Pitney Bowes reports record revenue in Q4

Link to full report

E-commerce and parcel solutions provider Pitney Bowes (NYSE: PBI) Tuesday reported consolidated revenue exceeded $1 billion for the fourth quarter of 2020, a 24% year-over-year increase.

“Revenue growth was the highest modern-day, organic growth rate on record for us,” Marc B. Lautenbach, president and CEO at Pitney Bowes, said in a statement.

Earnings per share did dip to 13 cents in the fourth quarter from 14 cents per share in Q4 of 2019.

Global e-commerce for Pitney Bowes in the fourth quarter of 2020 was reported at $518 million, 60% higher year-over-year than the $324 million posted in 2019.

Unprecedented e-commerce growth led to inflated transportation and labor costs, Lautenbach said on the earnings call Tuesday. He said the company more than doubled labor and set up three new facilities to meet demand. To compensate for the increase in expenses such as labor, Pitney Bowes increased shipping rates, according to Lautenbach.

He said the company is prioritizing leaving the pandemic stronger than it was when it went in.

“Even with the tremendous uncertainty in our economy and how the pandemic will play out, we are now poised to enter this next chapter of our transformation — profitable revenue growth. While I am proud of what the team has accomplished, we all recognize there is more work to do, and we are ready,” said Lautenbach.

Looking ahead to 2021

Pitney Bowes’ earnings statement said it “expects annual revenue to grow over prior year in the low-to-mid-single-digit range, making 2021 the fifth consecutive year of constant currency growth. The company expects adjusted EPS to grow over [the] prior year. The company also expects lower free cash flow primarily due to the changes in certain working capital items that benefited 2020 and are not expected to continue at the same level in 2021.”