Shotspotter (NASDAQ: SSTI) reported Q1 EPS of ($0.03), $0.01 worse than the analyst estimate of ($0.02). Revenue for the quarter came in at $9.6 million versus the consensus estimate of $9.77 million.

• Revenues increased 39% to $9.6 million, up from $6.9 million for the first quarter of 2018.
• Gross profit margin increased 6% to 58% from 52% for the first quarter of 2018.
• Net loss totaled $362,000, an improvement from a net loss of $1.2 million for the same period in 2018.
• Adjusted EBITDA1 totaled $1.6 million, an improvement from $26,000 for the same period in 2018.
• Added 12 net new “go-live” square miles of coverage during the quarter.
• Appointed Nasim Golzadeh to the new position of Senior Vice President of Customer Support and Professional Services to help scale the Company’s professional services business.
• Appointed Merline Saintil, a veteran tech and industry leader, to the Board of Directors, increasing the size of the Board to seven members.
• Revised and narrowed revenue guidance for full year 2019 to a range of $44.5 million to $45.5 million (previous revenue guidance range was $45 million to $47 million).

“We began the year building on the momentum of 2018, with solid financial results for Q1,” said Ralph Clark, CEO of ShotSpotter. “The quarter was highlighted by a 39% year-over-year increase in revenues, expanded gross profit margin and solid adjusted EBITDA, reflecting the inherent leverage in our operating model. As anticipated, we realized a GAAP net loss in the quarter, however, we remain on track to achieve GAAP profitability for the full year. We ended the quarter with nearly $30 million in cash, including our successful equity offering and generating almost $9 million of operating cash flow during the period. Our bolstered balance sheet provides us with ample resources to not only fuel our organic growth but act opportunistically on strategic M&A opportunities to further expand our SaaS platform into adjacent growth markets.

“From an operational standpoint, we added 12 net new ‘go-live’ square miles of coverage in Q1, bringing our total live miles to 660. While our go-live miles can vary quarter-to-quarter, we expect our quarterly go-live miles to increase in Q2 and the balance of the year. In fact, we expect to turn on approximately 50 new miles in the next 90+ days, putting us well on pace toward achieving our two-year goal of adding 300 gross net new miles.”

“Our success operationally is the direct result of ShotSpotter’s world-class team and innovative technology that help our valued customers’ reduce gun violence and strengthen community relations. It is products like our new Investigative Lead Summary tool, which has received strong interest, that continue to fortify our competitive position as we aim to capitalize on the billion-plus-dollar core market opportunity,” Mr. Clark continued.

“Looking ahead, our focused execution on our strategic initiatives coupled with the business we have under contract, strong renewal rates and deferred revenue balance, give us confidence that we will deliver on our near - and long-term growth and profitability objectives,” Mr. Clark concluded.

GUIDANCE:

Shotspotter sees FY2019 revenue of $44.5-45.5 million, versus the consensus of $46.12 million.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Shotspotter (SSTI) click here.