Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: AZPN), a leading provider of software and services to the process industries, today announced financial results for its third quarter of fiscal year 2015, ended March 31, 2015.

“AspenTech delivered strong third quarter financial results that exceeded our guidance across all key metrics.  Total license contract value grew 13.2% year-over-year in the third quarter, which underscores the continued need of customers to improve the efficiency of their operations,” said Antonio Pietri, President and Chief Executive Officer of AspenTech. 

Pietri added, “Our disciplined approach to expense management is driving strong profit margins and cash flow generation, which provided the flexibility to repurchase approximately $108 million of our common stock. We believe the combination of continued top and bottom line growth and returning capital to shareholders can generate long-term value.”

Third Quarter Fiscal 2015 and Recent Business Highlights

The license portion of total contract value was $2.03 billion at the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2015, which increased 13.2% compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2014 and 3.1% sequentially.

Total contract value, including the value of bundled maintenance, was $2.41 billion at the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2015, which increased 14.1% compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2014 and 3.2% sequentially.

Annual spend, which the company defines as the annualized value of all term license and maintenance revenue contracts at the end of the quarter, was $411.6 million at the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2015, which increased 11.9% compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2014 and 2.9% sequentially.

GAAP operating margin was 37.5%, compared to 30.3% in the third quarter of fiscal 2014.  Non-GAAP operating margin was 43.7%, compared to 38.6% in the third quarter of fiscal 2014.

We repurchased nearly three million shares of our common stock for $107.7 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2015.

Summary of Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2015 Financial Results

AspenTech’s total revenue of $111.3 million increased 7.4% from $103.6 million in the third quarter of the prior fiscal year. 

• Subscription and software revenue was $102.5 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2015, an increase from $91.3 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2014. 
• Services & other revenue was $8.8 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2015, compared to $12.3 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2014. 

For the quarter ended March 31, 2015, AspenTech reported income from operations of $41.7 million, compared to income from operations of $31.4 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2014. 

Net income was $28.2 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2015, leading to net income per share of $0.32, compared to net income per share of $0.22 in the same period last fiscal year. 

Non-GAAP income from operations, which adds back stock-based compensation expense, restructuring charges, amortization of intangibles associated with acquisitions and non-capitalized acquired technology, was $48.7 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2015, compared to non-GAAP income from operations of $40.0 million in the same period last fiscal year.  Non-GAAP net income was $32.6 million, or $0.37 per share, for the third quarter of fiscal 2015, compared to non-GAAP net income of $26.4 million, or $0.28 per share, in the same period last fiscal year.

AspenTech had cash and marketable securities of $225.0 million at March 31, 2015, a decrease of $31.5 million from the end of the prior quarter after using $107.0 million in cash to repurchase shares of common stock. 

During the third quarter, the company generated $64.6 million in cash flow from operations. On a non-GAAP basis, cash flow from operations was $81.4 million and free cash flow was $79.7 million after taking into consideration $1.8 million in capital expenditures and capitalized software.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release contains “non-GAAP financial measures” under the rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Non-GAAP financial measures are not based on a comprehensive set of accounting rules or principles. This non-GAAP information supplements, and is not intended to represent a measure of performance in accordance with, disclosures required by generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP.  Non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for or superior to, financial measures determined in accordance with GAAP.  A reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP results is included in the financial tables included in this press release.

Management considers both GAAP and non-GAAP financial results in managing AspenTech’s business.  As the result of adoption of new licensing models, management believes that a number of AspenTech’s performance indicators based on GAAP, including revenue, gross profit, operating income and net income, should be viewed in conjunction with certain non-GAAP and other business measures in assessing AspenTech’s performance, growth and financial condition. Accordingly, management utilizes a number of non-GAAP and other business metrics, including the non-GAAP metrics set forth in this press release, to track AspenTech’s business performance. None of these non-GAAP metrics should be considered as an alternative to any measure of financial performance calculated in accordance with GAAP.

Conference Call and Webcast

AspenTech will host a conference call and webcast today, April 28, 2015, at 4:30 p.m. (Eastern Time), to discuss the company's financial results for the third quarter fiscal year 2015 as well as the company’s business outlook. 

The live dial-in number is (866) 604-6127 or (706) 634-5625, conference ID code 21858768. Interested parties may also listen to a live webcast of the call by logging on to the Investor Relations section of AspenTech’s website,http://www.aspentech.com/corporate/investor.cfm, and clicking on the “webcast” link. A replay of the call will be archived on AspenTech’s website and will also be available via telephone at (855) 859-2056 or (404) 537-3406, conference ID code 21858768, through May 28, 2015.

About AspenTech

AspenTech is a leading supplier of software that optimizes process manufacturing – for energy, chemicals, engineering and construction, and other industries that manufacture and produce products from a chemical process. With integrated aspenONE solutions, process manufacturers can implement best practices for optimizing their engineering, manufacturing and supply chain operations. As a result, AspenTech customers are better able to increase capacity, improve margins, reduce costs and become more energy efficient. To see how the world’s leading process manufacturers rely on AspenTech to achieve their operational excellence goals, visit www.aspentech.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

The third paragraph of this press release contains forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Actual results may vary significantly from AspenTech’s expectations based on a number of risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation:  AspenTech’s failure to increase usage and product adoption of aspenONE offerings, and failure to continue to provide innovative, market-leading solutions; demand for, or usage of, aspenONE software declines for any reason; unfavorable economic and market conditions or a lessening demand in the market for process optimization software; and other risk factors described from time to time in AspenTech’s periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  AspenTech cannot guarantee any future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements.  AspenTech expressly disclaims any obligation to update forward-looking statements after the date of this press release.

© 2015 Aspen Technology, Inc.  AspenTech, aspenONE and the Aspen leaf logo are registered trademarks of Aspen Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.