Nelnet Reports Second Quarter 2020 Results

LINCOLN, Neb., Aug. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Nelnet (NYSE: NNI) today reported GAAP net income of $86.5 million, or $2.21 per share, for the second quarter of 2020, compared with GAAP net income of $24.6 million, or $0.61 per share, for the same period a year ago.

GAAP net income increased for the three months ended June 30, 2020, compared with the same period in 2019, primarily due to the recognition of a $51.0 million ($38.8 million after tax) gain to adjust the carrying value of the company's investment in Hudl to reflect Hudl's May 2020 equity raise transaction value. In addition, there was a decrease in net losses for the three months ended June 30, 2020, as compared with the same period in 2019, from changes in the fair values of derivative instruments that do not qualify for hedge accounting.  

Net income, excluding derivative market value adjustments¹, was $89.5 million, or $2.28 per share, for the second quarter of 2020, compared with net income of $52.8 million, or $1.32 per share, for the same period in 2019.

"Nelnet reported strong second quarter results from its loan portfolio and core operating businesses during unprecedented times," said Jeff Noordhoek, Chief Executive Officer. "Through the challenges and uncertainty, I have been impressed by the resiliency and commitment of our associates to serve our customers at exceptionally high levels. Our results are also a testament to the value of our products and services and our ability to innovate quickly to meet the critical needs of our customers through the difficulties of the pandemic and resulting recession."

Nelnet operates four primary business segments, earning interest income on loans in its Asset Generation and Management (AGM) segment and fee-based revenue in its Loan Servicing and Systems; Education Technology, Services, and Payment Processing; and Communications segments.

Asset Generation and Management

The company's AGM operating segment reported net interest income of $66.1 million during the second quarter of 2020, compared with $59.2 million for the same period a year ago. The company maintains an overall risk management strategy that incorporates the use of derivative instruments to reduce the economic effect of interest rate volatility. The company recognized income from derivative settlements of $5.8 million during the second quarter of 2020, compared with income of $13.0 million for the same period in 2019. Derivative settlements for each applicable period should be evaluated with the company's net interest income. Net interest income and derivative settlements totaled $71.9 million and $72.2 million in the second quarter of 2020 and 2019, respectively.

The decrease in net interest income and derivative settlements for the three months ended June 30, 2020, as compared to the same period in 2019, was due to a decrease in the average balance of loans outstanding to $20.2 billion for the second quarter of 2020 from $21.8 billion for the same period in 2019. This decrease was partially offset by an increase in core loan spread in 2020 as compared to 2019. 

Core loan spread², which includes the impact of derivative settlements, increased to 1.35 percent for the quarter ended June 30, 2020, compared with 1.21 percent for the same period in 2019. Core loan spread was positively impacted in the second quarter of 2020 due to lower interest rates. The company has a portfolio of student loans that are earning interest at a fixed borrower rate and that are financed with variable rate debt.  As a result, in a low interest rate environment, the company earns additional spread income that it refers to as floor income. During the three months ended June 30, 2020, the company recognized $30.6 million of floor income (net of $1.3 million in derivative settlements paid), compared with $23.0 million (net of $12.2 million of derivative settlements received) for the comparable period in 2019. The company anticipates receiving significant fixed rate floor income in future periods. 

Provision for loan losses was $3.0 million for the three months ended June 30, 2020, compared with $9.0 million for the same period in 2019. On January 1, 2020, the company adopted the CECL accounting standard, which required the company to record expected life of loan losses on all loans. The expected credit losses are adjusted each period for changes in expected lifetime credit losses. The company's total allowance for loan losses of $209.4 million at June 30, 2020 represents reserves equal to 0.7 percent of the company's federally insured loans (or 29.1 percent of the risk sharing component of the loans that is not covered by a federal guaranty), 8.7 percent of the company's private education loans, and 26.2 percent of the company's consumer loans. 

Subsequent to June 30, 2020, the company made the decision to sell $60.8 million (par value) of consumer loans and currently anticipates recognizing a gain in the third quarter of 2020 of $14.8 million ($11.2 million after tax).

Loan Servicing and Systems

Revenue from the Loan Servicing and Systems segment was $111.0 million for the second quarter of 2020, compared with $114.0 million for the same period in 2019. As of June 30, 2020, the company was servicing $476.5 billion in government-owned, Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program, private education, and consumer loans, compared with $469.2 billion of loans serviced by the company as of June 30, 2019.

Net income for the Loan Servicing and Systems segment was $11.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2020, compared with $17.0 million for the same period in 2019. The decrease in net income in 2020 was due to a decrease in revenue as a result of provisions implemented by the company's servicing customers, including the Department of Education (Department), to provide borrowers relief as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and additional costs incurred to meet increased service and security standards under the company's servicing contracts with the Department.

Education Technology, Services, and Payment Processing

For the second quarter of 2020, revenue from the Education Technology, Services, and Payment Processing operating segment was $59.3 million, compared to $60.3 million for the same period in 2019. As a result of COVID-19, demand for certain of this segment's products and services were negatively impacted.

Net income for the Education Technology, Services, and Payment Processing segment was $8.9 million for the three months ended June 30, 2020, compared with $8.4 million for the same period in 2019.

The company is uncertain how the pandemic will affect higher education and K-12 enrollment in upcoming terms. A decrease in enrollment could continue to reduce the demand for certain of the company's products and services and decrease this segment's revenue and net income in future periods.

Communications

Revenue from ALLO was $19.0 million for the second quarter of 2020, compared with $15.8 million for the same period in 2019. The number of households served as of June 30, 2020, was 53,067, an increase of 10,307, or 24 percent, from the number of households served as of June 30, 2019. Since March 2020, ALLO has experienced increased demand from new and existing residential customers to support connectivity needs for working and learning from home as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the second quarter of 2020, ALLO recognized a net loss of $5.4 million, compared with a net loss of $4.9 million for the same period in 2019. The company anticipates this operating segment will be dilutive to consolidated earnings as it continues to build and add customers to its network in Lincoln, Nebraska and other communities, due to large upfront capital expenditures and associated depreciation and upfront customer acquisition costs.

ALLO's management uses earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA)³ to eliminate certain non-cash and non-operating items in order to consistently measure performance from period to period. For the second quarter of 2020, ALLO reported EBITDA of $3.8 million, compared with $1.2 million for the same period in 2019.

Investment in Hudl

In May 2020, the company made an additional equity investment in Hudl of approximately $26 million as part of a larger equity raise by Hudl. As a result of the equity raise, the company recognized a $51.0 million (pre-tax) gain during the three months ended June 30, 2020 to adjust the carrying value of its previous Hudl investments to reflect the overall transaction value.

Liquidity and Capital Activities

As of June 30, 2020, the company had $67.5 million in cash and cash equivalents and $142.2 million in available-for-sale investments, consisting primarily of student loan asset-backed securities, $86.7 million of which were subject to a participation accounted for as a secured borrowing. The company also has a $455.0 million unsecured line of credit. As of June 30, 2020, $30.0 million was outstanding on the line of credit and $425.0 million was available for future use.

The company has a stock repurchase program to purchase up to a total of five million shares of the company's Class A common stock during the three-year period ending May 7, 2022. During the three months ended June 30, 2020, the company repurchased 1,473,049 shares of stock for $67.3 million ($45.67 per share). As of June 30, 2020, 3.3 million shares remained authorized for repurchase under the company's stock repurchase program.

The company paid cash dividends of $7.7 million, or $0.20 per share, during the second quarter of 2020.

The company intends to use its strong liquidity position to invest in market opportunities, including: federally insured, private education, and consumer loan acquisitions; strategic acquisitions and investments, including anticipated capital commitments to Nelnet Bank; expansion of ALLO's communications network; and capital management initiatives, including stock repurchases, debt repurchases, and dividend distributions. The timing and size of these opportunities will vary and will have a direct impact on the company's cash and investment balances.

Board of Directors Declares Third Quarter Dividend

The Nelnet Board of Directors declared a third quarter cash dividend on the company's outstanding shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock of $0.20 per share. The dividend will be paid on September 15, 2020 to shareholders of record at the close of business on September 1, 2020.

Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws. The words "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "future," "intend," "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "should,"  "will," "would," and similar expressions, as well as statements in future tense, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management's current expectations as of the date of this release and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other factors that may cause the actual results and performance to be materially different from any future results or performance expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: risks and uncertainties related to the severity, magnitude, and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, including changes in the macroeconomic environment and consumer behavior, restrictions on business, educational, individual, or travel activities intended to slow the spread of the pandemic, and volatility in market conditions resulting from the pandemic; risks related to the ability to successfully maintain and increase allocated volumes of student loans serviced by the company under existing and any future servicing contracts with the Department, which current contracts accounted for 30 percent of the company's revenue in 2019; risks to the company related to the Department's initiatives to procure new contracts for federal student loan servicing and awards of contracts to other parties, including the pending and uncertain nature of the Department's procurement process, the uncertain timing and nature of the outcome of the company's protest of the reported decision by the Department as to the company's proposal for the business processing outsourcing component of the Department's procurement, the possibility that awards or other evaluations of proposals may be challenged by various interested parties and may not be finalized or implemented within the currently anticipated time frame or at all, risks that the company may not be successful in obtaining any of such potential new contracts, and risks related to the company's ability to comply with agreements with third-party customers for the servicing of loans; risks related to the company's loan portfolio, such as interest rate basis and repricing risk and changes in levels of loan repayment or default rates; the use of derivatives to manage exposure to interest rate fluctuations; the uncertain nature of expected benefits from FFEL Program, private education, and consumer loan purchases and initiatives to purchase additional FFEL Program, private education, and consumer loans; financing and liquidity risks, including risks of changes in the securitization and other financing markets for loans; risks and uncertainties from changes in terms of education loans and in the educational credit and services marketplace resulting from changes in applicable laws, regulations, and government programs and budgets, such as changes resulting from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and the expected decline over time in FFEL Program loan interest income and fee-based revenues due to the discontinuation of new FFEL Program loan originations in 2010 and the resulting initiatives by the company to adjust to a post-FFEL Program environment; risks and uncertainties related to the ability of ALLO to successfully expand its fiber network and market share in existing service areas and additional communities and manage related construction risks; risks that the conditions to the reported approval of federal deposit insurance and an industrial bank charter for Nelnet Bank may not be satisfied within a reasonable timeframe or at all, thus delaying or preventing Nelnet Bank from commencing operations, and the uncertain nature of the expected benefits from obtaining an industrial bank charter, including the ability to successfully launch banking operations and achieve expected market penetration; risks and uncertainties related to other initiatives to pursue additional strategic investments, acquisitions, and other activities, including activities that are intended to diversify the company both within and outside of its historical core education-related businesses; risks from changes in economic conditions and consumer behavior; cybersecurity risks, including potential disruptions to systems, disclosure of confidential information, and/or damage to reputation resulting from cyber-breaches; and changes in the general interest rate environment, including the availability of any relevant money-market index rate such as LIBOR or the relationship between the relevant money-market index rate and the rate at which the company's assets and liabilities are priced.

For more information, see the "Risk Factors" sections and other cautionary discussions of risks and uncertainties included in documents filed or furnished by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the cautionary information about forward-looking statements contained in the company's supplemental financial information for the second quarter ended June 30, 2020. All forward-looking statements in this release are as of the date of this release. Although the company may voluntarily update or revise its forward-looking statements from time to time to reflect actual results or changes in the company's expectations, the company disclaims any commitment to do so except as required by securities laws.

Non-GAAP Performance Measures

The company prepares its financial statements and presents its financial results in accordance with U.S. GAAP. However, it also provides additional non-GAAP financial information related to specific items management believes to be important in the evaluation of its operating results and performance. Reconciliations of GAAP to non-GAAP financial information, and a discussion of why the company believes providing this additional information is useful to investors, is provided in the "Non-GAAP Disclosures" section below.

Non-GAAP Disclosures

(Dollars in thousands, except share data)
(unaudited)

Non-GAAP financial measures disclosed by management are meant to provide additional information and insight relative to business trends to investors and, in certain cases, to present financial information as measured by rating agencies and other users of financial information. These measures are not in accordance with, or a substitute for, GAAP and may be different from, or inconsistent with, non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies. The company reports this non-GAAP information because the company believes that it provides additional information regarding operational and performance indicators that are closely assessed by management. There is no comprehensive, authoritative guidance for the presentation of such non-GAAP information, which is only meant to supplement GAAP results by providing additional information that management utilizes to assess performance.

Core loan spread

The following table analyzes the loan spread on the company's portfolio of loans, which represents the spread between the yield earned on loan assets and the costs of the liabilities and derivative instruments used to fund the assets. The spread amounts included in the following table are calculated by using the notional dollar values found in the "Net interest income, net of settlements on derivatives" table on the following page, divided by the average balance of loans or debt outstanding.

Net interest income, net of settlements on derivatives

The following table summarizes the components of "net interest income" and "derivative settlements, net" from the company's Asset Generation and Management segment statements of income.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA)

A reconciliation of ALLO's GAAP net loss to earnings before net interest expense, income taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), is provided below.

EBITDA is a supplemental non-GAAP performance measure that is frequently used in capital-intensive industries such as telecommunications. ALLO's management uses EBITDA to compare ALLO's performance to that of its competitors and to eliminate certain non-cash and non-operating items in order to consistently measure performance from period to period. EBITDA excludes interest and income taxes because these items are associated with a company's particular capitalization and tax structures. EBITDA also excludes depreciation and amortization expense because these non-cash expenses primarily reflect the impact of historical capital investments, as opposed to the cash impacts of capital expenditures made in recent periods, which may be evaluated through cash flow measures. The company reports EBITDA for ALLO because the company believes that it provides useful additional information for investors regarding a key metric used by management to assess ALLO's performance. There are limitations to using EBITDA as a performance measure, including the difficulty associated with comparing companies that use similar performance measures whose calculations may differ from ALLO's calculations. In addition, EBITDA should not be considered a substitute for other measures of financial performance, such as net income or any other performance measures derived in accordance with GAAP.

SOURCE Nelnet, Inc.