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Alaska Communications Reports First Quarter 2019 ResultsAlaska Communications Systems Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALSK) today reported financial results for the first quarter of 2019. "We are pleased to report another quarter of solid performance, consistent with our plan and expectations. Market demand for our Enterprise and Carrier business is strong, reflected in our quarterly Business and Wholesale broadband revenue performance, up 9.9% year over year. Cost management is receiving continued attention as evidenced by reduction in the executive team and proposed reductions to the Board of Directors. "Growth revenues, combined with stable high cost support revenues, now stand at 69% of total revenues for the quarter. These combined revenues continue to outpace declines in legacy revenues, as reflected in our total revenue growth. This positions us to deliver Adjusted EBITDA expansion over the long-term. We look forward to reporting progress over the upcoming quarters," said Anand Vadapalli, president and CEO of Alaska Communications. Revenue Highlights: First Quarter 2019 Compared to First Quarter 2018
Financial Metrics: First Quarter 2019 compared to First Quarter 2018
Balance Sheet Metrics: March 31, 2019 compared to December 31, 2018
Non-GAAP Metrics: First Quarter 2019 compared to First Quarter 2018
Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to GAAP financial measures can be found in tables at the end of this release and on the company's website at http://www.alsk.com in the investment data section. 2019 Guidance Laurie Butcher, Alaska Communications senior vice-president of finance, said, "During the quarter, with our refinancing we increased access to capital, creating greater stability and flexibility in our balance sheet. We see great opportunity in the market and continue to invest for long-term growth. Having met our expectations for the first quarter, we re-affirm guidance for 2019." The company re-affirms guidance as follows:
Conference Call The Company will host a conference call and live webcast on Tuesday, May 7, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss the results. Parties in the United States and Canada can access the call at 1-888-378-4398 and enter pass code 331303. All other parties can access the call at 1-856-344-9295 and use the same code. On the call, the management team will answer questions submitted in advance. The live webcast of the conference call will be accessible from the "Events Calendar" section of the Company's website (www.alsk.com). The webcast will be archived for a period of 30 days. A telephonic replay of the conference call will also be available two hours after the call and will run until June 6, 2019 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. To hear the replay, parties in the U.S. and Canada can call 1-888-203-1112 and enter pass code 4054244. All other parties can call 1-719-457-0820 and enter pass code 4054244. About Alaska Communications Alaska Communications (NASDAQ: ALSK) is the leading provider of advanced broadband and managed IT services for businesses and consumers in Alaska. The company operates a highly reliable, advanced statewide data network with the latest technology and the most diverse undersea fiber optic system connecting Alaska to the contiguous U.S. For more information, visit www.alaskacommunications.com or www.alsk.com. Non-GAAP Measures In an effort to provide investors with additional information regarding our financial results, we have provided certain non-GAAP financial information, including Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Free Cash Flow and Net Debt. Adjusted EBITDA eliminates the effects of period to period changes in costs that are not directly attributable to the underlying performance of the Company's business operations and is used by Management and the Company's Board of Directors to evaluate current operating financial performance, analyze and evaluate strategic and operational decisions and better evaluate comparability between periods. Adjusted Free Cash Flow is a non-GAAP liquidity measured used by Management and the Company's Board of Directors to assess the Company's ability to generate cash and plan for future operating and capital actions. Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Free Cash Flow are common measures utilized by our peers (other telecommunications companies) and we believe they provide useful information to investors and analysts about the Company's operating results, financial condition and cash flows. Net Debt provides Management and the Company's Board of Directors with a measure of the Company's current leverage position. The definition and computation of these non-GAAP measures are provided on Schedules 4, 6 and 9 to this press release. Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Free Cash Flow should not be considered a substitute for Net Income, Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities and other measures of financial performance recorded in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliations of our non-GAAP measures to our nearest GAAP measures can be found in the tables in this release. Other companies may not calculate non-GAAP measures in the same manner as Alaska Communications. The Company does not provide reconciliations of guidance for Adjusted EBITDA to Net Income, and Adjusted Free Cash Flow to Net Cash from Operating Activities, in reliance on the unreasonable efforts exception provided under Item 10(e)(1)(i)(B) of Regulation S-K. The Company does not forecast certain items required to develop the comparable GAAP financial measures. These items are charges and benefits for uncollectible accounts, certain other non-cash expenses, unusual items typically excluded from Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Free Cash Flow, and changes in operating assets and liabilities (generally the most significant of these items, representing cash inflows of $4.0 million in the three-month period of 2019). Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes certain "forward-looking statements," as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs as well as on a number of assumptions concerning future events made using information currently available to management. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which are not a guarantee of performance and are subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the Company's control. Such factors include, without limitation changes in technology and related standards, the impact of natural or man-made disasters and accidents, Federal and Alaska Universal Service Fund changes and our current and historical compliance with the obligations of those programs, structural declines for voice and other legacy services, maintenance or IT issues, third-party intellectual property claims, potential pension shortfalls, the success or failure of future strategic transactions, funding through the rural health care universal service support mechanism and our ability to comply and our history of compliance with the regulatory requirements to receive those support payments, our ability to service our debt and refinance as required, adverse economic conditions, our success in providing broadband services on the Northslope and Western Alaska, the effects of competition in our markets, our relatively small size compared with our competitors, the Company's ability to compete, manage, integrate, market, maintain, and attract sufficient customers for its products and services, adverse changes in labor matters, including workforce levels, labor negotiations, employee benefit costs, our ability to control other operating costs, disruption of our supplier's provisioning of critical products or services, the actions of activist shareholders, changes in Company's relationships with large customers, unforeseen changes in public policies, regulatory changes, our internal control over financial reporting, and changes in accounting standards or policies, which could affect reported financial results. For further information regarding risks and uncertainties associated with the Company's business, please refer to the Company's SEC filings, including, but not limited to, the sections entitled "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in our annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Copies of the Company's SEC filings may be obtained by contacting its investor relations department at (907) 564-7556 or by visiting its investor relations website at www.alsk.com.
NonGAAP Measures: The Company provides certain non-GAAP financial information, including Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Free Cash Flow and Net Debt. Adjusted EBITDA eliminates the effects of period to period changes in costs that are not directly attributable to the underlying performance of the Company's business operations and is used by Management and the Company's Board of Directors to evaluate current operating financial performance, analyze and evaluate strategic and operational decisions and better evaluate comparability between periods. Adjusted Free Cash Flow is a non-GAAP liquidity measure used by Management to assess the Company's ability to generate cash and plan for future operating and capital actions. Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Free Cash Flow are common measures utilized by our peers (other telecommunications companies) and we believe they provide useful information to investors and analysts about the Company's operating results, financial condition and cash flows. Net Debt provides Management and the Board of Directors with a measure of the Company's current leverage position. The Company does not provide reconciliations of guidance for Adjusted EBITDA to Net Income, and Adjusted Free Cash Flow to Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities, in reliance on the unreasonable efforts exception provided under Item 10(e)(1)(i)(B) of Regulation S-K. The Company does not forecast certain items required to develop the comparable GAAP financial measures. These items are charges and benefits for uncollectible accounts, certain other non-cash expenses, unusual items typically excluded from Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Free Cash Flow, and changes in operating assets and liabilities (generally the most significant of these items, representing cash inflows of $4.0 million in the three-month period ended March 31, 2019). Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Free Cash Flow are not GAAP measures and should not be considered a substitute for net income, net cash provided by operating activities, or net cash provided or used. Adjusted EBITDA as computed above is not consistent with the definition of Consolidated EBITDA referenced in our 2019 Senior Credit Facility, and other companies may not calculate Non-GAAP measures in the same manner we do. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income (loss) before interest expense and income, loss on extinguishment of debt, depreciation and amortization, other income and expense, gain or loss on asset purchases or disposals, provision for income taxes, stock-based compensation, and net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest.
NonGAAP Measures: Adjusted Free Cash Flow a non-GAAP liquidity measure and is defined as Adjusted EBITDA, less recurring operating cash requirements which include capital expenditures, less cash income taxes refunded or paid, cash interest paid, amortization of GCI capacity revenue and cash receipts and payments. Amortization of deferred revenue associated with our interconnection agreement with GCI is excluded from Adjusted Free Cash Flow because no cash was received by the Company in connection with this agreement. Amortization of all other deferred revenue, including that associated with other IRU capacity arrangements, is included in Adjusted Free Cash Flow because cash was received by the Company, typically at contract inception, and is being recognized as revenue over the term of the relevant agreement. See Schedule 3 for Net cash provided by operating activities, Net cash used by investing activities, and Net cash provided (used) by financing activities. See Schedule 5 for the reconciliation of net cash provided by operating activities to Adjusted Free Cash Flow.
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