Alaska Communications Reports Fourth Quarter and Year-end 2019 Results

• Delivers Strong Fourth Quarter Leading 2019 to Meet or Exceed Guidance
• Reports Revenue of $231.7 Million and Net Income of $4.9 Million
• Increases Adjusted EBITDA to $62.7 Million, Up from $60.2 Million in 2018
• Posts Adjusted Free Cash Flow of $16.0 Million, Up from $7.2 Million in 2018
• Increases in Fiber Miles 12% across Statewide Network in 2019 vs. 2018
• The Board Approves One-time Dividend of $0.09 per share totaling ~$5 Million

ANCHORAGE, Alaska--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Alaska Communications Systems Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALSK) today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2019.

“We are pleased with strong 2019 results and achievements, driven by demand for fiber infrastructure and high-performance broadband growth. Our strategic initiatives contributed to better than expected Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Free Cash Flow. As a result, the Board approved a one-time $0.09 per share dividend, while continuing to invest in attractive value creating projects.

“With our customer centric approach and prefunded projects, we have accelerated our fiber footprint expansion by over 16,000 fiber miles in 2019, increasing to 146,000 fiber miles across Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. In 2020, we expect the strength of our fiber footprint and relationships to continue to improve results and sustain long-term growth for our shareholders,” said Bill Bishop, President & CEO.

Fourth Quarter 2019 Compared to Fourth Quarter 2018

• Total revenue was $58.3 million, compared to $58.7 million, a decrease of 0.7%
  • Business and wholesale revenue was $38.3 million, compared to $37.0 million, up 3.5%.
  • Consumer revenue was steady at $9.2 million for both periods.
  • Regulatory revenue was $10.8 million, compared to $12.5 million, a decrease of 13.6%, as expected due to the restructuring of the Alaska Universal Service program.
• Operating expenses were $51.3 million, compared to $53.8 million.
• Operating income was $7.0 million, compared to $4.9 million.
• Net income was $2.6 million, compared to $1.7 million.
• Capital expenditures excluding prefunded projects were $10.0 million, compared to $12.5 million, which includes planned investments to continue our 5G wireless backhaul project.
• Adjusted EBITDA was $17.9 million, compared to $14.1 million.
• Adjusted Free Cash Flow was $9.7 million, including a tax refund of $5.1 million, compared to adjusted free cash outflow of $3.0 million.

Full Year 2019 Compared to Full Year 2018

• Total revenue was $231.7 million, compared to $232.5 million, a decrease of 0.3%.
  • Business and wholesale revenue was $150.6 million, compared to $144.6 million, up 4.1%.
  • Consumer revenue was $37.0 million, compared to $37.3 million, a decrease of 0.8%.
  • Regulatory revenue was $44.1 million, compared to $50.6 million, a decrease of 12.8%, as expected due to the restructuring of the Alaska Universal Service program.
• Operating expenses were $209.8 million, compared to $208.2 million.
• Operating income was $22.0 million, compared to $24.3 million.
• Net income was $4.9 million, compared to $9.1 million.
• Capital expenditures excluding prefunded projects were $41.4 million, compared to $38.0 million, which includes planned investments to continue our 5G wireless backhaul project.
• Adjusted EBITDA was $62.7 million, compared to $60.2 million.
• Adjusted Free Cash Flow was $16.0 million, including a tax refund of $5.1 million, compared to $7.2 million. Compared to guidance, which was without prefunded projects or CEO severance, the company achieved $12.1 million.

Balance Sheet Highlights

• Cash was $28.3 million at December 31, 2019, compared to $15.0 million at December 31, 2018.
• Net debt was $153.8 million at December 31, 2019, compared to $161.2 million at December 31, 2018.

Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to GAAP financial measures can be found in tables at the end of this release and on the Company’s website at http://www.alsk.com in the investment data section.

Laurie Butcher, Alaska Communications chief financial officer, said, “We met or exceeded our guidance in all areas for 2019. Business and wholesale revenue growth of 4.1% substantially offset anticipated decreases in regulatory revenue. Regulatory revenue declines are expected to have less of an impact in 2020 and future years.

“Also, in 2019, cost initiatives contributed to a 4.3% increase in Adjusted EBITDA and, combined with the AMT tax refund and net cash inflows associated with prefunded projects, drove an $8.7 million increase in Adjusted Free Cash Flow year over year. Our guidance for 2020 reflects our confidence for continued growth in total revenue and Adjusted EBITDA, while maintaining consistent capital expenditures, exclusive of prefunded projects.”

2019 Performance and 2020 Guidance

Conference Call

The Company will host a conference call and live webcast on Wednesday, March 11, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss the results. Parties in the United States and Canada can access the call at 1-888-220-8474 and enter pass code 5227203. All other parties can access the call at 1-323-794-2588 and use the same code.

The live webcast of the conference call will be accessible from the "Events Calendar" section of the Company's website (www.alsk.com). The webcast will be archived for a period of 30 days. A telephonic replay of the conference call will also be available two hours after the call and will run until April 10, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. To hear the replay, parties in the U.S. and Canada can call 1-888-203-1112 and enter pass code 5227203. All other parties can call 1-719-457-0820 and enter pass code 5227203.

About Alaska Communications

Alaska Communications (NASDAQ: ALSK) is the leading provider of advanced broadband and managed IT services for businesses and consumers in Alaska. The Company operates a highly reliable, advanced statewide data network with the latest technology and the most diverse undersea fiber optic system connecting Alaska to the contiguous U.S. For more information, visit www.alaskacommunications.com or www.alsk.com.

Non-GAAP Measures

In an effort to provide investors with additional information regarding our financial results, we have provided certain non-GAAP financial information, including Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Free Cash Flow and Net Debt. Adjusted EBITDA eliminates the effects of period to period changes in costs that are not directly attributable to the underlying performance of the Company’s business operations and is used by Management and the Company’s Board of Directors to evaluate current operating financial performance, analyze and evaluate strategic and operational decisions and better evaluate comparability between periods. Adjusted Free Cash Flow is a non-GAAP liquidity measured used by Management and the Company’s Board of Directors to assess the Company’s ability to generate cash and plan for future operating and capital actions. Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Free Cash Flow are common measures utilized by our peers (other telecommunications companies) and we believe they provide useful information to investors and analysts about the Company’s operating results, financial condition and cash flows. Net Debt provides Management and the Company’s Board of Directors with a measure of the Company’s current leverage position. The definition and computation of these non-GAAP measures are provided on Schedules 4, 6 and 9 to this press release. Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Free Cash Flow should not be considered a substitute for Net Income, Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities and other measures of financial performance recorded in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliations of our non-GAAP measures to our nearest GAAP measures can be found in the tables in this release. Other companies may not calculate non-GAAP measures in the same manner as Alaska Communications. The Company does not provide reconciliations of guidance for Adjusted EBITDA to Net Income, and Adjusted Free Cash Flow to Net Cash from Operating Activities, in reliance on the unreasonable efforts exception provided under Item 10(e)(1)(i)(B) of Regulation S-K. The Company does not forecast certain items required to develop the comparable GAAP financial measures. These items are charges and benefits for uncollectible accounts, certain other non-cash expenses, unusual items typically excluded from Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Free Cash Flow, and changes in operating assets and liabilities (generally the most significant of these items, representing cash inflows of $12.3 million in the twelve-month period of 2019).

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes certain "forward-looking statements," as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs as well as on a number of assumptions concerning future events made using information currently available to management. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which are not a guarantee of performance and are subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the Company’s control. Such factors include, without limitation changes in technology and related standards, the impact of natural or man-made disasters and accidents, Federal and Alaska Universal Service Fund changes and our current and historical compliance with the obligations of those programs, structural declines for voice and other legacy services, maintenance or IT issues, third-party intellectual property claims, potential pension shortfalls, the success or failure of future strategic transactions, funding through the rural health care universal service support mechanism and our ability to comply and our history of compliance with the regulatory requirements to receive those support payments, our ability to service our debt and refinance as required, adverse economic conditions, our success in providing broadband services on the Northslope and Western Alaska, the effects of competition in our markets, our relatively small size compared with our competitors, the Company’s ability to compete, manage, integrate, market, maintain, and attract sufficient customers for its products and services, adverse changes in labor matters, including workforce levels, labor negotiations, employee benefit costs, our ability to control other operating costs, disruption of our supplier’s provisioning of critical products or services, the actions of activist shareholders, changes in Company's relationships with large customers, unforeseen changes in public policies, regulatory changes, our internal control over financial reporting, and changes in accounting standards or policies, which could affect reported financial results. For further information regarding risks and uncertainties associated with the Company’s business, please refer to the Company's SEC filings, including, but not limited to, the sections entitled "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in our annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Copies of the Company's SEC filings may be obtained by contacting its investor relations department at (907) 564-7556 or by visiting its investor relations website at www.alsk.com.

NonGAAP Measures:

The Company provides certain non-GAAP financial information, including Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Free Cash Flow and Net Debt. Adjusted EBITDA eliminates the effects of period to period changes in costs that are not directly attributable to the underlying performance of the Company’s business operations and is used by Management and the Company’s Board of Directors to evaluate current operating financial performance, analyze and evaluate strategic and operational decisions and better evaluate comparability between periods. Adjusted Free Cash Flow is a non-GAAP liquidity measure used by Management to assess the Company’s ability to generate cash and plan for future operating and capital actions. Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Free Cash Flow are common measures utilized by our peers (other telecommunications companies) and we believe they provide useful information to investors and analysts about the Company’s operating results, financial condition and cash flows. Net Debt provides Management and the Board of Directors with a measure of the Company’s current leverage position.

The Company does not provide reconciliations of guidance for Adjusted EBITDA to Net Income, and Adjusted Free Cash Flow to Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities, in reliance on the unreasonable efforts exception provided under Item 10(e)(1)(i)(B) of Regulation S-K. The Company does not forecast certain items required to develop the comparable GAAP financial measures. These items are charges and benefits for uncollectible accounts, certain other non-cash expenses, unusual items typically excluded from Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Free Cash Flow, and changes in operating assets and liabilities (generally the most significant of these items, representing cash inflows of $12.3 million in the twelve-month period ended December 31, 2019).

Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Free Cash Flow are not GAAP measures and should not be considered a substitute for net income, net cash provided by operating activities, or net cash provided or used. Adjusted EBITDA as computed above is not consistent with the definition of Consolidated EBITDA referenced in our 2019 Senior Credit Facility, and other companies may not calculate Non-GAAP measures in the same manner we do.

Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income before interest expense and income, loss on extinguishment of debt, depreciation and amortization, other income and expense, gain or loss on asset purchases or disposals, provision for income taxes, stock-based compensation, cash severance expense for the Company's former Chief Executive Officer and net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest.

NonGAAP Measures:

Adjusted Free Cash Flow is a non-GAAP liquidity measure and is defined as Adjusted EBITDA, less recurring operating cash requirements which include capital expenditures, cash income taxes refunded or paid, cash interest paid, amortization of GCI capacity revenue, cash severance expense for the Company's former Chief Executive Officer, and cash receipts and payments, deferred costs and amortized revenue and expense associated with certain prefunded special projects as defined in the 2019 Senior Credit Facility. Amortization of deferred revenue associated with our interconnection agreement with GCI is excluded from Adjusted Free Cash Flow because no cash was received by the Company in connection with this agreement. Amortization of all other deferred revenue, including that associated with other IRU capacity arrangements, is included in Adjusted Free Cash Flow because cash was received by the Company, typically at contract inception, and is being recognized as revenue over the term of the relevant agreement.

See Schedule 3 for Net cash provided by operating activities, Net cash used by investing activities, and Net cash used by financing activities.

See Schedule 5 for the reconciliation of net cash provided by operating activities to Adjusted Free Cash Flow.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200310005869/en/

Media Contact
Heather Cavanaugh, 907-564-7722
Director, External Affairs and Corporate Communications

Investor Contact
Tiffany Smith, 907-564-7556
Manager, Board and Investor Relations
investors@acsalaska.com

Source: Alaska Communications Systems Group, Inc.