Moody's Corporation (MCO)
NYSE: MCO · Real-Time Price · USD
460.74
+4.69 (1.03%)
At close: Apr 27, 2026, 4:00 PM EDT
460.74
0.00 (0.00%)
After-hours: Apr 27, 2026, 6:30 PM EDT
← View all transcripts

Earnings Call: Q1 2013

May 3, 2013

Speaker 1

Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Moody's Corporation First Quarter 2013 Earnings Call. At this time, I would like to inform you that this conference is being recorded and that all participants are in a listen only mode. At the request of the company, will open the conference up for questions and answers following today's presentation. It is now my pleasure to turn the call over to Ms. Sally Schwartz, Global Head of Investor Relations.

Please go ahead, ma'am.

Speaker 2

Thank you. Good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining us on this teleconference to discuss Moody's First Quarter Results I am Sally Schwartz, Global Head of Investor Relations. This morning, Moody's released its results for the Q1 of 2013. Tierney's press release and a presentation to accompany this teleconference are both available on our website at ir.moody.com. Ray McDaniel, President and Chief Executive Officer of Moody's Corporation, will lead this morning's conference call.

Also making prepared remarks on the call this morning is Linda Huber, Chief Financial Officer of Moody's Corporation. Before we begin, I call your attention to the Safe Harbor language, which can be found toward the end of our earnings release. Today's remarks may contain forward looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In accordance with the act, I also would direct your attention to the management's Discussion and Analysis section and the risk factors discussed in our annual report on Form 10 ks for the year ended December 31, 2012, and in other SEC filings made by the company, which are available on our website and on the Securities and Exchange Commission's website. These, together with the Safe Harbor statements, set forth important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any such forward looking statements.

I would also like to point out that members of the media may be on the call this morning in a listen only mode. I'll now turn the call over to Ray McDaniel.

Speaker 3

Thank you, Sally. Good morning, and thank you to everyone for joining today's call. I'll begin by summarizing Moody's Q1 2013 results. Linda will follow with additional financial detail and operating highlights. I will then speak to recent regulatory and legal developments and finish with comments on our outlook for 2013.

After our prepared remarks, we will be happy to respond to your questions. 1st quarter revenue of $732,000,000 increased 13% over the Q1 of 2012, reflecting strong operating performance for both Moody's Investor Service and Moody's Analytics. Operating expenses for the Q1, which include a litigation settlement charge related to the resolution of our Abu Dhabi and Rhine Bridge cases, were $451,000,000 a 19% increase from the Q1 of 2012. Excluding the litigation settlement charge, operating expenses increased 4%

Speaker 4

year over year. Operating income

Speaker 3

for the Q1 was $280,000,000 a 4 increase from the prior year period. Adjusted operating income, defined as operating income less depreciation and amortization, was $304,000,000 also up 4% from the same period last year. Excluding the litigation settlement charge, 1st quarter operating income and adjusted operating income increased 25% and 23% respectively

Speaker 4

year over year. Diluted earnings per

Speaker 3

share for the 1st quarter 9% from the prior year period to $0.83 which includes a litigation settlement charge of $0.14 Excluding the litigation settlement charge, diluted earnings per share of $0.97 increased 28% year over year. Our full year 2013 non GAAP EPS guidance range is now $3.49 to $3.59 which reflects our continued focus on cost control and also excludes the impact of the litigation settlement charge. I'll now turn the call over to Linda to provide further commentary on financial results and other updates.

Speaker 2

Thanks, Ray. I'll begin with revenue at the company level. As Ray mentioned, Moody's total revenue for the quarter increased 13% to $732,000,000 Foreign currency translation for the quarter was negligible. U. S.

First quarter revenue increased 18% to $406,000,000 While revenue outside of the U. S. Grew 8% to $326,000,000 and represented 45% of Moody's total revenue, down slightly from the 47% in the year ago period. Recurring revenue grew 6% to $350,000,000 and represented 48% of total revenue, down from 51% in the prior year period. Looking now at each of our businesses.

Moody's Investor service revenue for the quarter was $521,000,000 up 15% from the prior year period. The impact of foreign currency translation on MIS revenue negligible. U. S. Revenue for MIS increased 21% over the prior year period to $313,000,000 Revenue outside of the U.

S. $208,000,000 increased 8% and represented 40% of total Ratings revenue. Turning now to the MIS business lines. First, global corporate finance revenue in the Q1 increased 29% from the year ago period to $258,000,000 primarily driven by strong speculative grade bank loan and bond issuance as corporations continued to take advantage of historically low interest Revenue was up 25% year over year in the U. S.

And up 36% outside of the U. S. Secondly, Global Structured Finance revenue for the Q1 was 90 $3,000,000 down 1% from the prior year period. In the U. S, revenue increased 26% year over year due to strong issuance of collateralized loan obligations and commercial mortgage backed securities.

Non U. S. Structured finance revenue was down 29% against the prior year period, primarily reflecting weaker issuance of residential mortgage backed securities in Europe. Thirdly, Global Financial Institutions revenue of $87,000,000 increased 10% from the same quarter of 2012. U.

S. Revenue was up 14%, primarily reflecting increased bond issuance by insurance companies, while non U. S. Revenue was up 7% as compared to the Q1 of 2012, driven by stronger banking activity from issuers taking advantage of generally favorable market conditions. Finally, for MIS, global revenue for the Public Project and Infrastructure Finance business rose 5 percent year over year to $83,000,000 Revenue was up 10% in the U.

S. Due to gains in both public and infrastructure finance, while non U. S. Revenue declined 3%. And turning now to Moody's Analytics.

Global revenue from Moody's Analytics of $211,000,000 was up 9% from the Q1 of 2012. Excluding the impact of foreign currency translation, revenue grew 10%. As you know, we've not made any organic acquisitions during the past year. We are very pleased with our organic revenue growth this quarter, which demonstrates the inherent strength of our underlying businesses and is among the strongest in our industry. U.

S. Revenue grew by 10% year over year to $93,000,000 Non U. S. Revenue increased 8% to $118,000,000 and represented 56% of the total Moody's Analytics revenue. Looking now at each of the MA business lines.

Revenue from Research, Data and Analytics of $130,000,000 increased 8% from the prior year period and represented 62% of total MA revenue. Our customer retention rate remains strong in the mid-90s percent range we continue to see solid demand for credit research via our CreditView offering. U. S. Revenue was up 8% and non U.

S. Revenue was up 9% as compared to the Q1 of 2012. 2nd, revenue from Enterprise Risk Solutions of $53,000,000 grew 10% from last year, reflecting strong growth of products and services that support bank regulatory and compliance activities. Revenue was up 12% in the U. S.

And non U. S. Revenue was up 9% against the prior year period. Due to the variable nature of project timing, Enterprise Risk Solutions revenue remained subject quarterly volatility. 3rd, professional services revenue grew 7% to $28,000,000 reflecting strong growth in revenue from Copal Partners, partially offset by softness in the training and certification business.

U. S. Revenue increased 32% while non U. S. Revenue increased 3% year over year.

Finally, we note that subscription revenue, which includes MA's Research, Data and Analytics segment, plus certain products within MA's Enterprise Risk Solutions segment, was up 9% for the Q1 of 2013. Turning now to expenses. Moody's first quarter expenses were $451,000,000 an increase of 19% compared to the Q1 of 2012. However, excluding litigation settlement related to the resolution of our Abu Dhabi and Rhine Bridge cases, expenses were up 4% year over year. More specifically, this year's P and L will be impacted only in the 1st quarter by expenses associated with the litigation settlement charge, which is tax deductible.

The impact of foreign currency translation on operating expenses for the quarter was negligible. WIDIA's reported operating margin for the quarter was 38.3 percent, down from 41.6% in the Q1 of 2012. Adjusted operating margin was 41.5 percent for the quarter, down from 45.2% for the same period last year. Again, excluding the litigation settlement charge, 1st quarter reported operating margin and adjusted operating margin were 46.1% and 49.3 respectively. Moody's effective tax rate for the quarter was 28.5% compared with 32.1% for the prior year period.

Now I'll provide an update on capital allocation. During the Q1 of 2013, Moody's repurchased 1,900,000 shares at a total cost of $91,000,000 or an average price of $48.48 per share and issued 2,200,000 shares under employee stock based compensation plans, which are substantially issued in the Q1 of each year. Outstanding shares of March 30 as of March 31, 2013, totaled $222,900,000 reflecting 1% decline from a year earlier. As of March 31, 2013, Moody's had $1,600,000,000 of share repurchase authority remaining under its current program, reflecting the additional $1,100,000,000 of share repurchase authority approved on February 12, 20 As of March 31, 2013, Moody's had $1,600,000,000 of outstanding debt and $1,000,000,000 of additional debt available under our revolving credit facility. Cash and cash equivalents were $1,800,000,000 as of March 31, 2013, an increase of $943,000,000 from a year earlier.

As of March 31, 2013, approximately 50% of our cash holdings were maintained outside the U. S. Free cash flow of $194,000,000 increased $147,000,000 from a year ago, due in part to Q1 2012 payments related to the settlement of state and local matters. While we remain committed to using our strong cash flow create value for shareholders while maintaining sufficient liquidity. And with that, I'll turn the call back over to Ray.

Speaker 3

Thanks, Linda. I'll continue with a brief update on regulatory and legal developments. First, in the U. S, in December 2012, The SEC published its report under Dodd Frank on matters related to assigning credit ratings for structured finance products, commonly referred to as franken amendment study. On May 14, the commission will host a roundtable to which Moody's has been invited and in which we will participate.

Turning to Europe. As discussed on previous calls, a few additional steps remain in the legislative process for a third round of related to credit rating agencies known as CRA 3 is finalized. We expect that CRA 3 will come into effect sometime in the second half of twenty thirteen, and we are currently preparing for its implementation. Finally, as you're aware, last week, we settled 2 litigation matters known as the Abu Dhabi and Rhine Bridge cases. These settlements allow us to put the distraction of these very protracted legal matters behind us.

I'll conclude this morning's prepared comments by discussing our full year guidance for 13. Moody's outlook for 2013 is based on assumptions about many macroeconomic and capital market factors, including interest rates, corporate profitability, business investment spending, merger and acquisition activity, consumer borrowing and securitization and the amount of debt issued. There's an important degree of uncertainty surrounding these assumptions and if actual conditions differ, Moody's results for the year may differ materially from the current outlook. Our guidance assumes foreign currency translation at end of quarter exchange rates. As I mentioned earlier, our full year 2013 non GAAP EPS guidance range is now $3.49 to $3.59 which reflects our continued focus on cost control and also excludes the impact of the litigation settlement charge.

For Moody's overall, the company still expects full year 2013 revenue to grow in the high single digit percent range. Full year 2013 operating expenses are now projected to increase in the mid single digit percent range. Full year 2013 operating margin is now projected to be 41% to 42% and adjusted operating margin for the year is now expected to be 44% to 45%. Guidance ranges for operating expenses, operating margin and adjusted operating margin all include the litigation settlement charge. The effective tax rate is still expected to be approximately 32%.

We still expect full year 2013 share of approximately $500,000,000 subject to available cash, market conditions and other ongoing capital allocation decisions. Capital expenditures are still projected to be approximately $50,000,000 We still expect approximately $100,000,000 in depreciation and amortization expense. Incremental compliance and regulatory expense is still projected to be $10,000,000 to $15,000,000 Free cash flow is expected to be approximately $850,000,000 Certain components of our 20 13 guidance have have been modified to reflect the company's current view of business conditions. For the global MIS business, revenue for full year 20 13 is still expected to increase in the high single digit percent range. Within the U.

S, MIS revenue is now expected to increase in the low double digit percent range, while non U. S. Revenue is now expected to increase in the low single digit percent range, reflecting anticipated ongoing weakness in the European structured finance market. Corporate Finance revenue is now projected to grow in the low double digit percent range. Revenue from structured finance is now expected to be about flat, while revenue from financial institutions is still expected to grow in the low single digit percent range.

Public project and infrastructure finance revenue is still to increase in the low double digit percent range. For Moody's Analytics, full year 2013 revenue is still expected to increase in the high single digit percent range. Within the U. S, Moody's Analytics revenue is also expected to increase in the high single digit percent range. Non U.

S. Revenue is now also expected to increase in the high percent range. Revenue from Research Data and Analytics is still projected to grow in the high single digit percent range, while revenue for Enterprise Risk solutions is still expected to grow in the low double digit percent range. Professional Services revenue is now projected to grow in the high single digit percent range, reflecting softness in the Training and Certification business. This concludes our prepared remarks.

And joining us for the question and answer session is Mark Almeida, President of Moody's Analytics Michel Madeline, the President of Moody's Investor Service is traveling and unable to join us today. We'd be pleased to take any questions that you have.

Speaker 1

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, today's question and answer session will be conducted electronically. And we'll hear first from Manav Patnaik with Barclays.

Speaker 4

Good morning, everybody.

Speaker 2

The first question just

Speaker 5

on the settlement, I mean, I guess you've given us many different ways to back into it, which is helpful. Can you just maybe help clarify how that works with Like I guess what the accounting is with the $20,000,000 reserve you took last quarter, like does that have any adjustments in this quarter? And also what the tax rate for the tax deductibility of that settlement is?

Speaker 3

Well, with respect to the reserves, any remaining amounts that we had accrued for defense costs relating to Abu Dhabi or Rhinebridge are no longer and those have been reversed.

Speaker 2

And Manav, it's Linda. We're not going to attempt to go through how the accounting works step by step on the call. However, we would note that our 10 Q is coming out later today. You may want to take a look at that. And as I said earlier in the script, the settlement charge is tax deductible.

We're not going to go into information on the specific rate though.

Speaker 5

Okay. Can I ask in terms of the guidance, which on the expense and margin side you obviously lowered because of the settlement charge? If we were to exclude that, did the sort of ranges and commentary you provided us last quarter change one way or the other materially?

Speaker 2

We have been at 345 to 355, which was a GAAP number. We've had the settlement charge, which is $0.14 Our new EPS guidance, which is non GAAP, we would note, it's $3.49 to $3.59 that centers on $3.54 which shows an increase of $0.04 as a result of, as Ray said, increased focus on cost control. Now we'll see where we go as we go through the year. Ray may want to comment a little bit further. We're only through 1 quarter of the year.

In recent years, we've been surprised by things like interesting activities in Europe during the summer. So for this point in the year, we think that $349,000,000 to $359,000,000 feels about right.

Speaker 3

Yes. And I would Just to emphasize Linda's point. On Europe, we have taken a cautious approach in our outlook. Hopefully, it's a conservative approach. But for each of the last few years, we have had periods of market interruption or dislocation really centered on some of the stresses and recessionary pressures in Europe.

Speaker 5

All right. Thanks a lot guys.

Speaker 1

Our next question today comes from Peter Appert with Piper Jaffray.

Speaker 3

Thanks. Good morning. So Ray, you've enjoyed very impressive growth in the Moody's Investor Services business for the last several years. We're seeing some signs of life domestically in the structured Finance Markets. I'm wondering how your thinking has changed, if at all, in terms of sustainable revenue growth outlook For the rating side of the business, now that structured finance seems to be coming back, you feeling any more optimistic about what the revenue numbers could look like over the next few years?

Well, as you know, Peter, I think I've been feeling pretty optimistic about the outlook for the last few years. We have said that We think we can on average grow at a low double digit percent rate. Obviously, that will be subject to cyclical factors. But the underlying drivers for the business, I think are as strong, if not stronger today than they have been in recent years. As economic activity regains some momentum in the U.

S, as Europe works Through the stresses that it has to work through and the consequences of that in terms of changes in the banking and growth in the bond markets, capital markets, and the further maturation of the emerging capital markets, All of these are powerful. I'd also just note that the recent comments, very recent comments coming out of the European Central Bank, looking for resumption of asset backed securitization activity in Europe are also encouraging if a longer term driver. Excellent. Thank you. And Linda, on the tax rate specifically for the Q1, beyond litigation, there was something else going on, I assume.

Can you help us understand that?

Speaker 2

Sure, Peter. That was primarily due to the domestic tax benefit associated with the litigation settlement. But again, we'd ask you to take a look at the Q and see what you think and then maybe we can help you a little bit further.

Speaker 3

Okay, got it. Thank you. And then Linda, can you give any guidance on the cost of implementation of CRA 3? Is that going to be a big item?

Speaker 2

What we've said in terms of the incremental regulatory and compliance expense, Peter, we've mentioned and Ray just confirmed $10,000,000 to $15,000,000 this year. We think we've got a good start on much of that. But again, those rules are not totally finalized. So we're going to have to wait and see what comes of that. Peter, I wanted to take just a moment to kind of go through market conditions, which Ray had touched on sort of in the macro.

And if it's okay with you, we've got some commentary here on what we're hearing from the banks in terms of investment grade and high yield issuance, if that's okay with you?

Speaker 6

Please.

Speaker 2

Okay. So investment grade issuance to date 2013, we've heard has surprised to the upside. We've seen 3 $25,000,000,000 of year to date issuance versus $319,000,000,000 in 2012, which is an increase of 2%. $50,000,000,000 had been expected in April and the total came in at $106,000,000,000 Now $17,000,000,000 of that was Apple, So you can do what you want with that information. One bank is reviewing its 2013 volume predictions of $800,000,000,000 and may move that up $50,000,000,000 to $100,000,000,000 Another is keeping its original forecast of $750,000,000,000 as it expects issuance to slow in the second half of the year.

So you can kind of look at some different views there on issuance. Apple had the largest U. S. Dollar offering at $17,000,000,000 and generated demand of $50,000,000,000 had the largest single tranche ever of $55,000,000,000 Expected high grade volumes in May are $80,000,000,000 to $100,000,000,000 and expected high grade 2nd quarter volumes are $200,000,000,000 to $250,000,000,000 in issuance. The key themes we're seeing continuing drop in U.

S. Treasury rates, which 2.05% in March, 1.64% currently and continued tightening in spreads. Investment grade spreads are at record lows, 20 basis points tighter year to date and that is very helpful for borrowers. We're seeing new and infrequent issuers playing a larger role this year. We've seen borrowers who haven't tapped the market since before 2,009 comprised 25% of corporate issuance.

So that's a different borrower group than we've seen before. We're seeing dropped new issue concessions and preference for shorter dated paper as investors are concerned about what will happen with the eventual Fed exit. Use of proceeds is Mostly refinancing with some M and A and recent uptick in return of capital such as Apple and fund flows have been positive, $29,000,000,000 flowing into investment grade fund versus $23,000,000,000 in 2012. If we turn to high yield, similarly to the high grade market, high yield has Outpaced expectations. Demand for loans though continues to outpace bonds.

Bonds $130,000,000,000 year to date versus $127,000,000,000 last year. Loans at about double that pace, dollars 286,000,000,000 in high yield high leverage loans versus $108,000,000,000 last year, that's up 65%. We expect those volumes to be about bond volumes to be the same as 2012 and loans expected to be higher. We're seeing still a lot of CLO issuance running 3 times ahead of 2012. Use of proceeds for high yield is about 2 thirds refinancing and the balance M and A and general corporate purposes.

Fund flows about $1,700,000,000 into bonds year to date and significantly higher fund flows into leveraged loans about 4 times that of bonds, dollars 9,300,000,000 on flows into leveraged loans. So we're continuing to see Good fundamentals, good levels and that's helpful to us. So sorry for the long explanation, but hope that's helpful.

Speaker 3

Yes, that's great. That's very helpful. Thank you. And could I just ask one other thing? Sure.

With regard to the Abu Dhabi settlement, should we perhaps interpret that as an indication of greater willingness to consider settlement of other cases? No. We haven't changed our view on how we handle litigation. As a general matter, Our approach is unchanged. There were circumstances in this case that made us feel that the ongoing legal costs of 2 federal trials and the distraction of those cases made it in the best interest of shareholders that we go ahead and complete the settlement.

Very good. Thanks so much.

Speaker 1

Our next question today comes from William Byrd with Lazard. Please go ahead.

Speaker 4

Good morning. I was wondering if you could talk about your point of view on the durability of the strength you've seen in leveraged loans. And Linda, can you discuss, I guess, how you see your expense profile unfolding in coming quarters? Thank you.

Speaker 2

Sure. On Leveraged loans, Bill, it seems to be the place where investors want to be in the high yield sector right now. As I just said, funds flow is running 4 times stronger into those leverage loans. And it seems to be that given the questions about the interest rate outlook, variable rate paper seems to be more attractive to investors than fixed rate paper. So we would expect that, that trend would probably continue.

Now of course, issuance in the high yield area, whether bonds or loans, is very specifically tied to that all in funding cost. And if that moves, which it sometimes does, we can see periods where windows close pretty quickly. But for right now, things look relatively good.

Speaker 3

Yes. I'd just add that some of this is I think we would characterize as opportunistic given the rate environment that Linda referenced and the relatively narrow spreads that we're seeing. And some of it is, I think, Again, more structural in terms of a shift in the mix of debt and the rating of bank loans that are then available to go into other vehicles such as collateralized loan obligations and there's been a lot of demand for those vehicles. So I would Expect that outside of the opportunistic nature of this, we would also continue to see of the debt mix available in the market.

Speaker 2

And Bill, on your second question regarding the expense outlook, We want to be very clear in explaining to everyone that Q1 includes all the charges related to the litigation settlements, that's it. So you won't see those in the future quarters. If you remove those settlement costs, we still expect expenses to ramp about $50,000,000 over the balance of the year from Q1 sort of normalized expenses through to Q4. About half of that will be growth in compensation and the other half will be various non comp costs. So that's what the outlook It's for right now.

Speaker 4

And what was your incentive comp accrual in the quarter?

Speaker 2

Sure. Hang on just one second. We'll get that for you. Okay. Incentive comp for the quarter was about $30,000,000 which was about flat to last year's 1st quarter incentive compensation accrual.

Speaker 7

Thank you.

Speaker 1

And we'll take our next question from Alex Kramm with UBS.

Speaker 4

Hey, good morning. Just staying on the I guess on the MIS business and the outlook there. It looks like this quarter you had tremendous operating leverage if I back out the settlement charge. I mean really, really high like 90% plus or so. So just maybe can you give us a little bit more color on what drove that?

Obviously, you just talked about high yield being strong in bank loans, but maybe just talk about the different areas and how they change your margin profile as we think about the outlook here.

Speaker 3

Well, the strength in Corporate Finance in terms of issuance volumes was complemented by the mix because it was the speculative gray part of that market that was so active. And That is, as we've discussed previously, a beneficial area for us financially when that is active. Linda may have some more specifics on this, but I don't think we had 90% leverage, but it was good quarter obviously.

Speaker 2

Sure, Alex. Generally, I count on Craig to ask this question, but I'll go ahead anyway. For the Q1 of 2013, looking at the corporate line, as compared to Q1 last year, investment grade was about flat at $44,000,000 but that was only 17% of the total corporate line of $258,000,000 Last year, it was higher at 22%. So high yield was considerably higher, dollars 75,600,000 versus 51.6 last year and it's 29% of the total corporate line. So you're correct, we've seen much greater revenue from the spec grade line.

Bank loans also considerably higher, dollars 55,800,000 this year versus $30.7 last year, that's up 22%. And other accounts also up nicely to $82,400,000 from $70,000,000 last year, that's 32%. So the total for corporates It's $258,300,000 and that represents 50% of the whole MIS business. So hope that helps

Speaker 4

Yes, thank you. I didn't mean to steal anybody's question, but

Speaker 7

real quick, just to stay on

Speaker 4

the same topic. When you compare Bank loans and high yields, how do those margin profiles compare? I know you can't really compare because it's probably the same people, but how does that usually compare?

Speaker 3

Yes, it is the same people and it's really driven as much as anything by whether we are seeing relatively more refinancing or new money financing from new mandates. And This past quarter, we happened to have both a lot of new mandates, which because they are more time consuming than companies that we already follow, are initially a lower margin business, but we also had very high levels of refinancing. So it was just a strong quarter for spec grade corporate, both bonds and loans.

Speaker 2

And Alex, as we put out the new investor deck here in a couple of days, we'll have more detail on the new mandates. But new mandates are running strong and you can see that when we put out that new investor presentation pretty soon.

Speaker 4

All right, great. Just Moving on to the capital return there real quick. I think you gave the number €500,000,000 for buybacks. Just backward looking a little bit here, I mean you bought back a I would say a small amount of stock in the Q1. So any more color you can give us?

I mean the stock Obviously, you got crushed, if I may use that word, in early February. And you obviously bought back at a good price, but it seems like you could have been a little bit more aggressive in particular as you were working towards the settlement. So maybe a little bit more color here.

Speaker 2

Alex, we point out a year is a long time and we've only been through 1 quarter. We've done about $91,000,000 worth, which is about 20% of the $500,000,000 that we said we would do. So give us a little bit of time. Things have changed quite a bit here in the last week. So we're now focused on our forward looking capital allocation program, which we will be discussing.

And we'll take a look at our share repurchase. We'll take a look at our dividend levels. The stock price is higher. Dividend yield could use a little bit of work. We'll see where we go with that.

But we are well aware of the $500,000,000 commitment and we've got 3 quarters to go here.

Speaker 3

Just to add that, again, our ability to conduct opportunistic share repurchase as opposed to programmatic share repurchase is constrained when we have information that the market doesn't and these litigation settlements were something that we were obviously aware of in the weeks before it was announced.

Speaker 4

Yes, that's what I figured. I just want to make sure. And then just last one for me. You gave a little bit of color on the outlook here for the Q2. I think one area you didn't touch upon was the RMBS or particularly the private market there.

It seems like we're seeing a few green shoots here with a little bit of issuance in the U. S. Here, a couple of things coming to market. So any other color you could provide when you talk the banks and issuers and so forth? Thanks.

Speaker 3

Yes. I would agree with you. We are seeing some green shoots. That market is coming back slowly as issuers and investors look at the appropriate terms conditions for a resumption of the RMBS market. So the absolute volume levels are still quite light even though we can see some progress.

Unfortunately, it's being more than offset On a cyclical basis from the European side, where the RMBS market as well as the covered bond market have been very weak in the Q1. But again, the good news there is we can see that that is full downturn as opposed to something longer term.

Speaker 4

All right. Very helpful. Thank you.

Speaker 1

We'll move next to Doug Arthur with Evercore. Please go ahead.

Speaker 8

Hey, just I guess one change in guidance is structured you previously saw overall as up mid single now you're saying flat and obviously U. S. Looks quite strong. So I'm wondering if you can elaborate on the weakness you're seeing in structured in Europe. And then in terms of your guidance for the year, Obviously, the comps in the second half in investment grade and high yield are more difficult.

Can you comment on that? Thanks. Yes.

Speaker 3

As you, I think, correctly identify, There's a bit of a tug of war going on in structured finance where we're seeing good growth in the U. S. And offsetting decline outside the U. S, particularly centered in Europe, as I said, and particularly centered in the mortgage securities in Europe. Although really most asset categories in Europe were down in the Q1.

So we don't expect it to be down as much in the succeeding quarters as it was in the Q1. But again, we are cautious about the pace of recovery in the European market. As I said earlier in our comments, hopefully, we are being overly conservative on that. But right now, we're just not seeing a lot in the pipeline there.

Speaker 2

And Doug, it's Linda. In terms of MIS as a whole, MIS, as we said, did 5 $21,000,000 in the Q1. The 2nd quarter is about the same. And the 3rd quarter would be the one where we'd ask everybody to focus a little bit and look at expectations for the Q3 in terms of the MIS revenue line. You're right that comps get tougher as we go through the year.

But traditionally, 3rd quarter has been a little bit softer. Again, as Brad said, we continue to be on the watch for any unusual activity in terms of the European situation in the Q3. And then the Q4, as you pointed out, 2012 was tremendously strong, and that, as we said on a previous call, may be the only one that isn't absolutely up from last year. So I hope that helps you in terms of how we're thinking about it, which, of course, may or may not be the correct and accurate forecast we're going to have to see.

Speaker 8

So let me just clarify in the Q3, you're saying traditionally obviously it's a summer quarter, It's traditionally weaker. So I mean, is your implication that between that and the comps, it will not be up much at this point. Obviously, it's very early to have a crystal ball.

Speaker 3

Yes. No, that's we had an unusually strong Q3 last year. Just The market pattern didn't follow what we normally see and we're assuming that the Q3 is going to go back to being a relatively light quarter.

Speaker 8

Okay, great. Thank you.

Speaker 1

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, our next question comes from Craig Huber with Huber Research Partners.

Speaker 6

Hi, good afternoon. I did want to just finish up that one question from before. Linda, if you could just break down within structured finance, Financial Institutions and PPIF, the revenue categories on a percentage basis and or dollar.

Speaker 2

Sure, Craig. So we did CFG, And we'll move on to structured. So for the Q1 2013, global structured revenue was $93,000,000 And asset backed securities of that is $23,000,000 It's about 25% of the total. RMBS, about $17,000,000 18 percent of the total commercial real estate, dollars 25,000,000 which is 28% of the total and derivatives, 26.8% specifically, which is 29% of the total. So again, very good strength in derivatives, and that has been helpful to us.

Moving on to the FIG lines. We don't usually have a lot of exciting movement here, dollars 86,500,000 for the quarter. We're looking at $60,000,000 for banking. It's about 70% of the total, which is about where we were last year. Insurance is $22,000,000 26 percent of the total, marginally up from last year.

Managed Investments, 3,900,000 almost $4,000,000 and that's 5%. So those percentages are relatively as they were last year with maybe a bit more strength in Insurance. Going on to Public Project and Infrastructure. Total for the quarter is $83,000,000 Public Finance and Sovereigns, $42,000,000 which is 51 percent of the total, about flat from last year. New knees, about $4,000,000 again, flat from last year.

Project and Infrastructure, dollars 37,000,000 44%, about the same as last year. And again, the total for PPIF is $83,000,000 I think that's it.

Speaker 6

And then also just a couple of quick housekeeping questions, I think I might have a follow on. I think the last two quarters, your cash and balance 50% to 52% of that was tied up overseas. What's the update on that number, please?

Speaker 2

Sure. As we said on the script, that continues to be About fifty-fifty. We've got about 8.50% in the U. S. And about 9.10% internationally, Craig.

Speaker 3

Yes. So it's 48%, 52% right now.

Speaker 6

And is the Plans with that given just how expensive it is to take bring it back home here, given the tax situation is just keep it overseas and use it opportunistically for acquisitions?

Speaker 2

Yes, that's correct.

Speaker 3

And obviously, if there are opportunities to bring it back under some sort of tax holiday, We like everyone else in Corporate America would look at that.

Speaker 6

How much is your headcount change here in the 1st 3 months this year please?

Speaker 2

Sure. Hang on just a second. Let me see. Since the end of 2012, not too much. Let me see here.

We are up let me see. We're up only 73 people since the end of last year, which is about 1%. So we haven't grown too much. Over the course of the year, Craig, year over year comparison, we're up 7%. And most of that again has been in the business lines, particularly Moody's Analytics and particularly overseas.

Those numbers do exclude does include Copal Partners. So that can be a big addition big line of addition for us.

Speaker 6

And then my last question, please. Could you just speak a little about further about what happened over in Asia in the quarter on your ratings business?

Speaker 3

Sure. The Corporate Finance Business in Asia was strong just as it was in Europe and the U. S. Structured Finance, similar to Europe was somewhat soft, although not nearly to the degree that Europe was. And Financial Institutions, we had growth that broadly reflected what we saw in the U.

S, so low double digit growth outside of Europe internationally. And Public Project and Infrastructure Finance, which is relatively small, but was down a bit in Asia.

Speaker 6

If I could just sneak one more in here. This upcoming roundtable discussion, as you think about that, are you expecting much anything material to come out of that?

Speaker 3

Well, we will be participating in it. There are a couple of different panels. I think, as You would expect the roundtables are an opportunity for people with very diverse points of view to share their views and for The staff at the SEC to collect this wide range of viewpoints, I expect that's what we're going to hear given the roles and responsibilities of the different participants who are joining the roundtable.

Speaker 6

Thank you.

Speaker 1

We'll move next to Patrick Ochimaszewski

Speaker 2

with Raymond James.

Speaker 7

Hey, good morning. So my first question is with the Abu Dhabi and the King County cases resolved, I think that knocks out 2 of the 3 legal proceedings that you had discussed in your SEC filings. So maybe now is a good time to take a step back and Can you talk about where you see yourself in the overall process of dealing with these issues? And then I guess on a similar vein, when you are through dealing with all these issues, How do you view your professional expenses and your the impact on your expense base when you no longer have to deal with all this stuff?

Speaker 3

Yes. Just to answer the second question first. Yes, we would expect to see a reduction in our ongoing legal defense costs from what they are today. The trials that or the lawsuits that we are continuing to deal with are many of them are in discovery and the discovery process is a relatively expensive process. That being said, Of the U.

S. Lawsuits that were filed since the financial crisis, we had about a little more than 4 dozen cases against us and a little more than 3 dozen of those cases are have been disposed of in one way or another.

Speaker 7

Okay. So you have about a dozen outstanding cases that you're currently working your way through?

Speaker 3

Yes, approximately.

Speaker 7

Okay. Very good. That's all I had. Thank you.

Speaker 1

It appears there are no further questions or comments at this time.

Speaker 3

Okay. I just want to thank everyone for joining the call today and we look forward to speaking with you again in July. Thanks.

Speaker 1

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude Moody's First Quarter Earnings Call. As a reminder, a replay of this call will be available after 3:30 pm Eastern time on Moody's website, which is ir. Moodys.com. Thank you.

Powered by