EX-12.1 6 l91513aexv12w1.txt EXHIBIT 12.1 Exhibit 12.1
Three Months Ended Year Ended December 31, March 31, ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2001(1) 2000 (2) 1999 1998 (3) 1997 (3) 2002 2001 Earnings: Pre-tax income $ 86,528 $ 203,018 $ 93,162 $ 102,094 $ 21,720 $ 21,135 Less: income from partnership investments (19,313) (22,430) (36,703) (36,127) (2,487) (1,827) Plus: cash received from partnership investments 26,888 36,755 40,886 84,300 5,450 7,303 Fixed charges (see below) 27,706 36,729 39,701 25,722 6,328 8,044 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total Earnings 121,809 254,072 137,046 175,989 31,011 34,655 Fixed charges: Interest expense 25,750 33,552 36,078 22,591 5,834 7,537 Amortization of debt costs 957 1,212 1,109 815 213 265 Interest component of rent expense (4) 999 1,965 2,514 2,316 281 242 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total fixed charges 27,706 36,729 39,701 25,722 6,328 8,044 =============================================================================== ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RATIO OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES 4.4x 6.9x 3.5x 6.8x - 4.9x 4.3x =============================================================================== -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Pre-tax income for 2001 includes a restructuring charge of $18,556 and an investment impairment charge of $13,432. Excluding these charges the ratio of earnings to fixed charges for 2001 would have been 5.6x. For additional information regarding the restructuring and investment impairment charges, see "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001, which is incorporated by reference into the registration statement to which this exhibit relates. (2) Pre-tax income for 2000 includes in earnings a gain on the disposition of businesses of $86,495 and a one-time benefit of $15,771 resulting from the restructuring of the CenDon relationship. Excluding these one-time items, the ratio of earnings to fixed charges for 2000 would have been 4.1x. For additional information regarding the disposition of businesses and the restructuring of the CenDon relationship, see "Management Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001, which is incorporated by reference into the registration statement to which this exhibit relates. (3) Prior to July 1, 1998, the Company operated as part of The Dun & Bradstreet Company. Interest expense for 1998 represents interest incurred on debt from July 1, 1998. Since the Company was a wholly owned subsidiary of D&B for all of 1997, this ratio is not applicable for that year. (4) Represents 1/3 of rent expense, which management believes is representative of the interest component.