Tucows report: net revenue and gross profit increases 17% and 41%

Tucows Inc. (NASDAQ:TCX, TSX:TC), a global internet services leader, today reported its financial results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2021. All figures are in U.S. dollars.

Note on the Financial Impact of Tucows’ Sale of Ting Mobile Customer Relationships and Transition to Mobile Services Enabler Platform:

As previously announced, effective August 1, 2020 most of Tucows’ mobile customers relationships were sold to DISH Networks (“DISH”) as part of Tucows’ transition of its mobile business to a Mobile Services Enabler (MSE) model from a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) model, under which DISH became Tucows’ first MSE customer. Accordingly, the results of the Mobile Services segment for the full year 2021 reflect operations under the new MSE model for the entire year compared to the year ended 2020 being composed of approximately five months of operations under the new MSE model and approximately seven months of operations under Tucows’ previous MVNO model.

Under the terms of the earn out arrangement for the Ting customer base acquired by DISH, the income generated by the customer base acquired by DISH is recognized (net of expenses) as “Other Income” under the heading “Gain on Sale of Ting Customer Assets”. As a result, revenue and gross margin for the Mobile Services segment for the 2021 year were impacted by the significantly larger MVNO contribution 2020. Tucows will recognize platform fees for customers owned by DISH under the Ting brand as well as customers under other DISH brands that are added to Tucows’ MSE platform, as Mobile Platform Services revenue under the terms of the MSE Agreement signed with DISH. For more information, see Tucows’ Financial Statements and Management Discussion and Analysis for the third quarter of 2021.

“Tucows delivered another quarter of solid financial performance, highlighted by year-over-year increases in net revenue and gross profit of 17% and 41%, respectively, driven by growth in the Ting Fiber Internet customer base and the significantly higher contribution of our Mobile Services Enabler platform a year after its launch,” said Elliot Noss, President and Chief Executive Officer, Tucows Inc.“

Adjusted EBITDA decreased slightly by 0.9% year-over-year as we continued to invest in the Ting Fiber Internet opportunity, with the fourth quarter seeing another record for capital expenditure on our Fiber network.”

“The fourth quarter concluded a year of both solid financial results and strategic achievements across the Company. Tucows Domain Services posted a record year for both gross margin and adjusted EBITDA as that business reached a new, higher steady state level following the pandemic related growth of 2020. The first full year of our Mobile Services Enabler business, recently rebranded as our Communication Service Provider software platform, Wavelo, was very much in line with our expectations, as we focused on supporting the success of our first customer, DISH. 2021 also saw significant progress on the accelerated build of the Ting Fiber Internet network, with a 61% increase in capital expenditure, 48% increase in the number of serviceable addresses, and a more than 66% expansion of our subscriber base. All of this positions Tucows to continue to ramp investment of the consistent, strong cash flows generated by Tucows Domain Services and the Wavelo CSP Platform in the outsized Ting Fiber Internet opportunity.”

Financial Results

Net revenue for the fourth quarter of 2021 increased 17% to $82.5 million from $70.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2020. The increase was the result of growth in revenue from the Fiber Internet Services business and both the Mobile Platform Services and Other Professional Services components of the Mobile Services Enabler business.

Gross profit for the fourth quarter of 2021 increased 41% to $24.6 million from $17.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2020. The increase was driven by the same factors as net revenue.

Net loss for the fourth quarter of 2021 was $2.0 million, or a loss of $0.18 per share, compared with net income of $2.1 million, or $0.19 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2020 with the loss driven by a higher effective tax rate.

Adjusted EBITDA¹ for the fourth quarter of 2021 decreased 0.9% to $12.7 million from $12.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2020. The modest decline in adjusted EBITDA¹ reflects the continued investment in Fiber Internet Services.

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021 were $9.1 million compared with $5.5 million at the end of the third quarter of 2021 and $8.3 million at the end of the fourth quarter of 2020.