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Consolidated Communications Reports Second Quarter 2019 Results

August 1, 2019 8:01 AM

MATTOON, Ill., Aug. 01, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: CNSL) (the “Company”) reported results for the second quarter 2019 and will hold a conference call and simultaneous webcast to discuss its results and developments today at 10 a.m. ET.

Second Quarter 2019 Financial Summary:

Second Quarter 2019 Operational Summary:

“Following our final dividend payment on May 1, we are now focused on our revised capital allocation plan, which is designed to achieve our deleveraging goal of less than 4.0x net debt to adjusted EBITDA in advance of refinancing our unsecured debt no later than mid-2021,” said Bob Udell, president and chief executive officer of Consolidated Communications.

“With the change in our capital allocation policy, we are now providing full-year 2019 adjusted EBITDA guidance," continued Udell. "The adjusted EBITDA for 2019 is estimated to be in the range of $520 million to $525 million. We believe the enhanced guidance demonstrates our confidence in our business plan and our commitment to executing on our deleveraging targets.”

“We are pleased with the performance of our carrier and consumer channels this quarter,” added Udell. "In the carrier channel, we increased our fiber connections 5 percent year over year. Consumer broadband revenue grew more than 2 percent year over year and was flat from the prior quarter with strong broadband revenue growth offsetting declines in voice and lower margin video revenue.”

Financial Results for the Second Quarter

Financial Guidance

The Company updated its 2019 guidance as follows:

2019 Updated Guidance 2019 Previous Guidance
Cash interest expense $130 million to $135 million $130 million to $135 million
(no change)
Cash income taxes/refund1 $1 million to $3 million $1 million to $3 million
(no change)
Capital expenditures $210 million to $220 million $210 million to $220 million
(no change)
Adjusted EBITDA $520 million to $525 million N/A
(1) Cash income taxes primarily include local and state income taxes as federal income taxes will be shielded by existing net operating losses and the benefit of The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 tax reform legislation that was enacted in December 2017.

Conference Call Information

Consolidated Communications will host a conference call and webcast today at 10 a.m. ET / 9 a.m. CT to discuss second quarter earnings and developments. The live webcast and replay can be accessed from the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at http://ir.consolidated.com. The live conference call dial-in number is 1-877-374-3981, conference ID 6069567. A telephonic replay of the conference call will be available through Aug. 8 and can be accessed by calling 1-855-859-2056, conference ID 6069567. About Consolidated Communications

Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CNSL) is a leading broadband and business communications provider serving consumers, businesses, and wireless and wireline carriers across rural and metro communities and a 23-state service area. Leveraging an advanced fiber network spanning 37,000 fiber route miles, Consolidated Communications offers a wide range of communications solutions, including: high-speed Internet, data, phone, security, managed services, cloud services and wholesale, carrier solutions. From our first connection 125 years ago, Consolidated is dedicated to turning technology into solutions, connecting people and enriching how they work and live. Visit www.consolidated.com for more information.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release, as well as the conference call, includes disclosures regarding “EBITDA,” “adjusted EBITDA” and “total net debt to last twelve month adjusted EBITDA coverage ratio,” “adjusted diluted net loss per share” and “adjusted net loss attributable to common stockholders,” all of which are non-GAAP financial measures and described in this section as not being in compliance with Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they should not be construed as alternatives to net cash from operating or investing activities, cash and cash equivalents, cash flows from operations, net income or net income per share as defined by GAAP and are not, on their own, necessarily indicative of cash available to fund cash needs as determined in accordance with GAAP. In addition, not all companies use identical calculations, and the non-GAAP financial measures may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies. A reconciliation of the differences between these non-GAAP financial measures and the most directly comparable financial measures presented in accordance with GAAP is included in the tables that follow.

Adjusted EBITDA is comprised of EBITDA, adjusted for certain items as permitted or required by the lenders under our credit agreement in place at the end of each quarter in the periods presented. The tables that follow include an explanation of how adjusted EBITDA is calculated for each of the periods presented with the reconciliation to net income. EBITDA is defined as net earnings before interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization on a historical basis.

We present adjusted EBITDA for several reasons. Management believes adjusted EBITDA is useful as a means to evaluate our ability to fund our estimated uses of cash (including interest on our debt). In addition, we have presented adjusted EBITDA to investors in the past because they are frequently used by investors, securities analysts and other interested parties in the evaluation of companies in our industry, and management believes presenting them here provides a measure of consistency in our financial reporting. Adjusted EBITDA, referred to as Available Cash in our credit agreement, is also a component of the restrictive covenants and financial ratios contained in our credit agreement that requires us to maintain compliance with these covenants and limit certain activities, such as our ability to incur debt. The definitions in these covenants and ratios are based on adjusted EBITDA after giving effect to specified charges. In addition, adjusted EBITDA provides our board of directors with meaningful information, with other data, assumptions and considerations, to measure our ability to service and repay debt. We present the related “total net debt to last twelve month adjusted EBITDA coverage ratio” principally to put other non-GAAP measures in context and facilitate comparisons by investors, security analysts and others; this ratio differs in certain respects from the similar ratio used in our credit agreement. These measures differ in certain respects from the ratios used in our senior notes indenture.

These non-GAAP financial measures have certain shortcomings. In particular, adjusted EBITDA does not represent the residual cash flows available for discretionary expenditures, since items such as debt repayment and interest payments are not deducted from such measure. Because adjusted EBITDA is a component of the ratio of total net debt to last twelve month adjusted EBITDA, these measures are also subject to the material limitations discussed above. In addition, the ratio of total net debt to last twelve month adjusted EBITDA is subject to the risk that we may not be able to use the cash on the balance sheet to reduce our debt on a dollar-for-dollar basis. Management believes this ratio is useful as a means to evaluate our ability to incur additional indebtedness in the future.

We present the non-GAAP measures adjusted diluted net income per share and adjusted diluted net income attributable to common stockholders because our net income and net income per share are regularly affected by items that occur at irregular intervals or are non-cash items. We believe that disclosing these measures assists investors, securities analysts and other interested parties in evaluating both our company over time and the relative performance of the companies in our industry.

Safe Harbor

The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) encourages companies to disclose forward-looking information so that investors can better understand a company’s future prospects and make informed investment decisions. Certain statements in this communication are forward-looking statements and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements reflect, among other things, our current expectations, plans, strategies, and anticipated financial results. There are a number of risks, uncertainties, and conditions that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include our ability to successfully integrate FairPoint Communications, Inc.’s operations and realize the synergies from the integration, as well as a number of factors related to our business, including economic and financial market conditions generally and economic conditions in our service areas; various risks to the price and volatility of our common stock; changes in the valuation of pension plan assets; the substantial amount of debt and our ability to repay or refinance it or incur additional debt in the future; our need for a significant amount of cash to service and repay the debt restrictions contained in our debt agreements that limit the discretion of management in operating the business; regulatory changes, including changes to subsidies, rapid development and introduction of new technologies and intense competition in the telecommunications industry; risks associated with our possible pursuit of acquisitions; system failures; cyber-attacks, information or security breaches or technology failure of ours or of a third party; losses of large customers or government contracts; risks associated with the rights-of-way for the network; disruptions in the relationship with third party vendors; losses of key management personnel and the inability to attract and retain highly qualified management and personnel in the future; changes in the extensive governmental legislation and regulations governing telecommunications providers and the provision of telecommunications services; new or changing tax laws or regulations; telecommunications carriers disputing and/or avoiding their obligations to pay network access charges for use of our network; high costs of regulatory compliance; the competitive impact of legislation and regulatory changes in the telecommunications industry; and liability and compliance costs regarding environmental regulations; and risks associated with discontinuing paying dividends on our common stock. A detailed discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from such forward-looking statements are discussed in more detail in our filings with the SEC, including our reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. Many of these circumstances are beyond our ability to control or predict. Moreover, forward-looking statements necessarily involve assumptions on our part. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “project,” “intend,” “plan,” “should,” “may,” “will,” “would,” “will be,” “will continue” or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements of Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries to be different from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements that appear throughout this communication. Furthermore, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Except as required under the federal securities laws or the rules and regulations of the SEC, we disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

Company Contact

Lisa Hood, Consolidated CommunicationsPhone: (844)-909-CNSL (2675) [email protected]

– Tables to follow –

Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(Dollars in thousands, except share and per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
June 30, December 31,
2019 2018
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents$10,450 $9,599
Accounts receivable, net 133,535 133,136
Income tax receivable 11,380 11,072
Prepaid expenses and other current assets 45,231 44,336
Total current assets 200,596 198,143
Property, plant and equipment, net 1,872,312 1,927,126
Investments 112,154 110,853
Goodwill 1,035,274 1,035,274
Customer relationships, net 196,754 228,959
Other intangible assets 10,927 11,483
Other assets 57,693 23,423
Total assets$ 3,485,710 $ 3,535,261
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable$44,746 $32,502
Advance billings and customer deposits 46,892 47,724
Dividends payable - 27,579
Accrued compensation 55,926 64,459
Accrued interest 9,955 9,232
Accrued expense 77,589 71,650
Current portion of long-term debt and finance lease obligations 29,003 30,468
Total current liabilities 264,111 283,614
Long-term debt and finance lease obligations 2,309,117 2,303,585
Deferred income taxes 174,631 188,129
Pension and other post-retirement obligations 298,571 314,134
Other long-term liabilities 80,107 30,145
Total liabilities 3,126,537 3,119,607
Shareholders' equity:
Common stock, par value $0.01 per share; 100,000,000 shares
authorized, 72,076,069 and 71,187,301, shares outstanding
as of June 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively 721 712
Additional paid-in capital 489,084 513,070
Accumulated deficit (65,486) (50,834)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net (71,218) (53,212)
Noncontrolling interest 6,072 5,918
Total shareholders' equity 359,173 415,654
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity$ 3,485,710 $ 3,535,261

Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended Six Months Ended
June 30, June 30,
2019 2018 2019 2018
Net revenues$333,532 $350,221 $672,181 $706,260
Operating expenses:
Cost of services and products 143,780 151,358 292,099 304,274
Selling, general and administrative expenses 78,148 81,695 152,515 167,680
Depreciation and amortization 97,304 111,741 196,547 219,640
Income from operations 14,300 5,427 31,020 14,666
Other income (expense):
Interest expense, net of interest income (34,737) (32,839) (69,020) (65,555)
Gain on extinguishment of debt 249 - 249 -
Other income, net 9,098 12,843 16,330 20,874
Loss before income taxes (11,090) (14,569) (21,421) (30,015)
Income tax benefit (3,778) (4,009) (6,923) (8,257)
Net loss (7,312) (10,560) (14,498) (21,758)
Less: net income attributable to noncontrolling interest 75 83 154 183
Net loss attributable to common shareholders$(7,387) $(10,643) $(14,652) $(21,941)
Net loss per basic and diluted common shares
attributable to common shareholders$(0.10) $(0.15) $(0.21) $(0.32)

Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(Dollars in thousands)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended Six Months Ended
June 30, June 30,
2019 2018 2019 2018
OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Net loss $(7,312) $(10,560) $(14,498) $(21,758)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization 97,304 111,741 196,547 219,640
Deferred income taxes - - - 2
Cash distributions from wireless partnerships in excess of (less than) earnings (94) (1,343) (1,212) 519
Non-cash, stock-based compensation 1,814 1,538 3,312 2,216
Amortization of deferred financing 1,226 1,174 2,439 2,335
Other adjustments, net 149 1,075 546 3,415
Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net (4,822) (96) (23,872) (11,998)
Net cash provided by operating activities 88,265 103,529 163,262 194,371
INVESTING ACTIVITIES
Purchase of property, plant and equipment, net (66,374) (64,032) (119,768) (124,840)
Proceeds from sale of assets 13,338 1,299 14,203 1,443
Distributions from investments - - 329 233
Other (450) - (450) -
Net cash used in investing activities (53,486) (62,733) (105,686) (123,164)
FINANCING ACTIVITIES
Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt 56,000 49,000 107,000 76,000
Payment of finance lease obligations (3,304) (3,104) (6,811) (6,027)
Payment on long-term debt (51,587) (59,588) (97,175) (91,176)
Repurchase of senior notes (4,294) - (4,294) -
Dividends on common stock (27,868) (27,602) (55,445) (55,019)
Net cash used in financing activities (31,053) (41,294) (56,725) (76,222)
Net change in cash and cash equivalents 3,726 (498) 851 (5,015)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 6,724 11,140 9,599 15,657
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period $10,450 $10,642 $10,450 $10,642

Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc.
Consolidated Revenue by Category
(Dollars in thousands)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended Six Months Ended
June 30, June 30,
2019 2018 2019 2018
Commercial and carrier:
Data and transport services (includes VoIP) $88,538 $87,603 $176,664 $173,628
Voice services 47,136 51,322 95,206 103,483
Other 13,390 14,237 28,566 26,100
149,064 153,162 300,436 303,211
Consumer:
Broadband (VoIP and Data) 64,068 62,545 127,153 125,656
Video services 20,341 22,065 41,077 44,899
Voice services 45,235 51,616 91,114 103,678
129,644 136,226 259,344 274,233
Subsidies 18,134 20,979 36,293 46,234
Network access 34,198 37,338 70,789 77,053
Other products and services 2,492 2,516 5,319 5,529
Total operating revenue 333,532 350,221 672,181 706,260
Less operating revenues from divestitures - (1,417) - (2,871)
$333,532 $348,804 $672,181 $703,389

Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc.
Consolidated Revenue by Category
(Dollars in thousands)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended
Q2 2019 Q1 2019 Q4 2018 Q3 2018 Q2 2018
Commercial and carrier:
Data and transport services (includes VoIP) $88,538 $88,126 $88,152 $87,633 $87,603
Voice services 47,136 48,070 49,301 50,091 51,322
Other 13,390 15,176 16,389 13,906 14,237
149,064 151,372 153,842 151,630 153,162
Consumer:
Broadband (VoIP and Data) 64,068 63,085 63,598 63,865 62,545
Video services 20,341 20,736 21,649 21,790 22,065
Voice services 45,235 45,879 47,597 50,757 51,616
129,644 129,700 132,844 136,412 136,226
Subsidies 18,134 18,159 17,948 19,189 20,979
Network access 34,198 36,591 37,382 38,147 37,338
Other products and services 2,492 2,827 2,734 2,686 2,516
Total operating revenue 333,532 338,649 344,750 348,064 350,221
Less operating revenues from divestitures - - - (466) (1,417)
$333,532 $338,649 $344,750 $347,598 $348,804

Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc.
Schedule of Adjusted EBITDA Calculation
(Dollars in thousands)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended Six Months Ended
June 30, June 30,
2019 2018 2019 2018
Net loss$(7,312) $(10,560) $(14,498) $(21,758)
Add (subtract):
Income tax benefit (3,778) (4,009) (6,923) (8,257)
Interest expense, net 34,737 32,839 69,020 65,555
Depreciation and amortization 97,304 111,741 196,547 219,640
EBITDA 120,951 130,011 244,146 255,180
Adjustments to EBITDA (1):
Other, net (2) 7,374 4,118 12,699 10,634
Investment income (accrual basis) (10,750) (12,535) (19,351) (20,324)
Investment distributions (cash basis) 10,628 11,224 17,918 20,694
Pension/OPEB expense 1,603 1,455 3,207 2,827
Gain on extinguishment of debt (249) - (249) -
Non-cash compensation (3) 1,814 1,538 3,312 2,216
Adjusted EBITDA$131,371 $135,811 $261,682 $271,227
Notes:
(1) These adjustments reflect those required or permitted by the lenders under our credit agreement.
(2) Other, net includes income attributable to noncontrolling interests, acquisition and non-recurring related costs, and certain miscellaneous items.
(3) Represents compensation expenses in connection with our Restricted Share Plan, which because of the non-cash nature of the expenses are excluded from adjusted EBITDA.

Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc.
Reconciliation of Net Loss to Adjusted EBITDA Guidance
(Dollars in millions)
(Unaudited)
Twelve Months Ended
December 31, 2019
Range
Low High
Net loss$(22) $(12)
Add (subtract):
Income tax benefit (11) (6)
Interest expense, net 138 133
Depreciation and amortization 390 385
EBITDA 495 500
Adjustments to EBITDA (1):
Other, net (2) 12 12
Pension/OPEB expense 6 6
Non-cash compensation (3) 7 7
Adjusted EBITDA$520 $525
Notes:
(1) These adjustments reflect those required or permitted by the lenders under our credit agreement.
(2) Other, net includes income attributable to noncontrolling interests, cash distributions less equity earnings from our investments, dividend income, acquisition and non-recurring related costs, gain on the extinguishment of debt and certain miscellaneous items.
(3) Represents compensation expenses in connection with our Restricted Share Plan, which because of the non-cash nature of the expenses are excluded from adjusted EBITDA.
To enhance the information in our outlook with respect to non-GAAP metrics, we are providing a range for certain GAAP measures that are components of the reconciliation of the non-GAAP metrics. The provision of these ranges is in no way meant to indicate that we are explicitly or implicitly providing an outlook on those GAAP components of the reconciliation. In order to reconcile the non-GAAP financial metric to GAAP, we have used ranges for the GAAP components that arithmetically add up to the non-GAAP financial metric. While we feel reasonably comfortable about the outlook for the non-GAAP financial metrics, we fully expect that the ranges used for the GAAP components will vary from actual results. We will consider our outlook of non-GAAP financial metrics to be accurate if the specific non-GAAP metric is met or exceeded, even if the GAAP components of the reconciliation are different from those provided in an earlier reconciliation.

Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc.
Total Net Debt to LTM Adjusted EBITDA Ratio
(Dollars in thousands)
(Unaudited)
June 30,
Summary of Outstanding Debt: 2019
Term loans, net of discount $6,304$1,787,584
Revolving loan 41,000
Senior unsecured notes due 2022, net of discount $2,611 492,784
Finance leases 26,708
Total debt as of June 30, 2019$2,348,076
Less deferred debt issuance costs (9,956)
Less cash on hand (10,450)
Total net debt as of June 30, 2019$2,327,670
Adjusted EBITDA for the twelve
months ended June 30, 2019$527,749
Total Net Debt to last twelve months
Adjusted EBITDA 4.41x

Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc.
Adjusted Net Loss and Net Loss Per Share
(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended Six Months Ended
June 30, June 30,
2019 2018 2019 2018
Net loss$(7,312) $(10,560) $(14,498) $(21,758)
Integration and severance related costs, net of tax 4,595 2,735 8,006 7,458
Storm costs (recoveries), net of tax (506) (459) (256) 1,716
Gain on extinguishment of debt, net of tax (164) - (169) -
Local switching support settlement, net of tax - - - (2,891)
Non-cash interest expense for swaps, net of tax (10) 213 238 1,923
Non-cash stock compensation, net of tax 1,195 1,115 2,242 1,607
Adjusted net loss$(2,202) $(6,956) $(4,437) $(11,945)
Weighted average number of shares outstanding 70,813 70,598 70,813 70,598
Adjusted diluted net loss per share$(0.03) $(0.10) $(0.06) $(0.17)
Notes:
Calculations above assume a 34.1% and 27.5% effective tax rate for the three months ended and 32.3% and 27.5% for the six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc.
Key Operating Statistics
(Unaudited)
June 30, March 31, % Change June 30, % Change
2019 2019 in Qtr 2018 YOY
Voice Connections 873,269 887,357 (1.6%) 936,576 (6.8%)
Data and Internet Connections 783,008 780,720 0.3% 783,886 (0.1%)
Video Connections 89,531 91,269 (1.9%) 97,853 (8.5%)
Business and Broadband as % of total revenue (1) 76.2% 76.3% (0.1%) 74.5% 2.3%
Fiber route network miles (long-haul and metro) 37,167 36,987 0.5% 36,568 1.6%
On-net buildings 11,164 10,702 4.3% 9,674 15.4%
Consumer Customers 609,876 616,091 (1.0%) 649,561 (6.1%)
Consumer ARPU $70.86 $70.17 1.0% $69.47 2.0%
Notes:
(1) Business and Broadband revenue % includes: commercial/carrier, equipment sales and service, directory, consumer broadband and special access.
(2) The sale of our local exchange carrier in Virginia resulted in a reduction of approximately 4,110 voice connections, 2,900 data and Internet connections and 4,340 consumer customers in the third quarter of 2018. Prior period amounts have been adjusted to reflect the sale.

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Source: Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc.

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