Item 2. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying notes thereto included elsewhere herein and with our Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying notes included in the 2018 Form 10-K. Unless otherwise noted, all dollar amounts in tables are in millions. Neither Realogy Holdings, the indirect parent of Realogy Group, nor Realogy Intermediate, the direct parent company of Realogy Group, conducts any operations other than with respect to its respective direct or indirect ownership of Realogy Group. As a result, the condensed consolidated financial positions, results of operations and cash flows of Realogy Holdings, Realogy Intermediate and Realogy Group are the same. This Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, or MD&A, contains forward-looking statements. See "Forward-Looking Statements" in this report and "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" in our 2018 Form 10-K for a discussion of the uncertainties, risks and assumptions associated with these statements. Actual results may differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements.
OVERVIEW
We are a global provider of real estate and relocation services and report our operations in the following four segments:
•Real Estate Franchise Services (known as the Franchised Services)—franchises the Century 21®, Coldwell Banker®, Coldwell Banker Commercial®, ERA®, Sotheby's International Realty® and Better Homes and Gardens® Real Estate brand names and launched franchise sales of the Corcoran® brand in January 2019. As of September 30, 2019, our real estate franchise systems and proprietary brands had approximately 300,400 independent sales agents worldwide, including approximately 190,000 independent sales agents operating in the U.S. (which included approximately 51,600 company owned brokerage independent sales agents). As of September 30, 2019, our real estate franchise systems and proprietary brands had approximately 16,900 offices worldwide in 113 countries and territories, including approximately 5,900 brokerage offices in the U.S. (which included approximately 720 company owned brokerage offices).
•Company Owned Real Estate Brokerage Services (known as the Owned Brokerage Services)—operates a full-service real estate brokerage business with approximately 720 owned and operated brokerage offices with approximately 51,600 independent sales agents principally under the Coldwell Banker®, Corcoran®, Sotheby’s International Realty®, ZipRealty®, Citi HabitatsSM and Climb Real Estate® brand names in many of the largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. This segment also included the Company's share of earnings for our PHH Home Loans venture, which was sold to PHH in the first quarter of 2018 and we transitioned to our new mortgage origination joint venture, Guaranteed Rate Affinity, which is included in the financial results of the Title and Settlement Services segment.
•Relocation Services (known as Cartus®)—primarily offers clients employee relocation services such as homesale assistance, providing home equity advances to transferees (generally guaranteed by the individual's employer), home finding and other destination services, expense processing, relocation policy counseling and consulting services, arranging household goods moving services, coordinating visa and immigration support, intercultural and language training and group move management services. In addition, we provide home buying and selling assistance to members of affinity clients.
•Title and Settlement Services (known as Title Resource Group or TRG)—provides full-service title and settlement services to real estate companies, affinity groups, corporations and financial institutions with many of these services provided in connection with the Company's real estate brokerage and relocation services business. This segment also includes the Company's share of equity earnings and losses for our Guaranteed Rate Affinity mortgage origination joint venture.
Our technology and data group pursues technology-enabled solutions to support our business units and franchisees as well as independent sales agents affiliated with our Owned Brokerage and Franchised Services and their customers.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
Entry into Definitive Agreement to Sell Employee Relocation Business; Realogy to Retain Cartus Affinity and Broker-to-Broker Business
As reported by us on a Current Report on Form 8-K filed on November 7, 2019, we announced a definitive purchase agreement under which SIRVA Worldwide, Inc., a subsidiary of SIRVA, Inc. (collectively, “SIRVA”), will acquire our global employee relocation business. The transaction is valued at $400 million, and is expected to close in the first half of 2020, subject to the receipt of required regulatory clearances and other closing conditions. SIRVA is a portfolio company of Madison Dearborn Partners (MDP), a leading private equity firm.
The transaction includes all of the employee relocation assets of Cartus, but does not include Cartus’ affinity business, which delivers home selling and buying assistance to members of affinity clients, nor its Broker Network, made up of agents and brokers from Realogy’s residential real estate brands and certain independent real estate brokers. Under the terms of the agreement, we will receive $375 million in cash at closing and a $25 million deferred payment after the closing of the transaction, subject to certain adjustments set forth in the purchase agreement. We intend to use the substantial majority of the net proceeds to pay down corporate debt.
Completion of the planned sale is subject to certain closing conditions, including the expiration or termination of all waiting periods under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act and the receipt of other required regulatory clearances. There can be no assurance that any of such conditions will be satisfied and that the planned sale will be successfully completed on a timely basis or at all.
Product Launches
The Owned Brokerage and Franchised Services have launched strategic initiatives focused on addressing current market dynamics by expanding our base of affiliated independent sales agents and affiliated franchisees, providing them with compelling data and technology products and services, generating high quality leads, and enhancing the consumer experience to move affiliated agents closer to the customer. Throughout the year, we have delivered numerous technology-driven products designed to meet these goals across our business units.
For example, in October 2019, we evolved our iBuying offerings through the launch of RealSure, a consumer program created to improve the home selling and buying experience through two core products, RealSure Sell and RealSure Mortgage. The programs, created in partnership with Home Partners of America, will be in 10 U.S. markets and build on and replace our cataLIST program. Under the RealSure Sell product, sellers with qualifying properties receive a cash offer valid for 45 days immediately upon listing, and during this time frame have the opportunity to pursue a better price by marketing their property with an affiliated independent sales agent. Sellers who are enrolled in RealSure Sell can utilize RealSure Mortgage to make an offer on their next home without sale or financing contingencies before their current home is sold by leveraging their RealSure Sell cash offer.
In September 2019, we launched RealVitalize, a home improvement program that provides home sellers with home improvement resources prior to or during the home listing period with no up-front costs or interest charges. The pilot program is currently available in select markets through the Coldwell Banker branded operations of our Owned Brokerage Services with a national roll-out planned later this year.
The Owned Brokerage Services also continued to roll-out a collection of marketing tools aimed at increasing independent agent success, including Listing Concierge—a full service solution for the design, creation and distribution of automated customized property listings—as well as products designed to facilitate agent branding and customer prospecting. We intend to continue to advance these marketing initiatives.
These programs are intended to support the continued expansion of commission plans other than the traditional graduated commission model by the Owned Brokerage Services, including commission plans that charge agents for certain activities.
In addition, the Franchised Services continued to pursue strategic initiatives intended to add new franchisees and widen the base of independent sales agents, including the introduction of new pricing model structure for one brand, launch of Corcoran as a new franchise brand and expansion of the historical scope of potential franchisee candidates.
Lead Generation Programs
In October 2019, we announced an agreement to create a new real estate benefits program exclusively for AARP members. Expected to launch nationally in early 2020, this first-ever real estate services program for AARP’s 38 million members will be available when members buy or sell a home through one of our participating residential real estate brands.
On September 7, 2019, Cartus launched the new Realogy Military Reward Program for U.S. military personnel, veterans and their families in connection with the previously announced discontinuation of its affinity program with USAA. The Realogy Military Reward Program seeks to provide access to benefits similar to those offered under the former USAA affinity program.
In July 2019, we launched “TurnKey” in collaboration with Amazon in 15 U.S. cities. Under the TurnKey program, the Company matches highly-ranked independent sales agents affiliated with certain Realogy brands to participating homebuyers who will receive complementary Amazon services and products paid by Realogy.
Leads generated by the programs described above form part of the Cartus affinity business. Referrals from these programs have been or are handled by the Cartus Broker Network, a network of real estate brokers from the Owned Brokerage Services, Franchised Services and certain independent real estate brokers. The Cartus Broker Network closed approximately 80,000 homesale transactions for the Company and its brands in 2018 and approximately 61,000 such closings for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 (which we refer as “in-network homesale transactions”).
The Cartus affinity business is highly-concentrated and the USAA program represented a significant portion of this business and the in-network homesale transactions for Realogy and its brands. We expect that in 2020, the USAA program discontinuation will likely have a material impact on earnings at Cartus and will result in a reduction in in-network homesale transactions for Realogy and its brands. The foregoing does not take into account potential positive offsets driven by the Company’s other existing and new affinity and lead generation programs, macro-economic changes, cost-savings initiatives and other management actions.
Repurchase of Senior Notes
During the third quarter of 2019, the Company repurchased $93 million of its 4.875% Senior Notes through open market purchases at an aggregate purchase price of $83 million. The Company recorded a gain on the early extinguishment of debt of $10 million.
Impairment of Goodwill
During the third quarter of 2019, the Company determined that the decrease in the stock price of the Company and the impact on future earnings related to the discontinuation of the USAA program qualified as triggering events for all of its reporting segments and accordingly the Company performed an impairment analysis of goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets as of September 1, 2019. This analysis resulted in recognition of a goodwill impairment charge totaling $180 million related to the Owned Brokerage Services segment. The impairment charge is recorded on a separate line in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and is non-cash in nature.
Facility and Operational Efficiencies Program
Beginning in the first quarter of 2019, we commenced the implementation of a plan to accelerate our office consolidation to reduce our storefront costs, as well as institute other operational efficiencies to drive profitability. In addition, beginning in the first quarter of 2019, we commenced a plan to transform and centralize certain aspects of our operational support and drive changes in how we serve our affiliated independent sales agents from a marketing and technology perspective to help such agents be more productive and enable them to make their businesses more profitable. In the third quarter we expanded our operational efficiencies program to focus on workforce optimization. This workforce optimization initiative is focused on consolidating similar or overlapping roles, reducing the number of hierarchical layers and streamlining work and decision making. Separately, we also reduced headcount in the third quarter in connection with the wind down of the USAA affinity program.
Total restructuring costs of approximately $66 million are currently anticipated to be incurred through the end of 2019 with $28 million incurred through the third quarter of 2019. As of September 30, 2019, cost savings related to these restructuring activities were estimated to be approximately $50 million on an annual run rate basis, with approximately $30 million of those cost savings expected to be realized in 2019. In addition to the approximately $30 million of cost savings expected from restructuring activities, there are approximately $40 million of additional cost savings initiatives being
implemented and expected to be realized in 2019. These costs savings are designed to partially offset inflation and other costs.
The following table reflects the total amount of restructuring costs for the Company's Facility and Operational Efficiencies program by reportable segment:
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Total amount expected to be incurred
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Amount incurred through
September 30, 2019
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Total amount remaining to be incurred
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Real Estate Franchise Services
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$
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4
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|
$
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1
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$
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3
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|
Company Owned Real Estate Brokerage Services
|
47
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|
|
17
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|
|
30
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|
Relocation Services
|
5
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|
|
5
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|
|
—
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|
Title and Settlement Services
|
1
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|
|
1
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|
|
—
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|
Corporate and Other
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9
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4
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|
|
5
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Total
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$
|
66
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|
|
$
|
28
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|
|
$
|
38
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CURRENT BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY TRENDS
According to the National Association of Realtors ("NAR"), during the nine months ended September 30, 2019, homesale transaction volume increased 1% due to a 3% increase in the average homesale price, partially offset by a 2% decrease in the number of homesale transactions.
During 2018, the housing market faced challenging conditions that intensified in severity during the last four months of the year, including reduced affordability, constrained inventory, higher average homesale prices and mortgage rate volatility, as well as a number of other factors, such as personal income tax reform. We are unable to extrapolate the relative impact that each of these individual factors may have had on regional and local housing markets. While we believe that the difficult market environment in late 2018 continued to negatively impact the first half of 2019, we believe that incremental improvement in certain industry fundamentals, in particular declines in average mortgage rates and, to a lesser extent, increases in affordability, contributed to improvement in recent market conditions. We believe this is reflected in the 6% increase in homesale transaction volume in the third quarter of 2019 reported by NAR versus flat homesale transaction volume in the second quarter of 2019 and the 4% decrease in homesale transaction volume in the first quarter of 2019 reported by NAR.
During the three months ended September 30, 2019, homesale transaction volume on a combined basis for Franchised and Owned Brokerage Services decreased 1% compared to the three months ended September 30, 2018, which represents a lower rate of decline when compared to the first and second quarters of 2019, where Franchised and Owned Brokerage Services homesale transaction volume on a combined basis declined 9% and 3% compared to the first and second quarters of 2018, respectively.
Homesale transaction volume on a combined basis for Franchised and Owned Brokerage Services decreased 4% during the nine months ended September 30, 2019 compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2018. Homesale transaction volume at our Owned Brokerage Services decreased 6%, as a result of a 5% decrease in existing homesale transactions and a 1% decrease in average homesale price, and homesale transaction volume at our Franchised Services decreased 3%, as a result of a 5% decrease in existing homesale transactions, partially offset by a 3% increase in average homesale price.
We believe that while the industry fundamentals in late 2018 described above drove a significant portion of our decline in homesale transaction volume in the first half of 2019, our results for the second and third quarters of 2019 reflect some of the modest improvements in market conditions also described above. However, during both the three- and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2019, we were also negatively impacted by the intense competitive environment as well as our geographic concentration, in particular for our Owned Brokerage Operations in California and the New York metropolitan area.
Specifically, the intensity of competition for the affiliation of independent sales agents negatively impacted recruitment and retention efforts at both our Owned Brokerage and Franchised Services. While the number of independent sales agents affiliated with our Owned Brokerage Services grew approximately 3% in 2019, that gain did not fully offset the decline in homesale transaction volume driven by the loss of more productive independent sales agents over the same period. Further, the number of independent sales agents in the U.S. affiliated with our Franchised Services (excluding our Owned Brokerage Services) was down approximately 2% in 2019, driven by the competitive environment for independent sales agents as well as franchisee terminations, including the loss of a large franchisee during the second quarter.
These competitive factors drove a loss in our market share for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 compared to full-year 2018. This loss of market share contributed to the decline in homesale transaction volume at both Owned Brokerage and Franchised Services and is expected to continue to adversely impact results. We believe that certain owned-brokerage competitors have investors that appear to be supportive of a model that pursues increases in market share over profitability, which not only exacerbates competition for independent sales agents, but places additional pressure on the share of commission income received by the agent.
Inventory. Although inventory levels have shown some signs of improvement during the first half of 2019, inventory levels declined during the third quarter of 2019 compared to the third quarter of 2018. Low housing inventory levels continue to be an industry-wide concern, in particular in certain highly sought-after geographies and at lower price points. According to NAR, the inventory of existing homes for sale in the U.S. increased from 1.53 million as of December 2018 to 1.83 million as of September 2019. As a result, inventory has increased from 3.7 months of supply in December 2018 to 4.1 months as of September 2019. However, according to NAR, year-over-year inventory levels in 2019 were down 1% in July, 4% in August and 3% in September as compared to the same months in 2018 and inventory levels continue to be significantly below the 10-year average of 5.8 months, the 15-year average of 6.1 months and the 25-year average of 5.8 months.
Mortgage Rates. According to Freddie Mac, mortgage rates on commitments for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate first mortgage averaged 3.67% for the third quarter of 2019 compared to 4.57% for the third quarter of 2018. While mortgage rates reached as high as 4.87% in November 2018, rates have moderated during 2019, and on September 30, 2019 were 3.61%, according to Freddie Mac. Increases in mortgage rates adversely impact housing affordability and we have been and could again be negatively impacted by a rising interest rate environment. For example, a rise in mortgage rates could result in decreased homesale transaction volume if potential home sellers choose to stay with their lower mortgage rate rather than sell their home and pay a higher mortgage rate with the purchase of another home or, similarly, if potential home buyers choose to rent rather than pay higher mortgage rates.
Affordability. The fixed housing affordability index, as reported by NAR, increased from 142 for August 2018 to 160 for August 2019, which we believe is primarily attributable to lower mortgage rates and wage growth. A housing affordability index above 100 signifies that a family earning the median income has sufficient income to purchase a median-priced home, assuming a 20 percent down payment and ability to qualify for a mortgage.
Recruitment and Retention of Independent Sales Agents; Commission Income. Recruitment and retention of independent sales agents and independent sales agent teams are critical to the business and financial results of a brokerage, including our company owned brokerages and those operated by our affiliated franchisees. Competition for independent sales agents in our industry, including within our franchise system, is high, in particular with respect to more productive sales agents. We believe that a variety of factors in recent years have negatively impacted the recruitment and retention of independent sales agents in the industry and has increasingly impacted the recruitment and retention of top producing agents. Such factors include increasing competition (which has particularly intensified in the last several quarters), increasing levels of commissions paid to agents (including up-front payments and equity), changes in the spending patterns of independent sales agents (as more independent sales agents purchase services from third-parties outside of their affiliated broker) and the growth in independent sales agent teams. The continued competition for productive agents could continue to have a negative impact on our homesale transaction volume and market share and could continue to put upward pressure on the average share of commissions earned by independent sales agents.
Non-traditional market participants. While real estate brokers using historical real estate brokerage models typically compete for business primarily on the basis of services offered, brokerage commission, reputation, utilization of technology and personal contacts, participants pursuing non-traditional methods of marketing real estate may compete in other ways, including companies that employ technologies intended to disrupt historic real estate brokerage models or minimize or eliminate the role traditional brokers and sales agents perform in the homesale transaction process.
A growing number of companies are competing in non-traditional ways for a portion of the gross commission income generated by homesale transactions. For example, many iBuying business models seek to disintermediate real estate brokers and independent sales agents from buyers and sellers of homes either entirely or by reducing brokerage commissions that may be earned on those transactions. In addition, listing aggregators and other web-based real estate service providers compete for our Owned Brokerage Services business by establishing relationships with independent sales agents and/or buyers and sellers of homes, ultimately seeking to direct transactions and act as the intermediary between the consumer and agent. They also increasingly charge brokerages and independent sales agents additional fees for new and existing services, which puts pressure on the profitability of other industry participants, including agents and brokers, competes for part of
Franchised Services revenue through referral or other fees and could dilute our relationships with our franchisees and our franchisees' relationships with their independent sales agents and buyers and sellers of homes. We also currently receive listing fees for our provision of real estate listings under an agreement that expires in March 2022. The continuation of such arrangement, and our ability to enter into similar arrangements with other third-parties, is subject to a variety of factors, including changes in the way such parties access this information and the competitive landscape.
See "Recent Developments" above for a discussion of product launches and lead generation programs for the benefit of our Owned Brokerage and Franchised Operations intended to address current market dynamics.
Existing Homesales
For the nine months ended September 30, 2019 compared to the same period in 2018, NAR existing homesale transactions decreased to 4 million homes or down 2%. For the nine months ended September 30, 2019, homesale transactions on a combined basis for Franchised and Owned Brokerage Services decreased 5% compared to the same period in 2018 due primarily to challenging market fundamentals, the impact of competition (including on our market share), the loss of certain franchisees and geographic concentration of the Owned Brokerage Services. The quarterly and annual year-over-year trends in homesale transactions are as follows:
_______________
(a)Q1, Q2 and Q3 existing homesale data is as of the most recent NAR press release, which is subject to sampling error.
(b)Forecasted existing homesale data, on a seasonally adjusted basis, is as of the most recent NAR forecast.
(c)Forecasted existing homesale data, on a seasonally adjusted basis, is as of the most recent Fannie Mae press release.
As of their most recent releases, NAR is forecasting existing homesale transactions to increase 4% in 2020 while Fannie Mae is forecasting existing homesale transactions to increase 1% for the same period.
Existing Homesale Price
For the nine months ended September 30, 2019 compared to the same period in 2018, NAR existing homesale average price increased 3%. For the nine months ended September 30, 2019, average homesale price on a combined basis for Franchised and Owned Brokerage Services increased 1% compared to the same period in 2018. The Owned Brokerage Services' geographic concentration and exposure to the high-end of the market plus the associated competitive pressures drove the year-over-year decline in homesale price compared to the overall industry. The quarterly and annual year-over-year trends in the price of homes are as follows:
_______________
(a)Q1, Q2 and Q3 homesale price data is for existing homesale average price and is as of the most recent NAR press release.
(b)Forecasted homesale price data is for median price and is as of the most recent NAR forecast.
(c)Existing homesale price data is for median price and is as of the most recent Fannie Mae press release.
As of their most recent releases, NAR is forecasting median existing homesale price to increase 4% in 2020 while Fannie Mae is forecasting median existing homesale price to increase 1% in 2020.
* * *
We believe that long-term demand for housing and the growth of our industry are primarily driven by the affordability of housing, the economic health of the U.S. economy, demographic trends such as generational transitions, increases in U.S. household formation, mortgage rate levels and mortgage availability, certain tax benefits, job growth, increases in renters that qualify as homebuyers, the inherent attributes of homeownership versus renting and the influence of local housing dynamics of inventory supply versus demand. At this time, certain of these factors are trending favorably, such as mortgage rate levels, household formation and job growth. Factors that may negatively affect growth in the housing industry include:
•continued insufficient inventory levels or stagnant and/or declining home prices;
•a reduction in the affordability of homes;
•higher mortgage rates due to increases in long-term interest rates and increasing down payment requirements as well as reduced availability of mortgage financing;
•certain provisions of the 2017 Tax Act that directly impact traditional incentives associated with home ownership and may reduce the financial distinction between renting and owning a home, including those that reduce the amount that certain taxpayers would be allowed to deduct for home mortgage interest or state, local and property taxes as well as certain state tax reform, such as the "mansion tax" in New York;
•decelerated or lack of building of new housing for homesales, increased building of new rental properties, or irregular timing of new development closings leading to lower unit sales at our Owned Brokerage Services, which has relationships with developers, primarily in major cities, to provide marketing and brokerage services in new developments;
•homeowners retaining their homes for longer periods of time;
•changing attitudes towards home ownership, particularly among potential first-time homebuyers who may delay, or decide not to, purchase a home, as well as changing preferences to rent versus purchase a home;
•decreasing consumer confidence in the economy and/or the residential real estate market;
•an increase in potential homebuyers with low credit ratings or inability to afford down payments;
•the impact of limited or negative equity of current homeowners, as well as the lack of available inventory may limit their proclivity to purchase an alternative home;
•economic stagnation or contraction in the U.S. economy;
•weak credit markets and/or instability of financial institutions;
•increased levels of unemployment and/or stagnant wage growth in the U.S.;
•a decline in home ownership levels in the U.S.;
•other legislative or regulatory reforms, including but not limited to reform that adversely impacts the financing of the U.S. housing market, changes relating to RESPA, potential reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, immigration reform, and further potential tax code reform;
•renewed high levels of foreclosure activity;
•natural disasters, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, mudslides and other events that disrupt local or regional real estate markets; and
•geopolitical and economic instability.
Many of the trends impacting our businesses that derive revenue from homesales also impact Cartus, which is the leading provider of global relocation services. In addition to general residential housing trends, key drivers of Cartus are global corporate spending on relocation services, which continue to shift to lower cost relocation benefits as corporate clients engage in cost reduction initiatives and/or restructuring programs as well as changes in employment relocation trends. Cartus is subject to a competitive pricing environment and lower average revenue per relocation as a result of a shift
in the mix of services and number of services being delivered per move. These factors have and may continue to put pressure on the growth and profitability of this segment.
* * *
While data provided by NAR and Fannie Mae are two indicators of the direction of the residential housing market, we believe that homesale statistics will continue to vary between us and NAR and Fannie Mae because:
•they use survey data and estimates in their historical reports and forecasting models, which are subject to sampling error, whereas we use data based on actual reported results;
•there are geographical differences and concentrations in the markets in which we operate versus the national market. For example, many of our company owned brokerage offices are geographically located where average homesale prices are generally higher than the national average and therefore NAR survey data will not correlate with the Owned Brokerage Services' results;
•comparability is also diminished due to NAR’s utilization of seasonally adjusted annualized rates whereas we report actual period-over-period changes and their use of median price for their forecasts compared to our average price;
•NAR historical data is subject to periodic review and revision and these revisions have been material in the past, and could be material in the future; and
•NAR and Fannie Mae generally update their forecasts on a monthly basis and a subsequent forecast may change materially from a forecast that was previously issued.
While we believe that the industry data presented herein is derived from the most widely recognized sources for reporting U.S. residential housing market statistical data, we do not endorse or suggest reliance on this data alone. We also note that forecasts are inherently uncertain or speculative in nature and actual results for any period could materially differ.
KEY DRIVERS OF OUR BUSINESSES
Within the Franchised and Owned Brokerage Services, we measure operating performance using the following key operating metrics: (i) closed homesale sides, which represents either the "buy" side or the "sell" side of a homesale transaction, (ii) average homesale price, which represents the average selling price of closed homesale transactions, and (iii) average homesale broker commission rate, which represents the average commission rate earned on either the "buy" side or "sell" side of a homesale transaction.
For Franchised Services, we also use net royalty per side, which represents the royalty payment to Franchised Services for each homesale transaction side taking into account royalty rates, average broker commission rates, volume incentives achieved and other incentives. We utilize net royalty per side as it includes the impact of changes in average homesale price as well as all incentives and represents the royalty revenue impact of each incremental side.
For Owned Brokerage Services, we also use gross commission income per side, which represents gross commission income divided by closed homesale sides. Gross commission income includes commissions earned in homesale transactions and certain other activities, primarily leasing and property management transactions. The Owned Brokerage Services, as a franchisee of the Franchised Services, pays a royalty fee of 6% per transaction to the Franchised Services from the commission earned on a real estate transaction. The remainder of gross commission income is split between the broker (the Owned Brokerage Services) and the independent sales agent.
Within Cartus, we measure operating performance using the following key operating statistics: (i) initiations, which represent the total number of new transferees and the total number of real estate closings for affinity members and (ii) referrals, which represent the number of referrals from which we earn revenue from real estate brokers. The USAA affinity program represented a significant portion of new referrals on a historical basis and for the third quarter of 2019. The discontinuation of this program in September 2019 is expected to result in a significant reduction in such referrals commencing with the fourth quarter of 2019.
In TRG, operating performance is evaluated using the following key metrics: (i) purchase title and closing units, which represent the number of title and closing units we process as a result of home purchases, (ii) refinance title and closing units, which represent the number of title and closing units we process as a result of homeowners refinancing their home loans, and (iii) average fee per closing unit, which represents the average fee we earn on purchase title and refinancing title sides. An increase or decrease in homesale transactions will impact the financial results of TRG; however, the financial results are
not significantly impacted by a change in homesale price. Although the average mortgage rate declined in 2019 compared to 2018, we believe that increases in mortgage rates in the future would most likely have a negative impact on refinancing title and closing units.
The following table presents our drivers for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018. See "Results of Operations" below for a discussion as to how these drivers affected our business for the periods presented.
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Three Months Ended September 30,
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Nine Months Ended September 30,
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2019
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2018
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% Change
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2019
|
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2018
|
|
% Change
|
Franchised Services (a)
|
|
|
|
|
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|
|
|
|
|
|
Closed homesale sides
|
299,937
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|
|
308,917
|
|
|
(3)
|
%
|
|
803,976
|
|
|
846,185
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|
|
(5)
|
%
|
Average homesale price
|
$
|
314,984
|
|
|
$
|
305,398
|
|
|
3
|
%
|
|
$
|
312,224
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|
|
$
|
304,482
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|
|
3
|
%
|
Average homesale broker commission rate
|
2.47
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%
|
|
2.47
|
%
|
|
—
|
bps
|
|
2.47
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%
|
|
2.48
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%
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|
(1)
|
bps
|
Net royalty per side
|
$
|
329
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|
|
$
|
322
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|
|
2
|
%
|
|
$
|
323
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|
|
$
|
324
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|
|
—
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%
|
Owned Brokerage Services
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Closed homesale sides
|
92,399
|
|
|
94,241
|
|
|
(2)
|
%
|
|
248,092
|
|
|
261,083
|
|
|
(5)
|
%
|
Average homesale price
|
$
|
509,425
|
|
|
$
|
513,403
|
|
|
(1)
|
%
|
|
$
|
522,050
|
|
|
$
|
525,738
|
|
|
(1)
|
%
|
Average homesale broker commission rate
|
2.41
|
%
|
|
2.44
|
%
|
|
(3)
|
bps
|
|
2.41
|
%
|
|
2.44
|
%
|
|
(3)
|
bps
|
Gross commission income per side
|
$
|
13,000
|
|
|
$
|
13,227
|
|
|
(2)
|
%
|
|
$
|
13,343
|
|
|
$
|
13,545
|
|
|
(1)
|
%
|
Cartus
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Initiations
|
39,589
|
|
|
42,718
|
|
|
(7)
|
%
|
|
128,659
|
|
|
133,901
|
|
|
(4)
|
%
|
Referrals
|
25,085
|
|
|
24,769
|
|
|
1
|
%
|
|
64,105
|
|
|
65,857
|
|
|
(3)
|
%
|
Title Resource Group
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Purchase title and closing units
|
41,619
|
|
|
43,836
|
|
|
(5)
|
%
|
|
111,865
|
|
|
121,766
|
|
|
(8)
|
%
|
Refinance title and closing units
|
8,014
|
|
|
4,264
|
|
|
88
|
%
|
|
17,295
|
|
|
14,456
|
|
|
20
|
%
|
Average fee per closing unit
|
$
|
2,288
|
|
|
$
|
2,229
|
|
|
3
|
%
|
|
$
|
2,308
|
|
|
$
|
2,231
|
|
|
3
|
%
|
_______________
(a)Includes all franchisees except for our Owned Brokerage Services.
A decline in the number of homesale transactions and decline in homesale prices could adversely affect our results of operations by: (i) reducing the royalties we receive from our franchisees, (ii) reducing the commissions our company owned brokerage operations earn, (iii) reducing the demand for our title and settlement services, (iv) reducing the referral fees we earn in our relocation services business, and (v) increasing the risk of franchisee default due to lower homesale volume. Our results could also be negatively affected by a decline in commission rates charged by brokers or greater commission payments to sales agents or by an increase in volume or other incentives paid to franchisees.
Since 2014, we have experienced approximately a one basis point decline in the average homesale broker commission rate each year, which we believe has been largely attributable to increases in average homesale prices (as higher priced homes tend to have a lower broker commission) and, to a lesser extent, competitors providing fewer or similar services for a reduced fee.
Royalty fees are charged to all franchisees pursuant to the terms of the relevant franchise agreements and are included in each of the real estate brands' franchise disclosure documents. Most of our third-party franchisees are subject to a 6% royalty rate and entitled to volume incentives, although a royalty fee generally equal to 5% of franchisee commission (capped at a set amount per independent sales agent per year) is applicable to franchisees operating under the "capped fee model" that was launched for our Better Homes and Gardens® Real Estate franchise business in January 2019. Volume incentives are calculated as a progressive percentage of the applicable franchisee's eligible annual gross commission income and generally result in a net or effective royalty rate ranging from 6% to 3% for the franchisee. Volume incentives increase or decrease as the franchisee's gross commission income generated increases or decreases, respectively. We have the right to adjust the annual volume incentive tables on an annual basis in response to changing market conditions. In addition, some of our larger franchisees have a flat royalty rate of less than 6% and are not eligible for volume incentives.
Other incentives may also be used as consideration to attract new franchisees, grow franchisees (including through independent sales agent recruitment) or extend existing franchise agreements, although such incentives are generally not available to most franchisees, and, in contrast to volume incentives, the majority are not homesale transaction based. We face significant competition from other national real estate brokerage brand franchisors for franchisees and we expect that the trend of increasing incentives will continue in the future in order to attract, retain, and help grow certain franchisees.
Transaction volume growth has exceeded royalty revenue growth due primarily to the growth in gross commission income generated by our top 250 franchisees and our increased use of other sales incentives, both of which directly impact royalty revenue. Over the past several years, our top 250 franchisees have grown faster than our other franchisees through organic growth and market consolidation. If the amount of gross commission income generated by our top 250 franchisees continue to grow at a quicker pace relative to our other franchisees, we would expect our royalty revenue to continue to increase, but at a slower pace than homesale transaction volume. Likewise, our royalty revenue would continue to increase, but at a slower pace than homesale transaction volume, if the gross commission income generated by all of our franchisees grows faster than the applicable annual volume incentive table increase or if we increase our use of standard volume or other incentives. However, in the event that the gross commission income generated by our franchisees increases as a result of increased transaction volume, we would expect to recognize an increase in overall royalty payments to us.
Our Owned Brokerage Services have a significant concentration of real estate brokerage offices and transactions in geographic regions where home prices are at the higher end of the U.S. real estate market, particularly the east and west coasts, while our Franchised Services have franchised offices that are more widely dispersed across the United States. Accordingly, operating results and homesale statistics may differ between our Owned Brokerage and our Franchised Services based upon geographic presence and the corresponding homesale activity in each geographic region. In addition, the share of commissions earned by independent sales agents directly impacts the margin earned by our Owned Brokerage Services. Such share of commissions earned by independent sales agents varies by region and commission schedules are generally progressive to incentivize sales agents to achieve higher levels of production. Commission share has been and we expect will continue to be subject to upward pressure in favor of the independent sales agent for a variety of factors, including more aggressive recruitment and retention activities taken by us and our competitors as well as growth in independent sales agent teams.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Discussed below are our condensed consolidated results of operations and the results of operations for each of our reportable segments. The reportable segments presented below represent our operating segments for which separate financial information is available and which is utilized on a regular basis by our chief operating decision maker to assess performance and to allocate resources. In identifying our reportable segments, we also consider the nature of services provided by our operating segments. Management evaluates the operating results of each of our reportable segments based upon revenue and Operating EBITDA. Operating EBITDA is defined by us as net income (loss) before depreciation and amortization, interest expense, net (other than relocation services interest for securitization assets and securitization obligations), income taxes, and other items that are not core to the operating activities of the Company such as restructuring charges, former parent legacy items, gains or losses on the early extinguishment of debt, impairments, gains or losses on discontinued operations and gains or losses on the sale of investments or other assets. Our presentation of Operating EBITDA may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies.
Three Months Ended September 30, 2019 vs. Three Months Ended September 30, 2018
Our consolidated results comprised the following:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months Ended September 30,
|
|
|
|
|
|
2019
|
|
2018
|
|
Change
|
Net revenues
|
$
|
1,629
|
|
|
$
|
1,676
|
|
|
$
|
(47)
|
|
Total expenses
|
1,713
|
|
|
1,531
|
|
|
182
|
|
(Loss) income before income taxes, equity in (earnings) losses and noncontrolling interests
|
(84)
|
|
|
145
|
|
|
(229)
|
|
Income tax (benefit) expense
|
(8)
|
|
|
40
|
|
|
(48)
|
|
Equity in (earnings) losses of unconsolidated entities
|
(7)
|
|
|
1
|
|
|
(8)
|
|
Net (loss) income
|
(69)
|
|
|
104
|
|
|
(173)
|
|
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests
|
(1)
|
|
|
(1)
|
|
|
—
|
|
Net (loss) income attributable to Realogy Holdings and Realogy Group
|
$
|
(70)
|
|
|
$
|
103
|
|
|
$
|
(173)
|
|
Net revenues decreased $47 million or 3% for the three months ended September 30, 2019 compared with the three months ended September 30, 2018 primarily driven by lower homesale transaction volume at our Owned Brokerage Services.
Total expenses for the third quarter of 2019 increased $182 million compared to the third quarter of 2018 primarily due to:
•an impairment charge of $180 million which reduced goodwill at the Owned Brokerage Services segment;
•a $25 million net increase in interest expense primarily due to a $19 million net expense related to our mark-to-market adjustments for our interest rate swaps that resulted in losses of $12 million during the third quarter of 2019 compared to gains of $7 million during the third quarter of 2018, and a $6 million increase in interest expense primarily due to the refinancing of Senior Notes in the first quarter of 2019; and
•a $6 million increase in operating and general and administrative expenses primarily due to employee-related and other operating costs,
partially offset by;
•a $27 million decrease in commission and other sales agent-related costs primarily as a result of the impact of lower homesale transaction volume at our Owned Brokerage Services; and
•a $10 million gain on the early extinguishment of debt as a result of the repurchase of Senior Notes completed in the third quarter of 2019.
Earnings from equity investments were $7 million during the third quarter of 2019 compared to losses of $1 million during the third quarter of 2018 primarily due to an improvement in earnings of Guaranteed Rate Affinity.
During the third quarter of 2019, we incurred $11 million of restructuring costs primarily related to the Company's restructuring program focused on office consolidation and instituting operational efficiencies to drive profitability. The Company expects the estimated total cost of the plan to be approximately $66 million, with $28 million incurred through the third quarter of 2019. See Note 6, "Restructuring Costs", in the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information.
The Company's provision for income taxes in interim periods is computed by applying its estimated annual effective tax rate against the income or loss before income taxes for the period. In addition, non-recurring or discrete items are recorded in the period in which they occur. The provision for income taxes was a benefit of $8 million for the three months ended September 30, 2019 compared to an expense of $40 million for the three months ended September 30, 2018. Our effective tax rate was 10% and 28% for the three months ended September 30, 2019 and September 30, 2018, respectively. The effective tax rate for the three months ended September 30, 2019 was primarily impacted by discrete items in the quarter related to the goodwill impairment charge and equity awards which expired during the third quarter of 2019.
The following table reflects the results of each of our reportable segments during the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Revenues (a)
|
|
|
|
$ Change
|
|
%
Change
|
|
Operating EBITDA
|
|
|
|
$ Change
|
|
%
Change
|
|
Operating EBITDA Margin
|
|
|
|
Change
|
|
2019
|
|
2018
|
|
|
|
|
|
2019
|
|
2018
|
|
|
|
|
|
2019
|
|
2018
|
|
|
Franchised Services
|
$
|
216
|
|
|
$
|
221
|
|
|
$
|
(5)
|
|
|
(2)
|
%
|
|
$
|
153
|
|
|
$
|
161
|
|
|
$
|
(8)
|
|
|
(5)
|
%
|
|
71
|
%
|
|
73
|
%
|
|
(2)
|
|
Owned Brokerage Services
|
1,222
|
|
|
1,268
|
|
|
(46)
|
|
|
(4)
|
|
|
31
|
|
|
43
|
|
|
(12)
|
|
|
(28)
|
|
|
3
|
|
|
3
|
|
|
—
|
|
Relocation Services
|
103
|
|
|
108
|
|
|
(5)
|
|
|
(5)
|
|
|
34
|
|
|
39
|
|
|
(5)
|
|
|
(13)
|
|
|
33
|
|
|
36
|
|
|
(3)
|
|
Title and Settlement Services
|
170
|
|
|
162
|
|
|
8
|
|
|
5
|
|
|
31
|
|
|
20
|
|
|
11
|
|
|
55
|
|
|
18
|
|
|
12
|
|
|
6
|
|
Corporate and Other
|
(82)
|
|
|
(83)
|
|
|
1
|
|
|
*
|
|
|
(26)
|
|
|
(21)
|
|
|
(5)
|
|
|
*
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total Company
|
$
|
1,629
|
|
|
$
|
1,676
|
|
|
$
|
(47)
|
|
|
(3)
|
%
|
|
$
|
223
|
|
|
$
|
242
|
|
|
$
|
(19)
|
|
|
(8)
|
%
|
|
14
|
%
|
|
14
|
%
|
|
—
|
|
Less: Depreciation and amortization
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
50
|
|
|
49
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Interest expense, net
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
66
|
|
|
41
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Income tax (benefit) expense
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(8)
|
|
|
40
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Restructuring costs, net (b)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
11
|
|
|
9
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Impairments (c)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
183
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Former parent legacy cost, net (d)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gain on the early extinguishment of debt (d)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(10)
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net (loss) income attributable to Realogy Holdings and Realogy Group
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
(70)
|
|
|
$
|
103
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
_______________
* not meaningful
(a)Includes the elimination of transactions between segments, which consists of intercompany royalties and marketing fees paid by our Owned Brokerage Services segment of $82 million and $83 million during the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.
(b)Restructuring charges incurred for the three months ended September 30, 2019 include $1 million at the Franchised Services segment, $8 million at the Owned Brokerage Services segment, $1 million at the Relocation Services segment and $1 million at the Corporate and Other segment. Restructuring charges incurred for the three months ended September 30, 2018 include $1 million at the Franchised Services segment and $8 million at the Owned Brokerage Services segment.
(c)Impairments for the three months ended September 30, 2019 includes a goodwill impairment charge of $180 million which reduced goodwill at the Owned Brokerage Services segment and $3 million of other impairment charges related to lease asset impairments.
(d)Former parent legacy items and gain on the early extinguishment of debt is recorded in the Corporate and Other segment. During the third quarter of 2019, the Company repurchased $93 million of its 4.875% Senior Notes through open market purchases resulting in a gain on the early extinguishment of debt of $10 million.
As described in the aforementioned table, Operating EBITDA margin for "Total Company" expressed as a percentage of revenues remained flat at 14% for the three months ended September 30, 2019 compared to the same period in 2018. On a segment basis, our Franchised Services segment margin decreased 2 percentage points to 71% from 73% primarily due to a decrease in royalty revenue. Our Owned Brokerage Services segment margin remained flat at 3%. Our Relocation Services segment margin decreased 3 percentage points to 33% from 36% primarily due to a decrease in international and referral revenues. Our Title and Settlement Services segment margin increased 6 percentage points to 18% from 12% primarily as a result of an increase in earnings from equity investments and an increase in refinancing revenue.
The Corporate and Other segment Operating EBITDA for the three months ended September 30, 2019 decreased $5 million to negative $26 million primarily due to an increase in employee-related and other costs.
Franchised and Owned Brokerage Services on a Combined Basis
The following table reflects our Franchised and Owned Brokerage Services results before the intercompany royalties and marketing fees as well as on a combined basis to show the Operating EBITDA contribution of these business units to the overall Operating EBITDA of the Company. The Operating EBITDA margin for the combined segments decreased 1 percentage point from 15% to 14% primarily due to lower transaction volume during the third quarter of 2019 compared to the third quarter of 2018:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Revenues
|
|
|
|
$ Change
|
|
%
Change
|
|
Operating EBITDA
|
|
|
|
$ Change
|
|
%
Change
|
|
Operating EBITDA Margin
|
|
|
|
Change
|
|
2019
|
|
2018
|
|
|
|
|
|
2019
|
|
2018
|
|
|
|
|
|
2019
|
|
2018
|
|
|
Franchised Services (a)
|
$
|
134
|
|
|
$
|
138
|
|
|
(4)
|
|
|
(3)
|
%
|
|
$
|
71
|
|
|
$
|
78
|
|
|
(7)
|
|
|
(9)
|
%
|
|
53
|
%
|
|
57
|
%
|
|
(4)
|
|
Owned Brokerage Services (a)
|
1,222
|
|
|
1,268
|
|
|
(46)
|
|
|
(4)
|
%
|
|
113
|
|
|
126
|
|
|
(13)
|
|
|
(10)
|
%
|
|
9
|
%
|
|
10
|
%
|
|
(1)
|
|
Franchised and Owned Brokerage Services Combined
|
$
|
1,356
|
|
|
$
|
1,406
|
|
|
(50)
|
|
|
(4)
|
%
|
|
$
|
184
|
|
|
$
|
204
|
|
|
(20)
|
|
|
(10)
|
%
|
|
14
|
%
|
|
15
|
%
|
|
(1)
|
|
_______________
(a)The segment numbers noted above do not reflect the impact of intercompany royalties and marketing fees paid by our Owned Brokerage Services to our Franchised Services of $82 million and $83 million during the three months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.
Real Estate Franchise Services (Franchised Services)
Revenues decreased $5 million to $216 million and Operating EBITDA decreased $8 million to $153 million for the three months ended September 30, 2019 compared with the same period in 2018.
Revenues decreased $5 million primarily as a result of a $2 million decrease in intercompany royalties received from our Owned Brokerage Services segment, a $1 million decrease in third-party domestic franchisee royalty revenue and a $1 million decrease in international area development fee revenue.
Our Franchised Services segment revenue includes intercompany royalties received from our Owned Brokerage Services segment of $78 million and $80 million during the third quarter of 2019 and 2018, respectively, which are eliminated in consolidation against the expense reflected in our Owned Brokerage Services segment results.
The $8 million decrease in Operating EBITDA was principally due to the $5 million decrease in revenues discussed above and a $3 million increase in other operating costs.
Company Owned Real Estate Brokerage (Owned Brokerage Services)
Revenues decreased $46 million to $1,222 million and Operating EBITDA decreased $12 million to $31 million for the three months ended September 30, 2019 compared with the same period in 2018.
The revenue decrease of $46 million was primarily driven by a 3% decrease in homesale transaction volume at our Owned Brokerage Services segment. Our Owned Brokerage Services segment saw lower transaction volume primarily driven by the competitive environment as well as our geographic concentration.
Operating EBITDA decreased $12 million primarily due to the $46 million decrease in revenues discussed above partially offset by:
•a $27 million decrease in commission expenses paid to independent sales agents from $902 million in the third quarter of 2018 to $875 million in the third quarter of 2019. Commission expense decreased primarily as a result of the impact of lower homesale transaction volume as discussed above;
•a $5 million decrease in other costs including occupancy costs, employee-related costs and other operating costs; and
•a $2 million decrease in royalties paid to our Franchised Services segment from $80 million in the third quarter of 2018 to $78 million in the third quarter of 2019.
Relocation Services (Cartus)
Revenues decreased $5 million to $103 million and Operating EBITDA decreased $5 million to $34 million for the three months ended September 30, 2019 compared with the same period in 2018.
Revenues decreased $5 million as a result of a $4 million decrease in international revenue due to lower volume and a $1 million decrease in referral revenue due to lower volume primarily driven by the absence of a large group move which occurred in 2018.
Operating EBITDA decreased $5 million primarily as a result of the $5 million decrease in revenue discussed above. Increases in employee and related expenses of approximately $2 million were offset by cost reductions primarily associated with cost savings initiatives.
Title and Settlement Services (TRG)
Revenues increased $8 million to $170 million and Operating EBITDA increased $11 million to $31 million for the three months ended September 30, 2019 compared with the same period in 2018.
Revenues increased $8 million primarily as a result of a $6 million increase in refinancing revenue due to an increase in activity in the refinance market and a $2 million increase in underwriter revenue.
Operating EBITDA increased $11 million as a result of the $8 million increase in revenues discussed above and an $8 million increase in earnings from equity investments primarily related to Guaranteed Rate Affinity, partially offset by a $5 million increase in employee-related and other operating costs.
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2019 vs. Nine Months Ended September 30, 2018
Our consolidated results comprised the following:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nine Months Ended September 30,
|
|
|
|
|
|
2019
|
|
2018
|
|
Change
|
Net revenues
|
$
|
4,478
|
|
|
$
|
4,725
|
|
|
$
|
(247)
|
|
Total expenses
|
4,600
|
|
|
4,488
|
|
|
112
|
|
(Loss) income before income taxes, equity in (earnings) losses and noncontrolling interests
|
(122)
|
|
|
237
|
|
|
(359)
|
|
Income tax (benefit) expense
|
(9)
|
|
|
73
|
|
|
(82)
|
|
Equity in (earnings) losses of unconsolidated entities
|
(15)
|
|
|
3
|
|
|
(18)
|
|
Net (loss) income
|
(98)
|
|
|
161
|
|
|
(259)
|
|
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests
|
(2)
|
|
|
(2)
|
|
|
—
|
|
Net (loss) income attributable to Realogy Holdings and Realogy Group
|
$
|
(100)
|
|
|
$
|
159
|
|
|
$
|
(259)
|
|
Net revenues decreased $247 million or 5% for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 compared with the nine months ended September 30, 2018 primarily driven by lower homesale transaction volume at our Owned Brokerage Services.
Total expenses increased $112 million or 2% compared to the same period of 2018 primarily due to:
•an impairment charge of $180 million which reduced goodwill at the Owned Brokerage Services segment;
•a $90 million net increase in interest expense primarily due to a $69 million net expense related to our mark-to-market adjustments for our interest rate swaps that resulted in losses of $50 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 compared to gains of $19 million during the same period of 2018, and a $21 million increase in interest expense primarily due to the refinancing of Senior Notes in the first quarter of 2019; and
•a $5 million increase in operating and general and administrative expenses primarily due to employee-related and other operating costs.
The expense increases were partially offset by:
•a $151 million decrease in commission and other sales agent-related costs primarily as a result of the impact of lower homesale transaction volume at our Owned Brokerage Services;
•a $13 million decrease in restructuring costs; and
•a $5 million net gain on the early extinguishment of debt during the nine months ended September 30, 2019 partially due to the repurchase of Senior Notes during the third quarter of 2019 compared to a $7 million loss on the early extinguishment of debt during the nine months ended September 30, 2018 as a result of the refinancing transactions in February 2018.
Earnings from equity investments were $15 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 compared to losses of $3 million during the same period of 2018 primarily due to an improvement in earnings of Guaranteed Rate Affinity.
During the nine months ended September 30, 2019, we incurred $32 million of restructuring costs primarily related to the Company's restructuring program focused on office consolidation and instituting operational efficiencies to drive profitability. The Company expects the estimated total cost of the plan to be approximately $66 million, with $28 million incurred through the third quarter of 2019. See Note 6, "Restructuring Costs", in the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information.
The Company's provision for income taxes in interim periods is computed by applying its estimated annual effective tax rate against the income or loss before income taxes for the period. In addition, non-recurring or discrete items are recorded in the period in which they occur. The provision for income taxes was a benefit of $9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 compared to an expense of $73 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2018. Our effective tax rate was 8% and 31% for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and September 30, 2018, respectively. The effective tax rate for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 was primarily impacted by discrete items related to the goodwill impairment charge in the third quarter of 2019, equity awards for which the market value at vesting was lower than at the date of grant and equity awards which expired during the third quarter of 2019.
The following table reflects the results of each of our reportable segments during the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018:
|
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Revenues (a)
|
|
|
|
$ Change
|
|
%
Change
|
|
Operating EBITDA
|
|
|
|
$ Change
|
|
%
Change
|
|
Operating EBITDA Margin
|
|
|
|
Change
|
|
2019
|
|
2018
|
|
|
|
|
|
2019
|
|
2018
|
|
|
|
|
|
2019
|
|
2018
|
|
|
Franchised Services
|
$
|
613
|
|
|
$
|
634
|
|
|
$
|
(21)
|
|
|
(3)
|
%
|
|
$
|
406
|
|
|
$
|
439
|
|
|
$
|
(33)
|
|
|
(8)
|
%
|
|
66
|
%
|
|
69
|
%
|
|
(3)
|
|
Owned Brokerage Services
|
3,369
|
|
|
3,593
|
|
|
(224)
|
|
|
(6)
|
|
|
16
|
|
|
59
|
|
|
(43)
|
|
|
(73)
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
2
|
|
|
(2)
|
|
Relocation Services
|
276
|
|
|
292
|
|
|
(16)
|
|
|
(5)
|
|
|
63
|
|
|
72
|
|
|
(9)
|
|
|
(13)
|
|
|
23
|
|
|
25
|
|
|
(2)
|
|
Title and Settlement Services
|
444
|
|
|
444
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
54
|
|
|
45
|
|
|
9
|
|
|
20
|
|
|
12
|
|
|
10
|
|
|
2
|
|
Corporate and Other
|
(224)
|
|
|
(238)
|
|
|
14
|
|
|
*
|
|
|
(75)
|
|
|
(63)
|
|
|
(12)
|
|
|
*
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total Company
|
$
|
4,478
|
|
|
$
|
4,725
|
|
|
$
|
(247)
|
|
|
(5)
|
%
|
|
$
|
464
|
|
|
$
|
552
|
|
|
$
|
(88)
|
|
|
(16)
|
%
|
|
10
|
%
|
|
12
|
%
|
|
(2)
|
|
Less: Depreciation and amortization (b)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
149
|
|
|
148
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Interest expense, net
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
210
|
|
|
120
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Income tax (benefit) expense
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(9)
|
|
|
73
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Restructuring costs, net (c)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
32
|
|
|
45
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Impairments (d)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
186
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Former parent legacy cost, net (e)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(Gain) loss on the early extinguishment of debt (e)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(5)
|
|
|
7
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net (loss) income attributable to Realogy Holdings and Realogy Group
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
(100)
|
|
|
$
|
159
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
_______________
* not meaningful
(a)Includes the elimination of transactions between segments, which consists of intercompany royalties and marketing fees paid by our Owned Brokerage Services segment of $224 million and $238 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.
(b)Depreciation and amortization for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 includes $2 million of amortization expense related to Guaranteed Rate Affinity's purchase accounting included in the "Equity in (earnings) losses of unconsolidated entities" line on the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations.
(c)Restructuring charges incurred for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 include $1 million at the Franchised Services segment, $18 million at the Owned Brokerage Services segment, $5 million at the Relocation Services segment, $2 million at the Title and Settlement Services segment and $6 million at Corporate and Other segment. Restructuring charges incurred for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 include $3 million at the Franchised Services Segment, $29 million at the Owned Brokerage Services Segment, $9 million at the Relocation segment, $2 million at Title and Settlement segment and $2 million at Corporate and Other segment.
(d)Impairments for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 includes a goodwill impairment charge of $180 million which reduced goodwill at the Owned Brokerage Services segment and $6 million of other impairment charges primarily related to lease asset impairments.
(e)Former parent legacy items and (gain) loss on the early extinguishment of debt is recorded in the Corporate and Other segment. During the nine months ended September 30, 2019, the Company recorded a gain on the early extinguishment of debt of $5 million which consisted of a $10 million gain as a result of the repurchase of Senior Notes completed in the third quarter of 2019, partially offset by a $5 million loss as a result of the refinancing transactions in the first quarter of 2019.
As described in the aforementioned table, Operating EBITDA margin for "Total Company" expressed as a percentage of revenues decreased 2 percentage points to 10% from 12% for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 compared to the same period in 2018. On a segment basis, our Franchised Services segment margin decreased 3 percentage points to 66% from 69% primarily due to a decrease in royalty revenues. Our Owned Brokerage Services segment margin decreased 2 percentage points to zero from 2% primarily due to lower transaction volume. Our Relocation Services segment margin decreased 2 percentage points to 23% from 25% primarily due to a decrease in international and referral revenues. Our Title and Settlement Services segment margin increased 2 percentage points to 12% from 10% primarily as a result of improved earnings from equity investments and a reduction in a reserve for contingent consideration.
The Corporate and Other segment Operating EBITDA for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 decreased $12 million to negative $75 million primarily due to a $12 million increase in employee-related and other costs.
Franchised and Owned Brokerage Services on a Combined Basis
The following table reflects Franchised and Owned Brokerage Services results before the intercompany royalties and marketing fees as well as on a combined basis to show the Operating EBITDA contribution of these business units to the overall Operating EBITDA of the Company. The Operating EBITDA margin for the combined segments decreased 1 percentage point from 12% to 11% primarily due to lower transaction volume during the nine months ended September 30, 2019 compared to the same period of 2018:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Revenues
|
|
|
|
$ Change
|
|
%
Change
|
|
Operating EBITDA
|
|
|
|
$ Change
|
|
%
Change
|
|
Operating EBITDA Margin
|
|
|
|
Change
|
|
2019
|
|
2018
|
|
|
|
|
|
2019
|
|
2018
|
|
|
|
|
|
2019
|
|
2018
|
|
|
Franchised Services (a)
|
$
|
389
|
|
|
$
|
396
|
|
|
(7)
|
|
|
(2)
|
%
|
|
$
|
182
|
|
|
$
|
201
|
|
|
(19)
|
|
|
(9)
|
%
|
|
47
|
%
|
|
51
|
%
|
|
(4)
|
|
Owned Brokerage Services (a)
|
3,369
|
|
|
3,593
|
|
|
(224)
|
|
|
(6)
|
%
|
|
240
|
|
|
297
|
|
|
(57)
|
|
|
(19)
|
%
|
|
7
|
%
|
|
8
|
%
|
|
(1)
|
|
Franchised and Owned Brokerage Services Combined
|
$
|
3,758
|
|
|
$
|
3,989
|
|
|
(231)
|
|
|
(6)
|
%
|
|
$
|
422
|
|
|
$
|
498
|
|
|
(76)
|
|
|
(15)
|
%
|
|
11
|
%
|
|
12
|
%
|
|
(1)
|
|
_______________
(a)The segment numbers noted above do not reflect the impact of intercompany royalties and marketing fees paid by our Owned Brokerage Services to our Franchised Services of $224 million and $238 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.
Real Estate Franchise Services (Franchised Services)
Revenues decreased $21 million to $613 million and Operating EBITDA decreased $33 million to $406 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 compared with the same period in 2018.
Revenues decreased $21 million primarily as a result of a $13 million decrease in third-party domestic franchisee royalty revenue primarily due to a 3% decrease in transaction volume at our Franchised Services segment, a $14 million decrease in intercompany royalties received from our Owned Brokerage Services segment and a $2 million decrease in international royalties, partially offset by a $2 million increase in international area development fee revenue as a result of contract terminations. Registration revenue and other brand marketing fund revenue increased $8 million and related expenses increased $9 million, primarily due to the level and timing of advertising spending and conferences including the RGX event during the nine months ended September 30, 2019 compared to the same period in 2018.
Our Franchised Services segment revenue includes intercompany royalties received from our Owned Brokerage Services segment of $215 million and $229 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively, which are eliminated in consolidation against the expense reflected in our Owned Brokerage Services segment results.
The $33 million decrease in Operating EBITDA was principally due to the $29 million decrease in royalty revenues discussed above.
Company Owned Real Estate Brokerage (Owned Brokerage Services)
Revenues decreased $224 million to $3,369 million and Operating EBITDA decreased $43 million to $16 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 compared with the same period in 2018.
The revenue decrease of $224 million was primarily driven by a 6% decrease in homesale transaction volume at our Owned Brokerage Services segment. Our Owned Brokerage Services segment saw lower transaction volume primarily driven by the competitive environment as well as our geographic concentration.
Operating EBITDA decreased $43 million primarily due to the $224 million decrease in revenues discussed above partially offset by:
•a $151 million decrease in commission expenses paid to independent sales agents from $2,556 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 to $2,405 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019. Commission expense decreased primarily as a result of the impact of lower homesale transaction volume as discussed above;
•a $14 million decrease in royalties paid to our Franchised Services segment from $229 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 to $215 million in the same period of 2019; and
•a $15 million decrease in other costs including occupancy costs, employee-related costs and other operating costs.
Relocation Services (Cartus)
Revenues decreased $16 million to $276 million and Operating EBITDA decreased $9 million to $63 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 compared with the same period in 2018.
Revenues decreased $16 million primarily as a result of a $10 million decrease in international revenue due to lower volume and a $6 million decrease in referral revenue due to lower volume largely driven by the absence of a large group move which occurred in 2018.
Operating EBITDA decreased $9 million primarily as a result of the $16 million decrease in revenues discussed above, partially offset by lower operating expenses driven primarily by a $6 million decrease in net employee-related and other costs primarily due to cost savings initiatives and a $2 million net positive impact from foreign currency exchange rates on expenses.
Title and Settlement Services (TRG)
Revenues remained flat at $444 million and Operating EBITDA increased $9 million to $54 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 compared with the same period in 2018.
Revenues remained flat primarily as a result of a $7 million increase in underwriter revenue due to an increase of underwriter premiums as a result of a shift in mix to unaffiliated agents and a $6 million increase in refinance revenue due to an increase in activity in the refinance market, offset by a $13 million decrease in resale revenue due to a decline in purchase transactions.
Operating EBITDA increased $9 million primarily as a result of a $16 million increase in earnings from equity investments primarily related to Guaranteed Rate Affinity during the nine months ended September 30, 2019 compared to the same period of 2018 and a $2 million reduction in a reserve for contingent consideration. These increases were partially offset by an increase of $5 million in operating costs primarily due to an increase in underwriter revenue with unaffiliated agents where the revenue and expense is recorded on a gross basis and a $4 million increase in other costs.
FINANCIAL CONDITION, LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
Financial Condition
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
September 30, 2019
|
|
December 31, 2018
|
|
Change
|
Total assets
|
$
|
7,717
|
|
|
$
|
7,290
|
|
|
$
|
427
|
|
Total liabilities
|
5,534
|
|
|
4,975
|
|
|
559
|
|
Total equity
|
2,183
|
|
|
2,315
|
|
|
(132)
|
|
For the nine months ended September 30, 2019, total assets increased $427 million primarily due to the addition of $538 million of operating lease assets to the balance sheet in the first quarter of 2019 as a result of the adoption of the new leasing standard, a $46 million increase in trade and relocation receivables due to seasonal increases in volume, a $41 million increase in cash and cash equivalents, a $37 million increase in other non-current assets primarily related to strategic investments and prepaid assets and an $11 million increase in property and equipment. Total asset increases were partially offset by a $180 million decrease in goodwill due to the impairment charge during the third quarter of 2019, reducing goodwill at our Owned Brokerage Services segment and a $74 million net decrease in franchise agreements and other amortizable intangible assets primarily due to amortization.
Total liabilities increased $559 million primarily due to the addition of $600 million of operating lease liabilities to the balance sheet in the first quarter of 2019 as a result of the adoption of the new leasing standard. Total liability increases were partially offset by a $23 million decrease in corporate debt primarily due to the repurchase of 4.875% Senior Notes during the third quarter of 2019, quarterly amortization payments on the term loan facilities and lower borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility, partially offset by a net increase due to the issuance of 9.375% Senior Notes and redemption of 4.50% Senior Notes during the first quarter of 2019, a $15 million decrease in deferred tax liabilities and a $9 million decrease in other non-current liabilities primarily due to the reclassification of deferred rent liabilities which were credited against operating lease assets as a result of the adoption of the new leasing standard, partially offset by increased mark-to-market liabilities for the Company's interest rate swaps.
Total equity decreased $132 million primarily due to a net loss of $100 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and a $32 million decrease in additional paid in capital for the nine months ended September 30, 2019.
The decrease in additional paid in capital primarily related to the Company's repurchase of $20 million of common stock during the first quarter of 2019 and $31 million of dividend payments during the nine months ended September 30, 2019, partially offset by stock-based compensation activity of $19 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
We have historically satisfied our liquidity needs with cash flows from operations and funds available under our Revolving Credit Facility and securitization facilities. Our primary liquidity needs have been to service our debt, finance our working capital and capital expenditures. While we previously also acquired stock under share repurchase programs (from February 2016 to February 2019), we announced in March 2019 that we currently expect to prioritize investing in our business and reducing indebtedness until we are able to reduce our consolidated leverage ratio (as defined in the indenture governing the 9.375% Senior Notes) to below 4.00 to 1.00. In addition, while we have paid a quarterly dividend since August 2016, our Board of Directors determined in early November 2019 that, effective immediately, the Company will no longer pay a dividend in order to further prioritize deleveraging and investment in our business.
Historically, operating results and revenues for all of our businesses have been strongest in the second and third quarters of the calendar year. A significant portion of the expenses we incur in our real estate brokerage operations are related to marketing activities and commissions and therefore, are variable. However, many of our other expenses, such as interest payments, facilities costs and certain personnel-related costs, are fixed and cannot be reduced during the seasonal fluctuations in the business. Consequently, our debt balances are generally at their highest levels at or around the end of the first quarter of every year.
Our liquidity position continues to be impacted by our interest expense and would be adversely impacted by worsening of the residential real estate market or a significant increase in LIBOR or ABR.
During the third quarter of 2019, the Company repurchased $93 million of its 4.875% Senior Notes through open market purchases at an aggregate purchase price of $83 million.
In March 2019, the Company issued $550 million of 9.375% Senior Notes due in April 2027. We used $540 million of the net proceeds to repay a portion of outstanding borrowings under our Revolving Credit Facility. In February 2019, the Company had used borrowings under its Revolving Credit Facility and cash on hand to fund the redemption of all of its outstanding $450 million 4.50% Senior Notes. The covenants in the indenture governing the 9.375% Senior Notes are substantially similar to the covenants in the indentures governing the 5.250% Senior Notes and the 4.785% Senior Notes, with certain exceptions, including changes relating to the Company’s ability to make restricted payments, including its ability to repurchase shares and make dividend payments in excess of $45 million per calendar year until the Company's consolidated leverage ratio is below 4.00 to 1.00.
In addition, we are required to pay quarterly amortization payments for the Term Loan B and Term Loan A facilities. Remaining payments for 2019 total $5 million and $3 million for the Term Loan A and Term Loan B facilities, respectively and we expect payments for 2020 to total $33 million and $11 million for the Term Loan A and Term Loan B facilities, respectively.
Beginning in August 2016, we initiated and paid a quarterly cash dividend of $0.09 per share and paid $0.09 per share cash dividends in every subsequent quarter. During the first nine months of 2019, we returned $31 million to stockholders through dividend payments. The timing, frequency or amounts of any dividend is subject to the discretion of the Company's Board of Directors and will depend on a variety of factors, including the Company’s financial condition and results of operations, contractual restrictions, capital requirements, capital allocation strategy (including other potential uses of cash) and other factors that the Board of Directors deem relevant. After weighing all the factors noted above, the Company's Board of Directors determined in early November 2019 that, effective immediately, it will no longer pay a quarterly cash dividend.
Although we have not repurchased any shares under the share repurchase programs since February 2019, as of September 30, 2019, we had repurchased and retired 35.5 million shares of common stock for an aggregate of $896 million under share repurchase programs at a weighted average market price of $25.22 per share. See Part II, Item 2. ("Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds") in this Quarterly Report for additional information concerning the share repurchase programs. As noted above, we do not intend to repurchase common stock pursuant to our share repurchase programs until we reduce our consolidated leverage ratio.
We may also from time to time seek to repurchase our outstanding Unsecured Notes through tender offers, open market purchases, privately negotiated transactions or otherwise. Such repurchases, if any, will depend on prevailing market conditions, our liquidity requirements, contractual restrictions and other factors.
We will continue to evaluate potential refinancing and financing transactions. There can be no assurance as to which, if any, of these alternatives we may pursue as the choice of any alternative will depend upon numerous factors such as market conditions, our financial performance and the limitations applicable to such transactions under our existing financing agreements and the consents we may need to obtain under the relevant documents. There can be no assurance that financing will be available to us on acceptable terms or at all.
If the residential real estate market or the economy as a whole does not improve or continues to weaken, our business, financial condition and liquidity may be materially adversely affected, including our ability to access capital, grow our business and return capital to stockholders.
Cash Flows
At September 30, 2019, we had $278 million of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, an increase of $40 million compared to the balance of $238 million at December 31, 2018. The following table summarizes our cash flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nine Months Ended September 30,
|
|
|
|
|
|
2019
|
|
2018
|
|
Change
|
Cash provided by (used in):
|
|
|
|
|
|
Operating activities
|
$
|
230
|
|
|
$
|
224
|
|
|
$
|
6
|
|
Investing activities
|
(86)
|
|
|
(60)
|
|
|
(26)
|
|
Financing activities
|
(104)
|
|
|
(160)
|
|
|
56
|
|
Effects of change in exchange rates on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash
|
—
|
|
|
(1)
|
|
|
1
|
|
Net change in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash
|
$
|
40
|
|
|
$
|
3
|
|
|
$
|
37
|
|
For the nine months ended September 30, 2019, $6 million more cash was provided by operating activities compared to the same period in 2018. The change was principally due to $92 million more cash provided by the net change in relocation and trade receivables, $20 million less cash used for accounts payable, accrued expenses and other liabilities and $11 million less cash used for other assets, partially offset by $119 million less cash provided by operating results.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2019, we used $26 million more cash for investing activities compared to the same period in 2018 primarily due to the absence in 2019 of $19 million of net cash proceeds received from the dissolution of our interest in PHH Home Loans which occurred in 2018 and $7 million more cash used in other investing activities.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2019, $104 million of cash was used in financing activities compared to $160 million of cash used during the same period in 2018. For the nine months ended September 30, 2019, $104 million of cash was used as follows:
•$31 million of dividend payments;
•$22 million of quarterly amortization payments on the term loan facilities;
•$20 million for the repurchase of our common stock;
•$17 million of other financing payments primarily related to finance leases;
•$6 million of tax payments related to net share settlement for stock-based compensation; and
•$5 million repayment of borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility;
partially offset by $3 million of cash received as a result of the refinancing transactions in 2019.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2018, $160 million of cash was used as follows:
•$302 million for the repurchase of our common stock;
•$34 million of dividend payments;
•$23 million of other financing payments primarily related to capital leases;
•$21 million for payments of contingent consideration;
•$17 million of quarterly amortization payments on the term loan facilities;
•$10 million of tax payments related to net share settlement for stock-based compensation; and
•$3 million for cash paid as a result of the refinancing transactions in February 2018 related to $16 million of debt issuance costs and $4 million repayment of borrowings under the Term Loan B Facility, partially offset by $17 million of proceeds received under the Term Loan A Facility;
partially offset by,
•$180 million of additional borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility; and
•$70 million net increase in securitization borrowings.
Financial Obligations
See Note 5, "Short and Long-Term Debt", to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, for information on the Company's indebtedness as of September 30, 2019.
LIBOR Transition
In July 2017, the Financial Conduct Authority, the UK regulator responsible for the oversight of LIBOR, announced that it would no longer require banks to participate in the LIBOR submission process and would cease oversight over the rate after the end of 2021. Various industry groups continue to discuss replacement benchmark rates, the process for amending existing LIBOR-based contracts, and the potential economic impacts of different alternatives. For example, in the U.S., a proposed replacement benchmark rate is the Secured Overnight Funding Rate (SOFR), which is an overnight rate based on secured financing.
Covenants under the Senior Secured Credit Facility, Term Loan A Facility and Indentures
The Senior Secured Credit Agreement, Term Loan A Agreement, the Unsecured Letter of Credit Facility and the indentures governing the Unsecured Notes contain various covenants that limit (subject to certain exceptions) Realogy Group’s ability to, among other things:
•incur or guarantee additional debt or issue disqualified stock or preferred stock;
•pay dividends or make distributions to Realogy Group’s stockholders, including Realogy Holdings;
•repurchase or redeem capital stock;
•make loans, investments or acquisitions;
•incur restrictions on the ability of certain of Realogy Group's subsidiaries to pay dividends or to make other payments to Realogy Group;
•enter into transactions with affiliates;
•create liens;
•merge or consolidate with other companies or transfer all or substantially all of Realogy Group's and its material subsidiaries' assets;
•transfer or sell assets, including capital stock of subsidiaries; and
•prepay, redeem or repurchase subordinated indebtedness.
As a result of the covenants to which we remain subject, we are limited in the manner in which we conduct our business and we may be unable to engage in favorable business activities or finance future operations or capital needs. In addition, the Senior Secured Credit Agreement and Term Loan A Agreement require us to maintain a senior secured leverage ratio. We are further restricted under the indenture governing the 9.375% Senior Notes from making restricted payments, including repurchasing shares of our common stock or issuing dividends in excess of $45 million per calendar year for so long as our consolidated leverage ratio is equal to or greater than 4.0 to 1.0 and then (unless that ratio falls below 3:00 to 1:00) only to the extent of available cumulative credit, as defined under the indenture governing the 9.375% Senior Notes.
Senior Secured Leverage Ratio applicable to our Senior Secured Credit Facility and Term Loan A Facility
The senior secured leverage ratio is tested quarterly and may not exceed 4.75 to 1.00. The senior secured leverage ratio is measured by dividing Realogy Group's total senior secured net debt by the trailing four quarters EBITDA calculated on a Pro Forma Basis, as those terms are defined in the Senior Secured Credit Agreement. Total senior secured net debt does not include unsecured indebtedness, including the Unsecured Notes, or the securitization obligations. EBITDA calculated on a Pro Forma Basis, as defined in the Senior Secured Credit Agreement, includes adjustments to EBITDA for restructuring
costs, former parent legacy cost (benefit) items, net, loss (gain) on the early extinguishment of debt, non-cash charges and incremental securitization interest costs, as well as pro forma cost savings for restructuring initiatives, the pro forma effect of business optimization initiatives and the pro forma effect of acquisitions and new franchisees, in each case calculated as of the beginning of the trailing four-quarter period. The Company was in compliance with the senior secured leverage ratio covenant at September 30, 2019.
A reconciliation of net income (loss) attributable to Realogy Group to Operating EBITDA and EBITDA calculated on a Pro Forma Basis, as those terms are defined in the Senior Secured Credit Agreement, for the four-quarter period ended September 30, 2019 is set forth in the following table:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Less
|
|
Equals
|
|
Plus
|
|
Equals
|
|
Year Ended
|
|
Nine Months Ended
|
|
Three Months
Ended
|
|
Nine Months Ended
|
|
Twelve Months
Ended
|
|
December 31,
2018
|
|
September 30,
2018
|
|
December 31,
2018
|
|
September 30,
2019
|
|
September 30,
2019
|
Net income (loss) attributable to Realogy Group (a)
|
$
|
137
|
|
|
$
|
159
|
|
|
$
|
(22)
|
|
|
$
|
(100)
|
|
|
$
|
(122)
|
|
Income tax expense (benefit)
|
65
|
|
|
73
|
|
|
(8)
|
|
|
(9)
|
|
|
(17)
|
|
Income (loss) before income taxes
|
202
|
|
|
232
|
|
|
(30)
|
|
|
(109)
|
|
|
(139)
|
|
Depreciation and amortization (b)
|
197
|
|
|
148
|
|
|
49
|
|
|
149
|
|
|
198
|
|
Interest expense, net
|
190
|
|
|
120
|
|
|
70
|
|
|
210
|
|
|
280
|
|
Restructuring costs, net
|
58
|
|
|
45
|
|
|
13
|
|
|
32
|
|
|
45
|
|
Impairments
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
186
|
|
|
186
|
|
Former parent legacy cost, net
|
4
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
4
|
|
|
1
|
|
|
5
|
|
Loss (gain) on the early extinguishment of debt
|
7
|
|
|
7
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
(5)
|
|
|
(5)
|
|
Operating EBITDA (c)
|
658
|
|
|
552
|
|
|
106
|
|
|
464
|
|
|
570
|
|
Bank covenant adjustments:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pro forma effect of business optimization initiatives (d)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
30
|
|
Non-cash charges (e)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
38
|
|
Pro forma effect of acquisitions and new franchisees (f)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2
|
|
Incremental securitization interest costs (g)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3
|
|
EBITDA as defined by the Senior Secured Credit Agreement
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
643
|
|
Total senior secured net debt (h)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
1,931
|
|
Senior secured leverage ratio
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3.00
|
x
|
_______________
(a)Net income (loss) attributable to Realogy consists of: (i) loss of $22 million for the fourth quarter of 2018, (ii) loss of $99 million for the first quarter of 2019, (iii) income of $69 million for the second quarter of 2019 and (iv) loss of $70 million for the third quarter of 2019.
(b)Depreciation and amortization for the year ended December 31, 2018 and the first quarter of 2018 includes $2 million of amortization expense related to Guaranteed Rate Affinity's purchase accounting included in the "Equity in (earnings) losses of unconsolidated entities" line on the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations during those periods.
(c)Operating EBITDA consists of: (i) $106 million for the fourth quarter of 2018, (ii) negative $4 million for the first quarter of 2019, (iii) $245 million for the second quarter of 2019 and (iv) $223 million for the third quarter of 2019.
(d)Represents the four-quarter pro forma effect of business optimization initiatives.
(e)Represents the elimination of non-cash expenses including $34 million of stock-based compensation expense, $2 million for the change in the allowance for doubtful accounts and notes reserves and $2 million of other items for the four-quarter period ended September 30, 2019.
(f)Represents the estimated impact of acquisitions and franchise sales activity, net of brokerages that exited our franchise system as if these changes had occurred on October 1, 2018. Franchisee sales activity is comprised of new franchise agreements as well as growth through acquisitions and independent sales agent recruitment by existing franchisees with our assistance. We have made a number of assumptions in calculating such estimates and there can be no assurance that we would have generated the projected levels of Operating EBITDA had we owned the acquired entities or entered into the franchise contracts as of October 1, 2018.
(g)Incremental borrowing costs incurred as a result of the securitization facilities refinancing for the four-quarter period ended September 30, 2019.
(h)Represents total borrowings under the senior secured credit facilities and borrowings secured by a first priority lien on our assets of $2,048 million plus $32 million of finance lease obligations less $149 million of readily available cash as of September 30, 2019. Pursuant to the terms of our senior secured credit facilities, total senior secured net debt does not include our securitization obligations or unsecured indebtedness, including the Unsecured Notes.
Consolidated Leverage Ratio applicable to our 9.375% Senior Notes
The consolidated leverage ratio is measured by dividing Realogy Group's total net debt by the trailing four quarter EBITDA. EBITDA, as defined in the indenture governing the 9.375% Senior Notes, is substantially similar to EBITDA calculated on a Pro Forma Basis, as those terms are defined in the Senior Secured Credit Agreement. Net debt under the indenture is Realogy Group's total indebtedness (excluding securitizations) less (i) its cash and cash equivalents in excess of restricted cash and (ii) a $200 million seasonality adjustment permitted when measuring the ratio on a date during the period of March 1 to May 31.
The consolidated leverage ratio under the indenture governing the 9.375% Senior Notes for the four-quarter period ended September 30, 2019 is set forth in the following table:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
As of September 30, 2019
|
Revolver
|
|
$
|
265
|
|
Term Loan A
|
|
722
|
|
Term Loan B
|
|
1,061
|
|
5.25% Senior Notes
|
|
550
|
|
4.875% Senior Notes
|
|
407
|
|
9.375% Senior Notes
|
|
550
|
|
Finance lease obligations
|
|
32
|
|
Corporate Debt (excluding securitizations)
|
|
3,587
|
|
Less: Cash and cash equivalents
|
|
266
|
|
Net debt under the indenture governing the 9.375% Senior Notes due 2027
|
|
$
|
3,321
|
|
|
|
|
EBITDA as defined under the indenture governing the 9.375% Senior Notes due 2027 (a)
|
|
$
|
643
|
|
|
|
|
Consolidated leverage ratio under the indenture governing the 9.375% Senior Notes due 2027
|
|
5.2
|
x
|
_______________
(a)As set forth in the immediately preceding table, for the four-quarter period ended September 30, 2019, EBITDA, as defined under the indenture governing the 9.375% Senior Notes, was the same as EBITDA calculated on a Pro Forma Basis, as those terms are defined in the Senior Secured Credit Agreement.
See Note 5, "Short and Long-Term Debt—Senior Secured Credit Facility", "—Term Loan A Facility" and "—Unsecured Notes" to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information.
At September 30, 2019, the amount of the Company's cumulative credit under the 9.375% Senior Notes was approximately $61 million. The Company made approximately $21 million in dividend payments since issuance of the 9.375% Senior Notes, which applied against the cumulative credit basket under the indenture governing the 9.375% Senior Notes, would result in approximately $40 million remaining under that basket for restricted payments. This basket cannot be utilized until the Company's consolidated leverage ratio is less than 4.0 to 1.0.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
The SEC has adopted rules to regulate the use in filings with the SEC and in public disclosures of "non-GAAP financial measures," such as Operating EBITDA. These measures are derived on the basis of methodologies other than in accordance with GAAP.
Operating EBITDA is defined by us as net income (loss) before depreciation and amortization, interest expense, net (other than relocation services interest for securitization assets and securitization obligations), income taxes, and other items that are not core to the operating activities of the Company such as restructuring charges, former parent legacy items, gains or losses on the early extinguishment of debt, impairments, gains or losses on discontinued operations and gains or losses on the sale of investments or other assets. Operating EBITDA is our primary non-GAAP measure.
We present Operating EBITDA because we believe it is useful as a supplemental measure in evaluating the performance of our operating businesses and provides greater transparency into our results of operations. Our management, including our chief operating decision maker, uses Operating EBITDA as a factor in evaluating the performance of our
business. Operating EBITDA should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for net income or other statement of operations data prepared in accordance with GAAP.
We believe Operating EBITDA facilitates company-to-company operating performance comparisons by backing out potential differences caused by variations in capital structures (affecting net interest expense), taxation, the age and book depreciation of facilities (affecting relative depreciation expense) and the amortization of intangibles, as well as other items that are not core to the operating activities of the Company such as restructuring charges, gains or losses on the early extinguishment of debt, former parent legacy items, impairments, gains or losses on discontinued operations and gains or losses on the sale of investments or other assets, which may vary for different companies for reasons unrelated to operating performance. We further believe that Operating EBITDA is frequently used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties in their evaluation of companies, many of which present an Operating EBITDA measure when reporting their results.
Operating EBITDA has limitations as an analytical tool, and you should not consider Operating EBITDA either in isolation or as a substitute for analyzing our results as reported under GAAP. Some of these limitations are:
•this measure does not reflect changes in, or cash required for, our working capital needs;
•this measure does not reflect our interest expense (except for interest related to our securitization obligations), or the cash requirements necessary to service interest or principal payments on our debt;
•this measure does not reflect our income tax expense or the cash requirements to pay our taxes;
•this measure does not reflect historical cash expenditures or future requirements for capital expenditures or contractual commitments;
•although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized will often require replacement in the future, and this measure does not reflect any cash requirements for such replacements; and
•other companies may calculate this measure differently so they may not be comparable.
Contractual Obligations
See Note 5, "Short and Long-Term Debt—Senior Secured Credit Facility" and "—Unsecured Notes", to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Report for a description of the Company's debt transactions which occurred during the first quarter of 2019. Other than the Company's debt transactions as described in Note 5, the Company's future contractual obligations as of September 30, 2019 have not changed materially from the amounts reported in our 2018 Form 10-K.
Critical Accounting Policies
In presenting our financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles, we are required to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported therein. Several of the estimates and assumptions we are required to make relate to matters that are inherently uncertain as they pertain to future events. However, events that are outside of our control cannot be predicted and, as such, they cannot be contemplated in evaluating such estimates and assumptions. If there is a significant unfavorable change to current conditions, it could result in a material adverse impact to our combined results of operations, financial position and liquidity. We believe that the estimates and assumptions we used when preparing our financial statements were the most appropriate at that time.
These Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, which includes a description of our critical accounting policies that involve subjective and complex judgments that could potentially affect reported results.
Impairment of goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets
Goodwill represents the excess of acquisition costs over the fair value of the net tangible assets and identifiable intangible assets acquired in a business combination. Indefinite-lived intangible assets primarily consist of trademarks acquired in business combinations. Goodwill and indefinite-lived assets are not amortized, but are subject to impairment testing. The aggregate carrying values of our goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets are subject to impairment testing annually as of October 1, or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be fully recoverable. This testing compares carrying values to fair values and, when appropriate, the carrying value is
reduced to fair value. In testing goodwill, the fair value of our reporting segments is estimated using a discounted cash flow approach utilizing long-term cash flow forecasts and our annual operating plans adjusted for terminal value assumptions.
We estimate the fair value of each reporting unit using the income approach, utilizing long-term cash flow forecasts adjusted for terminal value assumptions. We determine the fair value of our reporting segments utilizing our best estimate of future revenues, operating expenses including commission expense, cash flows, market and general economic conditions, trends in the industry, as well as assumptions that we believe marketplace participants would utilize including discount rates, cost of capital, trademark royalty rates, and long-term growth rates. The trademark royalty rate was determined by reviewing similar trademark agreements with third parties. Although we believe our assumptions are reasonable, actual results may vary significantly. These impairment tests involve the use of accounting estimates and assumptions, changes in which could materially impact our financial condition or operating performance if actual results differ from such estimates and assumptions. To address this uncertainty, we perform a sensitivity analysis on key estimates and assumptions.
Significant negative industry or economic trends, disruptions to our business, unexpected significant changes or planned changes in use of the assets, a decrease in our business results, growth rates that fall below our assumptions, divestitures, and a sustained decline in our stock price and market capitalization may have a negative effect on the fair values and key valuation assumptions, and such changes could result in changes to our estimates of our fair value and a material impairment of goodwill or other indefinite-lived intangible assets. Management considered these factors and concluded that the decrease in the stock price of the Company and the impact on future earnings related to the discontinuation of the USAA program qualified as triggering events in the third quarter of 2019 and as a result the Company performed an impairment assessment of goodwill for all of its reporting segments and indefinite-lived intangible assets as of September 1, 2019. The impairment assessment indicated that the carrying value of the Company's Owned Brokerage Services segment exceeded its estimated fair value by $180 million primarily as a result of a reduction in the Company's long-term forecast. Therefore, an impairment charge was recorded to reduce goodwill at the Owned Brokerage Services segment by $180 million to $726 million. The impairment charge is recorded on the impairment line in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and is non-cash in nature. The results of the interim goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible asset impairment test indicated that the estimated fair values of the Company's other reportable segments and indefinite-lived intangible assets were greater than their carrying values and therefore no other impairment charges were required for the other reporting segments or indefinite-lived intangibles.
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements
See Note 1, "Basis of Presentation", to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for a discussion of recently issued accounting pronouncements.
Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risks.
We are exposed to market risk from changes in interest rates primarily through our senior secured debt. At September 30, 2019, our primary interest rate exposure was to interest rate fluctuations, specifically LIBOR, due to its impact on our variable rate borrowings of our Revolving Credit Facility and Term Loan B under the Senior Secured Credit Facility and the Term Loan A Facility. Given that our borrowings under the Senior Secured Credit Facility and Term Loan A Facility are generally based upon LIBOR, this rate will be the Company's primary market risk exposure for the foreseeable future. We do not have significant exposure to foreign currency risk nor do we expect to have significant exposure to foreign currency risk in the foreseeable future.
We assess our market risk based on changes in interest rates utilizing a sensitivity analysis. The sensitivity analysis measures the potential impact on earnings, fair values and cash flows based on a hypothetical change (increase and decrease) in interest rates. We exclude the fair values of relocation receivables and advances and securitization borrowings from our sensitivity analysis because we believe the interest rate risk on these assets and liabilities is mitigated as the rate we earn on relocation receivables and advances and the rate we incur on our securitization borrowings are based on similar variable indices.
At September 30, 2019, we had variable interest rate long-term debt outstanding under our Senior Secured Credit Facility and Term Loan A Facility of $2,048 million, which excludes $228 million of securitization obligations. The weighted average interest rate on the outstanding amounts under our Senior Secured Credit Facility and Term Loan A Facility at September 30, 2019 was 4.27%. The interest rate with respect to the Term Loan B is based on adjusted LIBOR plus 2.25% (with a LIBOR floor of 0.75%). The interest rates with respect to the Revolving Credit Facility and term loans under the Term Loan A Facility are based on adjusted LIBOR plus an additional margin subject to adjustment based on the current senior secured leverage ratio. Based on the September 30, 2019 senior secured leverage ratio, the LIBOR margin
was 2.25%. At September 30, 2019, the one-month LIBOR rate was 2.02%; therefore, we have estimated that a 0.25% increase in LIBOR would have a $5 million impact on our annual interest expense.
As of September 30, 2019, we had interest rate swaps with a notional value of $1,600 million to manage a portion of our exposure to changes in interest rates associated with our $2,048 million of variable rate borrowings. Our interest rate swaps were as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Notional Value (in millions)
|
|
Commencement Date
|
Expiration Date
|
$600
|
|
August 2015
|
August 2020
|
$450
|
|
November 2017
|
November 2022
|
$400
|
|
August 2020
|
August 2025
|
$150
|
|
November 2022
|
November 2027
|
The swaps help protect our outstanding variable rate borrowings from future interest rate volatility. The fixed interest rates on the swaps range from 2.07% to 3.11%. The Company had a liability of $60 million for the fair value of the interest rate swaps at September 30, 2019. The fair value of these interest rate swaps is subject to movements in LIBOR and will fluctuate in future periods. We have estimated that a 0.25% increase in the LIBOR yield curve would increase the fair value of our interest rate swaps by $11 million and would decrease interest expense. While these results may be used as a benchmark, they should not be viewed as a forecast of future results.
Item 4. Controls and Procedures.
Controls and Procedures for Realogy Holdings Corp.
(a)Realogy Holdings Corp. ("Realogy Holdings") maintains disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in its filings under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the periods specified in the rules and forms of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such information is accumulated and communicated to its management, including its Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Realogy Holdings' management, including the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer, recognizes that any set of controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives.
(b)As of the end of the period covered by this quarterly report on Form 10-Q, Realogy Holdings has carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of its management, including its Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of its disclosure controls and procedures. Based upon that evaluation, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that Realogy Holdings' disclosure controls and procedures are effective at the "reasonable assurance" level.
(c)There has not been any change in Realogy Holdings' internal control over financial reporting during the period covered by this quarterly report on Form 10-Q that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, its internal control over financial reporting.
Controls and Procedures for Realogy Group LLC
(a)Realogy Group LLC ("Realogy Group") maintains disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in its filings under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the periods specified in the rules and forms of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such information is accumulated and communicated to its management, including its Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Realogy Group's management, including the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer, recognizes that any set of controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives.
(b)As of the end of the period covered by this quarterly report on Form 10-Q, Realogy Group has carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of its management, including its Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of its disclosure controls and procedures. Based upon that evaluation, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that Realogy Group's disclosure controls and procedures are effective at the "reasonable assurance" level.
(c)There has not been any change in Realogy Group's internal control over financial reporting during the period covered by this quarterly report on Form 10-Q that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, its internal control over financial reporting.
Other Financial Information
The Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements as of September 30, 2019 and for the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 have been reviewed by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm. Their reports, dated November 7, 2019, are included on pages 3 and 4. The reports of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP state that they did not audit and they do not express an opinion on that unaudited financial information. Accordingly, the degree of reliance on their report on such information should be restricted in light of the limited nature of the review procedures applied. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP is not subject to the liability provisions of Section 11 of the Securities Act of 1933 (the "Act") for their report on the unaudited financial information because that report is not a "report" or a "part" of the registration statement prepared or certified by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP within the meaning of Sections 7 and 11 of the Act.