Ascent Capital Group Announces Financial Results for the Three and Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2016
Headquartered in the
Highlights1:
- Ascent's net revenue for the three and twelve months ended
December 31, 2016 totaled$140.7 million and$570.4 million , respectively, and net loss for the three and twelve months endedDecember 31, 2016 totaled$18.8 million and$91.2 million , respectively - Ascent's Pre-SAC Adjusted EBITDA, which adjusts
for the expensed portion of LiveWatch subscriber acquisition costs, for the three and twelve months ended
December 31, 2016 totaled$88.7 million and$360.9 million , respectively - MONI's Pre-SAC Adjusted EBITDA for the three and twelve months ended
December 31, 2016 totaled$88.9 million and$366.5 million , respectively - RMR attrition declined in the twelve months ended
December 31, 2016 to 12.2%, versus 13.4% in the twelve months endedDecember 31, 2015 - MONI launched its new interactive messaging hub, ASAPer, designed to alert both customers and emergency contacts "as soon as possible" when an alarm is triggered, in the fourth quarter
Ascent Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,
"Finally, in our ongoing effort to identify new ways to keep our customers safe and offer peace of mind, we recently launched our new interactive messaging hub, ASAPer, that allows alarm users and their emergency contacts to quickly communicate and determine the validity of an alarm. Launched to our entire customer base in the fourth quarter, we expect this service to serve as a real differentiator, helping to reduce false alarms, mitigate the risk of unnecessary emergency dispatches and ultimately keep our customers safer."
_______________________
1 Comparisons are year-over-year unless otherwise specified
Results for the Three and Twelve Months Ended
For the three months ended
Ascent's total cost of services for the three months ended
Ascent's selling, general & administrative ("SG&A") costs for the three months ended
Ascent reported a net loss from continuing operations for the three and twelve months ended
MONI reported a net loss from continuing operations for the three and twelve months ended
Ascent's Adjusted EBITDA decreased 1.1% to
Ascent's Pre-SAC Adjusted EBITDA for the three months ended
| Twelve Months Ended | |||||
| 2016 | 2015 | ||||
| Beginning balance of accounts | 1,089,535 | 1,058,962 | |||
| Accounts acquired | 125,292 | 188,941 | |||
| Accounts canceled | (148,878 | ) | (147,923 | ) | |
| Canceled accounts guaranteed by dealer and other adjustments (a) | (19,158 | ) | (b) | (10,445 | ) |
| Ending balance of accounts | 1,046,791 | 1,089,535 | |||
| Monthly weighted average accounts | 1,069,901 | 1,086,071 | |||
| Attrition rate - Unit | 13.9 | % | 13.6 | % | |
| Attrition rate - RMR (c) | 12.2 | % | 13.4 | % | |
| Core Attrition (d) | 13.4 | % | 12.7 | % | |
__________________
(a) Includes canceled accounts that are contractually guaranteed to be refunded from holdback.
(b) Includes an estimated 12,177 accounts included in our Radio Conversion Program that canceled in excess of their expected attrition.
(c) The RMR of canceled accounts follows the same definition as subscriber unit attrition as noted above. RMR attrition is defined as the RMR of canceled accounts in a given period, adjusted for the impact of price increases or decreases in that period, divided by the weighted average of RMR for that period.
(d) Core Attrition reflects the long-term attrition characteristics of MONI's base by excluding the
one-time bulk buy of 113,000 accounts from
MONI's core account portfolio unit attrition rate for the twelve months ended
RMR attrition for the twelve months ended
During the three months ended
Ascent Liquidity and Capital Resources
At
At
Conference Call
Ascent will host a call today, Tuesday, February 28, 2016 at 5:00 pm ET. To access the call please dial (888) 462-5915 from
A replay of the call can be
accessed through
This call will also be available as a live webcast which can be accessed at Ascent's Investor Relations Website at http://ir.ascentcapitalgroupinc.com/index.cfm.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release includes certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements about business strategies, market potential and expansion, the success of new products and services, such as ASAPer, consumer demand for interactive and home automation services, account creation and related costs, subscriber attrition, anticipated account generation at LiveWatch, future financial prospects, and other matters that are not historical facts. These forward-looking statements involve many risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements, including, without limitation, possible changes in market acceptance of our services, technological innovations in the alarm monitoring industry, competitive issues, continued access to capital on terms acceptable to Ascent and/or MONI, our ability to capitalize on acquisition opportunities, general market and economic conditions and changes in law and government regulations. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release, and Ascent expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained herein to reflect any change in Ascent's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. Please refer to the publicly filed documents of Ascent, including the most recent Forms 10-K and 10-Q for additional information about Ascent and about the risks and uncertainties related to Ascent's business which may affect the statements made in this press release.
About
| ASCENT CAPITAL GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES | |||||||
| Consolidated Balance Sheets | |||||||
| Amounts in thousands, except share amounts | |||||||
| As of | |||||||
| 2016 | 2015 | ||||||
| Assets | |||||||
| Current assets: | |||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 12,319 | $ | 5,577 | |||
| Restricted cash | — | 55 | |||||
| Marketable securities, at fair value | 77,825 | 87,052 | |||||
| Trade receivables, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of | 13,869 | 13,622 | |||||
| Prepaid and other current assets | 10,347 | 10,702 | |||||
| Assets held for sale | 10,673 | 6,265 | |||||
| Total current assets | 125,033 | 123,273 | |||||
| Property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation of | 28,331 | 32,440 | |||||
| Subscriber accounts, net of
accumulated amortization of | 1,386,760 | 1,423,538 | |||||
| Dealer network and other intangible assets, net of accumulated amortization of | 16,824 | 26,654 | |||||
| 563,549 | 563,549 | ||||||
| Other assets, net | 11,935 | 3,851 | |||||
| Total assets | $ | 2,132,432 | $ | 2,173,305 | |||
| Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity | |||||||
| Current liabilities: | |||||||
| Accounts payable | $ | 11,516 | $ | 8,660 | |||
| Accrued payroll and related liabilities | 5,067 | 4,385 | |||||
| Other accrued liabilities | 34,970 | 31,573 | |||||
| Deferred revenue | 15,147 | 16,207 | |||||
| Holdback liability | 13,916 | 16,386 | |||||
| Current portion of long-term debt | 11,000 | 5,500 | |||||
| Liabilities of discontinued operations | 3,500 | 3,500 | |||||
| Total current liabilities | 95,116 | 86,211 | |||||
| Non-current liabilities: | |||||||
| Long-term debt | 1,754,233 | 1,713,868 | |||||
| Long-term holdback liability | 2,645 | 3,786 | |||||
| Derivative financial instruments | 16,948 | 13,470 | |||||
| Deferred income tax liability, net | 17,769 | 13,646 | |||||
| Other liabilities | 7,076 | 17,555 | |||||
| Total liabilities | 1,893,787 | 1,848,536 | |||||
| Commitments and contingencies | |||||||
| Stockholders' equity: | |||||||
| Preferred stock, | — | — | |||||
| Series A common stock, | 120 | 123 | |||||
| Series B common stock, | 4 | 4 | |||||
| Series C common stock, | — | — | |||||
| Additional paid-in capital | 1,417,505 | 1,417,895 | |||||
| Accumulated deficit | (1,169,559 | ) | (1,078,315 | ) | |||
| Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net | (9,425 | ) | (14,938 | ) | |||
| Total stockholders' equity | 238,645 | 324,769 | |||||
| Total liabilities and stockholders' equity | $ | 2,132,432 | $ | 2,173,305 | |||
| See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements. | |||||||
| ASCENT CAPITAL GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES | ||||||||||
| Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income (Loss) | ||||||||||
| Amounts in thousands, except shares and per share amounts | ||||||||||
| Year Ended | ||||||||||
| 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | ||||||||
| Net revenue | $ | 570,372 | 563,356 | 539,449 | ||||||
| Operating expenses: | ||||||||||
| Cost of services | 115,236 | 110,246 | 93,600 | |||||||
| Selling, general and administrative, including stock-based compensation | 125,892 | 121,418 | 102,109 | |||||||
| Radio conversion costs | 18,422 | 14,369 | 1,113 | |||||||
| Amortization of subscriber accounts, dealer network and other intangible assets | 246,753 | 258,668 | 253,403 | |||||||
| Depreciation | 8,435 | 10,444 | 10,145 | |||||||
| Restructuring charges | — | — | 952 | |||||||
| Gain on disposal of operating assets, net | — | (1,156 | ) | (71 | ) | |||||
| 514,738 | 513,989 | 461,251 | ||||||||
| Operating income | 55,634 | 49,367 | 78,198 | |||||||
| Other income (expense): | ||||||||||
| Interest income | 2,282 | 2,904 | 3,590 | |||||||
| Interest expense | (132,269 | ) | (123,743 | ) | (117,464 | ) | ||||
| Refinancing expense, net of gain on extinguishment of debt in 2015 | (9,500 | ) | (3,723 | ) | — | |||||
| Other income (expense), net | (140 | ) | (4,536 | ) | 1,648 | |||||
| (139,627 | ) | (129,098 | ) | (112,226 | ) | |||||
| Loss from continuing operations before income taxes | (83,993 | ) | (79,731 | ) | (34,028 | ) | ||||
| Income tax expense from continuing operations | (7,251 | ) | (6,505 | ) | (3,420 | ) | ||||
| Net loss from continuing operations | (91,244 | ) | (86,236 | ) | (37,448 | ) | ||||
| Discontinued operations: | ||||||||||
| Earnings
(loss) from discontinued operations, net of income tax of | — | 2,852 | (304 | ) | ||||||
| Net loss | (91,244 | ) | (83,384 | ) | (37,752 | ) | ||||
| Other comprehensive income (loss): | ||||||||||
| Foreign currency translation adjustments | (1,032 | ) | (293 | ) | (382 | ) | ||||
| Unrealized holding gains (losses) on marketable securities, net | 1,956 | 904 | (3,286 | ) | ||||||
| Unrealized gain (loss) on derivative contracts, net | 4,589 | (8,741 | ) | (4,879 | ) | |||||
| Total other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax | 5,513 | (8,130 | ) | (8,547 | ) | |||||
| Comprehensive loss | $ | (85,731 | ) | (91,514 | ) | (46,299 | ) | |||
| Basic and diluted earnings (loss) per share: | ||||||||||
| Continuing operations | $ | (7.44 | ) | (6.66 | ) | (2.75 | ) | |||
| Discontinued operations | — | 0.22 | (0.02 | ) | ||||||
| Net loss | $ | (7.44 | ) | (6.44 | ) | (2.77 | ) | |||
| Weighted average Series A and Series shares-basic and diluted | 12,256,895 | 12,947,215 | 13,611,264 | |||||||
| Total issued and outstanding Series A and Series B shares at period end | 12,351,011 | 12,683,607 | 13,546,181 | |||||||
| See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements. | ||||||||||
| ASCENT CAPITAL GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES | |||||||||
| Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows | |||||||||
| Amounts in thousands | |||||||||
| Year Ended | |||||||||
| 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | |||||||
| Cash flows from operating activities: | |||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (91,244 | ) | (83,384 | ) | (37,752 | ) | ||
| Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating activities: | |||||||||
| Loss (earnings) from discontinued operations, net of income tax | — | (2,852 | ) | 304 | |||||
| Amortization of subscriber accounts, dealer network and other intangible assets | 246,753 | 258,668 | 253,403 | ||||||
| Depreciation | 8,435 | 10,444 | 10,145 | ||||||
| Stock-based compensation | 6,984 | 7,343 | 7,164 | ||||||
| Deferred income tax expense (benefit) | 4,201 | 4,138 | (192 | ) | |||||
| Gain on disposal of operating assets, net | — | (1,156 | ) | (71 | ) | ||||
| Refinancing expense, net of gain on extinguishment | 9,500 | 3,725 | — | ||||||
| Amortization of debt discount and deferred debt costs | 10,670 | 10,357 | 9,023 | ||||||
| Other-than-temporary impairment of marketable securities | 1,904 | 6,389 | — | ||||||
| Bad debt expense | 10,785 | 9,735 | 8,149 | ||||||
| Other non-cash activity, net | (5,114 | ) | 4,426 | 196 | |||||
| Changes in assets and liabilities: | |||||||||
| Trade receivables | (11,032 | ) | (9,378 | ) | (8,926 | ) | |||
| Prepaid expenses and other assets | 325 | (3,857 | ) | 62 | |||||
| Subscriber accounts - deferred contract costs | (2,947 | ) | (1,773 | ) | — | ||||
| Payables and other liabilities | (317 | ) | (4,096 | ) | (5,862 | ) | |||
| Operating activities from discontinued operations, net | — | (49 | ) | (1,039 | ) | ||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 188,903 | 208,680 | 234,604 | |||||
| Cash flows from investing activities: | |||||||||
| Capital expenditures | (9,180 | ) | (12,431 | ) | (7,769 | ) | |||
| Cost of subscriber accounts acquired | (201,381 | ) | (266,558 | ) | (268,160 | ) | |||
| Cash paid for acquisition, net of cash acquired | — | (56,778 | ) | — | |||||
| Purchases of marketable securities | (5,036 | ) | (26,934 | ) | (4,603 | ) | |||
| Proceeds from sale of marketable securities | 15,184 | 57,291 | 7,842 | ||||||
| Decrease (increase) in restricted cash | 55 | (37 | ) | 22 | |||||
| Proceeds from the disposal of operating assets | — | 20,175 | 241 | ||||||
| Other investing activities | — | — | (436 | ) | |||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | $ | (200,358 | ) | (285,272 | ) | (272,863 | ) | ||
| Cash flows from financing activities: | |||||||||
| Proceeds from long-term debt | 1,280,700 | 778,000 | 169,000 | ||||||
| Payments on long-term debt | (1,238,059 | ) | (671,183 | ) | (127,166 | ) | |||
| Payments of financing costs | (16,946 | ) | (6,477 | ) | — | ||||
| Stock option exercises | — | — | 804 | ||||||
| Value of shares withheld for share-based compensation | (358 | ) | (795 | ) | (734 | ) | |||
| Purchases and retirement of common stock | (7,140 | ) | (29,988 | ) | (35,734 | ) | |||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | $ | 18,197 | 69,557 | 6,170 | |||||
| Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents | $ | 6,742 | (7,035 | ) | (32,089 | ) | |||
| Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period | 5,577 | 12,612 | 44,701 | ||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents at end of period | $ | 12,319 | 5,577 | 12,612 | |||||
| See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements. | |||||||||
Adjusted EBITDA
We evaluate the performance of our operations based on financial measures such as revenue and "Adjusted EBITDA." Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income (loss) before interest expense, interest income, income taxes, depreciation, amortization (including the amortization of subscriber accounts, dealer network and other intangible assets), stock-based compensation, and other non-cash or nonrecurring charges.
Pre-SAC Adjusted EBITDA
LiveWatch is a direct-to-consumer business, and as such recognizes certain revenue and expenses associated with subscriber acquisition (subscriber acquisition costs, or "SAC"). This is in contrast to MONI, which capitalizes payments to dealers to acquire accounts. "Pre-SAC Adjusted EBITDA" is a measure that eliminates the impact of acquiring accounts at the LiveWatch business that is recognized in operating income. Pre-SAC Adjusted EBITDA is defined as total Adjusted EBITDA excluding LiveWatch's SAC and the related revenue. We believe Pre-SAC Adjusted EBITDA is a meaningful measure of the Company's financial performance in servicing its customer base. Pre-SAC Adjusted EBITDA should be considered in addition to, but not as a substitute for, net income, cash flow provided by operating activities and other measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. Pre-SAC Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure. As companies often define non-GAAP financial measures differently, Pre-SAC Adjusted EBITDA as calculated by MONI should not be compared to any similarly titled measures reported by other companies.
The following table provides a reconciliation of Ascent's net loss from continuing operations to total Adjusted EBITDA to Pre-SAC Adjusted EBITDA for the periods indicated (amounts in thousands):
| Three Months Ended December 31, | Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||
| 2016 | 2015 | 2016 | 2015 | |||||||||||
| Net loss from continuing operations | $ | (18,789 | ) | $ | (30,741 | ) | $ | (91,244 | ) | (86,236 | ) | |||
| Amortization of subscriber accounts, dealer network and other intangible assets | 61,338 | 65,043 | 246,753 | 258,668 | ||||||||||
| Depreciation | 2,106 | 2,656 | 8,435 | 10,444 | ||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation | 1,779 | 2,304 | 6,984 | 7,343 | ||||||||||
| Radio Conversion Program costs | 484 | 9,826 | 18,422 | 14,369 | ||||||||||
| Severance expense | 485 | 112 | 730 | 112 | ||||||||||
| LiveWatch acquisition related costs | — | — | — | 946 | ||||||||||
| LiveWatch acquisition contingent bonus charges | 848 | 844 | 3,944 | 3,930 | ||||||||||
| MONI Headquarters relocation costs | — | — | — | 720 | ||||||||||
| Rebranding marketing program | 2,152 | — | 2,991 | — | ||||||||||
| Software implementation/integration | 93 | — | 511 | — | ||||||||||
| Cost reduction initiative | 250 | — | 250 | — | ||||||||||
| Other-than-temporary impairment losses on marketable securities | — | 2,625 | 1,904 | 6,389 | ||||||||||
| Refinancing expense, net of gain on extinguishment of debt in 2015 | 152 | (745 | ) | 9,500 | 3,723 | |||||||||
| Gain on revaluation of Security Networks Acquisition dealer liabilities | (7,160 | ) | — | (7,160 | ) | — | ||||||||
| Interest income | (689 | ) | (863 | ) | (2,282 | ) | (2,904 | ) | ||||||
| Interest expense | 37,464 | 31,603 | 132,269 | 123,743 | ||||||||||
| Income tax expense from continuing operations | 1,737 | 509 | 7,251 | 6,505 | ||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | 82,250 | 83,173 | 339,258 | 347,752 | ||||||||||
| Gross subscriber acquisition costs | 7,658 | 6,543 | 26,126 | 18,298 | ||||||||||
| Revenue associated with subscriber acquisition costs | (1,193 | ) | (1,183 | ) | (4,493 | ) | (4,022 | ) | ||||||
| Pre-SAC Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 88,715 | $ | 88,533 | $ | 360,891 | 362,028 | |||||||
The following table provides a reconciliation of MONI's net loss to total Adjusted EBITDA to Pre-SAC Adjusted EBITDA for the periods indicated (amounts in thousands):
| Three Months Ended December 31, | Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||
| 2016 | 2015 | 2016 | 2015 | |||||||||||
| Net loss | $ | (16,586 | ) | $ | (26,713 | ) | $ | (76,307 | ) | (72,448 | ) | |||
| Amortization of subscriber accounts, dealer network and other intangible assets | 61,338 | 65,043 | 246,753 | 258,668 | ||||||||||
| Depreciation | 2,076 | 2,568 | 8,160 | 10,066 | ||||||||||
| Stock-based compensation | 727 | 841 | 2,598 | 2,271 | ||||||||||
| One-time severance expense | 485 | 112 | 730 | 112 | ||||||||||
| Radio Conversion Program costs | 484 | 9,826 | 18,422 | 14,369 | ||||||||||
| LiveWatch acquisition related costs | — | — | — | 946 | ||||||||||
| LiveWatch acquisition contingent bonus charges | 848 | 844 | 3,944 | 3,930 | ||||||||||
| Headquarters relocation costs | — | — | — | 720 | ||||||||||
| Rebranding marketing program | 2,152 | — | 2,991 | — | ||||||||||
| Software implementation/integration | 93 | — | 511 | — | ||||||||||
| Cost reduction initiative | 250 | — | 250 | — | ||||||||||
| Refinancing expense | 152 | — | 9,500 | 4,468 | ||||||||||
| Gain on revaluation of Security Networks Acquisition dealer liabilities | (7,160 | ) | — | (7,160 | ) | — | ||||||||
| Interest expense | 35,849 | 32,031 | 127,308 | 125,415 | ||||||||||
| Income tax expense | 1,686 | 337 | 7,148 | 6,290 | ||||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | 82,394 | 84,889 | 344,848 | 354,807 | ||||||||||
| Gross subscriber acquisition cost expenses | 7,658 | 6,543 | 26,126 | 18,298 | ||||||||||
| Revenue associated with subscriber acquisition cost | (1,193 | ) | (1,183 | ) | (4,493 | ) | (4,022 | ) | ||||||
| Pre-SAC Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 88,859 | 90,249 | $ | 366,481 | 369,083 | ||||||||
Presented below is the reconciliation of Net revenue for
| Three months ended | Year ended | |||||||||||||
| 2016 | 2015 | 2016 | 2015 | |||||||||||
| Net revenue, as reported | $ | 140,683 | $ | 141,551 | $ | 570,372 | 563,356 | |||||||
| LiveWatch revenue related to SAC | (1,193 | ) | (1,183 | ) | (4,493 | ) | (4,022 | ) | ||||||
| Pre-SAC net revenue | $ | 139,490 | $ | 140,368 | $ | 565,879 | 559,334 | |||||||
Contact:Source:Erica Bartsch Sloane & Company 212-446-1875 [email protected]
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