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Simulations Plus (SLP) Q4 Earnings Flat Y/Y, Revenues Beat

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Simulations Plus’ (SLP - Free Report) fourth-quarter fiscal 2020 earnings of 11 cents per share remained flat on a year-over-year basis. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at 10 cents.

Moreover, revenues of $9.54 million surpassed the consensus mark by 0.85% and improved 18.9% year over year. Organic revenue growth was 7%.

Software revenues accounted for 52% of the company’s total revenues and grew 24% year over year to $4.7 million. Organic software revenues remained flat at $3.8 million on a year-over-year basis. Meanwhile, Consulting revenues increased 14% year over year to $4.8 million.

Moreover, consulting backlog at the end of fiscal 2020 was more than $10 million.

However, the company witnessed difficulty in winning new business during the quarter due to disruption caused by the pandemic. Notably, software renewal rate for the quarter of 88% was lower owing to seasonality and coronavirus crisis induced business uncertainty.

Nevertheless, software renewal rate for fiscal 2020 came in at 93%.

Year-to-Date Price Performance



Notably, on a year-to-date basis, shares of Simulations Plus have surged 133.8%, compared with the industry’s rise of 31.4%.

Operating Details

Gross margin in the quarter under review was 72%, up approximately 100 basis points (bps) year over year. Software gross margin was 82% in this seasonally weak revenue growth quarter. Moreover, consulting gross margin came in at 62%.

Total operating expenses as a percentage of revenues expanded 170 bps to year over year 48.9%.

Non-GAAP operating income margin contracted 120 bps to 23.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Balance Sheet

As of Aug 31, 2020, cash and cash equivalents were $49.2 million compared with $11.4 million as of Aug 31, 2019.

Simulations Plus, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Simulations Plus, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Simulations Plus, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Simulations Plus, Inc. Quote

Fiscal 2021 Outlook

Simulations Plus aims to sustain organic growth in the range of 15% to 20% in fiscal 2021. Markedly, the company delivered organic growth of 18% in fiscal year 2020. Management anticipates incremental Lixoft revenues to contribute 3-5% to the top-line growth over the organic growth.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Currently, Simulations Plus has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector worth considering are Jabil (JBL - Free Report) , Cadence Design Systems (CDNS - Free Report) and NVIDIA (NVDA - Free Report) . Jabil sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while Cadence and NVIDIA carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The long-term earnings growth rate for Jabil, Cadence and NVIDIA is currently pegged at 12%, 15.4%, and 20.1%, respectively.

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