Fourth Quarter delivers positive Adjusted
EBITDA during a challenging time for the Company
TORONTO, April 29,
2024 /CNW/ - Pluribus Technologies Corp. (TSXV: PLRB)
("Pluribus" or the "Company"), an acquiror of small,
profitable technology companies, today announced its financial
results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2023. The Company's consolidated
financial statements and accompanying notes for the quarters ended
December 31, 2023 and 2022 are
available under Pluribus' profile on SEDAR (www.sedarplus.com). All
dollar amounts are in thousands of Canadian dollars unless
otherwise noted. Certain metrics, including Adjusted EBITDA, are
non-IFRS measures (see "Non-IFRS Measures" below).
"The Company continues to deliver positive EBITDA during a
challenging macroeconomic environment while we navigate our banking
challenges and explore strategic alternatives to maximize
shareholder value through the strategic review process," said
Richard Adair, CEO of Pluribus
Technologies.
Selected Financial and Business Highlights for the Fourth
Quarter and 2023 Fiscal Year
- Revenue for the three months to December
31, 2023, was $9,237, a
decline of $826 or 8% when compared
to the prior year quarter. The decline in revenue was primarily
driven by lower customer spending in eLearning. Adjusted
EBITDA1 for the quarter decreased by $257, or 17% due to the decline in revenue.
- Revenue for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023 declined by 4% to $36,779 in 2023. For the twelve months ended
December 31, 2023, Adjusted EBITDA
was $4,143, a decrease of 26% versus
the comparable period. The decrease was the result of lower
Adjusted EBITDA from the eLearning business unit.
- In 2023, the Company announced total restructuring to reduce
annualized costs by $2,800 to
$3,200, which will be fully reflected
in operating results in Q1 2024. Adjusted EBITDA in Q4 2023
benefited from some of the cost savings being realized.
- Net loss for the quarter ended December
31, 2023 was $9,532, compared
to net income of $637 in the
comparable period. The increase in net loss is primarily
attributable to an impairment charge booked to eLearning goodwill
and intangible assets of $10,000,
offset by a gain on the revaluation of contingent consideration of
$3,011.
- For the twelve months ended December 31,
2023, net loss was $15,662, an
increase of $8,807 or 78%, versus the
comparable period. The loss to December
2023 increased due to the eLearning impairment charge of
$10,000 and the decline in Adjusted
EBITDA of $1,473, and an increase in
income tax expense of $2,236, offset
by the increase in the gain on revaluation of contingent
consideration of $3,343.
- Cash on hand at December 31, 2023
was $1,279 compared with $5,323 on December 31,
2022. During Q4 2023, the Company determined that it was not
in compliance with its external debt covenants under the FY2022
Credit Facility relating to its financial position as at
September 30, 2023. The Company
signed a forbearance agreement with National Bank in January 18, 2024. The agreement was subsequently
amended in March 2024 and
April 2024.
- During Q4 2023, the Company announced a review and evaluation
of strategic alternatives that may be available to the Company to
further enhance the Company's growth, development and prosperity in
the short and long terms with the goal of maximizing shareholder
value. The Company has established a Special Committee of the Board
of Directors for such purpose and has engaged Canaccord Genuity as
its strategic advisor. The Special Committee continues to explore
the viability of raising capital through debt
financing/refinancing, equity rights offerings, and the sale of
core and/or noncore assets.
Results of Operations
(000's)
|
Three
Months
|
|
Twelve
Months
|
For the period ended
December 31,
|
2023
|
2022
|
Var
|
Var
|
|
2023
|
2022
|
Var
|
Var
|
$
|
$
|
$
|
%
|
|
$
|
$
|
$
|
%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Revenue
|
9,237
|
10,063
|
(826)
|
-8 %
|
#
|
36,779
|
38,120
|
(1,341)
|
-4 %
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gross Profit
|
6,066
|
6,309
|
(243)
|
-4 %
|
#
|
23,566
|
24,370
|
(804)
|
-3 %
|
Operating
Expenses
|
4,770
|
4,756
|
14
|
0 %
|
#
|
19,423
|
18,754
|
669
|
4 %
|
Non-Operational
Expenses
|
10,327
|
2,032
|
7,883
|
388 %
|
#
|
19,260
|
16,114
|
3,413
|
21 %
|
Net
Loss
|
(9,523)
|
637
|
(10,160)
|
1595 %
|
#
|
(15,662)
|
(8,807)
|
(6,855)
|
-78 %
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Adjusted
EBITDA
|
1,296
|
1,553
|
(257)
|
-17 %
|
|
4,143
|
5,616
|
(1,473)
|
-26 %
|
Adjusted EBITDA
%
|
14.0 %
|
15.4 %
|
|
-1.4 %
|
|
11.3 %
|
14.7 %
|
|
-3.5 %
|
Outlook
While management believes all the business units have
significant opportunity, the Company continues to be negatively
affected by lower customer spending in the eLearning and eCommerce
verticals in a difficult macro-economic recessionary environment.
To provide increased operating cashflow and to align its cost
structure to the current revenue levels, management initiated two
rounds of restructuring in 2023 with total reduced annualized costs
of $2,800 to $3,200.
Conference Call Details
Pluribus' management team will host a conference call to discuss
its fiscal 2023 fourth quarter financial results on Tuesday, April 30, 2024.
Date: Tuesday, April 30,
2024
Time: 8:30 am EDT
To join the conference call without operator assistance, you
may register and enter your phone number at
https://emportal.ink/49Zkccw to receive an instant automated
call back.
Dial-In Numbers: (416) 764-8650 or (888) 664-6383
Conference ID: 73395622
Webcast: Available on the Events & Presentations
page of the Company's investor website
Replay: (416) 764-8677 or (888) 390-0541 (playback
code: 395622 #) – available until midnight (EDT) on May 7, 2024
About Pluribus Technologies
Corp.
Pluribus is a technology company that is a value-based acquirer
of small, profitable business-to-business technology companies in a
range of verticals and industries. Pluribus provides its
acquisitions access to experienced sales and marketing resources,
strategic partnership opportunities, a diverse portfolio of
customers in different geographical markets and enabling
technologies to create new revenue streams and provide the
opportunity for these companies to grow in their respective
markets. For more information, please visit:
pluribustechnologies.com.
Non-IFRS Measures
The Company uses non-IFRS measures to assess its operating
performance. Securities regulations require that companies caution
readers that earnings and other measures adjusted to a basis other
than IFRS do not have standardized meanings and are unlikely to be
comparable to similar measures used by other companies.
Accordingly, they should not be considered in isolation. The
Company uses Adjusted EBITDA as a measure of operating performance.
Management uses Adjusted EBITDA to evaluate operating performance
as it excludes amortization of software and intangibles (which is
an accounting allocation of the cost of software and intangible
assets arising on acquisition), any impact of finance and tax
related activities, asset depreciation, foreign exchange gains and
losses, other income, restructuring and transition costs primarily
related to acquisitions and other one-time non-recurring
transactions.
Reconciliation of Non-IFRS
Measures
The Company uses the non-IFRS measure Adjusted EBITDA to
evaluate performance. The following table presents the
reconciliation from net income (loss) to Adjusted EBITDA for the
three months and year ended December 31,
2023.
|
Three
Months
|
|
Twelve
Months
|
For the period ended
December 31,
|
2023
|
2022
|
Var
|
Var
|
|
2023
|
2022
|
Var
|
Var
|
|
$
|
$
|
$
|
%
|
|
$
|
$
|
$
|
%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
Revenue
|
9,237
|
10,063
|
(826)
|
-8 %
|
|
36,779
|
38,120
|
(1,341)
|
-4 %
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net income (loss) for
the year
|
(9,523)
|
637
|
(10,160)
|
1595 %
|
|
(15,662)
|
(8,807)
|
(6,855)
|
-78 %
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Acquisition
costs
|
1,606
|
725
|
881
|
122 %
|
|
4,261
|
4,650
|
(389)
|
-8 %
|
Transaction
costs
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
N/A
|
|
—
|
1,665
|
(1,665)
|
-100 %
|
Amortization and
depreciation
|
1,367
|
1,161
|
206
|
18 %
|
|
5,508
|
5,153
|
355
|
7 %
|
Impairment of
goodwill and intangible assets
|
10,000
|
—
|
10,000
|
100 %
|
|
10,000
|
—
|
10,000
|
100 %
|
Share-based
compensation
|
104
|
288
|
(184)
|
-64 %
|
|
477
|
2,004
|
(1,527)
|
-76 %
|
Gain on revaluation
of contingent consideration
|
(3,224)
|
(213)
|
(3,011)
|
1414 %
|
|
(3,556)
|
(213)
|
(3,343)
|
1569 %
|
Loss on disposal of
fixed assets
|
8
|
—
|
8
|
100 %
|
|
6
|
—
|
6
|
100 %
|
Gain on lease
termination
|
(17)
|
—
|
(17)
|
-100 %
|
|
(15)
|
—
|
(15)
|
-100 %
|
Loss from change of
fair value of financial liabilities
|
—
|
—
|
—
|
N/A
|
|
—
|
9
|
(9)
|
-100 %
|
Finance expense,
net
|
686
|
749
|
(63)
|
408 %
|
|
2,795
|
2,379
|
416
|
20 %
|
Foreign exchange
loss (gain)
|
(203)
|
(678)
|
475
|
0 %
|
|
(216)
|
467
|
(683)
|
0 %
|
Income tax expense
(recovery)
|
492
|
(1,116)
|
1,608
|
-144 %
|
|
545
|
(1,691)
|
2,236
|
-132 %
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
Adjustments
|
10,819
|
916
|
9,903
|
1081 %
|
#
|
19,805
|
14,423
|
5,382
|
37 %
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Adjusted
EBITDA
|
1,296
|
1,553
|
(257)
|
-17 %
|
|
4,143
|
5,616
|
(1,473)
|
-26 %
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Adjusted EBITDA
%
|
14.0 %
|
15.4 %
|
|
-1.4 %
|
|
11.3 %
|
14.7 %
|
|
-3.5 %
|
Forward-Looking
Information
Certain information in this press release constitutes
forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. Any
statements that are contained in this news release that are not
statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking information in this press release
includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the
business plans of the Company, including the successful completion
and pace of future acquisitions, the Company management's
expectation on the growth, profitability and performance of its
current and future acquisitions, the Company's ability to continue
acquiring business-to-business technology companies at reasonable
prices and the Company's ability to grow its portfolio companies
into significant organizations. Forward-looking statements are
often identified by terms such as "may", "should", "anticipate",
"expect", "potential", "believe", "intend" or negatives of these
terms and similar expressions.
Forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions,
including the Company's ability to complete acquisitions on
favourable terms; the Company's ability to manage a complex
portfolio of companies effectively; the Company's
ability to scale its management team to support a rapid pace of
growth; the Company's ability to raise sufficient financing to
continue the pace of its acquisition strategy; the Company's
ability to maintain its rapid pace of growth. Other assumptions
include industry trends, the availability of growth opportunities,
and general business, economic, competitive, political, regulatory
and social uncertainties will not prevent the Company from
conducting its business. While the Company considers these
assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently
available, they are inherently subject to significant business,
economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies and they
may prove to be incorrect. Forward-looking information speaks only
to such assumptions as of the date of this release.
Forward-looking statements also necessarily involve known and
unknown risks, including without limitation, risks associated with
general economic conditions, including the COVID-19 pandemic,
adverse industry events, marketing costs, loss of markets, future
legislative and regulatory developments, the inability to access
sufficient capital on favourable terms, the Company's limited
operating history; ability to complete favourable acquisitions; the
technology industry in Canada and
internationally, income tax and regulatory matters, the ability of
the Company to execute its business strategies, including the
ability manage a complex portfolio of companies effectively,
competition, currency and interest rate fluctuations, and other
risks.
Readers are cautioned that the foregoing is not exhaustive.
Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements as there can be no assurance that the
plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are placed will
occur. Such information, although considered reasonable by
management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect
and actual results may differ from those anticipated.
Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future
performance. The purpose of forward-looking information is to
provide the reader with a description of management's expectations,
and such forward-looking information may not be appropriate for any
other purpose. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any
obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, events or otherwise.
Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are
expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.
Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as
that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts
responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press
release.
Contact:
Richard Adair
Chief Executive Officer
Pluribus Technologies Corp.
1 (800) 851-9383
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pluribus-technologies-corp-announces-q4-2023-financial-results-302130781.html
SOURCE Pluribus Technologies Corp.