HACKETT GROUP, INC. (HCKT) FY 2023 MD&A

ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Overview

The following Management’s Discussion and Analysis (“MD&A”) is intended to help the reader understand the results of operations and financial condition of Hackett. MD&A is provided as a supplement to, and should be read in conjunction with, our consolidated financial statements and the accompanying Notes to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We have omitted discussion of fiscal 2021 items and year-to-year comparisons between fiscal years 2022 and 2021 where it would be redundant with the discussion previously included in Part II, Item 7 (MD&A) of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2022.

Hackett is a global IP-based executive advisory, strategic consulting and digital transformation firm. The Hackett Group provides dedicated expertise in Gen AI strategy, operations, finance, human capital management, strategic sourcing, procurement, and information technology, including its highly recognized Oracle, SAP, OneStream and Coupa implementation offerings.

The firm recently launched our AI XPLR offering which helps define an organizations’ Gen AI enablement opportunities. Using AI XPLR, our AI assessment platform, our experienced professionals guide organizations to harness the power of Gen AI to digitally transform their operations and seek to achieve quantifiable, breakthrough results, allowing us to be key architects of our clients' Gen AI journey.

The Hackett Group has completed over 26,600 benchmarking and performance studies with major organizations. These studies are executed utilizing our Quantum Leap platform which drives our DTP. This includes the firm's benchmarking metrics, best practices repository, and best practice configuration and process flow accelerators, which enables our clients and partners to achieve digital world-class performance.

Our expertise is grounded in best practices insights from benchmarking the world’s leading businesses – including 97% of the Dow Jones Industrials, 89% of the Fortune 100, 70% of the DAX 40 and 55% of the FTSE 100, which are delivered through our Hackett Connect, QL and DTP platforms.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

In the ordinary course of business, we make a number of estimates and assumptions relating to the reporting of results of operations and financial position in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”). Actual results could differ from those estimates under different assumptions and conditions. We believe the following discussion addresses our most critical accounting policies that have had or are reasonably likely to have a material impact on our financial condition or results of operations. These policies require management to exercise judgment on issues that are often difficult, subjective and complex due to the necessity of estimating the effect of matters that are inherently uncertain.

Revenue Recognition

Determining revenue recognition requires management to exercise judgment on the interpretation of service contracts which may include one or multiple performance obligations. The judgement management must make include determining whether the control of the goods and services provided are transferred to our customers at a point in time or over the course of the service period utilizing a proportionate performance approach.

In fixed-fee billing arrangements, which would also include contracts with capped fees, we set the fees based on our estimates of the costs and timing for completing the engagements. We generally recognize revenue under fixed-fee or capped fee arrangements using a proportionate performance approach, which is based on work completed to-date as compared to estimates of the total services to be provided under the engagement. Estimates of total engagement revenue and cost of services are monitored regularly during the term of the engagement based on the best available information. If our estimates indicate a potential loss, such loss is recognized in the period in which the loss first becomes probable and reasonably estimable.

Allowances for Doubtful Accounts

We review accounts receivable to assess our estimates of collectability regularly. When establishing allowances for doubtful accounts, management must base their judgment on the information available at that point in time, which may include historical experiences, current economic trends and client credit worthiness, to determine the likelihood of collectability.

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Segment Reporting

Segments are defined as components of a company that engage in business activities from which they may earn revenues and incur expenses, and for which separate financial information is available and is evaluated regularly by the chief operating decision maker, or decision-making group, in deciding how to allocate resources and in assessing performance. The Company assesses its operating segments under the management approach in accordance with ASC 280, Segment Reporting (ASC 280) and has determined that it has three operating segments: Global Strategy & Business Transformation ("Global S&BT"), Oracle Solutions and SAP Solutions. Global S&BT includes S&BT Consulting, Benchmarking, Executive Advisory Services, IPaaS, OneStream and Coupa. Oracle Solutions and SAP Solutions support the two fundamentally distinct ERP systems: Oracle and SAP. See Note 15 “Segment Information and Geographic Data” for detailed segment information.

Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

For acquisitions accounted for as a business combination, goodwill represents the excess of the cost over the fair value of the net assets acquired. The Company has organized its operating and internal reporting structure to align with its primary market solutions. In accordance with ASC 280, management made the determination to present three operating segments, three reportable segments and three reporting units as follows: (1) Global S&BT, (2) Oracle Solutions, and (3) SAP Solutions. A reporting unit is an operating segment or one level below an operating segment to which goodwill is assigned. The goodwill has been allocated to the reporting unit based on the reporting unit's relative fair value. The carrying amount of goodwill by reporting unit is as follows (in thousands):

Income Taxes

Management’s judgement is required in the calculation of the income tax provision. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured by using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those differences are expected to reverse. A valuation allowance is provided if management believes it is more likely than not that all or some portion of the deferred tax asset will not be realized. An increase or decrease in the valuation allowance may result from a change in circumstances, and therefore a change in management’s judgment about the realizability of the related deferred tax asset.

Management adopted a more-likely-than-not threshold for financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return in regards to the de-recognition of income tax assets and liabilities, classification of current and deferred income tax assets and liabilities, accounting for interest and penalties associated with tax positions, accounting for income taxes in interim periods and income tax disclosures.

Please refer to Note 1 “Basis of Presentation and General Information” to our consolidated financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the discussion of all of our critical accounting policies.

Results of Operations

Our fiscal year generally consists of a 52-week period and periodically consists of a 53-week period as each fiscal year ends on the Friday closest to December 31. Fiscal years 2023 and 2022 ended on December 29, 2023 and December 30, 2022, respectively, each consisted of a 52-week period. References to a year included in this document refer to a fiscal year rather than a calendar year.

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The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, our results of operations (in thousands):

Comparison of 2023 to 2022

Overview. For fiscal year 2023, total revenue increased to $296.6 million, as compared to $293.7 million in 2022, primarily driven by increased total revenue from our Global S&BT segment of $2.3 million and our Oracle Solutions segment of $1.5 million, as compared to 2022.

Revenue. We are a global company with operations primarily in the United States and Western Europe. Our revenue is denominated in multiple currencies, primarily the U.S. Dollar, British Pound and Euro, and as a result is affected by currency exchange rate fluctuations. The impact of the currency fluctuation did not have a significant impact on comparisons between 2023 and 2022. Revenue is analyzed based on geographic location of engagement team personnel.

In 2023 one customer accounted for 6% of our total revenue and in 2022 one customer accounted for 7% of our total revenue.

Segment revenue. We have three reportable segments: Global S&BT, Oracle Solutions and SAP Solutions. Global S&BT includes S&BT Consulting, Benchmarking, Advisory Services, IPASS, OneStream and our Coupa offerings. Oracle Solutions and SAP Solutions support the two fundamentally distinct ERP systems: Oracle and SAP.

The following table sets forth total revenue by reportable operating segment, which includes reimbursable expenses related to project travel-related expenses passed through to a client with no associated operating margin (in thousands):

Global S&BT total revenue increased to $171.9 million in 2023, as compared to $169.7 million in 2022. This segment has been impacted by slowing economic growth resulting in extended client decision making in our business transformation engagements.

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Additionally, the prior periods comparisons were against the accelerated post pandemic demand that we experienced throughout the first half of 2022. Global S&BT represented 58% of the Company's total revenue. In addition to solid performance from our transformation consulting groups, our IP-based higher-margin Executive Advisory and IPaaS offerings grew 7%. The success and market opportunity for our IP offerings highlight the reasons why we have accelerated our sales and product development investments in this area.

Oracle Solutions total revenue increased to $77.8 million in 2023, as compared to $76.3 million in 2022, primarily due to the segment's continued momentum that began in the second quarter of 2023, with strong double digit growth over the last two quarters of 2023, as compared to the prior year periods. This is being driven by increasing activity across our EPM offerings within this segment.

SAP Solutions total revenue decreased to $46.9 million in 2023, from $47.8 million in 2022, primarily due to lower sales of SAP cloud software, as compared to the prior year.

Reimbursements as a percentage of total revenue were 1.8% in 2023 and 1.4% in 2022. Reimbursements are project travel-related expenses passed through to a client with no associated operating margin.

Cost of Service. Cost of service consists of personnel costs before reimbursable expenses, which includes salaries, benefits and incentive compensation for consultants and subcontractor fees, acquisition-related cash and stock compensation costs, non-cash stock compensation expense, and reimbursable expenses which are travel and other expenses passed through to a client and are associated with projects.

Personnel costs before reimbursable expenses, increased slightly to $174.9 million in 2023, as compared to $174.1 million in 2022. The higher costs in 2023 were primarily a result of increased utilization of subcontractors to support business growth, partially offset by lower incentive compensation accruals when compared to the prior year resulting from Company performance. Personnel costs as a percentage of total revenue were 59% in both 2023 and 2022.

Non-cash stock-based compensation expense, included in personnel costs before reimbursable expenses, was $6.2 million in both 2023 and 2022.

Selling, General and Administrative Costs (“SG&A”). SG&A primarily consists of salaries, benefits and incentive compensation for the selling, marketing, administrative and executive employees, non-cash compensation expense, amortization of intangible assets, acquisition related costs and various other overhead expenses.

SG&A costs increased 8%, to $65.9 million in 2023, as compared to $61.0 million in 2022. This increase in the costs was primarily due to the increased investments in dedicated sales resources for our IP-based offerings in our Global S&BT segment, partially offset by lower incentive compensation commensurate with Company performance. SG&A costs as a percentage of total revenue were 22% and 21% during 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Non-cash stock-based compensation expense, included in SG&A, was $4.5 million in 2023, as compared to $4.1 million in 2022.

There was no amortization expense included in SG&A in 2023, however, there was $0.2 million of amortization expense in 2022. The amortization expense related to the amortization of the intangible asset acquired in our acquisitions and the buyout of our partner’s joint venture interest in the CGBS Training and Certification Programs in 2017. The intangible assets related to the acquisitions were fully amortized as of the second quarter of 2022.

Legal Settlement and Related Costs. In May 2023, Gartner, Inc. ("Gartner") filed a lawsuit seeking a preliminary injunction and damages against the Company and two ex-Gartner employees that were hired by us. On February 17, 2024, we, Gartner and the two ex-Gartner employees entered into a settlement agreement whereby we made a settlement payment of $985,000 to Gartner, Inc. in exchange for a dismissal of the lawsuit and a release of all claims. In addition, we incurred incremental legal costs related to the settlement.

Segment Profit. Segment profit consists of the revenue generated by the segment, less the direct costs of revenue and selling, general and administrative expenses that are incurred directly by the segment. Items not allocated to the segment level include corporate costs related to administrative functions that are performed in a centralized manner that are not attributable to a particular segment. These administrative function costs include corporate general and administrative expenses, non-cash compensation, depreciation and amortization expense, interest expense and the restructuring and asset impairment reversals.

Global S&BT segment profit decreased to $54.4 million in 2023, as compared to $61.3 million in 2022. This decrease was primarily a result of the incremental investments we are making in program development and additional dedicated sales resources for Benchmark, Executive Advisory, Market Intelligence and our other IPaaS offerings.

Oracle Solutions segment profit increased to $18.1 million in 2023, as compared to $15.3 million in 2022, primarily due to lower salaries and benefits and higher revenue, partially offset by the higher utilization of subcontractors.

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SAP Solutions segment profit decreased to $11.9 million in 2023, as compared to $12.8 million in 2022, primarily due to the lower sales of SAP cloud software, as well as sales related investments made during the year.

Income Taxes. During 2023, we recorded $11.9 million of income tax expense related to certain federal, state and foreign taxes which reflected an effective tax rate of 25.8%. During 2022, we recorded $14.3 million of income tax expense related to certain federal, state and foreign taxes which reflected an effective tax rate of 26.0%.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

As of December 29, 2023 and December 30, 2022, we had $21.0 million and $30.3 million, respectively, of cash, and $32.7 million,and $59.7 million, respectively, outstanding under our Credit Facility, net of deferred debt costs. We currently believe that available funds, including the cash on hand and funds available for borrowing under our Credit Facility, and cash flows generated by operations will be enough to fund our cash requirements, including working capital, debt payments, lease obligations and capital expenditures for at least the next twelve months and beyond. We may decide to raise additional funds in order to fund expansion, to develop new or further enhance products and services, to respond to competitive pressures, or to acquire complementary businesses or technologies. There is no assurance that additional financing would be available when needed or desired.

The following table summarizes our cash flow activity (in thousands):

Cash Flows from Operating Activities

Net cash provided by operating activities was $37.4 million in 2023, as compared to $58.9 million in 2022. In 2023, the net cash provided by operating activities was primarily due to net income adjusted for non-cash items, partially offset by a decrease in the income tax liabilities and contract liabilities and an increase in accounts receivable. In 2022, the net cash provided by operating activities was primarily due to net income adjusted for non-cash items and an increase in the income tax liabilities, partially offset by the decrease in accrued liabilities and other accruals.

Cash Flows from Investing Activities

Net cash used in investing activities was $4.1 million in 2023, as compared to $4.7 million in 2022. During both periods, cash flows used in investing activities primarily related to investments for the development of our Hackett Connect Executive Advisory member platform and continued development of our QL benchmark and DTP technologies.

Cash Flows from Financing Activities

Net cash used in financing activities was $42.6 million in 2023, as compared to $69.7 million in 2022. The usage of cash in 2023 was primarily related to the net pay down of our Credit Facility $27.0 million, dividend payments of $12.0 million and employee net vesting related tax withholding requirements of $3.8 million. The usage of cash in 2022 was primarily related to the repurchase of Company common stock under our share repurchase program of $116.6 million, inclusive of the tender offer transaction related costs, employee net vesting related tax withholding requirements of $3.2 million, and dividend payments of $10.4 million, partially offset by the $60.0 million drawdown of our Credit Facility.

Material Cash Requirements

Debt Payments and Lease Obligations

On November 7, 2022, we amended and restated our credit agreement in order to extend the maturity date of our Credit Facility and provide the Company with an additional $55 million in borrowing capacity, for an aggregate amount of up to $100 million. See Note 8, “Credit Facility,” to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information. As of December 29, 2023, we had $32.7 million of outstanding borrowings, net of deferred debt costs, under our revolving line of credit, leaving us with borrowing capacity of approximately $67.0 million. See Note 8 for more information.

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There were no material capital commitments as of December 29, 2023. The following table summarizes our future principal payments under our future Credit Facility and lease commitments under our non-cancelable operating leases as of December 29, 2023 (in thousands):

(1) Excludes interest charges on borrowings, the fee on the amount of any unused commitment that we may be obligated to pay under our revolving Credit Facility as such amounts vary and the deferred debt costs. See Note 8, in the notes to consolidated financial statements for additional information.

Capital Expenditures

There were no material commitments for capital expenditures as of December 29, 2023. Our capital expenditures primarily consist of investments related to the continued development of our QL, DTP and Hackett Connect platforms and laptop purchases. During the years ended December 29, 2023, and December 30, 2022, our capital expenditures were $4.1 million and $4.7 million, respectively. We expect capital expenditures for the year ended December 27, 2024, to approximate the capital expenditures in 2023.

Taxes

Cash paid for income taxes was $13.3 million and $4.6 million for the years ended December 29, 2023, and December 30, 2022, respectively. The increase in the income tax payments related to the 2021 tax deduction for the exercise of the 2.9 million SARs. As a result of the transaction, the Company carried an income tax receivable on its Consolidated Balance Sheet in 2022 until the fourth quarter of 2022. See Note 9, “Income Taxes” to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information.

Dividends and Share Repurchases

During the fiscal year 2023, our Board of Directors approved four quarterly dividends payments of $0.11 per share totaling $12.0 million. We expect dividend payments in 2024 to be approximately $12.0 million.

We have an ongoing authorization from our Board of Directors to repurchase shares of our common stock. During 2023, we repurchased 37 thousand shares of common stock from members of our Board of Directors at an average price per share of $18.96, for a total cost of $0.7 million. As of December 29, 2023, we had $13.9 million share repurchase authorization remaining. Subsequent to fiscal year end, we repurchased 43 thousand shares of the Company’s common stock from members of our Board of Directors for a total of $1.1 million, or $24.34 per share. Including these repurchases, we had approximately $12.9 million available for future repurchases under the plan as of March 1, 2024.

Shares purchased under the repurchase plan do not include shares withheld to satisfy withholding tax obligations. These withheld shares are never issued and in lieu of issuing the shares, taxes were paid on our employee’s behalf. In 2023, 0.2 million shares were withheld and not issued for a cost of $3.8 million, bringing the total cumulative cash used to repurchase stock in 2023 to $4.5 million. In 2022, 0.2 million shares were withheld and not issued for a cost of $3.2 million, bringing the total cumulative cash used to repurchase stock in 2022 to $119.8 million, including the tender offer transaction and related transaction fees.

Recently Issued Accounting Standards

For discussion of recently issued accounting standards, see Note 1 to our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.