PROS Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRO) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

Stefan Schulz: Yes. So Parker, I would say looking back, you’re right. I mean, but the year right before COVID, so 2019, our retention rate was around 93%. But you’re right, prior to 2019, we did have higher retention rates. And as we’ve gotten bigger and as we’ve gotten and done more or executed more transactions that are more of the land and expand variety, we knew that was going to have some pressure on our retention rates, and that has been the case. And so we’re very happy with doing 93% or better, and that is certainly something we factor in. And is there an opportunity to do better? Absolutely. There’s an opportunity to do better. And I think the work that we’re going to be doing around these expansion reps and spending more time to sell the value of what we currently have in those accounts and what we can do to add more value, I think we’ll go a long way towards helping that gross retention.

I will say this, it’s a little short of me to call out improving it off the 93% because we feel like 93% is actually a pretty strong number. But yes, we’ve done it before to your point. So I feel like it’s something we can do again.

Parker Lane: Understood. And then shifting gears over to the cost structure changes and the opportunity for leverage here on the path of profitability in 2030. How should we think about the impact across different areas of the business? Is there any one segment sales and marketing, R&D that maybe had an outsized impact from the cost structure changes?

Stefan Schulz: I wouldn’t say there was an outsized impact. You’ll see as the expense numbers come in 2023, I think you’ll see an impact in the sales and marketing area, you’ll see some impact in R&D and G&A as well. I think from a cost of sales perspective; you’re going to continue to see the scale that we’ve been talking about over the last couple of years come into play. But no, I wouldn’t say there’s an outsized change one way or the other. Now within each one of those line items, we have changed our priorities. So for example, we are going to be investing in more of the expansion reps that we talked about. We’re also going to be investing in new business logo reps as well. We’re going to spend more money investing in our demand gen and our marketing brand awareness initiatives.

So there’s going to be areas where we do make some investments, and that’s going to be factored in. And then similarly, on the product side, we have looked at some of our lesser priorities, deprioritize those so we can put more kind of wood behind the arrow on some of our bigger priorities, especially around what we want to do with our platform that Andres mentioned earlier. So that’s really what’s happening. Think of it as yes, there were some reductions made and they were made in many different areas, but it was really emphasizing how do we make sure that we stay and continue to invest in those bigger priority items?

Parker Lane: Got it. Appreciate the color. Thanks again.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Nehal Chokshi with Northland Capital Markets. Please proceed with your questions.

Nehal Chokshi: Yes. Thanks. And congratulations on the good results and the adjusted possibility in fiscal year 2023 is a big positive surprise. So that’s great to see as well. Starting with the revenue guidance, can you just €“ why only 7% year-over-year growth in fiscal year 2023, given that or fiscal year 2022, you had 13% billings growth. I mean, does this imply that you’re expecting flash films growth in fiscal 2023?