Tucows Inc.NASDAQ: TCX

Tucows Reports Financial Results for Fourth Quarter 2021

· Issued by Tucows Inc. via GlobeNewswire

TORONTO, Feb. 10, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tucows Inc. (NASDAQ:TCX, TSX:TC), a global internet services leader, today reported its financial results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2021. All figures are in U.S. dollars.

Note on the Financial Impact of Tucows’ Sale of Ting Mobile Customer Relationships and Transition to Mobile Services Enabler Platform:

As previously announced, effective August 1, 2020 most of Tucows’ mobile customers relationships were sold to DISH Networks (“DISH”) as part of Tucows’ transition of its mobile business to a Mobile Services Enabler (MSE) model from a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) model, under which DISH became Tucows’ firstMSE customer. Accordingly, the results of the Mobile Services segment for the full year 2021 reflect operations under the new MSE model for the entire year compared to the year ended 2020 being composed of approximately five months of operations under the new MSE model and approximately seven months of operations under Tucows’ previous MVNO model.

Under the terms of the earn out arrangement for the Ting customer base acquired by DISH, the income generated by the customer base acquired by DISH is recognized (net of expenses) as “Other Income” under the heading “Gain on Sale of Ting Customer Assets”. As a result, revenue and gross margin for the Mobile Services segment for the 2021 year were impacted by the significantly larger MVNO contribution 2020. Tucows will recognize platform fees for customers owned by DISH under the Ting brand as well as customers under other DISH brands that are added to Tucows’ MSE platform, as Mobile Platform Services revenue under the terms of the MSE Agreement signed with DISH. For more information, see Tucows’ Financial Statements and Management Discussion and Analysis for the third quarter of 2021.

Summary Financial Results(In Thousands of US Dollars, Except Per Share Data)

3 Months ended December 3112 Months ended December 31
2021(Unaudited)2020(Unaudited)% Change2021(Unaudited)2020(Unaudited)% Change
Net revenues82,47670,78416.5%304,337311,202(2.2%)
Gross Profit24,57717,42841.0%78,29385,485(8.4%)
Gain on Sale of Ting Customer Assets, net14,2636,522(34.6%)20,0307,612163.1%
Net income(1,967)2,068(195.1%)3,3645,775(41.7%)
Basic earnings per common share(0.18)0.19(194.1%)0.320.55(42.1%)
Adjusted EBITDA112,73612,847(0.9%)48,82150,972(4.2%)
Net cash provided by operating activities10,5421,637544.0%29,63736,081(17.9%)
  1. This Non-GAAP financial measure is described below and reconciled to GAAP net income in the accompanying table.

Summary of Revenues, Gross Profit and Adjusted EBITDA(In Thousands of US Dollars)

RevenueGross ProfitAdj. EBITDA1
3 Months ended December 313 Months endedDecember 313 Months ended December 31
2021(Unaudited)2020(Unaudited)2021(Unaudited)2020(Unaudited)2021(Unaudited)2020(Unaudited)
Fiber Internet Services:
Fiber Internet Services8,5775,0495,7713,130(3,564)(835)
Mobile Services:
Retail Mobile Services2,5231,806753821
Mobile Platform Services5,5421885,393132
Other Professional Services4,4731,9592,692256
Total Mobile Services12,5383,9538,8381,2098,5974,733
Domain Services:
Wholesale
Domain Services47,13747,46310,51610,312
Value Added Services5,5185,0974,8434,257
Total Wholesale52,65552,56015,35914,569
Retail8,7069,2224,3294,783
Total Domain Services61,36161,78219,68819,35211,64012,132
Network Expenses:
Network, other costsn/an/a(4,474)(2,681)n/an/a
Network, depreciation and amortization costsn/an/a(5,347)(3,582)n/an/a
Network, impairmentn/an/a101n/an/an/a
Total Network expensesn/an/a(9,720)(6,263)n/an/a
Total82,47670,78424,57717,428n/an/a

“Tucows delivered another quarter of solid financial performance, highlighted by year-over-year increases in net revenue and gross profit of 17% and 41%, respectively, driven by growth in the Ting Fiber Internet customer base and the significantly higher contribution of our Mobile Services Enabler platform a year after its launch,” said Elliot Noss, President and Chief Executive Officer, Tucows Inc.“ Adjusted EBITDA decreased slightly by 0.9% year-over-year as we continued to invest in the Ting Fiber Internet opportunity, with the fourth quarter seeing another record for capital expenditure on our Fiber network.”

“The fourth quarter concluded a year of both solid financial results and strategic achievements across the Company. Tucows Domain Services posted a record year for both gross margin and adjusted EBITDA as that business reached a new, higher steady state level following the pandemic related growth of 2020. The first full year of our Mobile Services Enabler business, recently rebranded as our Communication Service Provider software platform, Wavelo, was very much in line with our expectations, as we focused on supporting the success of our first customer, DISH. 2021 also saw significant progress on the accelerated build of the Ting Fiber Internet network, with a 61% increase in capital expenditure, 48% increase in the number of serviceable addresses, and a more than 66% expansion of our subscriber base. All of this positions Tucows to continue to ramp investment of the consistent, strong cash flows generated by Tucows Domain Services and the Wavelo CSP Platform in the outsized Ting Fiber Internet opportunity.”

Financial Results   Net revenue for the fourth quarter of 2021 increased 17% to $82.5 million from $70.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2020. The increase was the result of growth in revenue from the Fiber Internet Services business and both the Mobile Platform Services and Other Professional Services components of the Mobile Services Enabler business.

Gross profit for the fourth quarter of 2021 increased 41% to $24.6 million from $17.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2020. The increase was driven by the same factors as net revenue.

Net loss for the fourth quarter of 2021 was $2.0 million, or a loss of $0.18 per share, compared with net income of $2.1 million, or $0.19 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2020 with the loss driven by a higher effective tax rate.

Adjusted EBITDA1 for the fourth quarter of 2021 decreased 0.9% to $12.7 million from $12.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2020. The modest decline in adjusted EBITDA1 reflects the continued investment in Fiber Internet Services.

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021 were $9.1 million compared with $5.5 million at the end of the third quarter of 2021 and $8.3 million at the end of the fourth quarter of 2020.

Notes:

1. Adjusted EBITDA

Tucows reports all financial information required in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Along with this information, to assist financial statement users in an assessment of our historical performance, the Company typically discloses and discusses a non-GAAP financial measure, adjusted EBITDA, in press releases and on investor conference calls and related events that exclude certain non-cash and other charges as the Company believes that the non-GAAP information enhances investors' overall understanding of our financial performance.

The Company believes that the provision of this supplemental non-GAAP measure allows investors to evaluate the operational and financial performance of the Company’s core business using similar evaluation measures to those used by management. The Company uses adjusted EBITDA to measure its performance and prepare its budgets. Since adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial performance measure, the Company’s calculation of adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies; and should not be considered in isolation, as a substitute for, or superior to measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. Because adjusted EBITDA is calculated before certain recurring cash charges, including interest expense and taxes, and is not adjusted for capital expenditures or other recurring cash requirements of the business, it should not be considered as a liquidity measure. Non-GAAP financial measures do not reflect a comprehensive system of accounting and may differ from non-GAAP financial measures with the same or similar captions that are used by other companies and/or analysts and may differ from period to period. The Company endeavors to compensate for these limitations by providing the relevant disclosure of the items excluded in the calculation of adjusted EBITDA to net income based on U.S. GAAP, which should be considered when evaluating the Company's results. Tucows strongly encourages investors to review its financial information in its entirety and not to rely on a single financial measure.

The Company’s adjusted EBITDA definition excludes depreciation, impairment and loss on disposition of property and equipment, amortization of intangible assets, income tax provision, interest expense (net), accretion of contingent consideration, stock-based compensation, asset impairment, gains and losses from unrealized foreign currency transactions and costs that are one-time in nature and not indicative of on-going performance (profitability), including acquisition and transition costs. Gains and losses from unrealized foreign currency transactions removes the unrealized effect of the change in the mark-to-market values on outstanding unhedged foreign currency contracts, as well as the unrealized effect from the translation of monetary accounts denominated in non-U.S. dollars to U.S. dollars.

The following table reconciles adjusted EBITDA to income before provision for income taxes (dollars in thousands):

3 months ended December 3112 months ended December 31
2021 (Unaudited)2020 (Unaudited)2021 (Unaudited)2020 (Unaudited)
Adjusted EBITDA12,73612,84748,82150,972
Depreciation of property and equipment5,2543,37717,98612,632
Impairment and loss on disposition of property and equipment(100)(17)4351,621
Amortization of intangible assets2,7562,64410,00711,420
Impairment of definite life intangible assets---1,431
Disposal of Ting Mobile customer assets---3,513
Interest expense, net1,5098554,6173,611
Accretion of contingent consideration9886383344
Stock-based compensation1,2351,0544,5923,718
Unrealized loss (gain) on change in fair value of forward contracts-(237)606(500)
Unrealized loss (gain) on foreign exchange revaluation of foreign denominated monetary assets and liabilities39(19)219461
Acquisition and transition costs*6714412,7061,961
Income before provision for income taxes1,2744,6637,27010,760
*Acquisition and other costs represent transaction-related expenses, transitional expenses, such as redundant post-acquisition expenses, primarily related to our acquisitions Cedar in January 2020 and Simply Bits in November 2021 and disposition of certain Ting Mobile assets in August 2020. Expenses include severance or transitional costs associated with department, operational or overall company restructuring efforts, including geographic alignments.

Management Commentary

At 6:00 p.m. ET today, Thursday February 10, management’s pre-recorded audio commentary (and transcript) discussing the quarter and outlook for the Company will be posted to the Tucows website at http://www.tucows.com/investors/financials. Prior to reading/listening to management’s commentary on the quarter, interested parties are invited to watch a business background reporting update video by Tucows’ President and Chief Executive Officer, Elliot Noss, which was posted at 5:05 p.m. ET today, Thursday, February 10, on the Investors, videos, decks and reports page of the Investors section of the Company’s web site: https://www.tucows.com/investors/investor-videos/.

In lieu of a live question and answer period, for the subsequent eight days, until Friday, February 18, shareholders, analysts and prospective investors can submit questions to Tucows’ management at [email protected]. Management will post responses to questions of general interest (audio recording and transcript) to the Company’s website at http://www.tucows.com/investors/financials/ on Thursday, March 3, at approximately 4 pm ET. All questions will receive a response, however, questions of a more specific nature may be responded to directly.

About Tucows

Tucows helps connect more people to the benefit of internet access through communications service technology, domain services, and fiber-optic internet infrastructure. Ting (https://ting.com/internet) delivers fixed fiber Internet access with outstanding customer support. Wavelo (https://wavelo.com) is a telecommunications software suite for service providers that simplifies the management of mobile and internet network access, provisioning, billing and subscription, developer tools, and more. OpenSRS (https://opensrs.com), Enom (https://www.enom.com) and Ascio (https://ascio.com) combined manage approximately 25 million domain names and millions of value-added services through a global reseller network of over 35,000 web hosts and ISPs. Hover (https://hover.com) makes it easy for individuals and small businesses to manage their domain names and email addresses. More information can be found on Tucows’ corporate website (https://tucows.com).

Tucows Inc.
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars)
December 31,December 31,
20212020
(unaudited)(unaudited)
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents$9 105$8 311
Accounts receivable14 57915 540
Contract asset, current portion778-
Inventory3 2771 875
Prepaid expenses and deposits20 98616 845
Derivative instrument asset, current portion2993 860
Deferred costs of fulfillment, current portion94 50693 467
Income taxes recoverable3 4741 302
Total current assets147 004141 200
Deferred costs of fulfillment, long-term portion18 20517 599
Derivative instrument asset, long-term portion278-
Property and equipment172 662117 530
Right of use operating lease asset17 51511 238
Contract costs1 079362
Deferred tax asset22226
Intangible assets50 40947 444
Goodwill130 410116 304
Investment2 012-
Total assets$539 596$451 903
Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable$10 016$6 329
Accrued liabilities15 24010 235
Customer deposits16 97415 402
Derivative instrument liability, current portion12599
Operating lease liability, current portion3 1501 761
Deferred revenue, current portion124 116127 336
Accreditation fees payable, current portion882940
Income taxes payable102863
Other liabilities, current portion3 078-
Total current liabilities173 683162 965
Derivative instrument liability, long-term portion-114
Deferred revenue, long-term portion23 67724 909
Accreditation fees payable, long-term portion170195
Operating lease liability, long-term portion11 8539 179
Loan payable, long-term portion190 748121 733
Other long-term liability1 8043 416
Deferred tax liability22 56924 694
Stockholders' equity:
Preferred stock - no par value, 1,250,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding--
Common stock - no par value, 250,000,000 shares authorized; 10,747,417 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2021 and 10,612,414 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 202028 51520 798
Additional paid-in capital2 7641 458
Retained earnings83 47080 106
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)3432 336
Total stockholders' equity115 092104 698
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity$539 596$451 903
Tucows Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income
(Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars)
Three months ended December 31,Twelve months ended December 31,
2021202020212020
(unaudited)(unaudited)
Net revenues$82 476$70 784$304 337$311 202
Cost of revenues:
Direct cost of revenues48 17947 093193 039200 401
Network expenses (*)4 4742 68114 76910 194
Depreciation of property and equipment5 1083 25217 45212 144
Amortization of intangible assets2393305831 340
Impairment of property and equipment(101)-2011 638
Total cost of revenues57 89953 356226 044225 717
Gross profit24 57717 42878 29385 485
Expenses:
Sales and marketing (*)$11 892$7 753$39 471$34 274
Technical operations and development (*)4 2663 44714 31012 427
General and administrative (*)7 1385 19422 37020 268
Depreciation of property and equipment150125534488
Loss on disposition of property and equipment-(17)234(17)
Amortization of intangible assets2 5152 3149 42410 080
Impairment of definite life intangible assets---1 431
Loss (gain) on currency forward contracts-(284)(277)(383)
Total expenses25 96118 53286 06678 568
Income from operations(1 384)(1 104)(7 773)6 917
Other income (expenses):
Interest expense, net(1 509)(855)(4 617)(3 611)
Gain on sale of Ting Customer Assets, net4 2636 52220 0307 612
Other expense, net(96)100(370)(158)
Total other income (expenses)2 6585 76715 0433 843
Income before provision for income taxes1 2744 6637 27010 760
Provision for income taxes3 2412 5953 9064 985
Net income before redeemable non-controlling interest(1 967)2 0683 3645 775
Redeemable non-controlling interest----
Net income attributable to redeemable non-controlling interest----
Net income for the period(1 967)2 0683 3645 775
Other comprehensive income, net of tax
Unrealized income (loss) on hedging activities4581 0445721 653
Net amount reclassified to earnings174(79)(2 565)210
Other comprehensive income net of tax expense (recovery) of $(235) and $398 for the three months ended June 30, 2021 and June 30, 2020, $(375) and $32 for the six months ended June 30, 2021 and June 30, 2020632965(1 993)1 863
Comprehensive income, net of tax for the period$(1 335)$3 033$1 371$7 638
Basic earnings per common share$(0,18)$0,19$0,32$0,55
Shares used in computing basic earnings per common share10 717 34910 605 45110 662 33710 590 684
Diluted earnings per common share$(0,18)$0,19$0,31$0,54
Shares used in computing diluted earnings per common share10 883 86010 745 71010 817 46810 692 281
(*) Stock-based compensation has been included in expenses as follows:
Network expenses$131$139$531$472
Sales and marketing$444$475$1 941$1 678
Technical operations and development$214$198$824$756
General and administrative$446$242$1 296$812
Tucows Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars)
Three months ended December 31,Twelve months ended December 31,
2021202020212020
Cash provided by:(unaudited)(unaudited)
Operating activities:
Net income for the period$(1 967)$2 068$3 364$5 775
Items not involving cash:
Depreciation of property and equipment5 2583 37717 98612 632
Impairment of property and equipment(101)-2011 638
Amortization of debt discount and issuance costs9867300269
Amortization of intangible assets2 7542 64410 00711 420
Net amortization contract costs(273)(3)(717)106
Impairment of definite life intangible assets---1 431
Other---223
Accretion of contingent consideration9686383344
Deferred income taxes (recovery)40(3 012)(1 328)(3 939)
Excess tax benefits on share-based compensation expense(686)(353)(1 554)(861)
Net Right of use operating assets/Operating lease liability(55)(44)(2 204)205
Loss on disposal of domain names-2117
Loss (gain) on change in the fair value of forward contracts-(237)606(500)
Disposal of Ting Mobile customer assets---3 513
Stock-based compensation1 2351 0544 5923 718
Change in non-cash operating working capital:
Accounts receivable868(2 951)1 586(281)
Contract asset2 005-(778)-
Inventory449(736)(787)945
Prepaid expenses and deposits(2 100)(3 142)(3 974)(3 459)
Deferred costs of fulfillment4852 174(1 645)(1 899)
Income taxes recoverable1 1082 589(1 394)908
Accounts payable1 779(1 664)4 068(902)
Accrued liabilities2 9187104 859376
Customer deposits9081 0306451 493
Deferred revenue(4 237)(1 985)(4 495)2 942
Accreditation fees payable(38)(40)(83)(33)
Net cash provided by operating activities10 5421 63429 63736 081
Financing activities:
Proceeds received on exercise of stock options1 9743074 818985
Payment of tax obligations resulting from net exercise of stock options-(77)(387)(556)
Repurchase of common stock---(3 281)
Proceeds received on loan payable41 0008 00069 0008 000
Payment of loan payable costs(296)-(296)(32)
Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities42 6788 23073 1365 116
Investing activities:
Proceeds on disposal of property and equipment510-510-
Additions to property and equipment(23 082)(11 708)(73 175)(44 437)
Acquisition of Cedar Holdings Group, net of cash of $66---(8 770)
Acquisition of Simply Bits, net of cash of $801(24 028)-(24 028)-
Acquisition of Uniregistry(2 499)-(2 499)-
Acquisition of intangible assets(551)-(774)(72)
Investment in securities--(2 012)-
Net cash used in investing activities(49 651)(11 708)(101 979)(53 279)
(Decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents3 570(1 844)794(12 082)
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period5 53510 1558 31120 393
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period$9 105$8 311$9 105$8 311
Supplemental cash flow information:
Interest paid$1 429$813$4 485$3 573
Income taxes paid, net$2 771$3 477$8 828$8 926
Supplementary disclosure of non-cash investing and financing activities:
Property and equipment acquired during the period not yet paid for$99$1 129$99$1 129
Fair value of shares issues for acquisition of Cedar Holdings Group-$-$-$2 000
Fair value of contingent consideration for acquisition of Cedar Holdings Group-$-$-$3 072
Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to Income before Provision for Income Taxes
(In Thousands of U.S. Dollars)Three months ended December 31,Twelve months ended December 31,
(unaudited)2021 (unaudited)2020 (unaudited)2021 (unaudited)2020 (unaudited)
Adjusted EBITDA$12 736$12 847$48 821$50 972
Depreciation of property and equipment5 2543 37717 98612 632
Impairment and loss on disposition of property and equipment(100)(17)4351 621
Amortization of intangible assets2 7562 64410 00711 420
Impairment of indefinite life intangible assets---1 431
Write-down on disposal of Ting Mobile assets---3 513
Interest expense, net1 5098554 6173 611
Accretion of contingent consideration9886383344
Stock-based compensation1 2351 0544 5923 718
Unrealized loss (gain) on change in fair value of forward contracts-(237)606(500)
Unrealized loss (gain) on foreign exchange revaluation of foreign denominated monetary assets and liabilities39(19)219461
Acquisition and other costs16714412 7061 961
Income before provision for income taxes$1 274$4 663$7 270$10 760
1Acquisition and other costs represent transaction-related expenses, transitional expenses, such as redundant post-acquisition expenses, primarily related to our acquisitions Cedar in January 2020 and Simply Bits in November 2021 and disposition of certain Ting Mobile assets in August 2020. Expenses include severance or transitional costs associated with department, operational or overall company restructuring efforts, including geographic alignments.

This release includes forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding our expectations regarding our future financial results and, including, without limitation, our expectations regarding our ability to realize synergies from the Enom acquisition and our expectation for growth of Ting Internet. These statements are based on management’s current expectations and are subject to a number of uncertainties and risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Information about other potential factors that could affect Tucows’ business, results of operations and financial condition is included in the Risk Factors sections of Tucows’ filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements should be evaluated with the understanding of their inherent uncertainty. All forward-looking statements are based on information available to Tucows as of the date they are made. Tucows assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law.

Tucows, Ting, Wavelo, OpenSRS, Enom, Ascio and Hover are registered trademarks of Tucows Inc. or its subsidiaries.

Contact:Lawrence Chamberlain(416) 519-4196[email protected]

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