Summary
Autodesk's fiscal 2013 first quarter showed broad top-line growth and margin expansion. Revenue rose 11.4% to $588.6 million. Gross profit rose 11.8% to $529.8 million. Operating income rose 19.6% to $94.0 million. Net income rose 13.9% to $78.9 million. Diluted EPS rose to $0.34. Gross margin rose 0.3 percentage points to 90.0%. Operating margin rose 1.1 percentage points to 16.0%. Operating cash flow rose 8.5% to $139.3 million. Capital expenditures fell 50.4% to $11.5 million. The current portion of deferred revenue rose 12.7% to $584.7 million. On a non-GAAP basis, gross profit was $540.9 million, operating margin was 25%, net income was $109.9 million, and diluted EPS was $0.47. The company controlled costs, helping profitability.
Operational highlights were mixed but mostly positive. Suites revenue increased 34% and represented 28% of total net revenue, up from 23% in the prior-year quarter. Flagship products were 57% of total net revenue and increased 4%. New and adjacent products were 15% of total net revenue and increased 9%. License and other revenue increased 12%, while maintenance revenue increased 11%. Commercial new seat licenses increased 19%, but upgrade revenue decreased 11%. By geography, the Americas grew 14%, EMEA grew 4% (2% on a constant currency basis), and APAC grew 19% (13% on a constant currency basis). Emerging economies revenue increased 6% and represented 14% of total net revenue, down from 15%. The Media and Entertainment segment declined 5%, with Creative Finishing down 14% and Animation down 2%. The company completed organizational changes to accelerate its move to cloud, mobile, and social computing.
Guidance for the second quarter of fiscal 2013 calls for cost of revenue, marketing and sales, research and development, and general and administrative expenses to increase in absolute dollars but remain relatively consistent as a percentage of net revenue compared with the second quarter of fiscal 2012. For the remainder of fiscal 2013, management's primary goals are to grow revenue and improve operating margin percentage. Risks remain significant. Global economic conditions, high unemployment, and credit availability could affect demand. Foreign currency fluctuations can move revenue and costs, and hedging only partially offsets them. Emerging economies present long-term opportunity but carry economic volatility, geopolitical risk, local competition, intellectual property protection issues, poor business infrastructure, talent scarcity, and software piracy. Distributor concentration is a risk: Tech Data accounted for 22% of total net revenue in the quarter, up from 17% a year earlier. Acquisitions bring integration challenges and may pressure operating margins. Tax rates could change, and the effective tax rate was 19% in the quarter, up from 18%, partly due to lower foreign tax benefits and expiration of the federal research credit.
Cash generation remained solid. Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities totaled $1,796.1 million at April 30, 2012, up from $1,604.1 million at January 31, 2012. Days sales outstanding improved to 46 days at April 30, 2012 from 61 days at January 31, 2012. Backlog for current software license product orders decreased by $20.7 million to $6.4 million at April 30, 2012 from $27.1 million at January 31, 2012. The company repurchased 2.5 million shares for $99.2 million during the quarter, compared with 1.7 million shares for $68.6 million in the prior-year quarter. The quarter showed healthy growth and margin gains, but the company still faces currency, economic, and channel risks as it transitions more of its business to suites and the cloud.
Forecast
Reported figures
GAAP, from SEC filings| Metric | Q1 FY2013 | Q4 FY2012 | QoQ | Q1 FY2012 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $588.6M | $592.4M | -0.6% | $528.3M | +11.4% |
| Gross profit | $529.8M | $534.9M | -1.0% | $473.7M | +11.8% |
| Gross margin | 90.0% | 90.3% | -0.3 pp | 89.7% | +0.4 pp |
| Research & development | $152.7M | $149.5M | +2.1% | $136.6M | +11.8% |
| Sales & marketing | $223.2M | $233.5M | -4.4% | $201.9M | +10.5% |
| General & administrative | $59.9M | $60.1M | -0.3% | $56.6M | +5.8% |
| Total operating expenses | $435.8M | $443.1M | -1.6% | $395.1M | +10.3% |
| Operating income (loss) | $94.0M | $91.8M | +2.4% | $78.6M | +19.6% |
| Operating margin | 16.0% | 15.5% | +0.5 pp | 14.9% | +1.1 pp |
| Net income (loss) | $78.9M | $72.0M | +9.6% | $69.3M | +13.9% |
| Net margin | 13.4% | 12.2% | +1.3 pp | 13.1% | +0.3 pp |
| Diluted EPS | $0.34 | $0.31 | +$0.03 | $0.29 | +$0.05 |
Risks
Current global economic uncertainty and sovereign debt issues may reduce customer spending, including among customers that rely on government spending. MD&A states that if global economic conditions deteriorate, Autodesk may not achieve its financial goals.
Autodesk is migrating many products to the cloud and completed organizational changes in the three months ended April 30, 2012 to realign product development, marketing, and sales teams. Risk factors warn that failure to adapt to cloud computing, mobile devices, and new computing platforms could reduce product sales and competitive position.
Tech Data and its global affiliates accounted for 22% of total net revenue for the three months ended April 30, 2012, up from 17% for the three months ended April 30, 2011. Its October 2011 purchase of MuM assets further concentrates sales, which on a consolidated basis would have accounted for 23% of total net revenue for the prior-year period.
Maintenance revenue increased 11% for the three months ended April 30, 2012, but net maintenance billings increased only 1%, with weakness in EMEA and M&E and early renewals in Q4 FY2012. Customers have no obligation to attach or renew maintenance, so lower attach or renewal rates would reduce future revenue.
Combined revenue from AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT, excluding suites containing them, represented 35% of total net revenue for the three months ended April 30, 2012. Any factor adversely affecting sales of these products would likely harm financial results.
A critical part of growth strategy is migrating customers from standalone AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT to suites. MD&A says suites revenue increased 34% and was 28% of total net revenue for the three months ended April 30, 2012, but if standalone sales decrease without corresponding suite revenue, results will be adversely affected.
International net revenue represented 72% of total net revenue for the three months ended April 30, 2012. Revenue from emerging economies increased 6% and represented 14% of net revenue, with weak results in Brazil and India where currency devaluation was a factor.
Revenue benefited from foreign exchange rate changes; on a constant currency basis, net revenue would have increased 9% for the three months ended April 30, 2012 instead of 11% as reported. Hedging may not fully mitigate currency volatility.
Autodesk completed organizational changes in the three months ended April 30, 2012, including realigning product development and marketing teams and reorganizing sales teams by industry. Risk factors warn that failure to successfully execute new business and sales initiatives could negatively impact results.
Autodesk regularly acquires businesses and technologies, and risk factors state the recent increase in acquisitions exacerbates integration risks, including failure to realize revenue and cost projections and diversion of management attention.
The effective tax rate was 19% for the three months ended April 30, 2012 compared to 18% for the prior-year period. Future rates may be adversely affected by lower earnings in lower-tax jurisdictions, U.S. tax law changes, or challenges to tax positions.
Backlog related to current software license product orders that had not shipped decreased by $20.7 million during the three months ended April 30, 2012, from $27.1 million at January 31, 2012 to $6.4 million at April 30, 2012. This may indicate timing risk in large transactions.
Media and Entertainment net revenue decreased 5% for the three months ended April 30, 2012, with Creative Finishing down 14% and 3ds Max down 15%. This segment weakness could continue and affect overall results.
SaaS KPIs
All quarters →Non-GAAP Operating Margin
Summary, forecast, risks and KPIs are extracted from Autodesk, Inc.'s SEC filings for Q1 FY2013 (10-Q / 10-K and the 8-K earnings release); GAAP figures in the summary are checked against the reported XBRL data. They can contain errors; the filings are authoritative. Processed Oct 15, 2026.