Charter Announces Fourth Quarter 2018 Results
STAMFORD, Conn., Jan. 31, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Charter Communications, Inc. (along with its subsidiaries, the "Company" or "Charter") today reported financial and operating results for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2018.
Key highlights:
-- During the fourth quarter, Charter completed its all-digital and DOCSIS
3.1 initiatives. As of December 31, 2018, virtually all of Charter's
national footprint was all-digital and Charter's Spectrum Internet Gig
service is now available throughout Charter's footprint.
-- Fourth quarter total residential and SMB customer relationships
increased 248,000, compared to 209,000 during the fourth quarter of
2017. During the year ended December 31, 2018, total residential and SMB
customer relationships grew by 3.5% to 28.1 million, and total
residential and SMB Internet customers grew by 1.3 million, or 5.3% to
25.3 million, with 329,000 residential and SMB Internet customer net
additions in the fourth quarter of 2018.
-- Fourth quarter revenues of $11.2 billion grew 5.9%, as compared to the
prior year period, driven by residential revenue growth of 3.9%,
commercial revenue growth of 4.5%, and advertising revenue growth of
34.1%.
-- Fourth quarter Adjusted EBITDA(1) of $4.2 billion grew 4.6%
year-over-year, and 7.6% when excluding fourth quarter mobile revenue
and operating expenses.
-- For the year ended December 31, 2018, revenues rose to $43.6 billion,
4.9% higher than in 2017. Adjusted EBITDA totaled $16.1 billion for the
year ended December 31, 2018, an increase of 5.0% compared to the prior
year. Excluding mobile revenue and operating expenses in 2018, Adjusted
EBITDA grew by 6.5% year-over-year.
-- Net income attributable to Charter shareholders totaled $296 million in
the fourth quarter, compared to $9.6 billion during the same period last
year. For the year ended December 31, 2018, net income attributable to
Charter shareholders totaled $1.2 billion, compared to $9.9 billion in
2017. The year-over-year decrease in net income in the fourth quarter
and for the year ended December 31, 2018 was primarily driven by a GAAP
tax benefit from a reduction in the deferred tax liability as a result
of Federal tax reform in 2017.
-- Fourth quarter capital expenditures totaled $2.4 billion and included
$28 million of all-digital costs and $106 million of mobile-related
capital expenditures. For the year ended December 31, 2018, capital
expenditures totaled $9.1 billion, or $8.9 billion excluding
mobile-related capital expenditures.
-- During the fourth quarter, Charter purchased approximately 4.3 million
shares of Charter Class A common stock and Charter Communications
Holdings, LLC ("Charter Holdings") common units for approximately $1.4
billion. For the year ended December 31, 2018, Charter purchased
approximately 16.2 million shares of Charter Class A common stock and
Charter Holdings common units for approximately $5.0 billion.
"We performed well in 2018, growing our Internet customer base by 1.3 million, cable revenue by 4.7%, and cable Adjusted EBITDA by 6.5% -- very strong operating and financial performance, particularly in the midst of what we believe is the largest cable integration ever," said Tom Rutledge, Chairman and CEO of Charter Communications. "In 2019, we expect the operating and cash flow performance of our cable business will further demonstrate the superiority of our network, the returns of our recent investments, and the long-term value creation driven by our consumer-focused operating strategy."
1. Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA
- Cable, free cash flow and
free cash flow - Cable are
non-GAAP measures defined in
the "Use of Adjusted EBITDA and
Free Cash Flow Information"
section and are reconciled to
consolidated net income and net
cash flows from operating
activities, respectively, in
the addendum of this news
release.
Key Operating Results
Approximate as of
December 31, December 31, Y/Y Change
2018 (a) 2017 (a)
Footprint (b)
---
Estimated Video Passings 50,824 49,973 1.7
%
Estimated Internet
Passings 50,652 49,727 1.9
%
Estimated Voice Passings 50,086 48,995 2.2
%
Penetration Statistics
(c)
---
Video Penetration of 32.7 33.7
Estimated Video Passings % % (1.0)
ppts
Internet Penetration of
Estimated Internet % %
Passings 49.9 48.2 1.7
ppts
Voice Penetration of 22.3 23.2
Estimated Voice Passings % % (0.9)
ppts
Customer Relationships
(d)
---
Residential 26,270 25,499 3.0
%
Small and Medium Business 1,833 1,662 10.2
%
Total Customer
Relationships 28,103 27,161 3.5
%
Residential
---
Primary Service Units
("PSUs")
---
Video 16,104 16,400 (1.8)
%
Internet 23,625 22,518 4.9
%
Voice 10,135 10,424 (2.8)
%
49,864 49,342 1.1
%
Quarterly Net Additions/
(Losses)
---
Video (36) 2
NM
Internet 289 263 10.1
%
Voice (83) 23
NM
170 288 (40.9)
%
Single Play (e) 10,928 10,341 5.7
%
Double Play (e) 7,097 6,473 9.6
%
Triple Play (e) 8,245 8,685 (5.1)
%
Single Play Penetration 41.6 40.6
(f) % % 1.0
ppts
Double Play Penetration 27.0 25.4
(f) % % 1.6
ppts
Triple Play Penetration 31.4 34.1
(f) % % (2.7)
ppts
% Residential Non-Video 38.7 35.7
Customer Relationships % % 3.0
ppts
Monthly Residential
Revenue per Residential
Customer (g) $111.78 $110.74 0.9
%
Small and Medium Business
---
PSUs
---
Video 502 450 11.5
%
Internet 1,634 1,470 11.1
%
Voice 1,051 930 13.1
%
3,187 2,850 11.8
%
Quarterly Net Additions/
(Losses)
---
Video 14 12 10.1
%
Internet 40 41 (2.5)
%
Voice 27 32 (11.6)
%
81 85 (4.0)
%
Monthly Small and Medium
Business Revenue per %
Customer (h) $170.62 $181.57 (6.0)
Enterprise PSUs (i)
---
Enterprise PSUs 248 220 13.0
%
Footnotes
In thousands, except per customer and penetration data. See footnotes to unaudited summary of operating statistics on page 5 of the addendum of this news release. The footnotes contain important disclosures regarding the definitions used for these operating statistics.
All percentages are calculated using whole numbers. Minor differences may exist due to rounding. NM - Not meaningful
During the fourth quarter of 2018, Charter's residential customer relationships grew by 207,000, while fourth quarter 2017 residential customer relationships grew by 170,000. Residential PSUs increased by 170,000 in the fourth quarter of 2018, compared to fourth quarter 2017 residential PSU net additions of 288,000. The year-over-year decrease in PSU net additions was driven by a decline in voice and video net additions in the fourth quarter of 2018. As of December 31, 2018, Charter had 26.3 million residential customer relationships and 49.9 million residential PSUs.
Charter added 289,000 residential Internet customers in the fourth quarter of 2018, versus fourth quarter 2017 Internet customer net additions of 263,000. As of December 31, 2018, Charter had 23.6 million residential Internet customers, with over 80% of those residential Internet customers subscribing to tiers that provided 100 Mbps or more of speed. Currently, 100 Mbps is the slowest speed offered to new Internet customers in 99% of Charter's footprint. Additionally, Charter has doubled minimum Internet speeds to 200 Mbps in a number of markets at no additional cost to new and existing Spectrum Internet customers.
During the fourth quarter, Charter further expanded the availability of its Spectrum Internet Gig service to a number of new markets. The service, which uses DOCSIS 3.1 technology, is now available in 99% of Charter's footprint.
Residential video customers decreased by 36,000 in the fourth quarter of 2018, while fourth quarter 2017 video customers increased by 2,000. As of December 31, 2018, Charter had 16.1 million residential video customers.
During the fourth quarter of 2018, Charter completed its all-digital efforts in its Legacy TWC and Legacy Bright House footprints. As of December 31, 2018, virtually all of Charter's national footprint was all-digital. All-digital allows Charter to offer more advanced products and services, and provides residential customers with two-way digital set-top boxes, which offer better video picture quality, an interactive programming guide and video on demand on all TV outlets in the home.
During the fourth quarter of 2018, residential voice customers declined by 83,000, while fourth quarter 2017 voice customers grew by 23,000. As of December 31, 2018, Charter had 10.1 million residential voice customers.
Fourth quarter 2018 residential revenue per customer relationship (excluding mobile revenue) totaled $111.78, and grew by 0.9% compared to the prior year period, as promotional rate step-ups and modest rate adjustments, were partly offset by continued single play Internet sell-in.
In September of 2018, Charter completed the full market launch of its Spectrum Mobile(TM)( )service to new and existing Spectrum Internet customers across its footprint. Spectrum Mobile runs on America's largest, most reliable LTE network and is combined with a nationwide network of Spectrum WiFi hotspots. Spectrum Mobile customers can choose one of two simple ways to pay for data, "Unlimited" for $45 a month (per line), or "By the Gig" at $14/GB. During the fourth quarter of 2018, Charter added 113,000 mobile lines, and as of December 31, 2018, Charter served a total of 134,000 mobile lines.
SMB customer relationships grew by 41,000 during the fourth quarter of 2018, compared to growth of 39,000 during the fourth quarter of 2017. SMB PSUs increased 81,000, compared to 85,000 during the fourth quarter of 2017. As of December 31, 2018, Charter had 1.8 million SMB customer relationships and 3.2 million SMB PSUs. Enterprise PSUs grew by 5,000 during the fourth quarter of 2018 compared to growth of 10,000 during the fourth quarter of 2017. As of December 31, 2018, Charter had 248,000 enterprise PSUs.
Fourth Quarter Financial Results
CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND OPERATING DATA
(dollars in millions, except per share data)
Three Months Ended December 31,
2018 2017 % Change
---
REVENUES:
Video $
4,361 $
4,220 3.4
%
Internet 3,895 3,637 7.1
%
Voice 515 587 (12.3)
%
Residential revenue 8,771 8,444 3.9
%
Small and medium business 928 895 3.6
%
Enterprise 647 612 5.7
%
Commercial revenue 1,575 1,507 4.5
%
Advertising sales 562 419 34.1
%
Mobile 89
NM
Other 234 232 1.2
%
Total Revenue 11,231 10,602 5.9
%
COSTS AND EXPENSES:
Operating costs and 6,856 6,621 3.6
expenses -Cable %
Operating costs and
expenses -Mobile 211
NM
Total operating costs and 7,067 6,621 6.7
expenses %
Adjusted EBITDA $
4,164 $
3,981 4.6
%
Adjusted EBITDA margin 37.1 37.5
% %
Adjusted EBITDA -Cable $
4,286 $
3,981 7.6
%
Adjusted EBITDA margin - 38.5 37.5
Cable
% %
Capital Expenditures $
2,433 $
2,585
% Total Revenues 21.7 24.4
% %
Net income attributable to
Charter shareholders $
296 $
9,553
Earnings per common share attributable to
Charter shareholders:
Basic $
1.31 $
39.66
Diluted $
1.29 $
34.56
Net cash flows from
operating activities $
3,168 $
3,258
Free cash flow $
885 $
1,217
Free cash flow -Cable $
1,189 $
1,217
Revenue
Fourth quarter revenues rose 5.9% year-over-year to $11.2 billion, driven by growth in Internet, advertising, video and commercial revenues. Excluding advertising revenue, which benefited from political spend in the fourth quarter of 2018 and mobile, revenue grew 3.9% year-over-year.
Video revenues totaled $4.4 billion in the fourth quarter, an increase of 3.4% compared to prior year period. Video revenue growth was driven by annual rate adjustments, promotional rolloff and higher bundled revenue allocation relating to the launch of Spectrum pricing and packaging in Legacy TWC and Legacy Bright House.
Internet revenues grew 7.1%, compared to the year-ago quarter, to $3.9 billion, driven by growth in Internet customers during the last year, promotional rolloff and rate adjustments.
Voice revenues totaled $515 million in the fourth quarter, a decrease of 12.3% compared to the fourth quarter of 2017, driven by value-based pricing, lower bundled revenue allocation relating to the launch of Spectrum pricing and packaging in Legacy TWC and Legacy Bright House, and a decline in voice customers over the last twelve months.
Commercial revenues rose to $1.6 billion, an increase of 4.5% over the prior year period, driven by enterprise revenue growth of 5.7% and SMB revenue growth of 3.6%. Fourth quarter 2018 commercial revenue growth was lower than fourth quarter 2018 commercial customer relationship growth, given the migration of Legacy TWC and Legacy Bright House commercial customers to more attractively priced Spectrum pricing and packaging for both SMB and enterprise services.
Fourth quarter advertising sales revenues of $562 million increased 34.1% compared to the year-ago quarter, driven by higher political revenue. Fourth quarter mobile revenue totaled $89 million.
Operating Costs and Expenses
Fourth quarter total operating costs and expenses increased by $446 million, or 6.7% year-over-year, and 3.6% when excluding fourth quarter mobile costs.
Fourth quarter programming expense increased by $147 million, or 5.5% as compared to the fourth quarter of 2017, reflecting contractual programming increases and renewals, partly offset by lower video customers.
Regulatory, connectivity and produced content expenses increased by $60 million, or 11.8% year-over-year, primarily driven by higher franchise and regulatory fees, sports and news costs and the Company's adoption of FASB's ASU 2014-09 as of January 1, 2018.
Costs to service customers decreased by $15 million, or 0.8% year-over-year, despite year-over-year residential and SMB customer growth of 3.5%. The year-over-year decrease in costs to service customers was primarily the result of a decrease in bad debt.
Marketing expenses decreased by $18 million, or 2.3% year-over-year.
Other expenses increased by $61 million, or 7.0% as compared to the fourth quarter of 2017 driven by higher advertising sales, software costs, property tax and insurance costs and costs related to the launch of Charter's Spectrum 1 News channel in Los Angeles.
In the fourth quarter of 2018, mobile costs were comprised of launch costs, device costs and service and operating costs totaling $211 million.
Adjusted EBITDA
Fourth quarter Adjusted EBITDA of $4.2 billion grew by 4.6% year-over-year, reflecting revenue growth and operating expense growth of 5.9% and 6.7%, respectively. Excluding mobile revenue and mobile operating expenses in the fourth quarter of 2018, Adjusted EBITDA grew by 7.6% year-over-year.
Net Income Attributable to Charter Shareholders
Net income attributable to Charter shareholders totaled $296 million in the fourth quarter of 2018, compared to $9.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2017. The year-over-year decrease in net income was primarily driven by a GAAP tax benefit from a reduction in the deferred tax liability as a result of Federal tax reform in 2017 offset by higher Adjusted EBITDA and lower deprecation and amortization costs.
Net income per basic common share attributable to Charter shareholders totaled $1.31 in the fourth quarter of 2018 compared to $39.66 during the same period last year. The decrease was primarily the result of the factors described above offset by a 5.7% decrease in weighted average common shares outstanding versus the prior year period.
Capital Expenditures
Property, plant and equipment expenditures totaled $2.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2018, compared to $2.6 billion during the fourth quarter of 2017, primarily driven by a decline in CPE and scalable infrastructure spending. The decrease in CPE spending was mostly driven by lower set-top box purchases given a year-over-year decline in the pace of migration of Legacy TWC and Legacy Bright House customers to Spectrum pricing and packaging and a decline in all-digital activity. The decrease in scalable infrastructure spending was related to more consistent timing of in-year spend. Support capital declined due to lower back office systems spend, timing of vehicle purchases and lower facilities improvement, partly offset by $99 million of support capital spending related to Spectrum Mobile. Fourth quarter capital expenditures included $28 million of all-digital costs and $106 million of mobile costs.
Cash Flow and Free Cash Flow
During the fourth quarter of 2018, net cash flows from operating activities totaled $3.2 billion, compared to $3.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2017. The year-over-year decline in net cash flows from operating activities was primarily due to a smaller working capital benefit and higher cash interest, partly offset by higher Adjusted EBITDA and lower severance-related expenses.
Consolidated free cash flow for the fourth quarter of 2018 totaled $885 million, compared to $1.2 billion during the same period last year. The decrease was driven by lower net cash flows from operating activities and a smaller increase in accrued capital expenditures in the fourth quarter of 2018 versus the prior year quarter, partly offset by lower capital expenditures. Excluding the impact of mobile revenue, expenses, capital expenditures and working capital from devices, fourth quarter 2018 free cash flow totaled $1.2 billion.
Liquidity & Financing
As of December 31, 2018, total principal amount of debt was $72.0 billion and Charter's credit facilities provided approximately $2.8 billion of additional liquidity in excess of Charter's $551 million cash position.
In January 2019, Charter Communications Operating, LLC ("CCO") and Charter Communications Operating Capital Corp. issued $1.25 billion of 5.050% senior secured notes due 2029 and $750 million of 5.750% senior secured notes due 2048 (collectively, the "Notes"). Charter intends to use the net proceeds from the sale of the Notes for general corporate purposes, including to fund potential buybacks of Class A common stock of Charter or common units of Charter Holdings and to repay certain indebtedness, including to repurchase, redeem or repay at maturity Time Warner Cable, LLC's 8.750% senior notes due 2019 and/or to repay a portion of the outstanding balance under CCO's revolving credit facility.
In January 2019, Charter Operating entered into an amendment to its Credit Agreement raising an additional $1.7 billion term loan A-3 and increasing revolving loan capacity to $4.75 billion from $4.0 billion, as well as extending the maturities on a portion of the term loan A-2 and a portion of the revolving loan to 2024.
Share Repurchases
During the three months ended December 31, 2018, Charter purchased approximately 4.3 million shares of Charter Class A common stock and Charter Holdings common units for approximately $1.4 billion.
Year to Date Financial Results
CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND OPERATING DATA
(dollars in millions, except per share data)
Year Ended December 31,
2018 2017 % Change
---
REVENUES:
Video $
17,348 $
16,621 4.4
%
Internet 15,181 14,101 7.7
%
Voice 2,114 2,542 (16.8)
%
Residential revenue 34,643 33,264 4.1
%
Small and medium business 3,665 3,547 3.3
%
Enterprise 2,528 2,373 6.5
%
Commercial revenue 6,193 5,920 4.6
%
Advertising sales 1,785 1,510 18.2
%
Mobile 106 NM
Other 907 887 2.3
%
Total Revenue 43,634 41,581 4.9
%
COSTS AND EXPENSES:
Operating costs and 27,229 26,280 3.6
expenses -Cable %
Operating costs and
expenses -Mobile 346 NM
Total operating costs and 27,575 26,280 4.9
expenses %
Adjusted EBITDA $
16,059 $
15,301 5.0
%
Adjusted EBITDA margin 36.8 36.8
% %
Adjusted EBITDA -Cable $
16,299 $
15,301 6.5
%
Adjusted EBITDA margin - 37.4 36.8
Cable
% %
Capital Expenditures $
9,125 $
8,681
% Total Revenues 20.9 20.9
% %
Net income attributable to
Charter shareholders $
1,230 $
9,895
Earnings per common share attributable to
Charter shareholders:
Basic $
5.29 $
38.55
Diluted $
5.22 $
34.09
Net cash flows from
operating activities $
11,767 $
11,954
Free cash flow $
2,172 $
4,093
Free cash flow -Cable $
2,766 $
4,093
Revenue
For the year ended December 31, 2018, revenues rose to $43.6 billion, 4.9% higher than in 2017 driven by continued growth in Internet, video, commercial and advertising revenues. Excluding advertising revenue, which benefited from political spend in the fourth quarter of 2018 and mobile revenue, revenue grew 4.2% year-over-year.
Operating Costs and Expenses
Operating costs and expenses totaled $27.6 billion in 2018, an increase of $1.3 billion, or 4.9% compared to the year-ago period, primarily driven by an increase in programming costs, and grew 3.6% year-over-year when excluding mobile costs.
Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA totaled $16.1 billion for the year ended December 31, 2018, an increase of 5.0% compared to 2017, reflecting revenue growth and operating cost and expense growth of 4.9% each. Excluding mobile revenue and mobile operating expenses in 2018, Adjusted EBITDA grew by 6.5% year-over-year.
Net Income Attributable to Charter Shareholders
Net income attributable to Charter shareholders totaled $1.2 billion for the year ended December 31, 2018, compared to $9.9 billion in 2017. The year-over-year decrease in net income was primarily related to a GAAP tax benefit from a reduction in the deferred tax liability as a result of Federal tax reform in December 2017 and higher interest expense offset by higher Adjusted EBITDA and lower depreciation and amortization expense. Net income per basic common share attributable to Charter shareholders totaled $5.29 for the year ended December 31, 2018, compared to $38.55 during the same period last year.
Capital Expenditures
Capital expenditures totaled $9.1 billion for the year ended December 31, 2018, compared to $8.7 billion in 2017. The increase was primarily the result of integration-related spending, including product improvements and mobile-related systems and facilities spend. Capital expenditures for the year ended December 31, 2018 included $344 million of all-digital costs and $242 million of mobile costs.
We currently expect capital expenditures, excluding capital expenditures related to mobile, to be approximately $7 billion in 2019, versus $8.9 billion in 2018. Our expectation for lower capital expenditures in 2019 versus 2018, is primarily driven by our expectation for lower customer premise equipment spend with the completion of our all-digital conversion, lower scalable infrastructure spend with the completion of the roll-out of DOCSIS 3.1 technology across our footprint and lower support capital spend with the substantial completion of the integration of Legacy TWC and Legacy Bright House.
Cash Flow & Free Cash Flow
In 2018, net cash flows from operating activities totaled $11.8 billion, compared to $12.0 billion in 2017. The year-over-year decrease in net cash flows from operating activities was primarily due to an unfavorable change in working capital in 2018 versus a working capital benefit in 2017 and higher cash paid for interest, partly offset by higher Adjusted EBITDA.
Free cash flow for the year ended December 31, 2018 was $2.2 billion, compared to $4.1 billion during the same period last year. The decrease was due to lower cash flow from operating activities, higher cash payments for capital expenditures due to both a higher level of in-year capital expenditures and a lower amount of associated payables at December 31, 2018. Excluding the impact of mobile revenue, expenses, capital expenditures and working capital from devices, free cash flow for the year ended December 31, 2018 totaled $2.8 billion.
Share Repurchases
For the year ended December 31, 2018, Charter purchased approximately 16.2 million shares of Charter Class A common stock and Charter Holdings common units for approximately $5.0 billion.
Conference Call
Charter will host a conference call on Thursday, January 31, 2019 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) related to the contents of this release.
The conference call will be webcast live via the Company's investor relations website at ir.charter.com. The call will be archived under the "Financial Information" section two hours after completion of the call. Participants should go to the webcast link no later than 10 minutes prior to the start time to register.
Those participating via telephone should dial 866-919-0894 no later than 10 minutes prior to the call. International participants should dial 706-679-9379. The conference ID code for the call is 4699068.
A replay of the call will be available at 855-859-2056 or 404-537-3406 beginning two hours after the completion of the call through the end of business on February 14, 2019. The conference ID code for the replay is 4699068.
Additional Information Available on Website
The information in this press release should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and footnotes contained in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, which will be posted on the "Financial Information" section of our investor relations website at ir.charter.com, when it is filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). A slide presentation to accompany the conference call and a trending schedule containing historical customer and financial data will also be available in the "Financial Information" section.
Use of Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash Flow Information
The company uses certain measures that are not defined by U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") to evaluate various aspects of its business. Adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow are non-GAAP financial measures and should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for, consolidated net income and net cash flows from operating activities reported in accordance with GAAP. These terms, as defined by Charter, may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies. Adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow are reconciled to consolidated net income and net cash flows from operating activities, respectively, in the Addendum to this release.
Adjusted EBITDA is defined as consolidated net income plus net interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, stock compensation expense, loss on extinguishment of debt, (gain) loss on financial instruments, other expense, net and other operating (income) expenses, such as merger and restructuring costs, special charges and (gain) loss on sale or retirement of assets. As such, it eliminates the significant non-cash depreciation and amortization expense that results from the capital-intensive nature of the Company's businesses as well as other non-cash or special items, and is unaffected by the Company's capital structure or investment activities. However, this measure is limited in that it does not reflect the periodic costs of certain capitalized tangible and intangible assets used in generating revenues and the cash cost of financing. These costs are evaluated through other financial measures.
Free cash flow is defined as net cash flows from operating activities, less capital expenditures and changes in accrued expenses related to capital expenditures.
Management and Charter's board of directors use Adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow to assess Charter's performance and its ability to service its debt, fund operations and make additional investments with internally generated funds. In addition, Adjusted EBITDA generally correlates to the leverage ratio calculation under the Company's credit facilities or outstanding notes to determine compliance with the covenants contained in the facilities and notes (all such documents have been previously filed with the the SEC). For the purpose of calculating compliance with leverage covenants, the Company uses Adjusted EBITDA, as presented, excluding certain expenses paid by its operating subsidiaries to other Charter entities. The Company's debt covenants refer to these expenses as management fees, which were $274 million and $271 million for the three months ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively, and were $1.1 billion for both years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017.
Adjusted EBITDA-Cable is defined as Adjusted EBITDA less mobile revenues plus mobile operating costs and expenses. Free cash flow-Cable is defined as free cash flow plus net cash outflows from operating activities and capital expenditures related to mobile. Management and Charter's board of directors use Adjusted EBITDA-Cable and free cash flow-Cable to provide management and investors a more meaningful year over year perspective on the financial and operational performance and trends of our core cable business without the impact of the revenue, costs and capital expenditures in the initial funding period to grow a new product line as well as the negative working capital impacts from the timing of device-related cash flows when we provide the handset or tablet to customers pursuant to equipment installment plans.
About Charter
Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) is a leading broadband communications company and the second largest cable operator in the United States. Charter provides a full range of advanced residential broadband services, including Spectrum TV(®) programming, Spectrum Internet(®), Spectrum Voice(®), and Spectrum Mobile(TM). Under the Spectrum Business(®) brand, Charter provides scalable, and cost-effective broadband communications solutions to small and medium-sized business organizations, including Internet access, business telephone, and TV services. Through the Spectrum Enterprise brand, Charter is a national provider of scalable, fiber-based technology solutions serving many of America's largest businesses and communications service providers. Charter's advertising sales and production services are sold under the Spectrum Reach(®) brand. Charter's news and sports networks are operated under the Spectrum Networks brand. More information about Charter can be found at newsroom.charter.com.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This communication includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, regarding, among other things, our plans, strategies and prospects, both business and financial. Although we believe that our plans, intentions and expectations as reflected in or suggested by these forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or realize these plans, intentions or expectations. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions including, without limitation, the factors described under "Risk Factors" from time to time in our filings with the SEC. Many of the forward-looking statements contained in this communication may be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "should," "planned," "will," "may," "intend," "estimated," "aim," "on track," "target," "opportunity," "tentative," "positioning," "designed," "create," "predict," "project," "initiatives," "seek," "would," "could," "continue," "ongoing," "upside," "increases" and "potential," among others. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements we make in this communication are set forth in our annual report on Form 10-K, and in other reports or documents that we file from time to time with the SEC, and include, but are not limited to:
-- our ability to sustain and grow revenues and cash flow from operations
by offering video, Internet, voice, mobile, advertising and other
services to residential and commercial customers, to adequately meet the
customer experience demands in our service areas and to maintain and
grow our customer base, particularly in the face of increasingly
aggressive competition, the need for innovation and the related capital
expenditures;
-- the impact of competition from other market participants, including but
not limited to incumbent telephone companies, direct broadcast satellite
("DBS") operators, wireless broadband and telephone providers, digital
subscriber line ("DSL") providers, fiber to the home providers, video
provided over the Internet by (i) market participants that have not
historically competed in the multichannel video business, (ii)
traditional multichannel video distributors, and (iii) content providers
that have historically licensed cable networks to multichannel video
distributors, and providers of advertising over the Internet;
-- our ability to efficiently and effectively integrate acquired
operations;
-- the effects of governmental regulation on our business including costs,
disruptions and possible limitations on operating flexibility related
to, and our ability to comply with, regulatory conditions applicable to
us as a result of the Time Warner Cable Inc. and Bright House Networks,
LLC Transactions;
-- general business conditions, economic uncertainty or downturn,
unemployment levels and the level of activity in the housing sector;
-- our ability to obtain programming at reasonable prices or to raise
prices to offset, in whole or in part, the effects of higher programming
costs (including retransmission consents);
-- our ability to develop and deploy new products and technologies
including mobile products and any other consumer services and service
platforms;
-- any events that disrupt our networks, information systems or properties
and impair our operating activities or our reputation;
-- the ability to retain and hire key personnel;
-- the availability and access, in general, of funds to meet our debt
obligations prior to or when they become due and to fund our operations
and necessary capital expenditures, either through (i) cash on hand,
(ii) free cash flow, or (iii) access to the capital or credit markets;
and
-- our ability to comply with all covenants in our indentures and credit
facilities, any violation of which, if not cured in a timely manner,
could trigger a default of our other obligations under cross-default
provisions.
All forward-looking statements attributable to us or any person acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. We are under no duty or obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this communication.
CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND OPERATING DATA
(dollars in millions, except per share data)
Three Months Ended December 31,
Year Ended December 31,
2018 2017 % Change 2018 2017 % Change
---
REVENUES:
Video $
4,361 $
4,220 3.4 $
17,348 $
16,621 4.4
% %
Internet 3,895 3,637 7.1 15,181 14,101 7.7
% %
Voice 515 587 (12.3) 2,114 2,542 (16.8)
% %
Residential revenue 8,771 8,444 3.9 34,643 33,264 4.1
% %
Small and medium 928 895 3.6 3,665 3,547 3.3
business % %
Enterprise 647 612 5.7 2,528 2,373 6.5
% %
Commercial revenue 1,575 1,507 4.5 6,193 5,920 4.6
% %
Advertising sales 562 419 34.1 1,785 1,510 18.2
% %
Mobile 89 NM 106 NM
Other 234 232 1.2 907 887 2.3
% %
Total Revenue 11,231 10,602 5.9 43,634 41,581 4.9
% %
COSTS AND EXPENSES:
Programming 2,791 2,644 5.5 11,124 10,596 5.0
% %
Regulatory, connectivity 571 511 11.8 2,210 2,064 7.0
and produced content % %
Costs to service 1,835 1,850 (0.8)
customers %
% 7,327 7,235 1.3
Marketing 732 750 (2.3)
%
% 3,042 3,036 0.2
Mobile 211 NM 346 NM
Other expense 927 866 7.0 3,526 3,349 5.3
% %
Total operating costs
and expenses (exclusive % %
of items shown
separately below) 7,067 6,621 6.7 27,575 26,280 4.9
Adjusted EBITDA 4,164 3,981 4.6 16,059 15,301 5.0
% %
Adjusted EBITDA margin 37.1 37.5 36.8 36.8
%
%
%
%
Depreciation and
amortization 2,534 2,742 10,318 10,588
Stock compensation
expense 72 63 285 261
Other operating (income)
expenses, net 119 (28) 235 346
Income from operations 1,439 1,204 5,221 4,106
OTHER EXPENSES:
Interest expense, net (910) (840) (3,540) (3,090)
Loss on extinguishment
of debt - (5) (40)
Gain (loss) on financial
instruments, net (110) 84 (110) 69
Other pension benefits
(costs) (55) (8) 192 1
Other expense, net (2) (4) (77) (18)
(1,077) (773) (3,535) (3,078)
Income before income
taxes 362 431 1,686 1,028
Income tax benefit
(expense) (2) 9,186 (180) 9,087
Consolidated net income 360 9,617 1,506 10,115
Less: Net income
attributable to
noncontrolling
interests (64) (64) (276) (220)
Net income attributable
to Charter shareholders $
296 $
9,553 $
1,230 $
9,895
EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE
ATTRIBUTABLE TO CHARTER SHAREHOLDERS:
Basic $
1.31 $
39.66 $
5.29 $
38.55
Diluted $
1.29 $
34.56 $
5.22 $
34.09
Weighted average common
shares outstanding,
basic 227,005,966 240,833,636 232,356,665 256,720,715
Weighted average common
shares outstanding,
diluted 230,131,933 278,257,245 235,525,226 296,703,956
Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP
term. See page 6 of this
addendum for the reconciliation
of Adjusted EBITDA to
consolidated net income as
defined by GAAP. All
percentages are calculated using
whole numbers. Minor differences
may exist due to rounding. NM -
Not meaningful
CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(dollars in millions)
December 31,
2018 2017
---
ASSETS
CURRENT ASSETS:
Cash and cash equivalents $
551 $
621
Accounts receivable, net 1,733 1,635
Prepaid expenses and other
current assets 446 299
Total current assets 2,730 2,555
RESTRICTED CASH 214
INVESTMENT IN CABLE PROPERTIES:
Property, plant and equipment,
net 35,126 33,888
Customer relationships, net 9,565 11,951
Franchises 67,319 67,319
Goodwill 29,554 29,554
Total investment in cable
properties, net 141,564 142,712
OTHER NONCURRENT ASSETS 1,622 1,356
Total assets $
146,130 $
146,623
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
CURRENT LIABILITIES:
Accounts payable and accrued
liabilities $
8,805 $
9,045
Current portion of long-term
debt 3,290 2,045
Total current liabilities 12,095 11,090
LONG-TERM DEBT 69,537 68,186
DEFERRED INCOME TAXES 17,389 17,314
OTHER LONG-TERM LIABILITIES 2,837 2,502
SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY:
Controlling interest 36,285 39,084
Noncontrolling interests 7,987 8,447
Total shareholders' equity 44,272 47,531
Total liabilities and
shareholders' equity $
146,130 $
146,623
CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(dollars in millions)
Three Months Ended Year Ended December 31,
December 31,
2018 2017 2018 2017
---
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:
Consolidated net income $
360 $
9,617 $
1,506 $
10,115
Adjustments to reconcile consolidated net
income to net cash flows from operating
activities:
Depreciation and
amortization 2,534 2,742 10,318 10,588
Stock compensation expense 72 63 285 261
Accelerated vesting of
equity awards 6 5 49
Noncash interest income,
net (65) (87) (307) (370)
Other pension (benefits)
costs 55 8 (192) (1)
Loss on extinguishment of
debt 5 40
(Gain) loss on financial
instruments, net 110 (84) 110 (69)
Deferred income taxes (27) (9,169) 110 (9,116)
Other, net 94 (77) 175 16
Changes in operating assets and
liabilities, net of effects from
acquisitions:
Accounts receivable 3 17 (98) (84)
Prepaid expenses and other
assets (123) 39 (270) 76
Accounts payable, accrued
liabilities and other 155 178 125 449
Net cash flows from
operating activities 3,168 3,258 11,767 11,954
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES:
Purchases of property,
plant and equipment (2,433) (2,585) (9,125) (8,681)
Change in accrued expenses
related to capital
expenditures 150 544 (470) 820
Purchases of cable systems,
net of cash acquired (9) (9)
Real estate investments
through variable interest
entities (6) (105) (21) (105)
Other, net (17) (60) (120) (123)
Net cash flows from
investing activities (2,306) (2,215) (9,736) (8,098)
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
Borrowings of long-term
debt 2,268 13,161 13,820 25,276
Repayments of long-term
debt (1,805) (10,973) (10,769) (16,507)
Payments for debt issuance
costs (28) (29) (111)
Purchase of treasury stock (1,185) (3,967) (4,399) (11,715)
Proceeds from exercise of
stock options 13 5 69 116
Purchase of noncontrolling
interest (183) (743) (656) (1,665)
Distributions to
noncontrolling interest (39) (38) (153) (153)
Borrowings for real estate
investments through
variable interest entities 172 342
Distributions to variable
interest entities
noncontrolling interest (107)
Other, net 2 (3) (5) (11)
Net cash flows from
financing activities (757) (2,586) (1,887) (4,770)
NET INCREASE (DECREASE) IN
CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS AND
RESTRICTED CASH 105 (1,543) 144 (914)
CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS AND
RESTRICTED CASH, beginning
of period 660 2,164 621 1,535
CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS AND
RESTRICTED CASH, end of
period $
765 $
621 $
765 $
621
CASH PAID FOR INTEREST $
945 $
877 $
3,865 $
3,421
CASH PAID FOR TAXES $
18 $
3 $
45 $
41
CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
UNAUDITED SUMMARY OF OPERATING STATISTICS
(in thousands, except per customer and penetration data)
Approximate as of
December 31, September 30, December 31,
2018 (a) 2018 (a) 2017 (a)
---
Footprint (b)
---
Estimated Video Passings 50,824 50,616 49,973
Estimated Internet
Passings 50,652 50,421 49,727
Estimated Voice Passings 50,086 49,833 48,995
Penetration Statistics (c)
---
Video Penetration of
Estimated Video % % %
Passings 32.7 32.9 33.7
Internet Penetration of
Estimated Internet % % %
Passings 49.9 49.4 48.2
Voice Penetration of
Estimated Voice % % %
Passings 22.3 22.6 23.2
Customer Relationships (d)
---
Residential 26,270 26,063 25,499
Small and Medium
Business 1,833 1,792 1,662
Total Customer
Relationships 28,103 27,855 27,161
Residential
---
Primary Service Units ("PSUs")
---
Video 16,104 16,140 16,400
Internet 23,625 23,336 22,518
Voice 10,135 10,218 10,424
49,864 49,694 49,342
Quarterly Net Additions/(Losses)
---
Video (36) (66) 2
Internet 289 266 263
Voice (83) (107) 23
170 93 288
Single Play (e) 10,928 10,858 10,341
Double Play (e) 7,097 6,789 6,473
Triple Play (e) 8,245 8,416 8,685
Single Play Penetration 41.6 41.7 40.6
(f) % % %
Double Play Penetration 27.0 26.1 25.4
(f) % % %
Triple Play Penetration 31.4 32.3 34.1
(f) % % %
% Residential Non-Video 38.7 38.1 35.7
Customer Relationships % % %
Monthly Residential
Revenue per Residential
Customer (g) $
111.78 $
111.13 $
110.74
Small and Medium Business
---
PSUs
---
Video 502 488 450
Internet 1,634 1,594 1,470
Voice 1,051 1,024 930
3,187 3,106 2,850
Quarterly Net Additions/(Losses)
---
Video 14 12 12
Internet 40 42 41
Voice 27 30 32
81 84 85
Monthly Small and Medium
Business Revenue per
Customer (h) $
170.62 $
173.52 $
181.57
Enterprise PSUs (i)
---
Enterprise PSUs 248 243 220
(a) Customer statistics do not include
mobile. We calculate the aging of
customer accounts based on the
monthly billing cycle for each
account. On that basis, at
December 31, 2018, September 30,
2018 and December 31, 2017, actual
customers include approximately
217,600, 231,400 and 248,900
customers, respectively, whose
accounts were over 60 days past
due, approximately 24,000, 23,100
and 20,600 customers, respectively,
whose accounts were over 90 days
past due and approximately 19,200,
18,500 and 13,200 customers,
respectively, whose accounts were
over 120 days past due.
(b) Passings represent our estimate of
the number of units, such as single
family homes, apartment and
condominium units and small and
medium business and enterprise
sites passed by our cable
distribution network in the areas
where we offer the service
indicated. These estimates are
based upon the information
available at this time and are
updated for all periods presented
when new information becomes
available.
(c) Penetration represents residential
and small and medium business
customers as a percentage of
estimated passings for the service
indicated.
(d) Customer relationships include the
number of customers that receive
one or more levels of service,
encompassing video, Internet and
voice services, without regard to
which service(s) such customers
receive. Customers who reside in
residential multiple dwelling units
("MDUs") and that are billed under
bulk contracts are counted based on
the number of billed units within
each bulk MDU. Total customer
relationships exclude enterprise
customer relationships.
(e) Single play, double play and triple
play customers represent customers
that subscribe to one, two or three
of Charter service offerings,
respectively.
(f) Single play, double play and triple
play penetration represents the
number of residential single play,
double play and triple play
customers, respectively, as a
percentage of residential customer
relationships.
(g) Monthly residential revenue per
residential customer is calculated
as total residential video,
Internet and voice quarterly
revenue divided by three divided by
average residential customer
relationships during the respective
quarter.
(h) Monthly small and medium business
revenue per customer is calculated
as total small and medium business
quarterly revenue divided by three
divided by average small and medium
business customer relationships
during the respective quarter.
(i) Enterprise PSUs represents the
aggregate number of fiber service
offerings counting each separate
service offering at each customer
location as an individual PSU.
CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
UNAUDITED RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP MEASURES TO GAAP MEASURES
(dollars in millions)
Three Months Ended Year Ended December 31,
December 31,
2018 2017 2018 2017
---
Consolidated net income $
360 $
9,617 $
1,506 $
10,115
Plus: Interest expense, net 910 840 3,540 3,090
Income tax (benefit) expense 2 (9,186) 180 (9,087)
Depreciation and amortization 2,534 2,742 10,318 10,588
Stock compensation expense 72 63 285 261
Loss on extinguishment of debt - 5 40
(Gain) loss on financial
instruments, net 110 (84) 110 (69)
Other pension (benefits) costs 55 8 (192) (1)
Other, net 121 (24) 312 364
Adjusted EBITDA (a) 4,164 3,981 16,059 15,301
Less: Revenue - Mobile (89) (106)
Plus: Costs and Expenses -Mobile 211 346
Adjusted EBITDA -Cable (a) $
4,286 $
3,981 $
16,299 $
15,301
Net cash flows from operating
activities $
3,168 $
3,258 $
11,767 $
11,954
Less: Purchases of property, plant
and equipment (2,433) (2,585) (9,125) (8,681)
Change in accrued expenses related
to capital expenditures 150 544 (470) 820
Free cash flow 885 1,217 2,172 4,093
Plus: Net cash outflows from
operating activities -Mobile 198 352
Purchases of property, plant and
equipment -Mobile 106 242
Free cash flow - Cable $
1,189 $
1,217 $
2,766 $
4,093
(a) See page 1 of this addendum for
detail of the components
included within Adjusted
EBITDA.
The above schedule is presented in order to
reconcile Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA -
Cable, free cash flow and free cash flow -
Cable, non-GAAP measures, to the most
directly comparable GAAP measures in
accordance with Section 401(b) of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
UNAUDITED CAPITAL EXPENDITURES
(dollars in millions)
Three Months Ended Year Ended December 31,
December 31,
2018 2017 2018 2017
---
Customer premise
equipment (a) $
687 $
806 $
3,124 $
3,385
Scalable infrastructure
(b) 649 725 2,227 2,007
Line extensions (c) 381 312 1,373 1,176
Upgrade/rebuild (d) 182 157 704 572
Support capital (e) 534 585 1,697 1,541
Total capital
expenditures $
2,433 $
2,585 $
9,125 $
8,681
Capital expenditures included in total
related to:
Commercial services $
379 $
360 $
1,313 $
1,305
All-digital transition $
28 $
69 $
344 $
122
Mobile $
106
$ $
242
$
(a) Customer premise equipment includes
costs incurred at the customer
residence to secure new customers and
revenue generating units, including
customer installation costs and
customer premise equipment (e.g., set-
top boxes and cable modems).
(b) Scalable infrastructure includes costs,
not related to customer premise
equipment, to secure growth of new
customers and revenue generating
units, or provide service enhancements
(e.g., headend equipment).
(c) Line extensions include network costs
associated with entering new service
areas (e.g., fiber/coaxial cable,
amplifiers, electronic equipment,
make-ready and design engineering).
(d) Upgrade/rebuild includes costs to
modify or replace existing fiber/
coaxial cable networks, including
betterments.
(e) Support capital includes costs
associated with the replacement or
enhancement of non-network assets due
to technological and physical
obsolescence (e.g., non-network
equipment, land, buildings and
vehicles).
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SOURCE Charter Communications, Inc.
