Black Knight raises 2021 outlook on strong 2Q earnings

Black Knight’s expanded repertoire of mortgage products contributed towards a 23% annual jump in revenue during the second quarter, company representatives said.

The mortgage and real estate tech, data and analytics firm reported net earnings of $39.7 million, compared with $54.1 million in the first quarter and $39.1 million the year prior. Stockholders made $0.25 in diluted earnings per share, down from $0.35 quarterly and $0.26 annually.

Black Knight’s recent string of acquisitions made up a portion of $291.7 million in total expenses, a jump from $281.9 million in 2021’s opening quarter and $216.6 million a year ago.

In the second quarter, Black Knight bought marketing firm Top of Mind for $250 million and analytics provider eMBS for an undisclosed amount. Additionally, it integrated its July 2020 acquisition Optimal Blue with pipeline monitoring, giving clients automated data synchronization and cutting down a labor intensive, error-prone process, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Anthony Jabbour said on the earnings call.

“Lenders and servicers continue to realize the value of leveraging our innovative end-to-end technology across the mortgage continuum,” Jabbour said. “We believe M&A is a great tool to supplement our internal innovations, which is why we have completed six acquisitions since March 2020.”

While expensive, that expanded portfolio drove the company’s business. Black Knight reported revenue of $361.3 million, jumps from $349.7 million quarterly and $293.1 million annually.

Broken down by segment, its software solutions — inclusive of its loan servicing platform and origination system — carried the load for the company with $305.4 million in revenue and $141.6 million in operating income. Those increased from $295.8 million and $139.7 million respectively quarter-over-quarter, and $245.1 million and $116 million year-over-year.

Data and analytics brought in a revenue of $55.9 million with an operating income of $17.1 million, up from $53.9 million and $15.9 million in the first quarter and $48.2 million and $12.3 million annually. Meanwhile, the corporate segment didn’t produce any revenue and had an income loss of $89.1 million. It mostly stayed in line with the previous quarter’s $87.8 million operating loss but took a bigger hit than the $51.8 million loss the year before.

With the strong first half, Black Knight raised its outlook for 2021 and expects sequential revenue growth, Jabbour said. It now projects a full year revenue ceiling of $1.463 billion from $1.428 billion last quarter, adjusted EBITDA at $716 million from $711 million and earnings per share of $2.29 from $2.24.