Demand Media Earnings: $86.2 Million In Revenue

Demand Media just released its first quarter 2012 results, posting record first quarter revenue and raising 2012 guidance. For the quarter, ended March 31, total revenue was up 8% year-over-year, to $...
Demand Media Earnings: $86.2 Million In Revenue
Written by Chris Crum
  • Demand Media just released its first quarter 2012 results, posting record first quarter revenue and raising 2012 guidance. For the quarter, ended March 31, total revenue was up 8% year-over-year, to $86.2 million

    CEO Richard Rosenblatt said, “Driven by continued growth across our businesses, our first quarter revenue exceeded our seasonally strong Q4 2011 results. We are pleased with our first quarter results and remain focused on investing in our long-term growth initiatives, including enhancing the quality of our Owned & Operated properties, expanding our content distribution channels and partnerships, and pursuing new generic Top Level Domain opportunities.”

    It was the second quarter in a row in which eHow saw revenue growth. The company’s free cash flow was also greatly impacted (increased by $11.8 million YoY) by the company’s decreased content spend on eHow.

    According to the report, eHow ranked as the #17 website in the US in March 2012, up from #19 in July 2011. LIVESTRONG.COM/eHow Health continued to rank as the #3 Health property in the US based on unique visits throughout the first quarter of 2012, it says.

    Another major point of interest:

    Owned & Operated page views increased 22% year-over-year, driven primarily by strong traffic growth to Cracked.com and LIVESTRONG.COM, partially offset by lower year-over-year eHow.com page views due to early 2011 search algorithm changes.

    That would be Google’s Panda update. During its last earnings call, however, the company said it had not been impacted by a Google algorithm change since July. We’ll be listening to today’s call, and will see what they have to say about it this time. Stay tuned.

    For now, here’s the release in its entirety:

    SANTA MONICA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–May. 8, 2012– Demand Media, Inc. (NYSE: DMD), a leading content and social media company, today reported financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2012 and raised its previously issued fiscal 2012 financial guidance.

    “Driven by continued growth across our businesses, our first quarter revenue exceeded our seasonally strong Q4 2011 results,” said Richard Rosenblatt, Chairman and CEO of Demand Media. “We are pleased with our first quarter results and remain focused on investing in our long-term growth initiatives, including enhancing the quality of our Owned & Operated properties, expanding our content distribution channels and partnerships, and pursuing new generic Top Level Domain opportunities.”

    Financial Summary
    In millions, except per share amounts
    Three months ended March 31,
    2011 2012 Change
    Total Revenue $ 79.5 $ 86.2 8 %
    Content & Media Revenue ex-TAC(1) $ 48.7 $ 50.6 4 %
    Registrar Revenue 27.7 32.3 17 %
    Total Revenue ex-TAC(1) $ 76.3 $ 82.9 9 %
    Income (loss) from Operations(2) $ (4.2 ) $ (2.9 ) NA
    Adjusted EBITDA(1) $ 20.1 $ 21.9 9 %
    Net income (loss)(2) $ (5.6 ) $ (1.8 ) NA
    Adjusted net income(1) $ 5.1 $ 5.9 17 %
    EPS(2) $ (0.13 ) $ (0.02 ) NA
    Adjusted EPS(1) $ 0.06 $ 0.07 17 %
    Cash Flow from Operations $ 19.2 $ 18.5 (4 )%
    Free Cash Flow(1) $ (0.1 ) $ 11.8 NA
    (1) Non-GAAP measures are described below and reconciled to their comparable GAAP measures in the accompanying tables. Effective Q1 2012, the Company is reporting Adjusted EBITDA instead of Adjusted OIBDA. Reconciliations for both measures are presented on the Company’s investor relations site.
    (2) Q1 2012 loss from operations and net loss include $1.8 million of accelerated non-cash amortization expense associated with content intangible assets removed from service in conjunction with the Company’s previously announced plan to improve its content creation and distribution platform.

    Q1 2012 Financial Summary:

    • Content & Media revenue ex-TAC grew 4% year-over-year and increased 1% compared to the fourth quarter of 2011. Year-over-year comparisons were impacted by early 2011 search algorithm changes. The 1% sequential improvement included the second consecutive quarter of revenue growth for eHow.
    • Registrar revenue grew 17% year-over-year and 3% compared to the fourth quarter of 2011. During the first quarter of 2012, the number of registered domains grew by a net 593,000 compared to 442,000 in the first quarter of 2011, due to growth from new partners and organic growth from resellers.
    • Loss from operations and net loss include $1.8 million of accelerated non-cash amortization expense associated with content intangible assets removed from service in conjunction with the Company’s previously announced plan to improve its content creation and distribution platform.
    • Free cash flow increased by $11.8 million year-over-year. The increase was driven by an 81% reduction of investment in intangible assets to $2.7 million. The intangible assets investment decline was the result of planned decreased content spend on eHow as the Company continued to make improvements to its content creation and distribution platform.

    “Our first quarter growth and significant free cash flow marks a great start for 2012, particularly in light of a tough year-over-year comparison due to early 2011 search algorithm changes,” said Charles Hilliard, President and CFO. “Demand Media’s increased guidance reflects our first quarter performance, our improved outlook for the remainder of 2012 and, for the first time in more than a year, a return to accelerating year-over-year revenue growth beginning in Q2.”

    Business Highlights:

    • In April 2012, Demand Media invested $18 million in pursuit of its generic Top Level Domain (“gTLD”) initiative, which it believes represents a complementary strategic growth opportunity for its Registrar services.
    • On a consolidated basis, Demand Media ranked as a top 20 US web property throughout the first quarter of 2012, ranking as #18 in March 2012(1). Demand Media’s worldwide unique users exceeded 104 million in March 2012(1).
    • On a standalone basis, eHow.com ranked as the #17 website in the US in March 2012, up from #19 inJuly 2011(1).
    • LIVESTRONG.COM/eHow Health continued to rank as the #3 Health property in the US based on unique visits throughout the first quarter of 2012(1). In May 2012, LIVESTRONG.COM won the People’s Voice Webby award for Health Websites.
    • Cracked.com continued its ranking as the most visited humor site in the US throughout the first quarter of 2012(1), and more time was spent on the site than any other humor website(1). In May 2012, Cracked.com won the People’s Voice Webby award for Humor Websites.
    • In February 2012, Demand Media introduced its innovative Social Feed ads, which allow advertisers to deliver customized social media content directly into their live rich media ads.
    • In March 2012, Demand Media launched the eHow.com Tech channel, with RadioShack as its lead sponsor, to help users master everyday tech-related tasks and projects.
    • In April 2012, Demand Media launched eHow Pets, the third major channel in its partnership withYouTube.
    • During the first quarter of 2012, Demand Media repurchased 421,000 shares of common stock for $3 million under its Board-authorized $50 million share repurchase program. Since the program’s inception, the Company has repurchased 2.8 million shares of common stock for $20 million.

    (1) Source: comScore.

    Operating Metrics:

    Three months ended March 31,
    2011 2012
    Change
    Content & Media Metrics:
    Owned and operated
    Page views(1) (in millions) 2,582 3,142 22 %
    RPM(2) $ 15.69 $ 12.52 (20 )%
    Network of customer websites
    Page views(1) (in millions) 3,766 4,722 25 %
    RPM(2) $ 3.01 $ 3.10 3 %
    RPM ex-TAC(3) $ 2.16 $ 2.38 10 %
    Registrar Metrics:
    End of Period # of Domains(4) (in millions) 11.4 13.3 16 %
    Average Revenue per Domain(5) $ 9.88 $ 9.94 1 %

    ____________________

    (1) Page views represent the total number of web pages viewed across (a) our owned and operated websites and/or (b) our network of customer websites, to the extent that the viewed customer web pages host the Company’s content, social media and/or monetization services.
    (2) RPM is defined as Content & Media revenue per one thousand page views.
    (3) RPM ex-TAC is defined as Content & Media Revenue ex-TAC per one thousand page views.
    (4) Domain is defined as an individual domain name paid for by a third-party customer where the domain name is managed through our Registrar service offering.
    (5) Average revenue per domain is calculated by dividing Registrar revenue for a period by the average number of domains registered in that period. Average revenue per domain for partial year periods is annualized.

    Beginning July 1, 2011, the number of net new domains has been adjusted to include only new registered domains added to our platform for which the Company has recognized revenue. Excluding the impact of this change, end of period # of domains at March 31, 2012 and average revenue per domain during the three months ended March 31, 2012 would have increased 20% and decreased 4%, respectively, compared to the corresponding prior-year periods.

    Q1 2012 Operating Metrics:

    • Owned & Operated page views increased 22% year-over-year, driven primarily by strong traffic growth to Cracked.com and LIVESTRONG.COM, partially offset by lower year-over-year eHow.com page views due to early 2011 search algorithm changes. The mix shift in page view growth to relatively lower RPM properties in Q1 2012 resulted in a 20% year-over-year decline in RPM.
    • Network page views grew 25% year-over-year, primarily due to the acquisition of IndieClick in August 2011, which generated 1.6 billion page views during the quarter ended March 31, 2012, offset partly by a decline in page views associated with certain of our social media customers. Network RPM ex-TAC increased 10% year-over-year, reflecting higher RPMs from YouTube Channels that more than offset lower RPMs from IndieClick.
    • End of period domains increased 16% to 13.3 million year-over-year, driven by the addition of higher volume customers and growth from existing resellers, with average revenue per domain increasing by 1%.

    Business Outlook

    The following forward-looking information includes certain projections made by management as of the date of this press release. The Company does not intend to revise or update this information, except as required by law, and may not provide this type of information in the future. Due to a variety of factors, actual results may differ significantly from those projected. The factors that may affect results include, without limitation, the factors referenced later in this announcement under the caption “Cautionary Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.” These and other factors are discussed in more detail in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

    Excluding up to $4 million of 2012 expenses that the Company expects to incur related to the formation of its generic Top Level Domain (“gTLD”) initiative, the Company’s guidance for the second quarter endingJune 30, 2012 and fiscal year ending December 31, 2012 is as follows:

    Second Quarter 2012

    • Revenue in the range of $89.0 – $91.0 million
    • Revenue ex-TAC in the range of $85.0 – $87.0 million
    • Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $22.0 – $23.0 million
    • Adjusted EPS in the range of $0.07 – $0.08 per share
    • Weighted average diluted shares of 86.0 – 87.0 million

    Full Year 2012

    • Revenue in the range of $361.0 – $367.0 million
    • Revenue ex-TAC in the range of $347.0 – $353.0 million
    • Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $96.0 – $99.0 million
    • Adjusted EPS in the range of $0.33 – $0.35 per share
    • Weighted average diluted shares of 86.5 – 87.5 million

    Conference Call and Webcast Information

    Demand Media will host a corresponding conference call and live webcast at 5:00 p.m. Eastern timetoday. To access the conference call, dial 877.565.1268 (for domestic participants) or 937.999.3108 (for international participants). The conference ID is 74265713. To participate on the live call, analysts should dial-in at least 10-minutes prior to the commencement of the call. A live webcast also will be available on the Investor Relations section of the Company’s corporate website at http://ir.demandmedia.com and via replay beginning approximately two hours after the completion of the call.

    About Non-GAAP Financial Measures

    To supplement our consolidated financial statements, which are prepared and presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”), we use certain non-GAAP financial measures described below. The presentation of this additional financial information is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. For more information on these non-GAAP financial measures, please see the tables captioned “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures to Unaudited Consolidated Statements of Operations” included in this release.

    Effective Q1 2012, the Company is reporting Adjusted EBITDA instead of Adjusted OIBDA. While the dollar value of each measure is the same, a comparison of the historical reconciliation of both measures is provided in our supplemental financial schedules posted on the investor relations section of our corporate site. The non-GAAP financial measures presented in this release are the primary measures used by the Company’s management and board of directors to understand and evaluate its financial performance and operating trends, including period to period comparisons, to prepare and approve its annual budget and to develop short and long term operational plans. Additionally, Adjusted EBITDA is the primary measure used by the compensation committee of the Company’s board of directors to establish the funding targets for and fund its annual employee bonus pool. We believe our presented non-GAAP financial measures are useful to investors both because (1) they allow for greater transparency with respect to key metrics used by management in its financial and operational decision making and (2) management frequently uses them in its discussions with investors, commercial bankers, securities analysts and other users of its financial statements.

    Revenue ex-TAC is defined by the Company as GAAP revenue less traffic acquisition costs (“TAC”). TAC comprises the portion of Content & Media GAAP revenue shared with the Company’s network customers. Management believes that Revenue ex-TAC is a meaningful measure of operating performance because it is frequently used for internal managerial purposes and helps facilitate a more complete period-to-period understanding of factors and trends affecting the Company’s underlying revenue performance.

    Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“Adjusted EBITDA”) is defined by the Company as net income (loss) before income tax expense, other income (expense), interest expense (income), depreciation, amortization, stock-based compensation, as well as the financial impact of acquisition and realignment costs, the formation expenses directly related to its generic Top Level Domain (“gTLD”) initiative, and any gains or losses on certain asset sales or dispositions. Acquisition and realignment costs include such items, when applicable, as (1) non-cash GAAP purchase accounting adjustments for certain deferred revenue and costs, (2) legal, accounting and other professional fees directly attributable to acquisition activity, and (3) employee severance payments attributable to acquisition or corporate realignment activities. Management does not consider these expenses to be indicative of the Company’s ongoing operating results or future outlook.

    Management believes that these non-GAAP measures reflect the Company’s business in a manner that allows for meaningful period to period comparisons and analysis of trends. In particular, the exclusion of certain expenses in calculating Adjusted EBITDA can provide a useful measure for period to period comparisons of the Company’s underlying recurring revenue and operating costs which is focused more closely on the current costs necessary to utilize previously acquired long-lived assets. In addition, management believes that it can be useful to exclude certain non-cash charges because the amount of such expenses is the result of long-term investment decisions in previous periods rather than day-to-day operating decisions. For example, due to the long-lived nature of a majority of its media content, the revenue generated by the Company’s content assets in a given period bears little relationship to the amount of its investment in content in that same period. Accordingly, management believes that content acquisition costs represent a discretionary long-term capital investment decision undertaken at a point in time. This investment decision is clearly distinguishable from other ongoing business activities, and its discretionary nature and long-term impact differentiate it from specific period transactions, decisions regarding day-to-day operations, and activities that would have an immediate impact on operating or financial performance if materially changed, deferred or terminated.

    Adjusted Earnings Per Share is defined by the Company as Adjusted Net Income divided by the weighted average number of shares outstanding. Adjusted Net Income is defined by the Company as net income (loss) before the effect of stock-based compensation, amortization of intangible assets acquired via business combinations, accelerated amortization of intangible assets removed from service, acquisition and realignment costs, the formation expenses directly related to its generic Top Level Domain(“gTLD”) initiative, and any gains or losses on certain asset sales or dispositions, and is calculated using the application of a normalized effective tax rate. Acquisition and realignment costs include such items, when applicable, as (1) non-cash GAAP purchase accounting adjustments for certain deferred revenue and costs, (2) legal, accounting and other professional fees directly attributable to acquisition activity, and (3) employee severance payments attributable to acquisition or corporate realignment activities. Management does not consider these expenses to be indicative of the Company’s ongoing operating results or future outlook.

    Management believes that Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Earnings Per Share provide investors with additional useful information to measure the Company’s underlying financial performance, particularly from period to period, because these measures are exclusive of certain non-cash expenses not directly related to the operation of its ongoing business (such as amortization of intangible assets acquired via business combinations, as well as certain other non-cash expenses such as purchase accounting adjustments and stock-based compensation) and include a normalized effective tax rate based on the Company’s statutory tax rate.

    Discretionary Free Cash Flow is defined by the Company as net cash provided by operating activities excluding cash outflows from acquisition and realignment activities, and the formation expenses directly related to its generic Top Level Domain (“gTLD”) initiative, less capital expenditures to acquire property and equipment. Free Cash Flow is defined by the Company as Discretionary Free Cash Flow less investments in intangible assets. Management believes that Discretionary Free Cash Flow and Free Cash Flow provide investors with additional useful information to measure operating liquidity because they reflect the Company’s underlying cash flows from recurring operating activities after investing in capital assets and intangible assets. These measures are used by management, and may also be useful for investors, to assess the Company’s ability to generate cash flow for a variety of strategic opportunities, including reinvestment in the business, potential acquisitions, payment of dividends and share repurchases.

    The use of these non-GAAP financial measures has certain limitations because they do not reflect all items of income and expense, or cash flows that affect the Company’s operations. An additional limitation of these non-GAAP financial measures is that they do not have standardized meanings, and therefore other companies may use the same or similarly-named measures but exclude different items or use different computations. Management compensates for these limitations by reconciling these non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measures within its financial press releases. Non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for, measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. Further, these non-GAAP financial measures may differ from the non-GAAP information used by other companies, including peer companies, and therefore comparability may be limited. We encourage investors and others to review our financial information in its entirety and not rely on a single financial measure. The accompanying tables have more details on the GAAP financial measures and the related reconciliations.

    About Demand Media

    Demand Media, Inc. (NYSE: DMD) is a leading content and social media company that informs and entertains one of the Internet’s largest audiences, helps advertisers find innovative ways to engage with their customers and enables publishers to expand their online presence. Headquartered in Santa Monica, CA, Demand Media has offices in North America, South America and Europe. For more information aboutDemand Media, please visit www.demandmedia.com

    Cautionary Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

    This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties regarding the Company’s future financial performance, and are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry, financial condition, operating performance and results of operations, including certain assumptions related thereto. Statements containing words such as “guidance,” “may,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “project,” “projections,” “business outlook,” and “estimate” or similar expressions constitute forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from the results predicted, and reported results should not be considered an indication of future performance. Potential risks and uncertainties include, among others: changes in the methodologies of Internet search engines, including ongoing algorithmic changes made byGoogle to its search results as well as possible future changes, and the impact such changes may have on page view growth and driving search related traffic to our owned and operated websites and the websites of our network customers; changes in our content creation and distribution platform, including the possible repurposing of content to alternate distribution channels, or the sale or removal of content; our ability to successfully launch, produce and monetize new content formats; the inherent challenges of estimating the overall impact on page views and search driven traffic to our owned and operated websites based on the data available to us as Google continues to make adjustments to its search algorithms; our ability to compete with new or existing competitors; our ability to maintain or increase our advertising revenue; our ability to continue to drive and grow traffic to our owned and operated websites and the websites of our network customers; our ability to effectively monetize our portfolio of content; our dependence on material agreements with a specific business partner for a significant portion of our revenue; future internal rates of return on content investment and our decision to invest in different types of content in the future, including video and other formats of text content; our ability to attract and retain freelance creative professionals; changes in our level of investment in media content intangibles; the effects of changes in marketing expenditures or shifts in marketing expenditures; the effects of seasonality on traffic to our owned and operated websites and the websites of our network customers; our ability to continue to add partners to our registrar platform on competitive terms; our ability to successfully pursue and implement our gTLD initiative; changes in stock-based compensation; changes in amortization or depreciation expense due to a variety of factors; potential write downs, reserves against or impairment of assets including receivables, goodwill, intangibles, and media content or other assets; changes in tax laws, our business or other factors that would impact anticipated tax benefits or expenses; our ability to successfully identify, consummate and integrate acquisitions, including integrating our recent acquisitions; our ability to retain key customers and key personnel; risks associated with litigation; the impact of governmental regulation; and the effects of discontinuing or discontinued business operations. From time to time, we may consider acquisitions or divestitures that, if consummated, could be material. Any forward-looking statements regarding financial metrics are based upon the assumption that no such acquisition or divestiture is consummated during the relevant periods. If an acquisition or divestiture were consummated, actual results could differ materially from any forward-looking statements. More information about potential risk factors that could affect our operating and financial results are contained in our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2011 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (http://www.sec.gov) on February 24, 2012, and as such risk factors may be updated in our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, without limitation, information under the captions “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”

    Furthermore, as discussed above, the Company does not intend to revise or update the information set forth in this press release, except as required by law, and may not provide this type of information in the future.

    Demand Media, Inc. and Subsidiaries

    Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations

    (In thousands, except per share amounts)

    Three months ended March 31,
    2011 2012
    Revenue $ 79,523 $ 86,234
    Operating expenses
    Service costs (exclusive of amortization of intangible assets shown separately below) (1) (2) 37,654 41,262
    Sales and marketing (1) (2) 9,583 10,393
    Product development (1) (2) 9,251 10,124
    General and administrative (1) (2) 17,024 15,395
    Amortization of intangible assets 10,203 11,956
    Total operating expenses 83,715 89,130
    Income (loss) from operations (4,192 ) (2,896 )
    Other income (expense)
    Interest income 42 15
    Interest expense (162 ) (137 )
    Other income (expense), net (257 ) (19 )
    Total other expense (377 ) (141 )
    Income (loss) before income taxes (4,569 ) (3,037 )
    Income tax expense (1,013 ) 1,195
    Net loss $ (5,582 ) $ (1,842 )
    (1) Stock-based compensation expense included in the line items above:
    Service costs $ 237 $ 708
    Sales and marketing 900 1,536
    Product development 1,116 1,688
    General and administrative 6,674 3,459
    Total stock-based compensation expense $ 8,927 $ 7,391
    (2) Depreciation included in the line items above:
    Service costs $ 4,044 $ 3,650
    Sales and marketing 72 134
    Product development 321 282
    General and administrative 572 898
    Total depreciation $ 5,009 $ 4,964
    Loss per common share:
    Net loss $ (5,582 ) $ (1,842 )
    Cumulative preferred stock dividends (3) (2,477 )
    Net loss attributable to common stockholders $ (8,059 ) $ (1,842 )
    Basic and diluted net loss per share $ (0.13 ) $ (0.02 )
    Weighted average number of shares 63,759 82,942
    (3) As a result of the Company’s initial public offering which was completed on January 31, 2011, all shares of the Company’s preferred stock were converted to common stock.
    Demand Media, Inc. and Subsidiaries

    Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

    (In thousands)

    December 31,
    2011
    March 31, 
    2012
    Current assets
    Cash and cash equivalents $ 86,035 $ 95,568
    Accounts receivable, net 32,665 32,323
    Prepaid expenses and other current assets 8,656 7,995
    Deferred registration costs 50,636 56,540
    Total current assets 177,992 192,426
    Property and equipment, net 32,626 34,481
    Intangible assets, net 111,304 101,864
    Goodwill 256,060 256,060
    Deferred registration costs 9,555 11,249
    Other long-term assets 2,566 4,239
    Total assets $ 590,103 $ 600,319
    Liabilities, Convertible Preferred Stock and Stockholders’ Equity
    Current liabilities
    Accounts payable $ 10,046 $ 7,871
    Accrued expenses and other current liabilities 33,932 33,706
    Deferred tax liabilities 18,288 18,663
    Deferred revenue 71,109 76,844
    Total current liabilities 133,375 137,084
    Deferred revenue 14,802 16,540
    Other liabilities 1,660 3,160
    Total liabilities 149,837 156,784
    Stockholders’ equity
    Common stock and additional paid-in capital 528,042 536,150
    Treasury stock (17,064 ) (20,055 )
    Accumulated other comprehensive income 59 53
    Accumulated deficit (70,771 ) (72,613 )
    Total stockholders’ equity 440,266 443,535
    Total liabilities, convertible preferred stock and stockholders’ equity $ 590,103 $ 600,319
    Demand Media, Inc. and Subsidiaries

    Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

    (In thousands)

    Three months ended March 31,
    2011 2012
    Cash flows from operating activities:
    Net loss $ (5,582 ) $ (1,842 )
    Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating activities:
    Depreciation and amortization 15,212 16,920
    Stock-based compensation 8,836 7,391
    Other 855 (1,420 )
    Net change in operating assets and liabilities, net of effect of acquisitions (101 ) (2,571 )
    Net cash provided by operating activities 19,220 18,478
    Cash flows from investing activities:
    Purchases of property and equipment (5,084 ) (4,321 )
    Purchases of intangibles (14,204 ) (2,703 )
    Cash paid for acquisitions (3,839 ) (243 )
    Net cash used in investing activities (23,127 ) (7,267 )
    Cash flows from financing activities:
    Proceeds from issuance of common stock, net 78,874
    Repurchases of common stock (2,990 )
    Proceeds from exercises of stock options and contributions to ESPP 851 2,115
    Other (108 ) (796 )
    Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities 79,617 (1,671 )
    Effect of foreign currency on cash and cash equivalents 8 (7 )
    Change in cash and cash equivalents 75,718 9,533
    Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period 32,338 86,035
    Cash and cash equivalents, end of period $ 108,056 $ 95,568
    Demand Media, Inc. and Subsidiaries

    Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Measures to Unaudited Consolidated Statements of Operations

    (In thousands, except per share amounts)

    Three months ended March 31,
    2011 2012
    Revenue ex-TAC:
    Content & Media revenue $ 51,852 $ 53,963
    Less: traffic acquisition costs (TAC) (3,190 ) (3,379 )
    Content & Media Revenue ex-TAC 48,662 50,584
    Registrar revenue 27,671 32,271
    Total Revenue ex-TAC $ 76,333 $ 82,855
    Adjusted EBITDA(1):
    Net loss $ (5,582 ) $ (1,842 )
    Income tax expense/(benefit) 1,013 (1,195 )
    Interest and other expense, net 377 141
    Depreciation and amortization(2) 15,212 16,920
    Stock-based compensation 8,927 7,391
    Acquisition and realignment costs(3) 133 61
    gTLD expense(4) 429
    Adjusted EBITDA $ 20,080 $ 21,905
    Discretionary and Total Free Cash Flow:
    Net cash provided by operating activities $ 19,220 $ 18,478
    Purchases of property and equipment (5,084 ) (4,321 )
    gTLD expense cash flows(4) 314
    Discretionary Free Cash Flow 14,136 14,471
    Purchases of intangible assets (14,204 ) (2,703 )
    Free Cash Flow $ (68 ) $ 11,768
    Adjusted Net Income:
    GAAP net income (loss) $ (5,582 ) $ (1,842 )
    (a) Stock-based compensation 8,927 7,391
    (b) Amortization of intangible assets – M&A 3,733 2,929
    (c) Content intangible assets removed from service(2) 1,818
    (d) Acquisition and realignment costs(3) 133 61
    (e) gTLD expense(4) 429
    (f) Income tax effect of items (a) – (e) & application of 38% statutory tax rate to pre-tax income (2,112 ) (4,840 )
    Adjusted Net Income $ 5,099 $ 5,946
    Non-GAAP Adjusted Net Income per share – diluted $ 0.06 $ 0.07
    Shares used to calculate non-GAAP Adjusted Net Income per share – diluted (5) 89,861 85,540
    (1) Effective Q1 2012, the Company is reporting Adjusted EBITDA instead of Adjusted OIBDA. While the dollar value of each measure does not differ, a comparison of the historical reconciliation of both measures is provided in our supplemental financial schedules posted on our investor relations site.
    (2) In conjunction with its previously announced plans to improve its content creation and distribution platform, the Company elected to remove certain content assets from service, resulting in $1.8 million of accelerated amortization expense in the first quarter of 2012.
    (3) Acquisition and realignment costs include non-cash purchase accounting adjustments, acquisition-related legal and accounting professional fees and employee severance payments attributable to corporate realignment activities. Management does not consider these costs to be indicative of the Company’s core operating results.
    (4) Comprises formation expenses directly related to the Company’s gTLDs initiative that is not expected to generate associated revenue in 2012.
    (5) Shares used to calculate non-GAAP Adjusted Net Income per share – diluted include the weighted average common stock and restricted stock for the periods presented and all dilutive common stock equivalent at each period. Amounts have been adjusted in 2011 to reflect the revised capital structure following the Company’s initial public offering which was completed on January 31, 2011, whereby the Company issued 5,175 shares of common stock and converted certain warrants and all of the convertible preferred stock into 62,155 shares of common stock as if those transactions were consummated on January 1, 2011.
    Demand Media, Inc. and Subsidiaries

    Unaudited GAAP Revenue, by Revenue Source

    (In thousands)

    Three months ended March 31,
    2011 2012
    Content & Media:
    Owned and operated websites $ 40,524 $ 39,348
    Network of customer websites   11,328   14,615
    Total revenue – Content & Media   51,852   53,963
    Registrar   27,671   32,271
    Total revenue $ 79,523 $ 86,234
    Three months ended March 31,
    2011 2012
    Content & Media:
    Owned and operated websites   51 %   46 %
    Network of customer websites   14 %   17 %
    Total revenue – Content & Media   65 %   63 %
    Registrar   35 %   37 %
    Total revenue   100 %   100 %

     

    Source: Demand Media, Inc.

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