TORONTO, May 8, 2019 /CNW/ - TeraGo Inc. ("TeraGo"
or the "Company") (TSX: TGO, www.terago.ca), today announced
financial and operating results for the first quarter ended
March 31, 2019.
"In the first quarter of 2019, we continued to manage costs to
deliver $4.6 million in Adjusted
EBITDA and positive free cash flow," said Tony Ciciretto, President and CEO of TeraGo.
"Our focus this year will be to stabilize the topline through new
sales and channel initiatives while maximizing capital efficiency
to remain well positioned to surface value from our spectrum assets
as the 5G opportunity unfolds."
First Quarter 2019 Financial Highlights
- Total revenue decreased 9.8% to $12.4
million for the three months ended March 31, 2019 compared to $13.7 million for the same period in 2018. The
decrease in revenue is primarily driven by lower connectivity
revenue which decreased 12.3% to $7.9
million compared to $9.0
million for the same period in 2018. In addition, cloud and
colocation revenue decreased 5.0% to $4.5
million compared to $4.7
million for the same period in 2018. The decreases were
attributable to churn exceeding provisioning as a result of lower
sales volume.
- Net loss was $1.2 million for the
three months ended March 31, 2019
compared to a net loss of $1.3
million for the same period in 2018. The decrease in net
loss was driven by a number of factors: the reduction in headcount
in the second half of 2018, lower cost of sales and other operating
expenses due to cost reduction efforts, lower severance expenses,
lower impairment charges, and lower depreciation & amortization
from impaired assets and assets fully amortized in prior periods;
partially offset by the decrease in revenue and net negative impact
of the adoption of IFRS 16.
- Adjusted EBITDA(1)(2) increased 46.7% to
$4.6 million for the three months
ended March 31, 2019 compared to
$3.1 million for the same period in
2018. The increase was driven by the adoption of IFRS 16 which
resulted in the reclassification of certain operating lease
expenses to finance costs and depreciation which are excluded from
the calculation of Adjusted EBITDA.
Recent Developments
- On March 11, 2019, Geoff Kereluik joined the Company as Vice
President, Sales.
- TeraGo Networks was recognized in the Major Players Category of
the IDC MarketScape for Canadian Datacenter Operations and
Management Service Providers 2019 Vendor Assessment (IDC #
CA44463419, April 2019) report which
is prepared by International Data Corporation (IDC) Canada. The assessment profiles leading
vendors in the Canadian data centres and managed services markets
and covers their competencies for these two services.
_________________________
|
(1)
|
See Non-IFRS Measures
below "Adjusted EBITDA".
|
(2)
|
See "Adjusted EBITDA"
below for a reconciliation of net loss to Adjusted
EBITDA.
|
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Comparison of the three months ended March 31, 2019 and 2018
(in thousands of dollars, except with respect to
gross profit margin, earnings per share, Backlog MRR, and
ARPU)
|
|
Three months
ended
March
31
|
|
|
2019
|
2018(3)
|
Financial
|
|
|
|
Cloud and Colocation
Revenue
|
$
|
4,494
|
4,731
|
Connectivity
Revenue
|
$
|
7,903
|
9,009
|
Total
Revenue
|
$
|
12,397
|
13,740
|
Cost of
Services
|
$
|
2,261
|
3,555
|
Selling, General,
& Administrative Costs
|
$
|
5,963
|
7,712
|
Gross profit
margin
|
|
81.8%
|
74.1%
|
Adjusted
EBITDA(1) (2)
|
$
|
4,590
|
3,129
|
Net loss
|
$
|
(1,188)
|
(1,312)
|
Basic loss per
share
|
$
|
(0.08)
|
(0.09)
|
Diluted loss per
share
|
$
|
(0.08)
|
(0.09)
|
Operating
|
|
|
|
Backlog
MRR(1)
|
|
|
|
Connectivity
|
$
|
71,624
|
58,336
|
Cloud &
Colocation
|
$
|
37,094
|
133,687
|
Churn
Rate(1)
|
|
|
|
Connectivity
|
|
1.5%
|
1.6%
|
Cloud &
Colocation
|
|
1.1%
|
3.1%
|
ARPU(1)
|
|
|
|
Connectivity
|
$
|
1,033
|
1,041
|
Cloud &
Colocation
|
$
|
3,221
|
3,084
|
|
(1) See
"Non-IFRS Measures" below.
|
(2) See
definition of "Adjusted EBITDA" below for a reconciliation of net
loss to Adjusted EBITDA
|
(3)
The Company has applied IFRS 16 on January 1, 2019 using the
modified retrospective approach. Under this method, the comparative
information is not restated. See "Accounting
Pronouncements Adopted in 2019" for further
information.
|
Operating Highlights
Backlog MRR(1)
- Connectivity backlog MRR was $71,624 as at March 31,
2019, compared to $58,336 as
at March 31, 2018. The increase
in backlog MRR is driven primarily by growth in bookings and the
timing of customer provisioning.
- Cloud and colocation backlog MRR was $37,094 as at March 31,
2019 compared to $133,687 as
at March 31, 2018. The decrease is
driven by the provisioning of large colocation customers which were
in the backlog as of the prior year period.
ARPU(1)
- For the three months ended March 31,
2019 Connectivity ARPU was $1,033 compared to $1,041 for the same period in 2018. The ARPU is
consistent with prior year period as the Company continues to focus
on acquiring and retaining small to medium sized business
customers.
- For the three months ended March 31,
2019 cloud and colocation ARPU was $3,221 compared to $3,084 for the same period in 2018. The increase
was driven by the provisioning of large customers in the first half
of 2018, as well as the churn of low value cloud
customers.
Churn(1)
- For the three months ended March 31,
2019, connectivity churn was 1.5% compared to 1.6% for the
same period in 2018. The decrease was driven by favourable impacts
of the Company's investment in developing a robust customer
experience framework.
- For the three months ended March 31,
2019, cloud and colocation churn was 1.1% compared to 3.1%
for the same period in 2018. The decrease was the result of ongoing
churn management efforts, as well as increased churn in the prior
year period due to end of life services that the Company ceased in
the prior year period.
ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS ADOPTED in 2019
a) IFRS 16 Leases
IFRS 16 introduced a single, on-balance sheet accounting
approach for leases. Effective January 1,
2019, the Company adopted IFRS 16 using the modified
retrospective approach by recognizing the cumulative effect of
initially applying IFRS 16 as an adjustment to the opening balance
of retained earnings at January 1,
2019. Therefore, comparative information has not been
restated and continues to be reported under IAS 17.
Under the new standard, the Company assesses whether at contract
inception, such contract contains a lease based on the new
definition of a lease. Under IFRS 16, a contract is, or contains a
lease if the contract conveys a right to control or use an
identified asset for a period of time in exchange for
consideration. The Company has also elected to apply the practical
expedient to grandfather the assessment of which transactions were
leases, as previously determined by IAS 17 and IFRIC 4. Therefore,
the definition of a lease under IFRS 16 was only applied to
contracts entered into or changed on or after January 1, 2019.
i) Significant Accounting Policies
The Company records a right-of-use asset and lease liability at
the lease commencement date. The right-of-use asset is initially
measured at cost, and subsequently at cost less any accumulated
depreciation and impairment losses and adjusted for certain
remeasurements of the lease liability.
The lease liability is initially measured at the present value
of lease payments that are not paid at the commencement date,
discounted using the Company's incremental borrowing rate. Payments
included in the measurement of the liability include fixed payments
and payments expected to be made where an renewal/extension option
is reasonably certain to be exercised. The lease liability is
subsequently increased by the interest cost and decreased by lease
payments made. The liability is remeasured when there is a change
in the future lease payments arising from the exercise of extension
options, changes in the assessment of extension options reasonably
expected to be exercised, renegotiations with lessors and contract
amendments, changes in the scope of a lease due to certain contract
rights being exercised, and changes in assessments of termination
options reasonably expected to be exercised.
Judgments
The Company has applied judgment to determine the lease term for
some lease contracts in which it is a lessee that includes renewal
options. The assessment of whether the Company is reasonably
certain to exercise such options will impact the lease term, which
significantly impacts the amount of lease liabilities and
right-of-use assets recognized.
A large portion of the Company's leases include renewal options
that are exercisable by the Company and not the lessor. The Company
typically exercises these options when they relate to rooftop
locations that service its fixed wireless network. From time to
time, the Company will reassess whether these options are
reasonable expected to be exercised and remeasure the lease
liability accordingly.
ii) Impacts on Financial Statements
On initial transition, the Company has recognized right-of-use
assets representing its rights to use the underlying assets and
lease liabilities representing its obligation to make lease
payments. The Company elected to record the right-of-use assets
based on the corresponding lease liability. Right-of-use assets and
lease liabilities of $31,457 were
recorded on January 1, 2019. In
addition, the Company had previously recognized prepaid assets and
deferred rent liabilities for timing differences in contractual
operating lease cash flows. Under the new standard, timing
differences are recognized in the lease liability and as a result,
these prepaid assets and deferred rent liabilities were
derecognized and the impact was recorded through opening retained
earnings.
vi) Impacts on Financial results
The following table highlights some of the key impacts on our
financial metrics related to IFRS 16:
|
|
Three months
ended
March 31,
2019
|
|
|
Balances
without
adoption of
IFRS 16
|
Effect of
IFRS 16
|
Balances
subsequent
to
transition
|
%
Change
|
Financial
|
|
|
|
|
|
Selling, General,
& Admin Costs
|
$
|
6,627
|
(664)
|
5,963
|
-10%
|
Depreciation &
Amortization
|
$
|
2,564
|
1,413
|
3,977
|
55%
|
Cost of
Services
|
$
|
3,350
|
(1,089)
|
2,261
|
-33%
|
Finance
Costs
|
$
|
698
|
717
|
1,415
|
103%
|
Gross
Margin
|
$
|
9,047
|
1,089
|
10,136
|
12%
|
Adjusted
EBITDA(1) (2)
|
$
|
2,837
|
1,753
|
4,590
|
62%
|
Net Income
(Loss)
|
$
|
(811)
|
(377)
|
(1,188)
|
46%
|
Total
Assets
|
$
|
82,519
|
28,643
|
111,162
|
35%
|
Total
Liabilities
|
$
|
38,491
|
29,020
|
67,511
|
75%
|
Total Shareholder's
Equity
|
$
|
82,519
|
28,643
|
111,162
|
35%
|
|
(1) See Non-IFRS
Measures below.
|
(2) See
"Adjusted EBITDA" below for a reconciliation of net loss to
Adjusted EBITDA.
|
(1) Non-IFRS Measures
This press release contains references to "Adjusted EBITDA",
"Backlog MRR", "ARPU", and "churn" which are not measures
prescribed by International Financial Reporting Standards
(IFRS).
Adjusted EBITDA - The Company believes that Adjusted EBITDA
is useful additional information to management, the Board and
investors as it provides an indication of the operational results
generated by its business activities prior to taking into
consideration how those activities are financed and taxed and also
prior to taking into consideration asset depreciation and
amortization and it excludes items that could affect the
comparability of our operational results and could potentially
alter the trends analysis in business performance. Excluding these
items does not necessarily imply they are non-recurring, infrequent
or unusual. Adjusted EBITDA is also used by some investors and
analysts for the purpose of valuing a company. The Company
calculates Adjusted EBITDA as earnings before deducting interest,
taxes, depreciation and amortization, foreign exchange gain or
loss, finance costs, finance income, gain or loss on disposal of
network assets, property and equipment, impairment of property,
plant, & equipment and intangible assets, stock-based
compensation and restructuring, acquisition-related and integration
costs. Investors are cautioned that Adjusted EBITDA should not be
construed as an alternative to operating earnings (losses) or net
earnings (losses) determined in accordance with IFRS as an
indicator of our financial performance or as a measure of our
liquidity and cash flows. Adjusted EBITDA does not take into
account the impact of working capital changes, capital
expenditures, debt principal reductions and other sources and uses
of cash, which are disclosed in the consolidated statements of cash
flows.
A reconciliation of net loss to Adjusted EBITDA is found below
and in the MD&A for the three months ended March 31, 2019. Adjusted EBITDA does not have any
standardized meaning under IFRS/GAAP. TeraGo's method of
calculating Adjusted EBITDA may differ from other issuers and,
accordingly, Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to similar
measures presented by other issuers.
The table below reconciles net loss to Adjusted
EBITDA(1) for the three months March 31, 2019 and 2018.
(in thousands
of dollars)
|
|
Three months
ended
March
31
|
|
|
2019
|
2018(2)
|
Net earnings
(loss) for the period
|
$
|
(1,188)
|
(1,312)
|
Foreign exchange loss
(gain)
|
|
(6)
|
4
|
Finance
costs
|
|
1,415
|
628
|
Finance
income
|
|
(25)
|
0
|
Earnings (loss)
from operations
|
|
196
|
(680)
|
Add:
|
|
|
|
Depreciation of
network assets, property and equipment and amortization of
intangible assets
|
|
3,977
|
3,153
|
Loss on disposal of
network assets
|
|
23
|
82
|
Impairment of Assets
and Related Charges
|
|
82
|
236
|
Stock-based
Compensation Expense (Recovery)
|
|
342
|
203
|
Restructuring,
acquisition-related, integration costs and other
|
|
(30)
|
135
|
Adjusted
EBITDA(1)
|
$
|
4,590
|
3,129
|
|
(1) See
"Non-IFRS Measures"
|
(2)
The Company has initially applied IFRS 15 using the cumulative
effect method. Under this method, the comparative information is
not restated.
|
Backlog MRR - The term "Backlog MRR" is a measure of contracted
monthly recurring revenue (MRR) from customers that have not yet
been provisioned. The Company believes backlog MRR is useful
additional information as it provides an indication of future
revenue. Backlog MRR is not a recognized measure under IFRS and may
not translate into future revenue, and accordingly, investors are
cautioned in using it. The Company calculates backlog MRR by
summing the MRR of new customer contracts and upgrades that are
signed but not yet provisioned, as at the end of the period.
TeraGo's method of calculating backlog MRR may differ from other
issuers and, accordingly, backlog MRR may not be comparable to
similar measures presented by other issuers.
ARPU - The term "ARPU" refers to the Company's average revenue
per customer per month. The Company believes that ARPU is useful
supplemental information as it provides an indication of our
revenue from an individual customer on a per month basis. ARPU is
not a recognized measure under IFRS and, accordingly, investors are
cautioned that ARPU should not be construed as an alternative to
revenue determined in accordance with IFRS as an indicator of our
financial performance. The Company calculates ARPU by dividing our
total revenue before revenue from early terminations divided by the
number of customers in service during the period and we express
ARPU as a rate per month. TeraGo's method of calculating ARPU may
differ from other issuers and, accordingly, ARPU may not be
comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers.
Churn - The term "churn" or "churn rate" is a measure, expressed
as a percentage of customer cancellations in a particular month.
Churn represents the number of customer cancellations per month as
a percentage of total number of customers during the month. The
Company believes that the churn rate is useful supplemental
information as it provides an indication of future revenue decline
and is a measure of how well the business is able to renew and keep
existing customers on their existing service offerings. The Company
calculates churn by dividing the number of customer cancellations
during a month by the total number of customers at the end of the
month before any churn, expressed as an average monthly rate in the
period. Churn and churn rate are not recognized measures under IFRS
and, accordingly, investors are cautioned in using it. TeraGo's
method of calculating churn and churn rate may differ from other
issuers and, accordingly, churn may not be comparable to similar
measures presented by other issuers.
Conference Call
Management will host a conference call tomorrow, Thursday, May 9, 2019, at 8:30 am ET to discuss these results.
To access the conference call, please dial 647-427-2311 or
1-866-521-4909. The unaudited financial statements for the three
months ended March 31, 2019 and
Management's Discussion & Analysis for the same period have
been filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Alternatively, these
documents along with a presentation in connection with the
conference call can be accessed online at
https://terago.ca/company/investor-relations.
An archived recording of the conference call will be available
until May 16, 2019. To listen to the
recording, call 416-621-4642 or 1-800-585-8367 and enter passcode
8153689.
About TeraGo
TeraGo owns a national spectrum portfolio of exclusive 24GHz and
38GHz wide-area spectrum licences including 2,120 MHz of spectrum
across Canada's 6 largest cities.
TeraGo provides businesses across Canada with cloud, colocation and connectivity
services. TeraGo manages over 3,000 cloud workloads, operates five
data centres in the Greater Toronto
Area, the Greater Vancouver
Area, and Kelowna, and owns
and manages its own IP network. The Company serves business
customers in major markets across Canada including Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Ottawa and Winnipeg.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes certain forward-looking statements
that are made as of the date hereof. Such forward-looking
statements may include, but are not limited to, statements relating
to TeraGo's growth strategy, focus on stabilizing topline
revenue through new sales and channel initiatives, maximizing
capital efficiency, and surfacing value from spectrum assets for 5G
opportunities. All such statements are made pursuant to the
'safe harbour' provisions of, and are intended to be
forward-looking statements under, applicable Canadian securities
laws. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of
historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking statements reflect the Company's views with
respect to future events and is subject to risks, uncertainties and
assumptions, including the risk that TeraGo's growth strategy,
strategic plan, and investments will not generate the result or
sustainable growth intended by management, current growth trends in
the Company's cloud and data centre business and in the industry
may not continue as expected or significant growth opportunities
may not be available, ISED decisions in the various Consultations
that TeraGo has participated in being unfavourable to the Company,
the continued technical 5G trial the Company is currently
conducting may not generate the results intended or experiences
delays, new market opportunities for 5G may not exist or require
additional capital that may not be available to the Company, and
those risks set forth in the "Risk Factors" section in the annual
MD&A of the Company for the year ended December 31, 2018 available on www.sedar.com.
Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements as a number of factors could cause
actual future results, conditions, actions or events to differ
materially from the targets, expectations, estimates or intentions
expressed with the forward-looking statements. Except as may be
required by applicable Canadian securities laws, TeraGo does not
intend, and disclaims any obligation, to update or revise any
forward-looking statements whether in words, oral or written as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise.
SOURCE TeraGo Inc.