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VeriSign Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2007 Results

January 31, 2008

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA, Jan 31, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX News Network) -- VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN), the leading provider of Internet infrastructure for the networked world, today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2007.

Q4 2007 Financial Results

VeriSign reported total revenue of $386 million for the fourth quarter of 2007. On a GAAP basis, VeriSign reported a net loss of $196 million for the fourth quarter of 2007 and a net loss per share of $0.88. These results include our best estimate of a non-cash impairment charge of $210 million associated with the digital content and messaging business.

On a non-GAAP basis (which excludes the items described below), VeriSign reported net income of $70 million for the fourth quarter of 2007 and earnings per share of $0.30 per fully-diluted share. A table reconciling the GAAP to non-GAAP results reported above is appended to this release.

"VeriSign's core businesses and our strong operational execution continue to yield solid growth," said Bill Roper, president and chief executive officer of VeriSign. "Our fourth quarter results support our decision to focus on our core strengths in Internet infrastructure. We are on track to deliver on the business strategy we outlined at our analyst day late last year."

2007 Financial Results

For the year ended December 31, 2007, VeriSign reported total revenue of $1.5 billion, excluding $12 million from discontinued operations.

On a GAAP basis, VeriSign reported a net loss of $120 million for 2007 and loss per share of $0.50.

On a non-GAAP basis (which excludes the items described below), VeriSign reported net income of $251 million for 2007 and earnings per share of $1.03 per fully-diluted share.

"We met our financial goals for the fourth quarter, closing out a solid year as non-GAAP operating margin excluding Jamba improved over 650 basis points from year ago results," said Bert Clement, chief financial officer of VeriSign. "The combination of a strong business model and operational rigor resulted in healthy operating cash flow of over $450 million and notable improvements in our balance sheet as we ended the year with strong cash and record deferred revenue."

Non-GAAP results exclude the following items which are included under GAAP: amortization of intangible assets, impairment of goodwill, acquired in-process R&D, stock-based compensation, former CEO severance, non-recurring costs and settlements, restructuring, impairments and other charges (reversals), net gain or loss on the sale or impairment of investments, gain or loss on the sale of a subsidiary, unrealized gain on Jamba JV call option, realized and unrealized gains and losses on embedded derivative, and stock option investigation costs. A table reconciling the GAAP to non-GAAP net income is appended to this release.

Internet Services Group

--  The Internet Services Group (ISG) -- which includes Naming, SSL and
    Security Services -- delivered $245 million of revenue in the fourth
    quarter of 2007, up 20% year over year.
--  VeriSign Naming Services ended the quarter with approximately 80.4
    million active domain names in the adjusted zone for .com and .net,
    representing a 4% increase over Q3 2007 and 24% increase year over year.
--  VeriSign Naming Services also registered 18.0 million new and renewed
    domain names in .com and .net during the fourth quarter.
--  VeriSign SSL Services issued approximately 233,000 new and renewal
    certificates in Q4, bringing the total installed base to 938,000, up 3%
    from Q3 2007 and an increase of 16% year over year.


Communications Services Group

--  VeriSign Communications Services Group (CSG) -- which provides
    intelligent communications, commerce and content services to
    telecommunications carriers, media and entertainment companies, and next-
    generation service providers -- delivered revenues of $142 million in the
    fourth quarter of 2007, up 4% year over year excluding Jamba and Jamba
    Services.


Additional Financial and Business Highlights

--  During the quarter, the company repurchased 6.6 million shares of
    common stock at an average price of $30.70.
--  VeriSign ended the fourth quarter with Cash, Cash Equivalents,
    Restricted Cash and Short-term Investments of $1.4 billion, an increase of
    approximately $255 million from the prior quarter, and an increase of $675
    million over last year.
--  Capital expenditures were approximately $58 million for the fourth
    quarter and approximately $152 million for the year.
--  Deferred revenue on the balance sheet was $739 million as of December
    31, 2007, an increase of $28 million from the prior quarter and up $131
    million year-over-year.
--  Net days sales outstanding (Net DSO), which takes into account the
    change in deferred revenue balances, was 44 days at the end of Q4.
--  VeriSign announced at its Analyst Day on November 14, 2007 its
    intention to focus on Internet infrastructure services and, as a result,
    divest itself of a number of businesses over the course of 2008.
--  Timothy Tomlinson was appointed to the company's Board of Directors on
    November 5, 2007.  He serves on the Audit Committee and the Compensation
    Committee.   Mr. Tomlinson was previously a member of VeriSign's Board of
    Directors from 1995 until 2002.
--  Ken Silva has been named the company's Chief Technology Officer.  Mr.
    Silva has more than 20 years of experience in security and
    telecommunications and previously held the position of Chief Security
    Officer at VeriSign.


Today's Conference Call

VeriSign will host a live teleconference call today at 2:00 pm (PST) to review the quarter's results. The call will be accessible by direct dial at (888) 676-VRSN (US) or (913) 312-1505 (international). A listen-only live web cast and accompanying slide presentation of the earnings conference call will also be available at http://investor.verisign.com. A replay of this call will be available at (888) 203-1112 or (719) 457-0820 (passcode: 1256242) beginning at 5:00 pm (PDT) on January 31 and will run through February 6. This press release and the financial information discussed on today's conference call are available on the Investor Relations section of the VeriSign website at http://investor.verisign.com.

About VeriSign

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN) operates intelligent infrastructure services that enable and protect billions of interactions every day across the world's voice, video and data networks. Additional news and information about the company is available at www.verisign.com.

VRSNF

Statements in this announcement other than historical data and information constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause VeriSign's actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, the uncertainty of future revenue and profitability and potential fluctuations in quarterly operating results due to such factors as increasing competition and pricing pressure from competing services offered at prices below our prices and market acceptance of our existing services, the inability of VeriSign to successfully develop and market new services, and the uncertainty of whether new services as provided by VeriSign will achieve market acceptance or result in any revenues and the risk acquired businesses will not be integrated successfully and unanticipated costs of such integration. More information about potential factors that could affect the company's business and financial results is included in VeriSign's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006 and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. VeriSign undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release.

                      VERISIGN, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
                  CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
              (In thousands, except share and per share data)
                                (Unaudited)
                                              December 31,   December 31,
                                                  2007           2006
                                              -------------  -------------
            Assets
Current assets:
  Cash and cash equivalents                   $   1,376,722  $     478,749
  Short-term investments                              1,011        198,656
  Accounts receivable, net                          208,799        241,570
  Prepaid expenses and other current assets         116,758        294,955
  Deferred tax assets                                43,288         81,773
  Current assets of discontinued operations               -         36,661
                                              -------------  -------------
    Total current assets                          1,746,578      1,332,364
                                              -------------  -------------
  Property and equipment, net                       626,174        605,292
  Goodwill                                        1,059,473      1,442,493
  Other intangible assets, net                      184,383        333,430
  Restricted cash                                    46,936         49,437
  Long-term deferred tax assets                     282,337        179,023
  Other assets, net                                  59,952         25,214
  Investment in unconsolidated entities             112,351              -
  Long-term assets of discontinued operations             -          7,000
                                              -------------  -------------
    Total long-term assets                        2,371,606      2,641,889
                                              -------------  -------------
    Total assets                              $   4,118,184  $   3,974,253
                                              =============  =============
        Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity
Current liabilities:
  Accounts payable and accrued liabilities    $     372,813  $     681,996
  Accrued restructuring costs                         2,878          3,818
  Deferred revenue                                  552,070        448,414
  Short-term debt                                         -        199,000
  Deferred tax liabilities                            6,619          1,448
  Current liabilities of discontinued
   operations                                             -         24,601
                                              -------------  -------------
    Total current liabilities                       934,380      1,359,277
                                              -------------  -------------
  Long-term deferred revenue                        186,719        159,439
  Long-term accrued restructuring costs               1,473            937
  Long-term debt                                  1,265,296              -
  Long-term tax liability                            37,801              -
  Other long-term liabilities                           540          5,175
  Long-term deferred tax liabilities                 88,955         24,849
                                              -------------  -------------
    Total long-term liabilities                   1,580,784        190,400
                                              -------------  -------------
    Total liabilities                             2,515,164      1,549,677
Commitments and contingencies
Minority interest in subsidiaries                    54,486         47,716
Stockholders' equity:
  Preferred stock - par value $.001 per share
    Authorized shares:  5,000,000
    Issued and outstanding shares: none                   -              -
  Common stock - par value $.001 per share
    Authorized shares:  1,000,000,000
    Issued and outstanding shares: 222,849,348
     and  243,844,122 (excluding 73,720,953 and
     35,471,662 shares held in treasury at
     December 31, 2007 and December 31, 2006,
     respectively)                                      297            279
    Additional paid-in capital                   22,557,446     23,314,476
    Accumulated deficit                         (21,011,184)   (20,929,497)
    Accumulated other comprehensive loss              1,975         (8,398)
                                              -------------  -------------
      Total stockholders' equity                  1,548,534      2,376,860
                                              -------------  -------------
      Total liabilities and stockholders'
       equity                                 $   4,118,184  $   3,974,253
                                              =============  =============
                      VERISIGN, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
              CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
                  (In thousands, except per share data)
                                (Unaudited)
                           Three Months Ended       Twelve Months Ended
                              December 31,              December 31,
                        ------------------------  ------------------------
                            2007         2006         2007         2006
                        -----------  -----------  -----------  -----------
Revenues                $   386,436  $   408,639  $ 1,496,289  $ 1,562,998
Cost and expenses
  Cost of revenues          148,057      148,723      596,517      574,762
  Sales & marketing          68,381       98,299      276,632      376,508
  Research &
   development               38,872       36,812      160,185      129,256
  General &
   administrative            73,269       67,731      261,130      256,592
  Restructuring,
   impairments & other
   charges                     (935)        (192)      43,262       (4,471)
  Impairment of
   goodwill (1)             210,000            -      210,000            -
  Amortization of
   intangible assets         25,371       31,957      116,064      122,767
  Acquired in-process
   R&D                            -            -            -       16,700
                        -----------  -----------  -----------  -----------
    Total costs &
     expenses               563,015      383,330    1,663,790    1,472,114
                        -----------  -----------  -----------  -----------
Operating (loss) income    (176,579)      25,309     (167,501)      90,884
Other income, net             9,972        4,377       96,004       42,643
                        -----------  -----------  -----------  -----------
Income (loss) from
 continuing operations
 before income taxes,
 earnings from
 unconsolidated
 entities and minority
 interest                  (166,607)      29,686      (71,497)     133,527
Income tax (expense)
 benefit                    (23,389)     (59,904)     (47,260)     243,648
Earnings from
 unconsolidated
 entities, net of tax        (4,430)           -       (2,018)           -
Minority interest, net
 of tax                      (1,299)        (751)      (3,840)      (2,875)
                        -----------  -----------  -----------  -----------
Net (loss) income from
 continuing operations     (195,725)     (30,969)    (124,615)     374,300
Net income from from
 discontinued
 operations, net of tax           -        1,437        3,573        4,715
Gain on sale of
 discontinued
 operations, net of tax           -            -        1,357            -
                        -----------  -----------  -----------  -----------
Net (loss) income       $  (195,725) $   (29,532) $  (119,685) $   379,015
                        ===========  ===========  ===========  ===========
Basic net income (loss)
 per share from:
  Continuing operations $     (0.88) $     (0.13) $     (0.52) $      1.53
  Discontinued
   operations                     -         0.01         0.02         0.02
                        -----------  -----------  -----------  -----------
  Net (loss) income     $     (0.88) $     (0.12) $     (0.50) $      1.55
                        ===========  ===========  ===========  ===========
Diluted net income
 (loss) income per
 share from:
  Continuing operations $     (0.88) $     (0.13) $     (0.52) $      1.51
  Discontinued
   operations                     -         0.01         0.02         0.02
                        -----------  -----------  -----------  -----------
  Net (loss) income     $     (0.88) $     (0.12) $     (0.50) $      1.53
                        ===========  ===========  ===========  ===========
  Shares used in per
   share computation:
    Basic                   223,274      243,832      237,707      244,421
                        ===========  ===========  ===========  ===========
    Diluted                 223,274      243,832      237,707      247,073
                        ===========  ===========  ===========  ===========
Stock-based compensation
  Cost of revenue       $     6,283  $     4,522  $    20,928  $    14,696
  Sales & marketing           6,716        4,013       22,933       15,237
  Research & development      4,322        3,069       14,920       10,437
  General &
   administrative             6,898        5,281       35,822       24,346
                        -----------  -----------  -----------  -----------
      Total stock-based
       compensation     $    24,219  $    16,885  $    94,603  $    64,716
                        ===========  ===========  ===========  ===========
(1)  Best estimate of a non-cash impairment loss associated with the
     digital content and messaging business.  The Company is currently
     finalizing its valuation analysis.
                      VERISIGN, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
                  STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS RECONCILIATION
                   (In thousands, except per share data)
                           Three Months Ended       Twelve Months Ended
                              December 31,              December 31,
                        ------------------------  ------------------------
                            2007         2006         2007         2006
                        -----------  -----------  -----------  -----------
Revenue reconciliation
Revenue from continuing
 operations             $   386,436  $   408,639  $ 1,496,289  $ 1,562,998
   Revenue from
    discontinued
    operations (1)                -        3,589       11,869       12,162
                        -----------  -----------  -----------  -----------
Revenue including
 discontinued
 operations             $   386,436  $   412,228  $ 1,508,158  $ 1,575,160
                        ===========  ===========  ===========  ===========
(1) For the twelve months ended December 31, 2007, revenue from
    discontinued operations represents activity related primarily to the
    Jamba Services business. VeriSign previously provided investors and
    analysts forecasts for the period that included revenue up until an
    estimated disposition date of the business. For the three and twelve
    months ended December 31, 2006, revenue from discontinued operations
    represents activity related to both Jamba Services and the Payments
    Gateway business. For GAAP purposes, revenue from these and all
    periods are reclassified to net income from discontinued operations.
Statements of
 operations
 reconciliation
Net income on a GAAP
 basis                  $  (195,725) $   (29,532) $  (119,685) $   379,015
  Amortization  of
   intangible assets         25,371       31,957      116,064      122,767
  Impairment of
   goodwill (2)             210,000            -      210,000            -
  Acquired
   in-process research
   and development                -            -            -       16,700
  Stock-based
   compensation (3)          24,219       16,872       94,603       64,577
  Former CEO severance            -            -       10,430            -
  Non-recurring costs
   and settlements           14,914          164       16,284        3,665
  Restructuring,
   impairments and other
   charges (reversals)         (935)        (192)      43,262       (4,471)
  Net (gain) loss on sale
   of investments            (2,280)           2        1,150      (20,282)
  Net (gain) loss on sale
   of subsidiary              1,260            -      (75,096)           -
  Unrealized (gain) on
   Jamba JV call option      (3,178)           -      (10,925)           -
  Stock option investigation
   costs                          -        4,103        7,896        9,119
  Embedded derivative on
   debt offering              2,712            -       15,296            -
  Income from discontinued
   operations                     -       (1,437)      (3,573)      (4,715)
  Income tax expense
   (benefit)                 23,389       59,904       47,260     (243,648)
                        -----------  -----------  -----------  -----------
 Non-GAAP continuing
  operations income
  before income taxes        99,747       81,841      352,966      322,727
 Non-GAAP tax rate in
  lieu of the GAAP
  rate (4)                  (29,924)     (24,552)    (105,890)     (96,818)
                        -----------  -----------  -----------  -----------
Net income from
 continuing operations
 on a non-GAAP basis    $    69,823  $    57,289  $   247,076  $   225,909
                        ===========  ===========  ===========  ===========
  Net income from
   discontinued
   operation, net of tax          -        1,437        3,573        4,715
                        -----------  -----------  -----------  -----------
Net income on a
 non-GAAP basis         $    69,823  $    58,726  $   250,649  $   230,624
                        ===========  ===========  ===========  ===========
Statements of
 operations
 reconciliation per
 share
Diluted net income
 (loss) per share on a
 GAAP basis             $     (0.88) $     (0.12) $     (0.50) $      1.53
  Diluted net loss
   (income) per share
   on a GAAP basis             0.02            -         0.01            -
  Amortization of
   intangible assets           0.11         0.13         0.48         0.50
  Impairment of goodwill       0.91            -         0.86            -
  Acquired in-process
   research and development       -            -            -         0.07
  Stock-based
   compensation                0.11         0.07         0.39         0.26
  Former CEO severance            -            -         0.04            -
  Non-recurring costs and
   settlements                 0.06            -         0.07         0.01
  Restructuring, impairments
   and other charges
   (reversals)                    -            -         0.18        (0.02)
  Net (gain) loss on
   sale of investments        (0.01)           -            -        (0.08)
  Net (gain) loss on sale
   of subsidiary               0.01            -        (0.31)           -
  Unrealized (gain) on
   Jamba JV call option       (0.01)           -        (0.04)           -
  Stock option
   investigation costs            -         0.02         0.03         0.04
  Embedded derivative on
   debt offering               0.01            -         0.06            -
  Income from discontinued
   operations                     -        (0.01)       (0.01)       (0.02)
  Income tax expense
   (benefit)                   0.10         0.24         0.19        (0.99)
                        -----------  -----------  -----------  -----------
Non-GAAP continuing
 operations income
 before income taxes           0.43         0.33         1.45         1.30
Non-GAAP tax rate in
 lieu of the GAAP rate        (0.13)       (0.10)       (0.43)       (0.39)
                        -----------  -----------  -----------  -----------
  Non-GAAP net income
   from continuing
   operations basis            0.30         0.23         1.02         0.91
                        ===========  ===========  ===========  ===========
  Net income from
   discontinued
   operation, net of tax          -         0.01         0.01         0.02
                        -----------  -----------  -----------  -----------
Diluted net income per
 share on a non-GAAP
 basis                  $      0.30  $      0.24  $      1.03  $      0.93
                        ===========  ===========  ===========  ===========
Shares used in
 calculation of net
 (loss) income per
 share                      229,583      247,088      243,170      247,073
(2) Best estimate of a non-cash impairment loss associated with the
    digital content and messaging business. The Company is currently
    finalizing its valuation analysis.
(3) Three and twelve months ended December 31, 2006 excludes $13 and $139
    of stock-based compensation included in discontinued operations.
(4) Non-GAAP tax is calculated as 30% of Net income from continuing
    operations, excluding Minority interest and Earnings from
    unconsolidated subsidiaries, which are presented net of tax on the
    Statement of Operations.
    VeriSign provides quarterly and annual financial statements that are
    prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles
    (GAAP). Along with this information, we typically disclose and
    discuss certain non-GAAP financial infromation in our quarterly
    earnings release, on investor conference calls and during investor
    conferences and related events. This non-GAAP financial information
    does not include the following types of financial measures that are
    included in GAAP: amortization of intangible assets, impairment of
    goodwill, acquired in-process R&D, stock-based compensation, former
    CEO severance, non-recurring costs and settlements, restructuring,
    impairments and other charges (reversals), net gain or loss on the
    sale or impairment of investments, gain or loss on the sale of a
    subsidiary, unrealized gain on Jamba JV call option, realized and
    unrealized gains and losses on embedded derivative, and stock option
    investigation costs. Non-GAAP financial information is also adjusted
    for a 30% tax rate which differs from the GAAP tax rate.
    Management believes that this non-GAAP financial data supplements
    our GAAP financial data by providing investors with additional
    information that allows them to have a clearer picture of the
    company's core operations. The presentation of this additional
    information is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a
    substitute for results prepared in accordance with GAAP. We
    believe that the non-GAAP information enhances the investors'
    overall understanding of our financial performance and the
    comparability of the company's operating results from period to
    period. Above, we have provided a reconciliation of the non-GAAP
    financial information that we provide each quarter with the
    comparable financial information reported in accordance with
    GAAP for the given period.

SOURCE: VeriSign, Inc.



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