HR Block 2011 Annual Report Download - page 5

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• Digital Tax: Our digital business is acting as a springboard to a deeper relationship with our
existing clients and is opening the door to new ones. I’m pleased that for the first time this
year, we fully committed to this space by investing capital to improve our product, our website,
and our marketing. With these improvements, we drove significant traffic to our website, and
more importantly, we converted that traffic into clients. Our digital client base grew by nearly
800,000 and we gained 90 basis points of market share in online and 60 basis points of share
in software. As the digital category continues to grow at the expense of the shrinking pen and
paper market, our goal in 2012 is to compete with a vengeance and continue to take share.
•
International: Within our growing International tax business, we serve more than 3 million
clients in Canada and Australia. Our international revenues have grown at a five-year CAGR
of 11 percent to $206 million. I’m excited about our growth prospects in both Canada and
Australia, as we have less than 10 percent share in each of these markets. In 2012, we will
focus on growing clients and share in both countries, while continuing to explore additional
opportunities to further build our global presence.
•
Financial Services: H&R Block Bank played a key role in this year’s success and helped mitigate
the loss of Refund Anticipation Loans. The bank processed nearly 6 million RACs and approxi-
mately 2.3 million Emerald Cards with $8 billion in total deposits. The Emerald Card is a con-
venient and low-cost product for our clients. Ultimately, our goal is to significantly expand on
the success of the Emerald Card by increasing the number of cards in circulation, the amount
of direct deposits, and the frequency of use.
During my first two months as CEO, one of my highlights was the opportunity to spend time with
Henry Bloch. Towards the end of one of our conversations he said, “Remember Bill, however you
approach it, our clients come first. If we stay focused on them and on preparing error-free returns,
we’ll ultimately increase the number of returns we’re a part of. And if we do that, we’ll ultimately
increase profitability.” His simple equation will be at the heart of our efforts in 2012.
I want to thank our employees and franchisees for their extraordinary achievements this year. I have
been tremendously impressed by the dedication and expertise of our tax professionals and the
strong relationships they have with their clients. It’s these relationships that symbolize the resiliency
of our great organization and position us well for a bright future.
And finally, thank you for your investment in H&R Block. I value the patience and confidence
you’ve shown in us during these challenging economic times. I look forward to sharing a successful
journey with you in the years ahead.
Sincerely yours,
William C. Cobb
President & CEO, H&R Block, Inc.
3
H&R Block 2011 Annual Report