Reflections on Fourth Quarter and Full-Year Earnings: 2021

DFIN announced its fourth quarter and full-year earnings on Tuesday. You can read the press announcement here.

Taken together, the quarter and the year show the company successfully executing its five-year strategy to transform itself into a thriving software business — one that is gaining momentum and market share. We have created a comprehensive software portfolio that spans both transactional and compliance applications. It's an unmatched ecosystem of regulatory and compliance solutions.

Last year's rollout of new ActiveDisclosure, our built-from-the ground-up solution for secure, efficient financial reporting and SEC filing, is a centerpiece of our transformation. Born in the cloud, with comprehensive network and infrastructure security controls in place, it posted sales growth of 41 percent in the fourth quarter. That was the highest-growth quarter of the year, as sales momentum accelerated since its introduction.

Our clients are using new ActiveDisclosure for their most important compliance reporting needs. We have already brought over hundreds of companies to the platform — existing clients, new ones and competitive wins — and that pace is expected to continue for the remainder of this year.

Our transactional software, Venue, grew 48 percent, representing record quarterly sales. We are seeing clients use Venue for their PIPE financing. In addition, SPACs looking for a target are relying on Venue's Artificial Intelligence capabilities to speed diligence.

Finally, eBrevia, a key part of a suite of our integrated solutions specifically designed for M&A and other transactional diligence, grew 24 percent. eBrevia is enabling DFIN to expand our existing customer relationships while also opening new client verticals.

It all adds up to record software solutions net sales for the full year.

These great numbers reflect the many companies that we've partnered with, including Tipalti, Floqast — and most recently — Oracle's NetSuite; and clients we are proud to serve, which in the fourth quarter alone include TPG Inc., Dave Banking, Vigil Neuro, SIGNA Sports United, Cvent, Samsara, and more.

Our results also showcase the entire DFIN team, which demonstrates every day that it is embracing our business model, taking smart risks, and working hard to deliver best-in-class solutions.

It's a team that is continually finding new ways to add value for our clients — such as through our recent acquisition of Guardum, which strengthened our global data privacy and redaction capabilities.

I couldn't be prouder of this group of dedicated professionals. They are the reason I am confident we will execute on DFIN's transformational goals.