EDINBURG, Va., April 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Shenandoah Telecommunications Company (“Shentel”) (Nasdaq: SHEN) announced first quarter 2023 financial and operating results.

First Quarter 2023 Highlights

• Glo Fiber Markets data net additions were 4,507 or 87.3% higher than the first quarter of 2022.
• Consolidated revenue grew 11.3% to $71.7 million compared to the first quarter of 2022. Glo Fiber Markets revenue grew 104.7% to $7.0 million and Broadband revenue grew 12.5% to $67.2 million over the same period.
• Consolidated net income was $2.1 million in the first quarter of 2023, compared with net loss of $0.6 million in the first quarter of 2022.
• Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA grew 28.6% to $22.4 million compared to the first quarter of 2022. Broadband Adjusted EBITDA grew 25.0% to $26.3 million over the same period.

“We had a record quarter for Glo Fiber Markets data net additions and revenue, and for Broadband revenue and Adjusted EBITDA,” said President and CEO, Christopher E. French. "We are beginning to see the operating leverage and margin expansion in our Broadband business as Glo Fiber accelerates growth and increases scale."

Shentel's first-quarter earnings conference call will be webcast at 8:00 a.m. ET on Friday, April 28, 2023. The webcast and related materials will be available on Shentel’s Investor Relations website at https://investor.shentel.com/.

Consolidated First Quarter 2023 Results

• Revenue in the first quarter of 2023 grew 11.3% to $71.7 million compared with the first quarter of 2022, due to Broadband segment revenue growth of 12.5%, partially offset by Tower segment revenue decline of 5.6%.

• Net income per share was $0.04 in the first quarter of 2023 compared with net loss per share of $0.01 in the first quarter of 2022.

• Adjusted EBITDA was $22.4 million in the first quarter of 2023 compared with $17.4 million in the first quarter of 2022 due to Broadband segment growth of 25.0% partially offset by Tower segment decline of 9.4%.

Broadband

• Total Cable Markets and Glo Fiber Markets broadband data Revenue Generating Units ("RGUs") as of March 31, 2023, were 138,713, representing 14.6% year over year growth. Penetration for Cable Markets and Glo Fiber Markets were 52% and 17%, respectively, compared to 51% and 15%, respectively, as of March 31, 2022. Total Glo Fiber Markets passings grew year over year by 71,447 from 93,611 to 165,058.

• Broadband revenue in the first quarter of 2023 grew $7.5 million, or 12.5%, to $67.2 million compared with $59.7 million in the first quarter of 2022, primarily driven by a $3.6 million, or 104.7%, increase in Residential & Small and Medium Business ("SMB") - Glo Fiber Markets revenue. Residential & SMB - Glo Fiber Markets increased due to a 108.9% increase in broadband data RGUs. In addition, Residential & SMB - Cable Markets revenue grew $1.3 million, or 2.9%, due to a 2.5% increase in data RGUs and 2.4% increase in data ARPU. Commercial Fiber revenue increased $2.6 million, or 29.1%, primarily due to $1.8 million in non-recurring early termination fees and a $0.8 million increase in recurring revenue. T-Mobile disconnected 188 backhaul circuits during the first quarter as part of their previously announced rationalization of the former Sprint network. The Company expects 174 additional backhaul disconnects in 2023 as part of the network rationalization.

• Cost of services increased approximately $0.3 million, or 1.0%, compared with the three months ended March 31, 2022 due to higher costs associated with consumable materials and supplies, maintenance and rent, partially offset by lower medical costs.

• Selling, general and administrative expense increased $2.1 million, or 15.4%, compared with the three months ended March 31, 2022, due primarily to higher advertising costs associated with the Company's expansion of Glo Fiber and a change in strategy to drive more gross adds to low cost sales channels, higher information technology costs as a result of the Company's investment in upgraded systems, and higher property taxes associated with increased network assets associated with the expansion of Glo Fiber.

• Depreciation and amortization expense increased $2.0 million, or 15.5%, compared with the three months ended March 31, 2022, primarily as a result of the Company's expansion of its Glo Fiber network.

• Broadband operating income was $11.3 million in the first quarter of 2023, compared to $8.2 million in the first quarter of 2022.

• Broadband Adjusted EBITDA was $26.3 million in the first quarter of 2023 compared to $21.1 million in the first quarter of 2022.

Tower

• Revenue decreased approximately $0.3 million, or 5.6%, for the three months ended March 31, 2023 compared with the three months ended March 31, 2022, primarily due to lower application fee revenue.

• Tower operating income was $2.4 million in the first quarter of 2023, compared to $2.8 million in the first quarter of 2022.

• Tower Adjusted EBITDA in the first quarter of 2023 decreased 9.4% to $2.9 million, compared with $3.2 million for the first quarter of 2022.

Other Information

• As of March 31, 2023, our cash and cash equivalents totaled $48.4 million and the availability under our delayed draw term loans and revolving line of credit was $300.0 million, for total available liquidity of $348.4 million. We expect to draw the remaining $200.0 million in delay draw term loans by June 30, 2023.

• Capital expenditures were $67.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023 compared with $45.7 million in the comparable 2022 period. The $22.0 million increase in capital expenditures was primarily due to higher spending in the Broadband segment to enable our Glo Fiber market expansion.

Earnings Call Webcast

Date: Friday, April 28, 2023
Time: 8:00 A.M. (ET)
Listen via Internet: https://investor.shentel.com/ 

A replay of the call will be available for a limited time on the Investor Relations page of the Company’s website.

About Shenandoah Telecommunications

Shenandoah Telecommunications Company (Shentel) provides broadband services through its high speed, state-of-the-art cable and fiber optic networks to customers in the Mid-Atlantic United States. The Company’s services include: broadband internet, video, and voice; fiber optic Ethernet, wavelength and leasing; and tower colocation leasing. The Company owns an extensive regional network with over 8,600 route miles of fiber and over 220 macro cellular towers. For more information, please visit www.shentel.com.

This release contains forward-looking statements about Shentel regarding, among other things, its business strategy, its prospects and its financial position. These statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” or “anticipates” or the negative or other variation of these or similar words, or by discussions of strategy or risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements are based upon management’s beliefs, assumptions and current expectations and may include comments as to Shentel’s beliefs and expectations as to future events and trends affecting its business that are necessarily subject to uncertainties, many of which are outside Shentel’s control. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not, and should not be relied upon as, a guarantee of future performance or results, nor will they necessarily prove to be accurate indications of the times at which such performance or results will be achieved, and actual results may differ materially from those contained in or implied by the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. A discussion of other factors that may cause actual results to differ from management’s projections, forecasts, estimates and expectations is available in Shentel’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Those factors may include natural disasters, pandemics and outbreaks of contagious diseases and other adverse public health developments, such as COVID-19, changes in general economic conditions including high inflation, increases in costs, changes in regulation and other competitive factors. The forward-looking statements included are made only as of the date of the statement. Shentel undertakes no obligation to revise or update such statements to reflect current events or circumstances after the date hereof, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law.

CONTACTS:
Shenandoah Telecommunications Company
Jim Volk
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
540-984-5168
Jim.Volk@emp.shentel.com

SHENANDOAH TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin

The Company defines Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) calculated in accordance with GAAP, adjusted for the impact of depreciation and amortization, impairment, other income (expense), net, interest income, interest expense, income tax expense (benefit), stock compensation expense, transaction costs related to acquisition and disposition events (including professional advisory fees, integration costs, and related compensatory matters), restructuring expense, tax on equity award vesting and exercise events, and other non-comparable items. A reconciliation of net income (loss), which is the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, to Adjusted EBITDA is provided below herein.

Adjusted EBITDA margin is the Company’s calculation of Adjusted EBITDA, divided by revenue calculated in accordance with GAAP.

The Company uses Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin as supplemental measures of performance to evaluate operating effectiveness and assess its ability to increase revenues while controlling expense growth and the scalability of the Company’s business growth strategy. Adjusted EBITDA is also a significant performance measure used by the Company in its incentive compensation programs. The Company believes that the exclusion of the expense and income items eliminated in calculating Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin provides management and investors a useful measure for period-to-period comparisons of the Company’s core operating results by excluding items that are not comparable across reporting periods or that do not otherwise relate to the Company’s ongoing operations. Accordingly, the Company believes that Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin provide useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating the Company’s operating results. However, use of Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin as analytical tools has limitations, and investors and others should not consider them in isolation or as substitutes for analysis of our financial results as reported under GAAP. In addition, other companies may calculate Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin or similarly titled measures differently, which may reduce their usefulness as comparative measures.

Segment Results

Three Months Ended March 31, 2023:

Three Months Ended March 31, 2022:

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^{(1)   Shentel has presented Residential & SMB - Cable Markets and Residential & SMB - Glo Fiber Markets separately for the three months ended March 31, 2023. These revenues were previously reported in one line under the description “Residential & SMB”. Shentel has amended the presentation for the three months ended March 31, 2022 for comparability.}

Supplemental Information

Broadband Operating Statistics

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^{(1)   Homes and businesses are considered passed (“passings") if we can connect them to our network without further extending the distribution system. Passings is an estimate based upon the best available information. Passings will vary among video, broadband data and voice services.
(2)   Penetration is calculated by dividing the number of users by the number of passings or available homes, as appropriate.
(3)   Total fiber miles are measured by taking the number of fiber strands in a cable and multiplying that number by the route distance. For example, a 10 mile route with 144 fiber strands would equal 1,440 fiber miles.}

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^{(1)   Average Revenue Per RGU calculation = (Residential & SMB Revenue) / average RGUs / 3 months}

Tower Operating Statistics

Source: Shenandoah Telecommunications Co