforce, and HCM solutions.
   
• Completed the phased rollout of facial recognition technology to more than 400 sites with strategic customer, PSSI, which eliminated employee and supervisor fraud and resulted in cost savings and leads to the next phase in all Canada locations.
   
• Brought COBRA solution in-house, developing tighter integration with Asure's HCM platform to fulfill the company's vision of a "Hire to Retire" complete solution.
   
• Further enhanced Asure's suite of solutions and expanded deployment of Internet of Things sensor technologies by more than 345% in 2016.

Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2016 Financial Results

• Revenue for the fourth quarter of 2016 increased 44% to $9.7 million from $6.8 million in the same year-ago quarter. On a pro forma basis, including the results from Mangrove Software as if the acquisition was completed on January 1, 2015, revenue increased 10% to $9.7 million from $8.8 million in the same year-ago quarter. For fiscal 2016, revenue increased 32% to $35.5 million from $26.9 million in fiscal 2015. On a pro forma basis, including the results from Mangrove Software as if the acquisition was completed on January 1, 2015, revenue increased 7% to $37.7 million as compared to $35.1 million in fiscal 2015.
   
• Recurring revenue for the fourth quarter of 2016 as a percent of total revenue was 73%, as compared to 76% in the fourth quarter of 2015. For fiscal 2016, recurring revenue as a percent of total revenue was 74% as compared to 75% in fiscal 2015.
   
• For the fourth quarter of 2016, cloud revenue increased 67%, on premise software revenue increased 574%, and hardware revenue increased 38% compared to the same year-ago quarter. For fiscal 2016, cloud revenue increased 51%, on premise software revenue increased 159%, and professional services revenue increased 42% from fiscal 2015.
   
• Gross margin for the fourth quarter of 2016 was $7.5 million (78% of total revenue), a 60% increase from $4.7 million (70% of total revenue) in the fourth quarter of 2015. For fiscal 2016, gross margin was $27.4 million (77% of total revenue) compared to $19.6 million (73% of total revenue) in fiscal 2015.
   
• EBITDA (Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization)* excluding one-time expenses* for the fourth quarter of 2016 totaled $2.2 million, an increase of 199% compared to $599,000 in the fourth quarter of 2015. For fiscal 2016, EBITDA* excluding one-time expenses* totaled $7.5 million, an increase of 101% compared to $3.7 million in fiscal 2015.
   
• Net income per diluted share (excluding one-time expenses*) for the fourth quarter of 2016 totaled $0.09, compared to a net loss per diluted share (excluding one-time expenses*) of $(0.08) in the fourth quarter of 2015. On a pro forma basis, including the results from Mangrove Software as if the acquisition was completed on January 1, 2015, net income per diluted share (excluding one-time expenses*) totaled $0.09, an improvement from net loss per diluted share (excluding one-time expenses*) of $(0.15) in the same year-ago quarter. For fiscal 2016, net income per diluted share (excluding one-time expenses*) was $0.24 compared to a net loss per diluted share (excluding one-time expenses*) of $(0.17) in fiscal 2015. On a pro forma basis, including the results from Mangrove Software as if the acquisition was completed on January 1, 2015, net income per diluted share (excluding one-time expenses*) totaled $0.26, an improvement from a net loss per diluted share (excluding one-time expenses*) of $(0.39) in fiscal 2015.

2017 Financial Outlook

Asure management reaffirmed its financial guidance for fiscal 2017 ending December 31, 2017 and introduced non-GAAP net income per share guidance:

Management Commentary

"Q4 was another strong quarter for us, highlighted by double-digit year-over-year growth in revenue, gross profit, EBITDA, and net income," said Asure CEO, Pat Goepel. "Our performance capped off a transformative year for the company, as highlighted by our acquisition of Mangrove Software, which significantly expanded our total addressable market opportunity. On top of this, we enhanced and unified our software platform, expanded our sales resources, and bolstered our balance sheet through the equity raise we completed last December.

"More recently, we closed three strategic tuck-in acquisitions in January, which has enabled us to add to our rich technology, product platform, and growing sales team. From an organic growth perspective, we have focused heavily on training our salesforce to sell our entire application suite, which we expect will help shorten sales cycles, as we develop an even greater amount of touch points with our clients. We're also actively looking to build strategic channel partnerships with large software companies and other organizations that don't have competitive products, leveraging inherent synergies between HCM's employee-rich data and workspace management's facilities-rich data.

"When we look back at the accomplishments and progress we've achieved throughout the period, 2016 will go down as one of the most pivotal years in Asure's history. However, the groundwork has only just been laid. Going forward, we will build on this platform by continuing to invest in our sales and marketing teams while building on our channel partnerships to expand our presence in our key growth markets, such as HCM. We expect this to drive strong organic growth, but will also be focused on supplementing this with strategic acquisitions that will help us scale even further, we believe we are in a good position to achieve our guidance for 2017."

Conference Call Details

Asure management will host a conference call today at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time (10:00 a.m. Central time) to discuss these financial results and outlook. Asure CEO Pat Goepel and CFO Brad Wolfe will host the presentation, followed by a question and answer period.

Date: Monday, March 20, 2017
Time: 11:00 a.m. Eastern time (10:00 a.m. Central time)
U.S. dial-in: 877-853-5636
International dial-in: 631-291-4544
Conference ID: 81040936

Please call the conference telephone number ten minutes prior to the start time. An operator will register your name and organization. If you have any difficulty connecting with the conference call, please contact Liolios Group at 949-574-3860.

The conference call will be broadcasted live and available for replay via the investor section of the company's website.

About Asure Software  

Asure Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASUR), headquartered in Austin, Texas, offers intuitive and innovative technologies that enable companies of all sizes and complexities to operate more efficiently. We help build companies of the future. Our cloud platform has helped more than 7,500 clients worldwide to better manage their people and space for a mobile, digital, multi-generational, and global organization. Asure Software's suite of solutions range from HCM workforce management solutions, time and attendance to workspace asset optimization and meeting room management solutions. For more information, please visit www.asuresoftware.com.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:

Statements in this press release regarding Asure's business which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. Such risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements.

*Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This press release includes the following financial measures defined as non-GAAP financial measures by the Securities and Exchange Commission: EBITDA and GAAP Net Income/(Loss) excluding one-time expenses. These supplemental financial measures are not required by GAAP, nor is the presentation of this financial information intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. Management recognizes that non-GAAP financial measures have limitations in that they do not reflect all of the Expenses associated with Asure's earnings results as determined in accordance with GAAP. However, for the reasons described below, management uses these non-GAAP measures to evaluate the performance of Asure's business. Asure's management believes that it is important to provide investors with these same tools, together with reconciliation to GAAP, for evaluating the performance of Asure's business, as it may provide additional insight into Asure's financial results. See the "Reconciliation of GAAP Net Income/(Loss) to Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, Amortization and Stock Compensation Expense (EBITDA)" and the "Reconciliation of GAAP Net Income/(Loss) to Net Earnings Excluding One-Time Expenses" tables included in this press release for further information regarding these non-GAAP financial measures. In addition, these measures are presented because management believes they are frequently used by securities analysts, investors and others in the evaluation of companies. EBITDA is calculated by adding income taxes, interest expense, depreciation and amortization and stock compensation expense to net earnings. EBITDA is not defined under GAAP and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for net earnings and other consolidated earnings data prepared in accordance with GAAP or as a measure of Asure's profitability.

Net Earnings Excluding One-Time Expenses is calculated by combining the company's GAAP Net Earnings, or earnings per share, with expenses that are one time in nature and are not expected to recur on a dollar or per share basis.

Free Cash Flow is computed by subtracting capital expenditures from cash flow from operations, each as determined in accordance with GAAP and as reflected in the statement of cash flows.

Reconciliation of GAAP Net Earnings to Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, Amortization and Stock Compensation Expense (EBITDA) and EBITDA Excluding One-time Expenses.

FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED

FOR THE TWELVE MONTHS ENDED

Reconciliation of GAAP Net Income (Loss) to Net Income Excluding One-time Expenses

FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED

FOR THE TWELVE MONTHS ENDED

Company Contact:
Brad Wolfe, CFO
Asure Software, Inc.
888-323-8835
bwolfe@asuresoftware.com

Investor Relations Contact:
Matt Glover and Najim Mostamand
Liolios Group, Inc.
949-574-3860
ASUR@liolios.com