SCI Service Corp International Inc

Conference call on Thursday, February 13, 2025, at 8:00 a.m. Central Time. 

HOUSTON, Feb. 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Service Corporation International (NYSE: SCI), the largest provider of deathcare products and services in North America, today reported results for the fourth quarter of 2024.

Highlights:

• Revenue increased $37 million, or 4%, over the fourth quarter of 2023 with growth in both the funeral and cemetery segments
• Comparable preneed cemetery sales production grew 2.0% in the current quarter
• Comparable core funeral sales average grew 2.7% in the current quarter
• Gross profit increased $18 million, or 6%, over the same quarter of last year
• GAAP earnings per share of $1.04 grew 12% for the fourth quarter compared to the prior year quarter and were flat to prior year at $3.53 for full year 2024
• Adjusted earnings per share of $1.06 grew 14% over the fourth quarter of last year
• GAAP operating cash flow was $264 million and $945 million, for the fourth quarter and full year 2024, respectively
• Adjusted operating cash flow was $977 million for the full year 2024, just above the high end of our expectations
• 2025 adjusted earnings per share guidance is $3.70 to $4.00, with a midpoint of $3.85, which is within our long-term growth framework of 8%-12%

Tom Ryan, the Company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented on fourth quarter results:

"We are pleased to report a strong finish for the year with adjusted earnings per share growth of 14% in the fourth quarter of 2024. This was driven by revenue growth in both our segments, which translated into solid gross profit performance and margin expansion. Growth in cemetery preneed sales production and higher funeral general agency revenue more than offset a decline in services performed during the quarter. For the full year of 2024, we reported adjusted earnings per share of $3.53 and adjusted operating cash flow of $977 million. Our robust cash flow for the year allowed us to invest $181 million into the acquisition of 26 funeral homes and 6 cemeteries in major metropolitan markets and $62 million into real estate transactions to expand our footprint of funeral homes and cemeteries in our existing markets.

Looking ahead to 2025, we believe we are well positioned to deliver solid results, with the midpoint of our expected adjusted earnings per share growth within our long-term targeted growth range of 8% to 12%.

I would like to thank our 25,000 associates for their unwavering commitment to providing excellent service to our client families. Through their hard work, SCI remains in a position of financial strength affording flexibility for continued growth. We continue to believe in our long-term growth strategy to grow revenue, leverage our unparalleled scale, and invest our capital wisely to enhance shareholder value."

FOURTH QUARTER AND FULL YEAR SUMMARY

Details of our fourth quarter 2024 financial results and the consolidated financial statements can be found in the Appendix at the end of this press release. The table below summarizes our key financial results.

• Diluted earnings per share were $1.04 in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to $0.93 in the fourth quarter of 2023. The current year quarter was favorably impacted by $20.3 million resulting from a reduction in our California legal reserve as the primary claims period expired. This benefit was offset by $17.2 million of net losses on divestitures and impairment charges and $11.5 million of restructuring charges. The prior year quarter was impacted by a $0.4 million pre-tax gain on divestitures. Diluted earnings per share, excluding special items, were $1.06 in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to $0.93 in the fourth quarter of 2023. Higher gross profit, lower corporate general and administrative expenses, and a lower share count more than offset a higher tax rate resulting in 14% growth over the prior year fourth quarter.
• Net cash provided by operating activities decreased $13.5 million to $264.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to $277.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. Net cash provided by operating activities in the current quarter was impacted by payments related to legal matters that were expensed in 2022 of $1.2 million and current period restructuring charge payments of $2.3 million. The $10.0 million decrease in net cash provided by operating activities excluding special items is due to uses associated with payroll timing as well as net preneed and other working capital that were offset by an increase in operating income and lower cash interest.

OUTLOOK FOR 2025

Our 2025 outlook for diluted earnings per share from continuing operations excluding special items, at the midpoint of our guidance range, is anticipated to be within our expected long-term growth framework of 8%-12%. Our outlook for net cash provided by operating activities excludes special items relating to the payments of certain estimated legal charges recognized in the fourth quarter of 2022 and payments for the restructuring charge recognized in the fourth quarter of 2024.

CONFERENCE CALL AND WEBCAST

We will host a conference call on Thursday, February 13, 2025, at 8:00 a.m. Central Time. A question and answer session will follow prepared remarks made by management. The conference call dial-in numbers are (888) 317-6003 (US) or (412) 317-6061 (International) with the passcode of 2973360. The conference call will also be broadcast live via the Internet and can be accessed through our website at www.sci-corp.com. A replay of the conference call will be available through February 20, 2025 and can be accessed at (877) 344-7529 (US) or (412) 317-0088 (International) with the passcode of 2327241. Additionally, a replay of the conference call will be available on our website for approximately one year.

ABOUT SERVICE CORPORATION INTERNATIONAL

Service Corporation International (NYSE: SCI), headquartered in Houston, Texas, is North America's leading provider of funeral, cemetery and cremation services, as well as final-arrangement planning in advance, serving approximately 700,000 families each year. Our diversified portfolio of brands provides families and individuals a full range of choices to meet their needs, from simple cremations to full life celebrations and personalized remembrances. Our Dignity Memorial® brand is the name families turn to for professionalism, compassion, and attention to detail that is second to none. At December 31, 2024, we owned and operated 1,493 funeral service locations and 496 cemeteries (of which 308 are combination locations) in 44 states, eight Canadian provinces, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. For more information about Service Corporation International, please visit our website at www.sci-corp.com. For more information about Dignity Memorial®, please visit www.dignitymemorial.com.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT ON FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS  

The statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements made in reliance on the "safe harbor" protections provided under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be accompanied by words such as "believe," "estimate," "project," "expect," "anticipate," "predict," or other similar words that convey the uncertainty of future events or outcomes. The absence of these words, however, does not mean that the statements are not forward-looking. These statements are based on assumptions that we believe are reasonable; however, many important factors could cause our actual results in the future to differ materially from the forward-looking statements made herein and in any other documents or oral presentations made by us, or on our behalf. Important factors, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include, among others, the following:

• Our affiliated trust funds own investments in securities, which are affected by market conditions that are beyond our control.
• We may be required to replenish our affiliated funeral and cemetery trust funds to meet minimum funding requirements, which would have a negative effect on our earnings and cash flow.
• Our ability to execute our strategic plan depends on many factors, some of which are beyond our control.
• We may be adversely affected by the effects of inflation.
• Our results may be adversely affected by significant weather events, natural disasters, catastrophic events or public health crises.
• Our credit agreements contain covenants that may prevent us from engaging in certain transactions.
• If we lost the ability to use surety bonding to support our preneed activities, we may be required to make material cash payments to fund certain trust funds.
• The financial condition of third-party life insurance companies that fund our preneed contracts may impact our future revenue.
• Unfavorable publicity could affect our reputation and business.
• Our failure to attract and retain qualified sales personnel and licensed funeral professionals could have an adverse effect on our business and financial condition.
• We use a combination of insurance, self-insurance, and large deductibles in managing our exposure to certain inherent risks; therefore, we could be exposed to unexpected costs that could negatively affect our financial performance.
• Declines in overall economic conditions beyond our control could reduce future potential earnings and cash flows and could result in future impairments to goodwill and/or other intangible assets.
• Any failure to maintain the security of the information relating to our customers, their loved ones, our associates, and our vendors could damage our reputation, could cause us to incur substantial additional costs and to become subject to litigation, and could adversely affect our operating results, financial condition, or cash flow.
• Our Canadian business exposes us to operational, economic, and currency risks.
• Our level of indebtedness could adversely affect our cash flows, our ability to raise additional capital to fund our operations, limit our ability to react to changes in the economy or our industry, and may prevent us from fulfilling our obligations under our indebtedness.
• A failure of a key information technology system or process could disrupt and adversely affect our business.
• The funeral and cemetery industry is competitive.
• If the number of deaths in our markets declines, our cash flows and revenue may decrease. Changes in the number of deaths are not predictable from market to market or over the short term.
• If we are not able to respond effectively to changing consumer preferences, our market share, revenue, and/or profitability could decrease.
• The continuing upward trend in life expectancy and the number of cremations performed in North America could result in lower revenue, operating profit, and cash flows.
• Our funeral and cemetery businesses are high fixed-cost businesses.
• Risks associated with our supply chain could materially adversely affect our financial performance.
• Regulation and compliance could have a material adverse impact on our financial results.
• Unfavorable results of litigation could have a material adverse impact on our financial statements.
• Cemetery burial practice claims could have a material adverse impact on our financial results.
• The application of unclaimed property laws by certain states to our preneed funeral and cemetery backlog could have a material adverse impact on our liquidity, cash flows, and financial results.
• Changes in taxation, or the interpretation of tax laws or regulations, as well as the inherent difficulty in quantifying potential tax effects of business decisions could have a material adverse effect on the results of our operations, financial condition, or cash flows.

For further information on these and other risks and uncertainties, see our Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including our 2024 Annual Report on Form 10-K. Copies of this document as well as other SEC filings can be obtained from our website at www.sci-corp.com. We assume no obligation and make no undertaking to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements made herein or any other forward-looking statements made by us whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

SERVICE CORPORATION INTERNATIONAL

APPENDIX: RESULTS FOR THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 2024

Comparable Funeral Results

The table below details comparable funeral results of operations ("same store") for the three months ended December 31, 2024 and 2023. We consider comparable funeral operations to be those businesses owned for the entire period beginning January 1, 2023 and ending December 31, 2024.

• Total comparable funeral revenue increased by $5.4 million, or 1.0%, primarily driven by a $18.5 million increase in core general agency and other revenue, offset by a $8.8 million decrease in core funeral revenue and a $6.4 million decrease in non-funeral home preneed sales revenue.
• The decrease in core funeral revenue of $8.8 million, or 1.8%, was primarily due to a 4.4% decrease in core funeral services performed offset by a 2.7% growth in the core average revenue per service. This core average growth was achieved despite a modest increase of 100 basis points in the core cremation rate to 57.5%.
• Non-funeral home preneed sales revenue decreased by $6.4 million, or 25.0%, primarily due to a decline of non-funeral home preneed sales production of $12.8 million, or 19.7%, impacted by our transition from trust to insurance-funded contracts in certain states.
• Core general agency and other revenue grew $18.5 million, primarily due to growth in general agency revenue from higher average commission rates as a result of the change in our preneed insurance agreement.
• Comparable funeral gross profit increased $3.6 million to $125.9 million and the gross profit percentage increased 40 basis points to 21.9% from 21.5%. This increase is primarily due to the increase in revenue mentioned above slightly offset by below inflation cost increases reflecting our continual focus on managing costs.
• Comparable preneed funeral sales production decreased $26.7 million, or 9.2%, in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to 2023. Core preneed sales production decreased by $13.9 million, or 6.2%, primarily due to the transition to our new preneed insurance provider. Non-funeral home preneed sales production decreased $12.8 million, or 19.7%, primarily due to our transition from trust to insurance-funded contracts.

Comparable Cemetery Results

The table below details comparable cemetery results of operations ("same store") for the three months ended December 31, 2024 and 2023. We consider comparable cemetery operations to be those businesses owned for the entire period beginning January 1, 2023 and ending December 31, 2024.

• Comparable cemetery revenue increased by $20.2 million, or 4.2%, primarily due to higher core revenue of $20.7 million.
• The core revenue increase of $20.7 million was primarily due to a $19.3 million, or 5.6%, increase in total recognized preneed revenue, from higher recognized preneed property revenue of $14.1 million and higher recognized preneed merchandise and service revenue of $5.2 million. Total recognized preneed revenue benefited from growth in comparable preneed cemetery sales production of $7.2 million, or 2.0%.
• Comparable cemetery gross profit increased $14.1 million to $179.6 million. The gross profit percentage increased 150 basis points to 35.8% from 34.3% primarily due to the growth in core revenue mentioned above. In addition, while effectively managing costs overall, we incurred increased maintenance costs from damages incurred at locations impacted by natural disasters during the quarter.
• Comparable preneed cemetery sales production increased $7.2 million, or 2.0%, reflecting strength in large sales activity, while our core production was relatively flat.

Other Financial Results

• Corporate general and administrative expenses decreased $30.1 million to $15.0 million compared to $45.1 million in the prior year fourth quarter. During the fourth quarter, we recognized a $20.3 million reduction in our California legal reserve as the primary claims period expired. Adjusting for the $20.3 million, corporate general and administrative expenses declined $9.8 million due to timing differences in long-term incentive compensation expense in the prior year.
• During the fourth quarter of 2024, we recognized $11.5 million in restructuring charges, which included the retirements and position eliminations of various home office positions as part of ongoing cost management.
• Losses on divestitures and impairment charges, net of $17.2 million in 2024 compared to $0.4 million in 2023 includes net losses on the sale of non-essential real estate and businesses as well as impairment of long-lived assets and intangibles.
• Interest expense decreased $1.3 million to $63.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2024 primarily due to the bond refinancing we executed in September 2024, which lowered our overall cost of debt during the period.
• The GAAP effective income tax rate for the fourth quarter of 2024 was 23.3% up from 23.0% in the prior year quarter. Our adjusted effective income tax rate was 24.8% in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to 23.2% in the prior year quarter. The lower tax rates in the prior period were primarily due to non-taxable gains on the cash surrender value of certain life insurance policies as a result of better returns in the financial markets and additional tax benefits recognized on the settlement of employee share-based awards during the fourth quarter of 2023.

Cash Flow and Capital Spending

Net cash provided by operating activities decreased $13.5 million to $264.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to $277.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. The current year was impacted by payments related to legal matters that were expensed in 2022 of $1.2 million and current period restructuring charge payments of $2.3 million. The $10.0 million decline in net cash provided by operating activities excluding special items is primarily due to uses associated with payroll timing of $27.0 million as well as $15.5 million of net preneed and other working capital. These more than offset growth of $20.1 million in operating income and $12.4 million of lower cash interest.

A summary of our capital expenditures is set forth below:

Total capital expenditures increased in the current quarter by $18.3 million primarily due to increased spend on capital improvements at existing field locations related to the timing of certain projects as we invested in our funeral and cemetery locations.

Trust Fund Returns

Total trust fund returns include realized and unrealized gains and losses and dividends and are shown gross without netting of certain fees. A summary of our consolidated trust fund returns as of December 31, 2024 is set forth below:

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Earnings excluding special items and diluted earnings per share excluding special items shown above are non-GAAP financial measures. We believe these non-GAAP financial measures provide a consistent basis for comparison between quarters and years, and better reflect the performance of our core operations by adjusting for the items listed below. We also believe these measures help facilitate comparisons to our competitors' operating results.

Set forth below is a reconciliation of our reported net income attributable to common stockholders to earnings excluding special items and our GAAP diluted earnings per share to diluted earnings per share excluding special items. We do not intend for this information to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for other measures of performance prepared in accordance with GAAP.

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SOURCE Service Corporation International