Vistaprint 2008 Annual Report Download - page 3

Dear Fellow Shareholder:
I am pleased to report that fiscal year 2008 was another great year for VistaPrint, with outstanding financial
results and the continued building of foundations for a promising future.
Revenue increased 57% to $400.7 million and our earnings per share grew 45% from $0.60 in fiscal year
2007 to $0.87 this fiscal year. Net earnings grew 47%, the fastest in our history as a public company, to
$39.8 million, and cash flow from operations was $87.7 million.
This was the third fiscal year completed since VistaPrint went public in September 2005. Every one of those
years, we have grown net earnings at over 40%, with similarly strong performance on an EPS basis.
In spite of all the success VistaPrint has achieved to date, we believe that we are still in the early chapters of
our company’s history, and that great companies are built over decades, not quarters or years. We seek to
build long-term shareholder value by investing for growth and building our competitive advantage, while in
the near-term delivering strong earnings per share growth and high returns on invested capital. Below are
several examples of VistaPrint’s major investments and accomplishments of the past year:
‰We expanded our customer value proposition by offering turnkey marketing solutions for small
businesses that coordinate the graphic designs our customers develop using our software. We now
offer an integrated package of products and services that includes websites, signage, apparel, pens,
logos, foil-accented business cards, sticky notes, T-Shirts, and printed materials coupled with
graphic design, copywriting and mailing services.
‰We acquired over 4.5 million new customers at an average cost of customer acquisition that
remained generally stable versus the prior year.
‰We continued to improve product quality, delivery timeliness and customer service, advanced the
scope and sophistication of our marketing activities and our technologies, and invested in facilities
expansion worldwide.
‰We announced a new business-unit organizational structure to better address our North American
and European market opportunities, and promoted two long-serving and proven VistaPrint
executives to lead the new groups: Janet Holian was promoted to become President, VistaPrint
Europe, and Wendy Cebula to President, VistaPrint North America.
‰We invested $44 million in technology and development, $75 million in advertising, and $63 million in
capital expenditures. These investments are resulting in better products, stronger brand, more
customers, more scalable and efficient operations, and have greatly reinforced our position as the
leader in our market.
VistaPrint’s vision is to be the small business marketing company: the company that helps millions of small
businesses worldwide grow their businesses using our affordable, easy-to-use marketing products and
services. We are executing on our vision thanks to our talented and dedicated employees who have built
VistaPrint’s sophisticated set of corporate capabilities. These capabilities include a database of millions of
active, satisfied customers; a superior competency in internet direct marketing to the small business
segment; a robust and growing product and service offering; highly sophisticated software technology that
integrates our value chain; a culture of financial discipline; a strong balance sheet; a track record of
consistently strong operational execution; and first-class manufacturing and customer service operations.
Going forward, we plan to apply and augment these assets to meet the needs of our three primary
constituents: our customers via a continually improving value proposition, our employees via highly
rewarding career opportunities, and our shareholders via strong financial results.
Thank you for your investment and confidence in VistaPrint. The entire VistaPrint team looks forward to a
long and rewarding journey with you.
Sincerely,
Robert Keane
Chairman of the Board, President & CEO