Upgrade to SI Premium - Free Trial

Consolidated Communications Reports Third Quarter 2019 Results

October 31, 2019 8:00 AM

MATTOON, Ill., Oct. 31, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: CNSL) (the “Company”) reported results for the third quarter 2019 and will hold a conference call and simultaneous webcast to discuss its results and developments today at 10 a.m. ET.

Third Quarter 2019 Financial Summary:

Third Quarter 2019 Operational Summary:

“We are executing on our capital allocation plan and have reduced our total debt during the quarter by $26 million,” said Bob Udell, president and chief executive officer of Consolidated Communications. “We are intensely focused on achieving our deleveraging goal of less than 4.0x net debt to adjusted EBITDA in advance of refinancing our unsecured debt by mid-2021.”

“We’re pleased to achieve another quarter of stable and consistent adjusted EBITDA and revenue,” added Udell. “And, we are particularly pleased with the performance of our carrier and consumer channels, both of which demonstrated growth in strategic areas. Our fiber connections to wireless carriers increased 4 percent year over year and consumer broadband revenue grew more than 2 percent compared to a year ago.”

Financial Results for the Third Quarter

Financial Guidance

The Company is affirming its previous 2019 full-year guidance for:

The Company is increasing its Capital expenditure guidance for 2019 from $210 million to $220 million to a range of $220 million to $225 million. This change reflects the estimates of final hurricane restoration costs and updated success-based capital. With insurance recoveries for storm damage, the modest increase in capital expenditures will not impact the Company’s ability to achieve its stated leverage targets.

(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 Job Act of 2017 tax reform legislation which was enacted in Dec. 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 third 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 5824024. A telephonic replay of the conference call will be available through Nov. 7 and can be accessed by calling 1-855-859-2056, conference ID 5824024. 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 ratio” and “adjusted diluted net income (loss) per share,” 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 it is frequently used by investors, securities analysts and other interested parties in the evaluation of companies in our industry, and management believes presenting it 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 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 measure “adjusted diluted net income (loss) per share” because our net income (loss) and net income (loss) 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 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

Jennifer Spaude, Consolidated CommunicationsPhone: (844)-909-CNSL (2675) [email protected]

Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(Dollars in thousands, except share and per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
September 30, December 31,
2019 2018
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents$6,178 $9,599
Accounts receivable, net 125,908 133,136
Income tax receivable 11,293 11,072
Prepaid expenses and other current assets 42,070 44,336
Total current assets 185,449 198,143
Property, plant and equipment, net 1,861,033 1,927,126
Investments 112,377 110,853
Goodwill 1,035,274 1,035,274
Customer relationships, net 180,378 228,959
Other intangible assets 10,650 11,483
Other assets 58,140 23,423
Total assets$3,443,301 $3,535,261
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable$32,241 $32,502
Advance billings and customer deposits 48,122 47,724
Dividends payable - 27,579
Accrued compensation 58,397 64,459
Accrued interest 16,783 9,232
Accrued expense 74,969 71,650
Current portion of long-term debt and finance lease obligations 27,869 30,468
Total current liabilities 258,381 283,614
Long-term debt and finance lease obligations 2,285,177 2,303,585
Deferred income taxes 175,021 188,129
Pension and other post-retirement obligations 286,646 314,134
Other long-term liabilities 78,372 30,145
Total liabilities 3,083,597 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 September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively 721 712
Additional paid-in capital 491,012 513,070
Accumulated deficit (65,229) (50,834)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net (73,004) (53,212)
Noncontrolling interest 6,204 5,918
Total shareholders' equity 359,704 415,654
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity$3,443,301 $3,535,261

Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
September 30, September 30,
2019 2018 2019 2018
Net revenues$333,326 $348,064 $1,005,507 $1,054,324
Operating expenses:
Cost of services and products 146,636 152,942 438,735 457,216
Selling, general and administrative expenses 70,100 85,255 222,615 252,935
Depreciation and amortization 93,048 109,119 289,595 328,759
Income from operations 23,542 748 54,562 15,414
Other income (expense):
Interest expense, net of interest income (34,250) (33,524) (103,270) (99,079)
Gain on extinguishment of debt 1,121 - 1,370 -
Other income, net 11,180 8,968 27,510 29,842
Income (loss) before income taxes 1,593 (23,808) (19,828) (53,823)
Income tax expense (benefit) 1,204 (8,993) (5,719) (17,250)
Net income (loss) 389 (14,815) (14,109) (36,573)
Less: net income attributable to noncontrolling interest 132 99 286 282
Net income (loss) attributable to common shareholders$257 $(14,914) $(14,395) $(36,855)
Net income (loss) per basic and diluted common shares
attributable to common shareholders$- $(0.21) $(0.21) $(0.53)

Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(Dollars in thousands)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
September 30, September 30,
2019 2018 2019 2018
OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Net income (loss) $ 389 $ (14,815) $ (14,109) $ (36,573)
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization 93,048 109,119 289,595 328,759
Deferred income taxes 639 (2,807) 639 (2,805)
Cash distributions from wireless partnerships less than earnings (349) (553) (1,561) (34)
Non-cash, stock-based compensation 1,928 1,538 5,240 3,754
Amortization of deferred financing 1,240 1,187 3,679 3,522
Gain on extinguishment of debt (1,121) - (1,370) -
Other adjustments, net (4) 400 791 3,815
Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net (10,395) (24,404) (34,267) (36,402)
Net cash provided by operating activities 85,375 69,665 248,637 264,036
INVESTING ACTIVITIES
Purchase of property, plant and equipment, net (64,575) (61,925) (184,343) (186,765)
Proceeds from sale of assets 140 197 14,343 1,640
Proceeds from business dispositions - 20,999 - 20,999
Distributions from investments - - 329 233
Other - - (450) -
Net cash used in investing activities (64,435) (40,729) (170,121) (163,893)
FINANCING ACTIVITIES
Proceeds from issuance of long-term debt 45,000 60,587 152,000 136,587
Payment of finance lease obligations (2,932) (3,563) (9,743) (9,590)
Payment on long-term debt (45,588) (65,174) (142,763) (156,350)
Repurchase of senior notes (21,692) - (25,986) -
Dividends on common stock - (27,602) (55,445) (82,621)
Net cash used in financing activities (25,212) (35,752) (81,937) (111,974)
Net change in cash and cash equivalents (4,272) (6,816) (3,421) (11,831)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 10,450 10,642 9,599 15,657
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period $ 6,178 $ 3,826 $ 6,178 $ 3,826

Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc.
Consolidated Revenue by Category
(Dollars in thousands)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
September 30, September 30,
2019 2018 2019 2018
Commercial and carrier:
Data and transport services (includes VoIP) $88,756 $87,633 $265,420 $261,261
Voice services 46,606 50,091 141,812 153,574
Other 11,828 13,906 40,394 40,006
147,190 151,630 447,626 454,841
Consumer:
Broadband (VoIP and Data) 65,456 63,865 192,609 189,521
Video services 20,463 21,790 61,540 66,689
Voice services 45,487 50,757 136,601 154,435
131,406 136,412 390,750 410,645
Subsidies 18,025 19,189 54,318 65,423
Network access 34,211 38,147 105,000 115,200
Other products and services 2,494 2,686 7,813 8,215
Total operating revenue 333,326 348,064 1,005,507 1,054,324
Less operating revenues from divestitures - (466) - (3,337)
$333,326 $347,598 $1,005,507 $1,050,987

Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc.
Consolidated Revenue by Category
(Dollars in thousands)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended
Q3 2019 Q2 2019 Q1 2019 Q4 2018 Q3 2018
Commercial and carrier:
Data and transport services (includes VoIP) $88,756 $88,538 $88,126 $88,152 $87,633
Voice services 46,606 47,136 48,070 49,301 50,091
Other 11,828 13,390 15,176 16,389 13,906
147,190 149,064 151,372 153,842 151,630
Consumer:
Broadband (VoIP and Data) 65,456 64,068 63,085 63,598 63,865
Video services 20,463 20,341 20,736 21,649 21,790
Voice services 45,487 45,235 45,879 47,597 50,757
131,406 129,644 129,700 132,844 136,412
Subsidies 18,025 18,134 18,159 17,948 19,189
Network access 34,211 34,198 36,591 37,382 38,147
Other products and services 2,494 2,492 2,827 2,734 2,686
Total operating revenue 333,326 333,532 338,649 344,750 348,064
Less operating revenues from divestitures - - - - (466)
$333,326 $333,532 $338,649 $344,750 $347,598

Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc.
Schedule of Adjusted EBITDA Calculation
(Dollars in thousands)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
September 30, September 30,
2019 2018 2019 2018
Net income (loss)$389 $(14,815) $(14,109) $(36,573)
Add (subtract):
Income tax expense (benefit) 1,204 (8,993) (5,719) (17,250)
Interest expense, net 34,250 33,524 103,270 99,079
Depreciation and amortization 93,048 109,119 289,595 328,759
EBITDA 128,891 118,835 373,037 374,015
Adjustments to EBITDA (1):
Other, net (2) 1,141 12,413 13,840 23,047
Investment income (accrual basis) (11,254) (8,675) (30,605) (28,999)
Investment distributions (cash basis) 10,905 8,121 28,823 28,815
Pension/OPEB expense 483 1,470 3,690 4,297
Gain on extinguishment of debt (1,121) - (1,370) -
Non-cash compensation (3) 1,928 1,538 5,240 3,754
Adjusted EBITDA$130,973 $133,702 $392,655 $404,929
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)
September 30,
Summary of Outstanding Debt: 2019
Term loans, net of discount $5,955$1,783,345
Revolving loan 45,000
Senior unsecured notes due 2022, net of discount $2,312 469,974
Finance leases 23,795
Total debt as of September 30, 2019$2,322,114
Less deferred debt issuance costs (9,068)
Less cash on hand (6,178)
Total net debt as of September 30, 2019$2,306,868
Adjusted EBITDA for the twelve
months ended September 30, 2019$525,020
Total Net Debt to last twelve months
Adjusted EBITDA 4.39x

Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc.
Adjusted Net Income (Loss) and Net Income (Loss) Per Share
(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
September 30, September 30,
2019 2018 2019 2018
Net income (loss)$389 $(14,815) $(14,109) $(36,573)
Integration and severance related costs, net of tax 2,761 9,309 10,931 16,747
Storm costs (recoveries), net of tax - - (257) 1,723
Gain on extinguishment of debt, net of tax (724) - (930) -
Local switching support settlement, net of tax - - - (2,903)
Non-cash interest expense for swaps, net of tax (152) 438 78 2,367
Tax related to acquisition - 1,062 - 1,062
Divestiture related, tax (1) - 767 - 767
Change in deferred tax rate, federal tax reform - (4,397) - (4,397)
Other, tax 639 - 639 -
Non-cash stock compensation, net of tax 1,245 1,126 3,558 2,733
Adjusted net income (loss)$4,158 $(6,510) $(90) $(18,474)
Weighted average number of shares outstanding 70,813 70,598 70,813 70,598
Adjusted diluted net income (loss) per share$0.06 $(0.09) $- $(0.26)
Notes:
(1) Includes sale of Virginia properties on July 31, 2018.
Calculations above assume a 35.4% and 26.8% effective tax rate for the three months ended and 32.1% and 27.2% for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc.
Key Operating Statistics
(Unaudited)
September 30,June 30, % Change September 30,% Change
2019 2019 in Qtr 2018 YOY
Voice Connections 854,430 873,269 (2.2%) 921,896 (7.3%)
Data and Internet Connections 784,151 783,008 0.1% 781,912 0.3%
Video Connections 86,446 89,531 (3.4%) 95,889 (9.8%)
Business and Broadband as % of total revenue (1)75.6% 76.2% (0.8%) 75.2% 0.5%
Fiber route network miles (long-haul and metro) 37,359 37,167 0.5% 36,814 1.5%
On-net buildings 11,732 11,164 5.1% 10,041 16.8%
Consumer Customers 602,482 609,876 (1.2%) 641,845 (6.1%)
Consumer ARPU $72.70 $70.86 2.6% $70.70 2.8%
Notes:
(1) Business and Broadband revenue % includes: commercial/carrier, equipment sales and service, directory, consumer broadband and special access.

CCI Logo & Tagline-300PPI (1).jpg

Source: Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc.

Categories

Globe Newswire Press Releases

Next Articles