Hawaiian Telcom Reports Second Quarter 2015 Results


Achieved consumer revenue growth of 4.2 percent

Strong Hawaiian Telcom TV subscriber growth of 2,200

Delivered data center growth of 19.8 percent

Launched Hawai'i's only 1 Gbps Internet service

Nearly $30 million of trans-Pacific submarine cable capacity sales to date

HONOLULU, Aug. 4, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --Hawaiian Telcom Holdco, Inc. (NASDAQ:HCOM) reported financial results for its second quarter ended June 30. The highlights are as follows:

  • Consumer revenue increased 4.2 percent year-over-year to $37.9 million, driven by growth in video and high-speed Internet (HSI) revenue of $2.8 million and $0.6 million, respectively.
  • Added 2,200 Hawaiian Telcom TV subscribers during the second quarter, ending the quarter with approximately 31,900 subscribers, resulting in penetration of 18.2 percent of households enabled.
  • Data center revenue increased 19.8 percent year-over-year to $2.8 million, driven by growth in colocation services and data security related sales.
  • Revenue totaled $96.2 million, compared to $96.8 million in the second quarter of 2014.
  • Adjusted EBITDA(1) of $29.8 million, up 2.6 percent year-over-year.
  • Generated net income of $0.5 million, or $0.04 per diluted share for the quarter, compared to $2.2 million or $0.20 per diluted share in the same period a year ago. The decrease was primarily due to an anticipated $3.1 million year-over-year increase in depreciation and amortization as a result of significant investments to expand the Company's next-generation broadband fiber network.
  • Enabled 9,000 households in the quarter, increasing enabled households on O'ahu to 175,000.
  • Launched Hawai'i's fastest Internet service featuring 1 Gbps download speed, further leveraging the capability of the Company's next-generation fiber network.
  • Nearly $30 million of total capacity sales on the Southeast Asia – United States (SEA-US) trans-Pacific submarine fiber cable system to date, with additional capacity available to monetize further.

"Our second quarter operating fundamentals are strong, laying a firm foundation for future revenue growth," said Scott Barber, Hawaiian Telcom's president and CEO. "We continued to see industry leading growth in our consumer channel with healthy demand for our Hawaiian Telcom TV and high-speed Internet services, now up to 1 Gig, made possible by our next-generation fiber optic network.

"In the business channel, high-speed Internet and data center revenue showed solid growth, resulting from Hawaiian Telcom's well-earned reputation in the marketplace as not just a service provider but, more importantly, as a strategic and trusted business partner, helping our customers transform their businesses with our integrated end-to-end solutions.

"In the wholesale channel, in less than four months after starting construction on the SEA-US trans-Pacific submarine fiber cable project, we have secured capacity sales totaling nearly $30 million. With robust interest in this capacity, we are confident that we will further monetize this asset.

"As Hawai'i's technology leader and the only local full-service communications company in the marketplace, we are in a unique position to provide our customers with exceptional customer service coupled with products and services tailored to meet their needs. We are confident in our ability to continue to execute on our strategic plan and fully committed to increasing long-term value for our shareholders," concluded Barber.

Second Quarter 2015 Results

Second quarter revenue was $96.2 million, compared to $96.8 million in the second quarter of 2014. Revenue growth in the quarter, driven by video, HSI, and data center and cloud services was offset by the impact from a 6 percent decline in access lines and a $0.5 million decrease in wholesale carrier data revenue, primarily due to special one-time customer charges in 2014. Adjusted EBITDA was $29.8 million, up 2.6 percent year-over-year from our growth and cost saving initiatives.

The Company generated net income of $0.5 million, or $0.04 per diluted share for the quarter, compared to $2.2 million or $0.20 per diluted share in the second quarter of 2014. The decrease was primarily due to a $3.1 million expected increase in depreciation and amortization as a result of significant investments made to the Company's broadband fiber network.

Consumer Revenue

Second quarter consumer revenue totaled $37.9 million, up 4.2 percent year-over-year driven by revenue growth from the Company's Hawaiian Telcom TV and HSI services. Revenue growth in video and HSI services continues to more than offset lower revenue from legacy services, and combined video and HSI services now represent 43 percent of consumer revenue, up from 36 percent in the same period a year ago, and 28 percent in the same period two years ago.

Video service revenue grew to $8.3 million for the quarter, up from $5.5 million in the same period a year ago, driven by the addition of approximately 8,800 subscribers for a total of approximately 31,900 subscribers at the end of the second quarter. Hawaiian Telcom TV average revenue per user (ARPU) was up approximately 6.5 percent year-over-year. During the quarter, 9,000 additional households were enabled, increasing the total number of households enabled to 175,000 with approximately 58 percent of those households capable of utilizing fiber-to-the-premise technology. Hawaiian Telcom TV penetration of households enabled was approximately 18.2 percent at the end of the second quarter.

Consumer HSI revenue also improved from the same period a year ago, led by a 2.1 percent year-over-year increase in consumer HSI subscribers to approximately 93,300 and a 4.3 percent increase in consumer HSI ARPU due to increased adoption of higher speed offerings. As of June 30, 2015, approximately 93 percent of all video subscribers had double- or triple-play bundles with HSI. Revenue increases from video and HSI more than offset legacy revenue declines related to consumer voice access and long distance line losses of 9.6 percent and 9.4 percent year-over-year, respectively.

Business Revenue

Second quarter business revenue totaled $41.2 million, compared to $42.1 million in the second quarter of 2014. Growth from next-generation services, primarily from a 19.8 percent year-over-year increase in data center revenue and the impact from a 1.5 percent increase in business HSI customers, was more than offset by the year-over-year decline in legacy business access and long distance revenues. Driven by increasing customer demand for higher bandwidth services and integrated communications solutions, next-generation services now represent 31 percent of business revenue, up from 29 percent in the same period a year ago, and 22 percent in the same period two years ago.

Wholesale Revenue

Second quarter wholesale revenue totaled $15.0 million, compared to $15.8 million in the second quarter of 2014. Wholesale carrier data revenue was $13.8 million, compared to $14.3 million in the same period a year ago, primarily due to special one-time customer charges in the second quarter of 2014. Switched carrier access revenue declined $0.3 million year-over-year to $1.2 million, attributable to both the overall decline in voice access lines and minutes of use and the impact of intercarrier compensation reform.

Operating Expenses, Capital Expenditures and Liquidity

Operating expenses, exclusive of depreciation and amortization, non-cash stock compensation, SystemMetrics earn-out and other non-recurring charges, decreased 2.0 percent to $66.4 million. The increase in direct cost of services related to video was more than offset by lower utilities costs, decreased contracted services costs, and a decline in costs related to employee benefits.

Capital expenditures totaled $52.9 million in the six months ended June 30, 2015, up from $51.3 million for the six-month period a year ago primarily due to the first SEA-US payment of $2.3 million, as well as higher success-based spending to support the growth of our next-generation services. Overall, total capital expenditures for 2015 are expected to be in the high- $90 million range, consistent with the level of capital spending in 2014.

At the end of second quarter 2015, the Company had $28.2 million in cash and cash equivalents compared to $39.9 million at the end of 2014. The use of cash is primarily related to higher levels of success-based capital expenditures and temporary uses of working capital. Net Debt(2) was $263.1 million, resulting in a Net Leverage Ratio(3) as of June 30, 2015 of 2.2x.

Conference Call

The Company will host a conference call to discuss its second quarter 2015 results at 8:00 a.m. (Hawai'i Time), or 2:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) on Tuesday, August 4, 2015.

To access the call, participants should dial (866) 953-6857 (US/Canada), or (617) 399-3481 (International) ten minutes prior to the start of the call and enter passcode 70422802.

A live webcast of the conference call, including a slide presentation, will be available from the Investor Relations section of the Company's website at http://hawaiiantel.com. The webcast will be archived at the same location.

A telephonic replay of the conference call will be available three hours after the conclusion of the call until 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Time) August 11, 2015. Access the replay by dialing (888) 286-8010 and entering passcode 87278942. Alternatively, the replay can be accessed by dialing (617) 801-6888 and entering passcode 87278942.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release contains information about adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Adjusted EBITDA) and Net Debt. These are non-GAAP financial measures used by Hawaiian Telcom management when evaluating results of operations. Management believes these measures also provide users of the financial statements with additional and useful comparisons of current results of operations with past and future periods. Non-GAAP financial measures should not be construed as being more important than comparable GAAP measures. Detailed reconciliations of Adjusted EBITDA and Net Debt to comparable GAAP financial measures have been included in the tables distributed with this release and are available in the Investor Relations section of www.hawaiiantel.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

In addition to historical information, this release includes certain statements and predictions that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In particular, any statement, projection or estimate that includes or references the words "believes", "anticipates", "intends", "expected", or any similar expression falls within the safe harbor of forward-looking statements contained in the Reform Act. Actual results or outcomes may differ materially from those indicated or suggested by any such forward-looking statement for a variety of reasons, including, but not limited to: failures in Hawaiian Telcom's critical back office systems and IT infrastructure; breach of the our data security systems; increases in the amount of capital expenditures required to execute our business plan; the loss of certain outsourcing agreements, or the failure of any third party to perform under these agreements; our ability to sell capacity on the new submarine fiber cable project; adverse changes to applicable laws and regulations; the failure to adequately adapt to technological changes in the telecommunications industry, including changes in consumer technology preferences; adverse economic conditions in Hawai'i; the availability of lump sum distributions under our union pension plan; limitations on the ability to utilize net operating losses due to an ownership change under Internal Revenue Code Section 382; the inability to service our indebtedness; limitations imposed on our business from restrictive covenants in the credit agreements; and severe weather conditions and natural disasters. More information on potential risks and uncertainties is available in recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Hawaiian Telcom's 2014 Annual Report on Form 10-K. The information contained in this release is as of August 4, 2015. It is anticipated that subsequent events and developments may cause estimates to change, and the Company undertakes no duty to update forward-looking statements.

About Hawaiian Telcom

Hawaiian Telcom (Nasdaq:HCOM), headquartered in Honolulu, is Hawai'i's technology leader, providing integrated communications, broadband, data center and entertainment solutions for business and residential customers. With roots in Hawai'i beginning in 1883, the Company offers a full range of services including Internet, video, voice, wireless, data network solutions and security, colocation, and managed and cloud services supported by the reach and reliability of its next generation fiber network and a 24/7 state-of-the-art network operations center. With employees statewide sharing a commitment to innovation and a passion for delivering superior service, Hawaiian Telcom provides an Always OnSM customer experience. For more information, visit www.hawaiiantel.com.

The Hawaiian Telcom Holdco, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=10087

(1) Adjusted EBITDA is EBITDA plus non-cash stock compensation, SystemMetrics earn-out and other non-recurring costs not expected to occur regularly in the ordinary course of business. EBITDA is defined as net income plus interest expense (net of interest income and other), income taxes, depreciation and amortization and gain on sale of property. The Company believes both of these non-GAAP measures, Adjusted EBITDA and EBITDA, are meaningful performance measures for investors because they are used by our Board and management to evaluate performance, enhance comparability between periods and make operating decisions. Our use of Adjusted EBITDA and EBITDA may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies in the telecommunications industry. A detailed reconciliation of adjusted Adjusted EBITDA and EBITDA to comparable GAAP financial measures has been included in the tables distributed with this release.

(2) Net Debt provides a useful measure of liquidity and financial health. The Company defines Net Debt as the sum of the face amount of short-term and long-term debt and unamortized premium and/or discount, offset by cash and cash equivalents. A detailed reconciliation of Net Debt has been included in the tables distributed with this release.

(3) Net Leverage Ratio is defined by the Company as Net Debt divided by Last Twelve Months Adjusted EBITDA. A detailed reconciliation of Net Leverage Ratio has been included in the tables distributed with this release.

(4) Levered Free Cash Flow provides a useful measure of operational performance and liquidity. The Company defines Levered Free Cash Flow as Adjusted EBITDA less cash interest expense and capital expenditures. A detailed reconciliation of Levered Free Cash Flow has been included in the tables distributed with this release.

 
Hawaiian Telcom Holdco, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Income
(Unaudited, dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)
         
   Three Months Ended   Six Months Ended 
   June 30,   June 30, 
   2015   2014   2015   2014 
         
 Operating revenues   $ 96,187  $ 96,784  $ 193,303  $ 193,856
         
 Operating expenses:         
 Cost of revenues (exclusive of  depreciation and amortization)   39,219  41,288  79,402  82,236
 Selling, general and administrative   29,767  28,720  59,499  57,986
 Depreciation and amortization   21,941  18,884  43,221  37,604
         
 Total operating expenses   90,927  88,892  182,122  177,826
         
 Operating income   5,260  7,892  11,181  16,030
         
 Other income (expense):         
 Interest expense   (4,166)  (4,109)  (8,503)  (8,298)
 Interest income and other   4  5  11  13
         
 Total other expense   (4,162)  (4,104)  (8,492)  (8,285)
         
 Income before income tax provision   1,098  3,788  2,689  7,745
         
 Income tax provision   643  1,549  1,257  3,141
         
 Net income   $ 455  $ 2,239  $ 1,432  $ 4,604
         
         
 Net income per common share --         
 Basic   $ 0.04  $ 0.21  $ 0.13  $ 0.44
 Diluted   $ 0.04  $ 0.20  $ 0.13  $ 0.41
         
 Weighted average shares used to compute net income per common share --         
 Basic   10,797,111  10,585,736  10,744,944  10,557,047
 Diluted   11,258,178  11,263,618  11,261,535  11,300,608
         
Hawaiian Telcom Holdco, Inc.
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(Unaudited, dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)
     
   June 30,   December 31, 
   2015   2014 
     
Assets     
     
Current assets     
Cash and cash equivalents   $ 28,228  $ 39,885
Receivables, net   34,053  32,662
Material and supplies   9,792  9,337
Prepaid expenses   5,334  3,598
Deferred income taxes   6,840  6,840
Other current assets   3,289  3,481
Total current assets   87,536  95,803
Property, plant and equipment, net   570,667  565,956
Intangible assets, net   36,079  37,328
Goodwill   12,104  12,104
Deferred income taxes   79,213  81,626
Other assets   10,513  9,151
     
Total assets   $ 796,112  $ 801,968
     
Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity     
     
Current liabilities     
Current portion of long-term debt   $ 3,000  $ 3,000
Accounts payable   45,797  50,499
Accrued expenses   16,102  19,399
Advance billings and customer deposits   15,354  14,686
Other current liabilities   7,488  6,790
Total current liabilities   87,741  94,374
Long-term debt   288,307  289,423
Employee benefit obligations   93,728  99,366
Other liabilities   15,774  14,271
Total liabilities   485,550  497,434
     
     
Stockholders' equity     
     
Common stock, par value of $0.01 per share, 245,000,000  shares authorized and 11,005,434 and 10,673,292 shares issued and outstanding at June 30, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively   110  107
Additional paid-in capital   173,831  170,521
Accumulated other comprehensive loss   (22,664)  (23,947)
Retained earnings   159,285  157,853
Total stockholders' equity   310,562  304,534
     
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity   $ 796,112  $ 801,968
     
     
Hawaiian Telcom Holdco, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(Unaudited, dollars in thousands)
     
   Six Months Ended 
   June 30, 
   2015   2014 
     
 Cash flows from operating activities:     
 Net income   $ 1,432  $ 4,604
 Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities     
 Depreciation and amortization   43,221  37,604
 Employee retirement benefits   (3,565)  (6,494)
 Provision for uncollectibles   1,634  1,478
 Stock based compensation   900  2,099
 Deferred income taxes   1,621  3,544
 Changes in operating assets and liabilities:     
 Receivables   (3,025)  979
 Material and supplies   (92)  121
 Prepaid expenses and other current assets   (1,944)  (2,090)
 Accounts payable and accrued expenses   (2,037)  (3,896)
 Advance billings and customer deposits   668  (181)
 Other current liabilities   (465)  113
 Other   1,445  758
 Net cash provided by operating activities   39,793  38,639
     
 Cash flows from investing activities:     
 Capital expenditures   (52,916)  (51,315)
 Funds released from restricted cash account   400  -- 
 Net cash used in investing activities   (52,516)  (51,315)
     
 Cash flows from financing activities:     
 Proceeds from stock issuance   3,341  -- 
 Proceeds from installment financing   2,279  2,085
 Repayment of capital lease and installment financing   (1,976)  (856)
 Repayment of debt   (1,500)  (1,500)
 Refinancing costs   (150)  -- 
 Taxes paid related to net share settlement of equity awards   (928)  (1,005)
 Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities   1,066  (1,276)
     
 Net change in cash and cash equivalents   (11,657)  (13,952)
 Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period   39,885  49,551
     
 Cash and cash equivalents, end of period   $ 28,228  $ 35,599
     
 Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:     
 Interest paid, net of amounts capitalized   $ 7,604  $ 7,433
     
         
Hawaiian Telcom Holdco, Inc.
Revenue by Category and Channel
(Unaudited, dollars in thousands)
         
For Three Months
   Three Months Ended     
   June 30,   Change 
   2015   2014   Amount   Percentage 
         
 Wireline Services         
 Local voice services   $ 30,864  $ 33,077  $ (2,213) -6.7%
 Network access services       
 Business data   6,704  6,712  (8) -0.1%
 Wholesale carrier data   13,789  14,280  (491) -3.4%
 Subscriber line access charge   8,562  9,030  (468) -5.2%
 Switched carrier access   1,206  1,488  (282) -19.0%
   30,261  31,510  (1,249) -4.0%
 High-Speed Internet   11,342  10,753  589 5.5%
 Video   8,280  5,474  2,806 51.3%
 Long distance services   5,104  5,716  (612) -10.7%
 Equipment and managed services   4,779  4,723  56 1.2%
 Wireless   427  539  (112) -20.8%
 Other   2,346  2,669  (323) -12.1%
   93,403  94,461  (1,058) -1.1%
 Data center colocation   2,784  2,323  461 19.8%
   $ 96,187  $ 96,784  $ (597) -0.6%
         
 Channel         
 Business   $ 41,181  $ 42,068  $ (887) -2.1%
 Consumer   37,881  36,349  1,532 4.2%
 Wholesale   14,995  15,768  (773) -4.9%
 Other   2,130  2,599  (469) -18.0%
   $ 96,187  $ 96,784  $ (597) -0.6%
         
         
For Six Months
   Six Months Ended     
   June 30,   Change 
   2015   2014   Amount   Percentage 
         
Wireline Services         
 Local voice services   $ 62,633  $ 66,852  $ (4,219) -6.3%
 Network access services       
Business data   13,710  13,336  374 2.8%
Wholesale carrier data   28,122  28,666  (544) -1.9%
Subscriber line access charge   17,218  18,199  (981) -5.4%
Switched carrier access   2,518  3,040  (522) -17.2%
   61,568  63,241  (1,673) -2.6%
High-Speed Internet   22,670  21,297  1,373 6.4%
Video   15,802  10,228  5,574 54.5%
Long distance services   10,412  11,622  (1,210) -10.4%
Equipment and managed services   9,043  9,212  (169) -1.8%
Wireless   877  1,132  (255) -22.5%
Other   4,917  5,544  (627) -11.3%
   187,922  189,128  (1,206) -0.6%
Data center colocation   5,381  4,728  653 13.8%
   $ 193,303  $ 193,856  $ (553) -0.3%
         
Channel         
Business   $ 82,757  $ 84,579  $ (1,822) -2.2%
Consumer   75,414  72,171  3,243 4.5%
Wholesale   30,640  31,706  (1,066) -3.4%
Other   4,492  5,400  (908) -16.8%
   $ 193,303  $ 193,856  $ (553) -0.3%
         
           
Hawaiian Telcom Holdco, Inc.
Schedule of Adjusted EBITDA Calculation
(Unaudited, dollars in thousands)
       
   Three Months Ended   Six Months Ended   LTM Ended 
   June 30,   June 30,   June 30, 
   2015   2014   2015   2014   2015 
           
 Net income   $ 455  $ 2,239  $ 1,432  $ 4,604  $ 4,927
 Income tax provision   643  1,549  1,257  3,141  4,026
 Interest expense and other income and expense, net   4,162  4,104  8,492  8,285  16,669
 Depreciation and amortization   21,941  18,884  43,221  37,604  83,631
 EBITDA   27,201  26,776  54,402  53,634  109,253
 Non-cash stock compensation   525  1,025  900  2,099  2,975
 SystemMetrics earn-out   272  272  544  544  1,087
 Non-recurring costs   394  969  869  1,644  1,673
 Pension settlement loss   1,397  --   2,248  --   2,248
 Severance costs   --   --   --   --   197
 Wavecom integration costs   --   --   --   178  161
 Storm Iselle costs   --   --   --   --   1,077
           
 Adjusted EBITDA   $ 29,789  $ 29,042  $ 58,963  $ 58,099  $ 118,671
           
   
Hawaiian Telcom Holdco, Inc.
Schedule of Net Leverage Ratio Calculation
(Unaudited, dollars in thousands)
   
Long-term debt as of June 30, 2015   $ 291,307
Less cash on hand   (28,228)
Total Net Debt as of June 30, 2015   $ 263,079
   
LTM Adjusted EBITDA as of June 30, 2015   $ 118,671
   
Net Leverage Ratio as of June 30, 2015  2.2x
           
Hawaiian Telcom Holdco, Inc.
Schedule of Levered Free Cash Flow(4) Calculation
(Unaudited, dollars in thousands)
       
   Three Months Ended   Six Months Ended   LTM Ended 
   June 30,   June 30,   June 30, 
   2015   2014   2015   2014   2015 
           
 Adjusted EBITDA   $ 29,789  $ 29,042  $ 58,963  $ 58,099  $ 118,671
 Cash interest expense   (3,651)  (3,609)  (7,604)  (7,433)  (14,838)
 Capital expenditures   (23,744)  (27,376)  (52,916)  (51,315)  (98,307)
           
 Levered Free Cash Flow   $ 2,394  $ (1,943)  $ (1,557)  $ (649)  $ 5,526
           
         
Hawaiian Telcom Holdco, Inc.
Volume Information
(Unaudited)
         
   June 30,   June 30,   Change 
   2015   2014   Number   Percentage 
         
 Voice access lines         
 Residential   160,819  177,953  (17,134) -9.6%
 Business   185,975  190,754  (4,779) -2.5%
 Public   3,638  4,028  (390) -9.7%
   350,432  372,735  (22,303) -6.0%
         
 High-Speed Internet lines         
 Residential   93,338  91,405  1,933 2.1%
 Business   19,759  19,465  294 1.5%
 Wholesale   749  866  (117) -13.5%
   113,846  111,736  2,110 1.9%
         
 Long distance lines         
 Residential   101,648  112,231  (10,583) -9.4%
 Business   75,719  78,522  (2,803) -3.6%
   177,367  190,753  (13,386) -7.0%
         
 Video services         
 Subscribers   31,921  23,101  8,820 38.2%
 Homes Enabled   175,000  142,000  33,000 23.2%
         
         
   June 30,   March 31,   Change 
   2015   2015   Number   Percentage 
         
 Voice access lines         
 Residential   160,819  165,074  (4,255) -2.6%
 Business   185,975  187,300  (1,325) -0.7%
 Public   3,638  3,733  (95) -2.5%
   350,432  356,107  (5,675) -1.6%
         
 High-Speed Internet lines         
 Residential   93,338  93,090  248 0.3%
 Business   19,759  19,624  135 0.7%
 Wholesale   749  796  (47) -5.9%
   113,846  113,510  336 0.3%
         
 Long distance lines         
 Residential   101,648  104,527  (2,879) -2.8%
 Business   75,719  76,916  (1,197) -1.6%
   177,367  181,443  (4,076) -2.2%
         
 Video services         
 Subscribers   31,921  29,721  2,200 7.4%
 Homes Enabled   175,000  166,000  9,000 5.4%


            

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