Quad Reports 1Q 2021 Results

Quad/Graphics, Inc. reported that it achieved its third consecutive quarter of improvement in net sales decline rate since the height of the pandemic in its results for the first quarter of 2021.

Quad increased cash from operating activities to $73 million and free cash flow to $56 million, up from $45 million and $16 million in 2020, respectively. This allowed the company to reduce its net debt by $61 million during the first quarter and improved the its debt leverage ratio to 3.24x at March 31, 2021.

“We are very pleased with our performance during the first quarter,” said Joel Quadracci, chairman, president and CEO of Quad. “Our team achieved a third straight quarter of improvement in net sales decline rate, increased our adjusted EBITDA margin, and drove higher cash flows. These positive trends included new business wins in agency solutions and print, reflecting how well our integrated marketing solutions offering is resonating in the marketplace.

“We continue to leverage our commitment to client focus, platform excellence, innovation, strong culture and social purpose to accelerate our competitive position as a worldwide marketing solutions partner,” Quadracci noted. “Our state-of-the-art offering and commitment to innovation has allowed us to establish and expand relationships with valued brands across top-performing verticals, including consumer technology, healthcare, finance and consumer-packaged goods.”

Net sales were $706 million in the first quarter of 2021, down 14% from the same period in 2020, primarily due to the economic impact from the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing print industry volume pressures. The first quarter decline represents a third quarter of sequential revenue improvement during the pandemic, as compared to a 21% decline in the fourth quarter of 2020, a 28% decline in the third quarter of 2020 and a 38% decline in the second quarter of 2020.

Adjusted EBITDA was $66 million in the first quarter of 2021, as compared to $75 million in the same period in 2020, while adjusted EBITDA margin improved to 9.3% in 2021, as compared to 9.2% in 2020.

Free cash flow increased by $40 million to $56 million in the first quarter of 2021, as compared to $16 million in the same period in 2020.

“Our commitment to disciplined cost management and productivity improvements drove a higher adjusted EBITDA margin and, when combined with new agency and print business wins, helped us deliver solid financial results despite the impact of the pandemic,” said Dave Honan, EVP and CFO. “This included a substantial increase in our free cash flow, which enabled us to reduce net debt by $61 million and improve our debt leverage ratio to 3.24x. We will continue to use our strong free cash flow, in addition to proceeds from asset sales, to further reduce debt, and we expect to further improve our debt leverage ratio to be at or near 3.0x by the end of 2021.”