QuinStreet Reports Fiscal Third Quarter Financial Results

FOSTER CITY, Calif., April 30, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- QuinStreet, Inc. (Nasdaq:QNST), a leader in vertical marketing and media online, today announced its financial results for the quarter and nine months ended March 31, 2012.

For the third quarter, the Company reported total revenue of $93.0 million, a decrease of 14% over the same quarter last year. For the nine month period, the Company reported total revenue of $284.8 million, a decrease of 8% over the same period of the prior year.

Adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter was $17.3 million, or 19% of revenue. EBITDA results included a $1.4 million unexpected bad debt write-off of receivables due the Company by an agency that became insolvent during the quarter. Excluding this effect, adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter would have been $18.7 million, or 20% of revenue.

Adjusted EBITDA for the nine month period was $57.4 million, or 20% of revenue.

The Company reported GAAP net income of $2.9 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2012. GAAP net income for the nine month period was $12.8 million, or $0.27 per diluted share.

Adjusted net income for the third quarter was $9.5 million, or $0.21 per diluted share, and $0.23 per share excluding the write-off. For the nine month period, adjusted net income was $32.0 million, or $0.67 per diluted share. Adjusted net income excludes stock-based compensation expense and amortization of intangible assets, net of estimated tax.

The Company generated $15.0 million of normalized free cash flow for the third quarter and $44.8 million for the nine month period. Cash flow from operations totaled $17.4 million for the third quarter and $42.4 million for the nine month period.

For the third quarter, revenue for the Education client vertical was $38.9 million, a decrease of 19% compared to the year-ago quarter. Revenue for the Financial Services client vertical was $38.9 million, a decrease of 20% compared to the same quarter last year. Revenue for Other client verticals was $15.3 million, an increase of 39% compared to the year-ago quarter.

Reconciliations of adjusted net income to net income, adjusted EBITDA to net income, and normalized free cash flow to net cash provided by operating activities are included in the accompanying tables.

The Company now expects total fiscal 2012 revenue to be between $360 and $370 million, and revenue and profits to be down year-over-year in fiscal Q4. The Company continues to target an adjusted EBITDA margin of 20% for the full fiscal year.

"We continue to manage through challenges in Education and Financial Services that are creating uncertainty and weighing on our results," commented Doug Valenti, QuinStreet CEO. "We are focused on strategies and initiatives that we believe will mitigate or overcome the challenges and return us to growth. Digital performance marketing is an early stage, enormous opportunity, and our assets and capabilities are strong. We continue to pursue opportunities that we believe represent substantial growth potential."

Conference Call

QuinStreet will host a conference call and corresponding live webcast at 2:00 p.m. PT today. To access the conference call, dial 1-866-240-0819 for the U.S. and Canada and 1-973-200-3360 for international callers. The webcast will be available live on the investor relations section of the Company's website at http://investor.quinstreet.com, and via replay beginning approximately two hours after the completion of the call until the Company's announcement of its financial results for the next quarter. An audio replay of the call will also be available to investors beginning at approximately 5:00 p.m. PT on April 30, 2012 until 11:59 p.m. PT on May 6, 2012 by dialing 1-800-585-8367 in the U.S. and Canada, or 1-404-537-3406 for international callers, using passcode 71119897#. This press release, the financial tables, as well as other supplemental financial information are also available on the investor relations section of the Company's website at http://investor.quinstreet.com.

Final financial results will be included in the Company's quarterly report on Form 10-Q, which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission no later than May 10, 2012.

About QuinStreet

QuinStreet, Inc. (Nasdaq:QNST) is one of the largest Internet marketing and media companies in the world. QuinStreet is committed to providing consumers and businesses with the information they need to research, find and select the products, services and brands that meet their needs. For more information, please visit QuinStreet.com.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This release and the accompanying tables include a discussion of adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income, adjusted diluted net income per share, free cash flow and normalized free cash flow, all of which are non-GAAP financial measures that are provided as a complement to results provided in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP"). The term "adjusted EBITDA" refers to a financial measure that we define as net income less provision for taxes, depreciation expense, amortization expense, stock-based compensation expense, interest and other income (expense), net. In the current quarter, we also computed adjusted EBITDA excluding the effect of a bad debt write-off of $1.4 million; the calculation simply removes the effect of that write-off upon the non-GAAP measure ("EBITDA results included a $1.4 million unexpected bad debt write-off of receivables due the Company by an agency that became insolvent during the quarter. Excluding this effect, adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter would have been $18.7 million, or 20% of revenue."). The term "adjusted net income" refers to a financial measure that we define as net income adjusted for amortization expense and stock-based compensation expense, net of estimated taxes. The term "adjusted diluted net income per share" refers to a financial measure that we define as adjusted net income divided by weighted average diluted shares outstanding.  In the current quarter, we also computed adjusted net income per share excluding the effect of a bad debt write-off of $1.4 million; the calculation simply removes the after-tax effect of that write-off upon the non-GAAP measure ("$0.23 per share excluding the write-off"). The term "free cash flow" refers to a financial measure that we define as net cash provided by operating activities, less capital expenditures and internal software development costs. "Normalized free cash flow" refers to free cash flow adjusted for changes in operating assets and liabilities and the impact from excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation. These non-GAAP measures should be considered in addition to results prepared in accordance with GAAP, but should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, GAAP results. In addition, our definition of adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income, adjusted diluted net income per share, free cash flow and normalized free cash flow may not be comparable to the definitions as reported by other companies.

We believe adjusted EBITDA, adjusted net income, adjusted diluted net income per share, free cash flow and normalized free cash flow are relevant and useful information because they provide us and investors with additional measurements to analyze the Company's operating performance.

Adjusted EBITDA is part of our internal management reporting and planning process and one of the primary measures used by our management to evaluate the operating performance of our business, as well as potential acquisitions. Adjusted EBITDA is useful to us and investors because it provides information related to the Company's ability to provide cash flow for acquisitions, capital expenditures and working capital requirements. Internally, adjusted EBITDA is used by management for planning purposes, including preparation of internal budgets; to allocate resources to enhance financial performance; to evaluate the effectiveness of operational strategies; and to evaluate the Company's capacity to fund acquisitions and capital expenditures as well as the capacity to service debt. Adjusted EBITDA is used as a key financial metric in senior management's annual incentive compensation program. The Company believes that analysts and investors use adjusted EBITDA as a supplemental measurement to evaluate the overall operating performance of companies in its industry and use adjusted EBITDA multiples as a metric for analyzing company valuations. It is also an element of certain maintenance covenants under our debt agreements. In the current quarter, we also provide a computation of adjusted EBITDA excluding the after-tax effect of a bad debt write-off, because it is a historically large write-off and we believe that analysts and investors will want to understand the effect of the write-off upon that non-GAAP measure; hence, we provide the computation for clarity and ease-of-use.

Adjusted net income and adjusted diluted net income per share are useful to us and investors because they present an additional measurement of our financial performance, taking into account depreciation, which we believe is an ongoing cost of doing business, but excluding the impact of certain non-cash expenses (stock-based compensation and amortization of intangible assets). The Company believes that analysts and investors use adjusted net income and adjusted diluted net income per share as supplemental measures to evaluate the overall operating performance of companies in our industry. In the current quarter, we also provide a computation of adjusted net income per share excluding the effect of a bad debt write-off, because it is a historically large write-off and we believe that analysts and investors will want to understand the effect of the write-off upon that non-GAAP measure; hence, we provide the computation for clarity and ease-of-use.

Free cash flow is useful to us and investors because it represents the cash that our business generates from operations, before taking into account cash movements that are non-operational, and is a metric commonly used in our industry to understand the underlying cash generating capacity of a company's financial model. The measure normalized free cash flow is useful as it removes the fluctuations in operating assets and liabilities that occur in any given quarter due to the timing of payments and therefore helps understand the underlying cash flow of the business as a quarterly metric and the cash flow generation potential of the business model. The Company believes that analysts and investors use free cash flow multiples as a metric for analyzing company valuations in our industry. Free cash flow and normalized free cash flow have certain limitations in that they do not represent the total increase or decrease in the cash balance for the period, nor do they represent the residual cash flow for discretionary expenditures. Therefore, we think it is important to evaluate both of these cash flow measures along with our consolidated statement of cash flows and understand any changes in the operating assets and liabilities.

We intend to provide these non-GAAP financial measures as part of our future earnings discussions and, therefore, the inclusion of these non-GAAP financial measures will provide consistency in our financial reporting. A reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to GAAP is provided in the accompanying tables.

Legal Notice Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This press release and its attachments contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that involve risks and uncertainties. Words such as "will, " "believe, " "intend, " "potential" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include the quotations from management in this press release, as well as any statements regarding the Company's anticipated financial results and strategic and operational plans. The Company's actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements. Factors that may contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: the Company's ability to deliver an adequate rate of growth and manage such growth; the impact of changes in government regulation and industry standards; the Company's ability to maintain and increase the number of visitors to its websites; the Company's ability to identify and manage acquisitions; the impact of the current economic climate on the Company's business; the Company's ability to attract and retain qualified executives and employees; the Company's ability to compete effectively against others in the online marketing and media industry; the impact and costs of any failure by the Company to comply with government regulations and industry standards; and costs associated with defending intellectual property infringement and other claims. More information about potential factors that could affect the Company's business and financial results is contained in the Company's annual reports on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Additional information will also be set forth in the Company's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2012, which will be filed with the SEC no later than May 10, 2012. The Company does not intend and undertakes no duty to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein.

CONTACT: Erica Abrams or Matthew Hunt

         (415) 217-5864 or (415) 489-2194

         erica@blueshirtgroup.com

         matt@blueshirtgroup.com

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