May 11, 2010

The Hackett Group Announces First Quarter Results

  • Q1 revenue of $46.7 million exceeds guidance and pro forma EPS of $0.05, driven by sequential growth across all service groups
  • Q2 revenue guidance of $50.0 million to $52.0 million with pro forma EPS of $0.06 to $0.08

Miami, FL - May 11, 2010 - The Hackett Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: HCKT), a global strategic advisory firm, today announced its financial results for the first quarter, which ended April 2, 2010.

First quarter 2010 revenue was $46.7 million, an 18% increase from the same period in 2009. Pro forma diluted earnings per share were $0.05 for the first quarter of 2010, as compared to $0.03 for the same period in 2009. Pro forma information is provided to enhance the understanding of the Company's financial performance and is reconciled to the Company's GAAP information in the accompanying tables. GAAP diluted earnings per share were $0.07 for the first quarter of 2010, as compared to $0.02 for the same period in 2009.

"Demand for our services and accelerated client decision-making improved noticeably during the quarter, and we expect this momentum to continue into the second quarter," stated Ted A. Fernandez, Chairman & CEO of The Hackett Group, Inc. "We also experienced favorable client reaction to our expanded service offerings resulting from the Archstone acquisition."

At the end of the first quarter of 2010, the Company's cash balances were $16.6 million. On a year to date basis as of May 11, 2010, the Company has repurchased approximately 307 thousand shares of its common stock at $2.89, for a total cost of approximately $0.9 million with remaining authorization of approximately $4.7 million.

Based on the current economic outlook, the Company estimates total revenue for the second quarter of 2010 to be in the range of $50.0 million to $52.0 million, and estimates pro forma diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $0.06 to $0.08.

Other Highlights

Finance Book of Numbers™ Research - Hackett announced research showing that world-class finance organizations now operate at nearly half the annual cost of typical companies and have less than half the staff, according to its 2010 Finance Book of Numbers, "Outperformance: Finance's Journey Starts Today." Hackett found that the efficiency gap between world-class and typical finance organizations now translates into an annual cost savings of nearly $140 million for a typical Global 1000 company.

Cash Culture Research - A new study from REL found that while the global financial crisis has made cash a major priority for most companies, many still fail to take the key steps required to build a corporate culture that successfully focuses on cash. REL's research "Blueprint for a Cash Culture" describes the key steps companies can take to build a cash culture, and how prevalent they are in companies today. It details best practices in four key areas: organizational alignment and collaboration; executive leadership and sponsorship; measurement and accountability; and incentives and compensation.

20th Annual Hackett Best Practices Conference - Hackett announced plans to hold its 20th Annual Best Practices Conference, "Excelling in a Volatile Recovery," at the InterContinental Hotel in Atlanta May 19-20. This year's Best Practices Conference brings together speakers from nearly a dozen of the world's most successful companies, including CEOs, CFOs, CIOs, and leaders in procurement and human resources from Heidrick & Struggles, Hewlett-Packard, McDonald's, Merck, and Molson Coors.

At 5:00 P.M. ET on Tuesday, May 11, 2010 the senior management of The Hackett Group, Inc. will host a conference call to discuss first quarter earnings results for the period ending April 2, 2010.

The number for the conference call is (800) 857-9601, [Passcode: First Quarter, Leader: Ted A. Fernandez]. For International callers, please dial (210) 234-8000.

Please dial in at least 5-10 minutes prior to start time. If you are unable to participate on the conference call, a rebroadcast will be available beginning at 8:00 P.M. ET on Tuesday, May 11, 2010 and will run through 5:00 P.M. ET on Tuesday, May 25, 2010. To access the rebroadcast, please dial (866) 431-5852. For International callers, please dial (203) 369-0964.

In addition, The Hackett Group will also be webcasting this conference call live through the StreetEvents.com service. To participate, simply visit http://www.thehackettgroup.com approximately 10 minutes prior to the start of the call and click on the conference call link provided. An online replay of the call will be available after 8:00 P.M. ET on Tuesday, May 11, 2010 and will run through 5:00 P.M. ET on Tuesday, May 25, 2010. To access the replay, visit http://www.thehackettgroup.com or http://www.streetevents.com.

Documents

About The Hackett Group, Inc.

The Hackett Group (NASDAQ: HCKT), a global strategic business advisory and operations improvement consulting firm, is a leader in best practice advisory, benchmarking, and transformation consulting services including strategy and operations, working capital management, and globalization advice. Utilizing best practices and implementation insights from more than 5,000 benchmarking engagements, executives use The Hackett Group's empirically-based approach to quickly define and implement initiatives to enable world-class performance. Through its REL group, The Hackett Group offers working capital solutions focused on delivering significant cash flow improvements. Through its Archstone Consulting group, The Hackett Group offers Strategy & Operations consulting services in the Consumer and Industrial Products, Pharmaceutical, Manufacturing and Financial Services industry sectors. Through its Hackett Technology Solutions group, The Hackett Group offers business application consulting services that help maximize returns on IT investments. The Hackett Group has completed benchmark studies with 2,800 major corporations and government agencies, including 97% of the Dow Jones Industrials, 84% of the Fortune 100, 80% of the DAX 30 and 49% of the FTSE 100.

More information on The Hackett Group is available: by phone at (770) 225-7300; by e-mail at info@thehackettgroup.com.

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause The Hackett Group's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that impact such forward-looking statements include, among others, the ability of our products, services, or practices mentioned in this release to deliver the desired effect, our ability to effectively integrate acquisitions into our operations, our ability to retain existing business, our ability to attract additional business, our ability to effectively market and sell our product offerings and other services, the timing of projects and the potential for contract cancellations by our customers, changes in expectations regarding the information technology industry, our ability to attract and retain skilled employees, possible changes in collections of accounts receivable, risks of competition, price and margin trends, foreign currency fluctuations, changes in general economic conditions and interest rates as well as other risks detailed in our Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the most recent fiscal year filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.