EXFO reports second quarter results for fiscal 2019
-- Sales increased 14.2% to US$73.9 million, high end of guidance range -- Bookings improved 16.0% to US$76.1 million, book-to-bill ratio of 1.03 -- IFRS net earnings reached US$5.2 million, US$0.09 per share -- Adjusted EBITDA totaled US$8.8 million, 11.9% of sales -- Cash flows from operations surged to US$18.7 million
QUEBEC CITY, April 2, 2019 /PRNewswire/ - EXFO Inc. (NASDAQ: EXFO) (TSX: EXF), the communications industry's test, monitoring and analytics experts, reported today financial results for the second quarter ended February 28, 2019.
IFRS sales increased 14.2% to US$73.9 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2019 from US$64.7 million in the second quarter of 2018. Second-quarter sales for 2019 included a US$7.5 million revenue contribution from Astellia, which was reduced by US$0.6 million to account for acquisition-related fair value adjustment of deferred revenue. In comparison, Astellia had generated US$1.8 million in revenue for one month in the second quarter 2018.
Bookings, which included a US$10.3 million contribution from Astellia, improved 16.0% year-over-year to US$76.1 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2019 from US$65.6 million in the same period of 2018. In comparison, Astellia had delivered US$2.5 million in bookings for one month in the second quarter 2018. EXFO's book-to-bill ratio was 1.03 in the second quarter of 2019.
Gross margin before depreciation and amortization(*) amounted to 60.7% of sales in the second quarter of fiscal 2019 compared to 60.9% in the second quarter of 2018.
IFRS net earnings in the second quarter of fiscal 2019 totaled US$5.2 million, or US$0.09 per share, compared to a net loss attributable to the parent interest(1) of US$4.7 million, or US$0.08 per share, in the second quarter of 2018. IFRS net earnings in the second quarter of 2019 included net expenses totaling US$3.9 million: US$1.9 million in after-tax amortization of intangible assets, US$0.5 million in stock-based compensation costs, US$0.5 million in after-tax restructuring charges, US$0.6 million for acquisition-related fair value adjustment of deferred revenue, and a foreign exchange loss of US$0.4 million.
These net expenses were offset by the sale of a building under EXFO's restructuring plan that generated a gain of US$1.7 million in the second quarter of 2019. The company also benefited from a deferred income tax recovery of US$2.4 million in the second quarter of 2019.
Adjusted EBITDA(*) totaled US$8.8 million, or 11.9% of sales, in the second quarter of fiscal 2019 compared to US$2.5 million, or 3.9% of sales, in the second quarter of 2018.
"EXFO delivered outstanding second quarter results with strong revenue and bookings growth, profitability and cash flow generation--all encouraging signs for our T&M and SASS product families and the leverage in our operating model," said EXFO's CEO Philippe Morin. "Our unique value propositions resonated very well with industry executives at Mobile World Congress and Optical Fiber Conference, as our solutions enable fiber buildouts deep into the network edge, 5G wireless deployments and network virtualization. Clearly, EXFO is on track with its profitable growth strategy amid a rapidly transforming industry."
Selected Financial Information (In thousands of US dollars) === Q2 2019 Q2 2018 H1 2019 H1 2018 --- Test and Measurement sales $ 50,407 $ 49,884 $ 100,171 $ 100,070 Service Assurance, Systems and Services sales 23,701 14,457 43,117 27,425 Foreign exchange gains (losses) on forward exchange contracts (181) 381 (160) 618 Total sales $ 73,927 $ 64,722 $ 143,128 $ 128,113 Test and Measurement bookings $ 45,320 $ 47,386 $ 109,316 $ 100,240 Service Assurance, Systems and Services bookings 30,953 17,819 48,174 30,607 Foreign exchange gains (losses) on forward exchange contracts (181) 381 (160) 618 Total bookings $ 76,092 $ 65,586 $ 157,330 $ 131,465 Book-to-bill ratio (bookings/ sales) 1.03 1.01 1.10 1.03 Gross margin before depreciation and amortization* $ 44,865 $ 39,396 $ 85,169 $ 79,498 60.7% 60.9% 59.5% 62.1% Other selected information: IFRS net earnings (loss) attributable to the parent interest $ 5,193 $ (4,660) $ (2,274) $ (1,981) Amortization of intangible assets $ 2,130 $ 3,056 $ 5,070 $ 4,175 Stock-based compensation costs $ 461 $ 438 $ 879 $ 840 Restructuring charges $ 577 $ $ 3,318 $ - Change in fair value of cash contingent consideration $ $ (561) $ $ (716) Acquisition-related deferred revenue fair value adjustment $ 571 $ 309 $ 1,435 $ 309 Income tax expense for US tax reform $ $ 1,528 $ $ 1,528 Gain on disposal of capital assets $ (1,732) $ $ (1,732) $ - Deferred income tax recovery $ (2,383) $ $ (2,383) $ - Net income tax effect of the above items $ (348) $ (394) $ (771) $ (566) Foreign exchange (gain) loss $ 416 $ (8) $ 201 $ (1,226) Adjusted EBITDA* $ 8,784 $ 2,492 $ 11,512 $ 8,551 === ===
Operating Expenses
Selling and administrative expenses reached US$25.5 million, or 34.4% of sales in the second quarter of fiscal 2019 compared to US$24.9 million, or 38.5% of sales, in the same period last year.
Net R&D expenses attained US$12.2 million, or 16.5% of sales, in the second quarter of fiscal 2019 compared to US$13.1 million, or 20.2% of sales, in the second quarter of 2018.
Second-Quarter Highlights
-- Growth. Sales increased 14.2% year-over-year mainly due to a full-quarter contribution from the Astellia acquisition, compared to one month for the same period in 2018, and revenue recognition of a US$4.9 million order for EXFO's real-time network topology software. Test and measurement sales accounted for 68% of total revenue in the second quarter of 2019, while SASS sales totaled 32%. Revenue breakdown among the three main selling regions amounted to 50% in the Americas, 34% in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and 16% in Asia-Pacific. EXFO's top customer accounted for 14.9% of sales, while the top three represented 24.7%.
-- Profitability. IFRS net earnings totaled US$5.2 million in the second quarter of 2019, while adjusted EBITDA amounted to US$8.8 million, or 11.9% of sales. The company also generated US$18.7 million in cash flows from operations in the second quarter.
-- Innovation. EXFO showcased its new product introductions at Mobile World Congress (MWC) and Optical Fiber Conference (OFC), high-profile tradeshows held during and after the quarter-end. At MWC, EXFO provided an overview of its highly differentiated service assurance and analytics platform, including automated assurance, diagnostics and troubleshooting of 5G networks. At OFC, EXFO demonstrated the breadth and depth of its market-leading optical test offering, including its recently released Open Transceiver System for 400G testing, to allow for successful, high-speed network transformations. The company also presented its latest field test automation, cloud reporting and remote testing capabilities. On the recognition front, EXFO received Frost & Sullivan's 2018 Customer Value Leadership Award for Global Data Analytics Solutions. This fifth award for EXFO's Service Assurance, Systems and Services (SASS) portfolio during the past year recognizes the company's ability to optimize subscriber experience and maximize benefits for communications service providers at every level of these organizations, from engineering to customer care.
(1 )Represents net loss excluding share of the net loss attributable to Astellia's minority shareholders.
Business Outlook
EXFO forecasts IFRS sales between US$70.0 million and US$75.0 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2019. IFRS net loss is expected to range between US$0.04 and US$0.00 per share in the third quarter of 2019. IFRS net loss includes US$0.05 per share in after-tax amortization of intangible assets and stock-based compensation costs.
This guidance, which is a forward-looking statement, was established by management based on existing backlog as of the date of this news release, seasonality, expected bookings for the remaining of the quarter, as well as exchange rates as of the day of this news release.
Conference Call and Webcast
EXFO will host a conference call today at 5 p.m. (Eastern time) to review second quarter results for fiscal 2019. To listen to the conference call and participate in the question period via telephone, dial 1-323-794-2093. Please take note the following participant passcode will be required: 8906152. Germain Lamonde, founder and Executive Chairman, Philippe Morin, Chief Executive Officer, and Pierre Plamondon, Vice-President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer, will participate in the call. An audio replay of the conference call will be available two hours after the event until 8:00 p.m. on April 9, 2019. The replay number is 1-719-457-0820 and the required participant passcode is 8906152. The audio Webcast and replay of the conference call will also be available on EXFO's Website at www.EXFO.com, under the Investors section.
About EXFO
EXFO (NASDAQ: EXFO) (TSX: EXF) develops smarter test, monitoring and analytics solutions for fixed and mobile network operators, webscale companies and equipment manufacturers in the global communications industry. Our customers count on us to deliver superior network performance, service reliability and subscriber insights. They count on our unique blend of equipment, software and services to accelerate digital transformations related to fiber, 4G/LTE and 5G deployments. They count on our expertise with automation, real-time troubleshooting and big data analytics, which are critical to their business performance. We've spent over 30 years earning this trust, and today 1,900 EXFO employees in over 25 countries work side by side with our customers in the lab, field, data center and beyond. For more information, visit EXFO.com and follow us on the EXFO Blog.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and we intend that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbors created thereby. Forward-looking statements are statements other than historical information or statements of current condition. Words such as may, expect, believe, plan, anticipate, intend, could, estimate, continue, or similar expressions or the negative of such expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events and circumstances are considered forward-looking statements. They are not guarantee of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements due to various factors including, but not limited to, macroeconomic uncertainty, including trade wars; our ability to successfully integrate businesses that we acquire; capital spending and network deployment levels in the telecommunications industry (including our ability to quickly adapt cost structures to anticipated levels of business and our ability to manage inventory levels with market demand); future economic, competitive, financial and market conditions; consolidation in the global telecommunications test, service assurance and analytics solutions markets and increased competition among vendors; capacity to adapt our future product offering to future technological changes; limited visibility with regard to the timing and nature of customer orders; delay in revenue recognition due to longer sales cycles for complex systems involving customers' acceptance; fluctuating exchange rates; concentration of sales; timely release and market acceptance of our new products and other upcoming products; our ability to successfully expand international operations and to conduct business internationally; and the retention of key technical and management personnel. Assumptions relating to the foregoing involve judgments and risks, all of which are difficult or impossible to predict and many of which are beyond our control. Other risk factors that may affect our future performance and operations are detailed in our Annual Report, on Form 20-F, and our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Canadian securities commissions. We believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable based on information currently available to us, but we cannot assure you that the expectations will prove to have been correct. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These statements speak only as of the date of this document. Unless required by law or applicable regulations, we undertake no obligation to revise or update any of them to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date of this document.
*Non-IFRS Measures
EXFO provides non-IFRS measures (gross margin before depreciation and amortization and adjusted EBITDA) as supplemental information regarding its operational performance. Gross margin before depreciation and amortization represents sales, less cost of sales, excluding depreciation and amortization. Adjusted EBITDA represent net earnings (loss) attributable to the parent interest before interest and other income/expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation costs, restructuring charges, change in fair value of cash contingent consideration, acquisition-related deferred revenue fair value adjustment, and foreign exchange gain or loss.
These non-IFRS measures eliminate the effect on IFRS results of non-cash and/or non-operating statement of earnings elements, as well as elements subject to significant volatility such as foreign exchange gain or loss. EXFO uses these measures for evaluating historical and prospective financial performance, as well as its performance relative to competitors. These non-IFRS measures are also the financial measures used by financial analysts to evaluate and compare EXFO's performance against competitors and industry players in the company's sector.
Finally, these measures help EXFO plan and forecast future periods as well as make operational and strategic decisions. EXFO believes that providing this information, in addition to the IFRS measures, allows investors to see the company's results through the eyes of management, and to better understand historical and future financial performance. More importantly, it enables the comparison of EXFO's performance on a relatively similar basis against other public and private companies in the industry worldwide.
The presentation of this additional information is not prepared in accordance with IFRS. Therefore, the information may not necessarily be comparable to that of other companies and should be considered as a supplement to, not a substitute for, the corresponding measures calculated in accordance with IFRS.
The following table summarizes the reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA to IFRS net earnings (loss) attributable to the parent interest, in thousands of US dollars:
Adjusted EBITDA Q2 2019 Q2 2018 H1 2019 H1 2018 IFRS net earnings (loss) attributable to the parent interest for the period $ 5,193 $ (4,660) $ (2,274) $ (1,981) Add (deduct): Depreciation of property, plant and equipment 1,390 1,263 2,819 2,417 Amortization of intangible assets 2,130 3,056 5,070 4,175 Interest and other (income) expense (1,514) 334 (1,137) 672 Income taxes (440) 2,321 1,201 4,061 Stock-based compensation costs 461 438 879 840 Restructuring charges 577 3,318 Change in fair value of cash contingent consideration (561) (716) Acquisition-related deferred revenue fair value adjustment 571 309 1,435 309 Foreign exchange (gain) loss 416 (8) 201 (1,226) Adjusted EBITDA for the period (1) $ 8,784 $ 2,492 $ 11,512 $ 8,551 Adjusted EBITDA in percentage of sales 11.9% 3.9% 8.0% 6.7%
(1) Includes acquisition- related costs of US$1.4 million and US$2.1 million for the three months and six months ended February 28, 2018 (nil in fiscal 2019)
EXFO Inc. Condensed Unaudited Interim Consolidated Balance Sheets (in thousands of US dollars) As at As at February 28, August 31, 2019 2018 Assets Current assets Cash $ 24,763 $ 12,758 Short-term investments 2,238 2,282 Accounts receivable Trade 41,227 47,273 Other 3,490 4,137 Income taxes and tax credits recoverable 5,124 4,790 Inventories 38,598 38,589 Prepaid expenses 5,049 5,291 Other assets 2,583 2,279 123,072 117,399 Tax credits recoverable 46,727 47,677 Property, plant and equipment 42,036 44,310 Intangible assets 24,904 29,866 Goodwill 39,707 39,892 Deferred income tax assets 5,708 4,714 Other assets 828 686 $ 282,982 $ 284,544 Liabilities Current liabilities Bank loan $ 9,001 $ 10,692 Accounts payable and accrued liabilities 47,560 47,898 Provisions 1,314 2,954 Income taxes payable 687 873 Deferred revenue 23,914 16,556 Other liabilities 1,656 3,197 Current portion of long-term debt 2,724 2,921 86,856 85,091 Provisions 2,517 2,347 Deferred revenue 9,345 6,947 Long-term debt 4,578 5,907 Deferred income tax liabilities 4,572 5,910 Other liabilities 327 421 108,195 106,623 Shareholders' equity Share capital 92,878 91,937 Contributed surplus 18,277 18,428 Retained earnings 112,379 114,906 Accumulated other comprehensive loss (48,747) (47,350) 174,787 177,921 $ 282,982 $ 284,544
EXFO Inc. Condensed Unaudited Interim Consolidated Statements of Earnings (in thousands of US dollars, except share and per share data) Three months Six months Three months Six months ended ended ended ended February 28, February 28, February 28, February 28, 2019 2019 2018 2018 Sales $ 73,927 $ 143,128 $ 64,722 $ 128,113 Cost of sales (1) 29,062 57,959 25,326 48,615 Selling and administrative 25,474 51,849 24,916 48,109 Net research and development 12,216 27,440 13,087 24,339 Depreciation of property, plant and equipment 1,390 2,819 1,263 2,417 Amortization of intangible assets 2,130 5,070 3,056 4,175 Change in fair value of cash contingent consideration ? ? (561) (716) Interest and other (income) expense (1,514) (1,137) 334 672 Foreign exchange (gain) loss 416 201 (8) (1,226) Share in net loss of an associate ? ? 2,080 2,080 Gain on the deemed disposal of the investment in an associate ? ? (2,080) (2,080) Earnings (loss) before income taxes 4,753 (1,073) (2,691) 1,728 Income taxes (440) 1,201 2,321 4,061 Net earnings (loss) for the period 5,193 (2,274) (5,012) (2,333) Net loss for the period attributable to non- controlling interest ? ? (352) (352) Net earnings (loss) for the period attributable to parent interest $ 5,193 $ (2,274) $ (4,660) $ (1,981) Basic and diluted net earnings (loss) attributable to parent interest per share $ 0.09 $ (0.04) $ (0.08) $ (0.04) Basic weighted average number of shares outstanding (000's) 55,343 55,263 54,975 54,890 Diluted weighted average number of shares outstanding (000's) 56,160 55,263 54,975 54,890
(1) The cost of sales is exclusive of depreciation and amortization, shown separately.
EXFO Inc. Condensed Unaudited Interim Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss) (in thousands of US dollars) Three months Six months Three months Six months ended ended ended ended February 28, February 28, February 28, February 28, 2019 2019 2018 2018 Net earnings (loss) for the period $ 5,193 $ (2,274) $ (5,012) $ (2,333) Other comprehensive income (loss), net of income taxes Items that may be reclassified subsequently to net earnings Foreign currency translation adjustment 1,807 (1,549) 2,286 (1,844) Unrealized gains/losses on forward exchange contracts 496 (191) 39 (485) Reclassification of realized gains/ losses on forward exchange contracts in net earnings 210 301 (225) (608) Deferred income taxes on gains/ losses on forward exchange contracts (167) 42 48 263 Other comprehensive income (loss) 2,346 (1,397) 2,148 (2,674) Comprehensive income (loss) for the period 7,539 (3,671) (2,864) (5,007) Comprehensive loss for the period attributable to non-controlling interest ? ? (352) (352) Comprehensive income (loss) for the period attributable to parent interest $ 7,539 $ (3,671) $ (2,512) $ (4,655)
EXFO Inc. Condensed Unaudited Interim Consolidated Statements of Changes in Shareholders' Equity (in thousands of US dollars) Six months ended February 28, 2018 Share Contributed surplus Retained earnings Accumulated other comprehensive loss Non-controlling interest Total capital shareholders' equity Balance as at September 1, 2017 $ 90,411 $ 18,184 $ 127,160 $ (38,965) $ ? $ 196,790 Reclassification of stock-based compensation costs 1,273 (1,273) ? ? ? ? Stock-based compensation costs ? 856 ? ? ? 856 Business combination ? ? ? ? (3,662) (3,662) Acquisition of non-controlling interest ? ? (352) ? 4,014 3,662 Net loss for the period ? ? (1,981) ? (352) (2,333) Other comprehensive loss Foreign currency translation adjustment ? ? ? (1,844) ? (1,844) Changes in unrealized gains/losses on forward exchange contracts, net of deferred income taxes of $263 ? ? ? (830) ? (830) Comprehensive loss for the period (5,007) Balance as at February 28, 2018 $ 91,684 $ 17,767 $ 124,827 $ (41,639) $ ? $ 192,639
Six months ended February 28, 2019 Share Contributed surplus Retained earnings Accumulated other comprehensive loss Total capital shareholders' equity Balance as at September 1, 2018 $ 91,937 $ 18,428 $ 114,906 $ (47,350) $ 177,921 Adoption of IFRS 9 ? ? (253) ? (253) Adjusted balance as at September 1, 2018 91,937 18,428 114,653 (47,350) 177,668 Reclassification of stock-based compensation costs 1,067 (1,067) ? ? ? Redemption of share capital (126) 21 ? ? (105) Stock-based compensation costs ? 895 ? ? 895 Net loss for the period ? ? (2,274) ? (2,274) Other comprehensive income (loss) Foreign currency translation adjustment ? ? ? (1,549) (1,549) Changes in unrealized gains/ losses on forward exchange contracts, net of deferred income taxes of $42 ? ? ? 152 152 Total comprehensive loss for the period (3,671) Balance as at February 28, 2019 $ 92,878 $ 18,277 $ 112,379 $ (48,747) $ 174,787
EXFO Inc. Condensed Unaudited Interim Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (in thousands of US dollars) Three months Six months Three months Six months ended ended ended ended February 28, February 28, February 28, February 28, 2019 2019 2018 2018 Cash flows from operating activities Net earnings (loss) for the period $ 5,193 $ (2,274) $ (5,012) $ (2,333) Add (deduct) items not affecting cash Stock-based compensation costs 461 879 438 840 Depreciation and amortization 3,520 7,889 4,319 6,592 Gain on disposal of capital assets (1,732) (1,732) ? ? Write-off of capital assets 261 261 124 248 Change in fair value of cash contingent consideration ? ? (561) (716) Deferred revenue 6,021 9,943 3,016 2,234 Deferred income taxes (2,124) (2,153) 2,384 2,144 Share in net loss of an associate ? ? 2,080 2,080 Gain on deemed disposal of the investment in an associate ? ? (2,080) (2,080) Changes in foreign exchange gain/loss 76 (453) 611 364 11,676 12,360 5,319 9,373 Changes in non-cash operating items Accounts receivable 9,871 5,819 4,255 5,340 Income taxes and tax credits 1,031 33 (3,018) (2,959) Inventories 999 (362) 779 (1,174) Prepaid expenses 22 205 (129) 189 Other assets (327) (339) (528) (524) Accounts payable, accrued liabilities and provisions (3,114) 18 (447) (1,816) Other liabilities (1,470) (1,521) 22 210 18,688 16,213 6,253 8,639 Cash flows from investing activities Additions to short-term investments (292) (292) (248) (482) Proceeds from disposal of short-term investments ? 342 234 234 Purchases of capital assets (1,797) (4,679) (2,258) (4,249) Proceeds from disposal of capital assets 3,318 3,318 ? ? Investment in an associate ? ? (2,219) (12,530) Business combinations, net of cash acquired ? ? (9,580) (19,120) 1,229 (1,311) (14,071) (36,147) Cash flows from financing activities Bank loan (12,501) (1,244) 2,064 2,066 Repayment of long-term debt (735) (1,452) (200) (270) Redemption of share capital (105) (105) ? ? (13,341) (2,801) 1,864 1,796 Effect of foreign exchange rate changes on cash 100 (96) 56 (170) Change in cash during the period 6,676 12,005 (5,898) (25,882) Cash - Beginning of the period 18,087 12,758 18,451 38,435 Cash - End of the period $ 24,763 $ 24,763 $ 12,553 $ 12,553
EXFO-F
View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/exfo-reports-second-quarter-results-for-fiscal-2019-300823365.html
SOURCE EXFO Inc.