News Release
Spok Reports Fourth Quarter And Full Year 2023 Results
Total annual revenue growth for the first time in the Company’s history, with year-over-year growth in both Software and Wireless revenue
2023 Software operations bookings, up 22% from the prior year
Company provides earnings guidance for 2024
Alexandria, Va. (February 21, 2024) – Spok Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPOK), a global leader in healthcare communications, today announced results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2023. In addition, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.3125 per share, payable on March 29, 2024, to stockholders of record on March 15, 2024.
Recent Highlights:
- Generated net income of $3.4 million, or $0.17 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter, compared to net income of $24.2 million, or $1.21 per diluted share, in the prior year, or $2.3 million and $0.12 per diluted share, when excluding the $21.9 million non-cash tax benefit related to the release of the previously established valuation allowance
- Generated $6.5 million of adjusted EBITDA in the fourth quarter, compared to $5.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2022
- Software operations bookings totaled $4.1 million in the fourth quarter
- 2023 Software operations bookings are up more than 22% from 2022
- Fourth quarter 2023 Software operations bookings included 14 six-figure customer contracts
- Fourth quarter 2023 Software revenue totaled $14.9 million, up 4% from the prior year period
- Fourth quarter 2023 Wireless average revenue per unit (ARPU) was $7.84, up on a year-over-year basis, with units in service down 2.5% from the prior quarter and 6.4% on a trailing-twelve-month basis
- Fourth quarter 2023 Wireless revenue of $19.1 million, compared to revenue of $19.0 million in the same period in 2022
- Capital returned to stockholders in 2023 totaled $25.6 million in the form of the Company’s regular quarterly dividend
- Cash and cash equivalents balance of $32.0 million on December 31, 2023, and no debt
“I am so proud of the very strong performance our team was able to deliver in 2023, and their continued dedication to Spok’s mission to grow revenue, generate cash flow and return capital to stockholders,” said Vincent D. Kelly, chief executive officer of Spok Holdings, Inc. “Last year we achieved numerous operational and financial milestones as a 3.3% year-over-year increase in total revenue, the first in the Company’s history, was coupled with a more than 12% decline in operating expenses. In addition, we strengthened our sales team and made tremendous progress in executing our product roadmap and building a robust product pipeline, both in terms of size and quality. We exited last year with record Software backlog levels, which were up nearly 28% from 2022. Software operations bookings for the year totaled $30.1 million and were up 22% from an already strong level of bookings in 2022. Included in this performance were 67 six-figure customer contracts, which exceeded prior year levels. Software operations bookings included the largest customer contract ever signed in the Company’s history and we saw a doubling of our average new contract size. Most importantly, last year’s performance included 30 multi-year engagements, up approximately 60% from the level generated in 2022. Lastly, we were able to generate this growth, while increasing customer satisfaction scores and retention.
“In short, I believe Spok has done an excellent job of balancing the necessary investments we needed to make in our products and infrastructure in order to fuel future growth, while continuing to create stockholder value and return capital to our stockholders,” continued Kelly. “In 2023, we generated nearly $16 million of net income and more than $30 million of adjusted EBITDA, which more than covered the $25.6 million we returned to our stockholders. However, at the same time, we invested more than $10.5 million in our products and services. We remain committed to this approach and believe our extensive experience operating our established and well-regarded communication solutions will create significant value going forward.
“Based on our performance in 2023, and the numerous financial and operational milestones we achieved during the year, we are providing guidance estimates for revenue and adjusted EBITDA generation for this year. This guidance reflects the team’s confidence in being able to outpace our 2023 performance. At the midpoint of the guidance range, we believe we are on track to again grow consolidated revenue in 2024, on a year-over-year basis, with slight declines in wireless revenue being more than offset by continued growth in software revenue. We also anticipate that the midpoint of our adjusted EBITDA guidance will be consistent with last year, with additional growth potential at the high-end of the guidance range. Of course, we will continue to update you on our outlook each quarter when we report our results,” concluded Kelly.
Financial Highlights:
For the three months ended December 31, | For the twelve months ended December 31, | ||||||||||
(Dollars in thousands) | 2023 | 2022 | Change (%) | 2023 | 2022 | Change (%) | |||||
Revenue | |||||||||||
Wireless revenue | |||||||||||
Paging revenue | $ 18,220 | $ 18,450 | (1.2) % | $ 73,135 | $ 73,323 | (0.3) % | |||||
Product and other revenue | 871 | 571 | 52.5 % | 2,833 | 2,299 | 23.2 % | |||||
Total wireless revenue | $ 19,091 | $ 19,021 | 0.4 % | $ 75,968 | $ 75,622 | 0.5 % | |||||
Software revenue | |||||||||||
License | $ 998 | $ 1,269 | (21.4) % | $ 8,721 | $ 7,202 | 21.1 % | |||||
Professional services | 3,785 | 3,063 | 23.6 % | 14,694 | 12,565 | 16.9 % | |||||
Hardware | 587 | 585 | 0.3 % | 2,675 | 2,211 | 21.0 % | |||||
Maintenance | 9,492 | 9,317 | 1.9 % | 36,967 | 36,934 | 0.1 % | |||||
Total software revenue | 14,862 | 14,234 | 4.4 % | 63,057 | 58,912 | 7.0 % | |||||
Total revenue | $ 33,953 | $ 33,255 | 2.1 % | $ 139,025 | $ 134,534 | 3.3 % | |||||
For the three months ended December 31, | For the twelve months ended December 31, | |||||||||||
(Dollars in thousands) | 2023 | 2022 | Change (%) | 2023 | 2022 | Change (%) | ||||||
GAAP | ||||||||||||
Operating expenses | $ 29,871 | $ 30,300 | (1.4) % | $ 117,797 | $ 134,296 | (12.3) % | ||||||
Net income | (1) | $ 3,365 | $ 24,226 | (86.1) % | $ 15,666 | $ 21,856 | (28.3) % | |||||
Cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments (as of period end) | $ 31,989 | $ 35,754 | (10.5) % | $ 31,989 | $ 35,754 | (10.5) % | ||||||
Capital returned to stockholders | $ 6,238 | $ 6,162 | 1.2 % | $ 25,642 | $ 25,011 | 2.5 % | ||||||
Non-GAAP | ||||||||||||
Adjusted operating expenses | $ 28,765 | $ 28,481 | 1.0 % | $ 112,728 | $ 123,396 | (8.6) % | ||||||
Adjusted EBITDA | $ 6,509 | $ 5,647 | 15.3 % | $ 30,342 | $ 14,965 | 102.8 % | ||||||
(1) For the three months and year ended December 31, 2022 Net income includes a non-cash benefit of $21.9 million related to the release of a previously established valuation allowance in alignment with our projections of future taxable income.
For the three months ended December 31, | For the twelve months ended December 31, | ||||||||||
(Dollars in thousands, excluding units and service and ARPU) | 2023 | 2022 | Change (%) | 2023 | 2022 | Change (%) | |||||
Key Statistics | |||||||||||
Wireless units in service | 765 | 817 | (6.4) % | 765 | 817 | (6.4) % | |||||
Wireless average revenue per unit (ARPU) | $ 7.84 | $ 7.50 | 4.5 % | $ 7.71 | $ 7.34 | 5.0 % | |||||
Software operations bookings(1) | $ 4,112 | $ 5,863 | (29.9) % | $ 30,113 | $ 24,692 | 22.0 % | |||||
Software backlog (as of period end) | $ 56,231 | $ 43,966 | 27.9 % | $ 56,231 | $ 43,966 | 27.9 % | |||||
(1) Software operations bookings includes net new (i.e., new customers or incremental add-on sales to existing customers) sales of license, professional services, equipment, and first-year maintenance.
Financial Outlook:
Regarding financial guidance, the Company expects the following for the full year 2024:
(Unaudited and in millions) | Current Guidance Full Year 2024 | |||
From | To | |||
Revenue | ||||
Wireless | $ 72.0 | $ 75.0 | ||
Software | $ 64.0 | $ 69.0 | ||
Total Revenue | $ 136.0 | $ 144.0 | ||
Adjusted EBITDA | $ 27.5 | $ 32.5 | ||
2023 Fourth Quarter Call:
Management will host a conference call and webcast to discuss these financial results on Wednesday, February 21, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The presentation is open to all interested parties and may include forward-looking information.
Conference Call Details
Date/Time: | Wednesday, February 21, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. ET |
Webcast: | https://www.webcast-eqs.com/register/spok_q42023_en/en |
U.S. Toll-Free Dial In: | 877-407-0890 |
International Dial In: | 1-201-389-0918 |
To access the call, please dial in approximately ten minutes before the start of the call. For those unable to join the live call, an OnDemand version of the webcast will be available following the call under the URL link and on the investor relations website.
* * * * * * * *
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This press release contains the following non-GAAP financial measures: adjusted operating expenses and adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted operating expenses excludes depreciation, amortization and accretion expense, impairment of intangible assets and severance and restructuring costs. Adjusted EBITDA represents net income/(loss) before interest income/expense, income tax benefit/expense, depreciation, amortization and accretion expense, stock-based compensation expense, impairment of intangible assets and severance and restructuring. With respect to our expectations under “Financial Guidance” above, reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA to net income is not available without unreasonable efforts on a forward-looking basis due to the high variability, complexity and uncertainty with respect to certain items included in net income that are excluded from adjusted EBITDA, in particular, income tax benefit / expense, stock-based compensation expenses, impairment of intangible assets, severance and restructuring and other non-recurring expenses. These items can have unpredictable fluctuations based on unforeseen activity that is out of our control and /or cannot be reasonably predicted.
We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to management and investors regarding certain financial and business trends relating to Spok’s financial condition and results of operations. We use these non-GAAP measures for financial, operational, and budgetary decision-making purposes, to understand and evaluate our core operating performance and trends, and to generate future operating plans. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures permit us to more thoroughly analyze key financial metrics used to make operational decisions and allow us to assess our core operating results. We believe that the use of these non-GAAP financial measures provides an additional tool for investors to use in evaluating ongoing operating results and trends and in comparing our financial measures with other software companies who present similar non-GAAP financial measures. We adjust for certain items because we do not regard these costs as reflective of normal costs related to the ongoing operation of the business in the ordinary course. In general, these items possess one or more of the following characteristics: non-cash expenses, factors outside of our control, items that are non-operational in nature, and unusual items not expected to occur in the normal course of business. We believe it is important to exclude these costs, given that they do not represent future operational costs under this strategic business plan. This allows us to assess the underlying performance of our core business under this new strategic business plan.
We do not consider these non-GAAP measures in isolation or as an alternative to financial measures determined in accordance with GAAP. The principle of these non-GAAP financial measures is that they exclude significant amounts that are required by GAAP to be recorded in the Company’s financial statements. In addition, they are subject to inherent limitations as they reflect the exercise of judgment by management about which items are excluded or included in determining these non-GAAP financial measures. In order to compensate for these limitations, management presents non-GAAP financial measures in connection with GAAP results. We urge investors to review the reconciliation of our non-GAAP financial measures to the comparable GAAP financial measures, which are included in this press release, and not to rely on any single financial measure to evaluate our business.
Tables to Follow
SPOK HOLDINGS, INC. | ||||||||
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS | ||||||||
(Unaudited and in thousands except share, per share amounts and ARPU) | ||||||||
For the three months ended | For the year ended | |||||||
12/31/2023 | 12/31/2022 | 12/31/2023 | 12/31/2022 | |||||
Revenue: | ||||||||
Wireless | $ 19,091 | $ 19,021 | $ 75,968 | $ 75,622 | ||||
Software | 14,862 | 14,234 | 63,057 | 58,912 | ||||
Total revenue | 33,953 | 33,255 | 139,025 | 134,534 | ||||
Operating expenses: | ||||||||
Cost of revenue (exclusive of items shown separately below) | 6,933 | 6,859 | 26,818 | 28,267 | ||||
Research and development | 2,642 | 2,281 | 10,549 | 13,625 | ||||
Technology operations | 6,399 | 6,800 | 25,843 | 27,412 | ||||
Selling and marketing | 4,028 | 3,667 | 16,350 | 16,296 | ||||
General and administrative | 8,763 | 8,874 | 33,168 | 37,796 | ||||
Depreciation and accretion | 728 | 938 | 4,496 | 3,571 | ||||
Severance and restructuring | 378 | 881 | 573 | 7,329 | ||||
Total operating expenses | 29,871 | 30,300 | 117,797 | 134,296 | ||||
% of total revenue | 88.0 % | 91.1 % | 84.7 % | 99.8 % | ||||
Operating income | 4,082 | 2,955 | 21,228 | 238 | ||||
% of total revenue | 12.0 % | 8.9 % | 15.3 % | 0.2 % | ||||
Interest income | 233 | 226 | 1,099 | 592 | ||||
Other income (expense) | 43 | 57 | (2) | 167 | ||||
Income before income taxes | 4,358 | 3,238 | 22,325 | 997 | ||||
(Provision for) benefit from income taxes | (993) | 20,988 | (6,659) | 20,859 | ||||
Net income | (1) | $ 3,365 | $ 24,226 | $ 15,666 | $ 21,856 | |||
Basic net income per common share | (1) | $ 0.17 | $ 1.23 | $ 0.79 | $ 1.11 | |||
Diluted net income per common share | (1) | $ 0.17 | $ 1.21 | $ 0.77 | $ 1.09 | |||
Basic weighted average common shares outstanding | 19,987,640 | 19,703,802 | 19,953,747 | 19,672,423 | ||||
Diluted weighted average common shares outstanding | 20,367,248 | 20,009,234 | 20,343,912 | 19,991,202 | ||||
Cash dividends declared per common share | 0.3125 | 0.3125 | 1.2500 | 1.2500 | ||||
(1) For the three months and year ended December 31, 2022 Net income, basic net income per common share, and diluted net income per common share includes a non-cash benefit of $21.9 million related to the release of a previously established valuation allowance in alignment with our projections of future taxable income.
SPOK HOLDINGS, INC. | ||||
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS | ||||
(In thousands) | ||||
12/31/2023 | 12/31/2022 | |||
ASSETS | (Unaudited) |
| ||
Current assets: | ||||
Cash and cash equivalents | $ 31,989 | $ 35,754 | ||
Accounts receivable, net | 23,314 | 26,861 | ||
Prepaid expenses | 7,885 | 6,849 | ||
Other current assets | 704 | 587 | ||
Total current assets | 63,892 | 70,051 | ||
Non-current assets: |
|
| ||
Property and equipment, net | 7,321 | 8,223 | ||
Operating lease right-of-use assets | 10,526 | 13,876 | ||
Goodwill | 99,175 | 99,175 | ||
Deferred income tax assets, net | 46,260 | 52,398 | ||
Other non-current assets | 510 | 754 | ||
Total non-current assets | 163,792 | 174,426 | ||
Total assets | $ 227,684 | $ 244,477 | ||
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY | ||||
Current liabilities: | ||||
Accounts payable | $ 5,969 | $ 5,880 | ||
Accrued compensation and benefits | 7,284 | 11,628 | ||
Deferred revenue | 26,298 | 27,255 | ||
Operating lease liabilities | 4,184 | 5,096 | ||
Other current liabilities | 4,273 | 4,573 | ||
Total current liabilities | 48,008 | 54,432 | ||
Non-current liabilities: | ||||
Asset retirement obligations | 7,191 | 7,237 | ||
Operating lease liabilities | 6,902 | 10,604 | ||
Other non-current liabilities | 1,812 | 1,107 | ||
Total non-current liabilities | 15,905 | 18,948 | ||
Total liabilities | 63,913 | 73,380 | ||
Commitments and contingencies | ||||
Stockholders’ equity: | ||||
Preferred stock | $ — | $ — | ||
Common stock | 2 | 2 | ||
Additional paid-in capital | 102,936 | 99,908 | ||
Accumulated other comprehensive loss | (1,764) | (1,909) | ||
Retained earnings | 62,597 | 73,096 | ||
Total stockholders’ equity | 163,771 | 171,097 | ||
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity | $ 227,684 | $ 244,477 | ||
SPOK HOLDINGS, INC. | |||
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS | |||
(Unaudited and in thousands) | |||
For the year ended | |||
12/31/2023 | 12/31/2022 | ||
Operating activities: | |||
Net income | $ 15,666 | $ 21,856 | |
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities: | |||
Depreciation, amortization and accretion | 4,496 | 3,571 | |
Valuation allowance | — | (21,850) | |
Deferred income tax expense | 6,378 | 903 | |
Stock-based compensation | 4,063 | 3,827 | |
Provisions for credit losses, service credits and other | 950 | 1,777 | |
Changes in assets and liabilities: | |||
Accounts receivable | 2,580 | (1,757) | |
Prepaid expenses and other assets | (909) | (88) | |
Net operating lease liabilities | (1,264) | 357 | |
Accounts payable, accrued liabilities and other | (5,217) | (2,258) | |
Deferred revenue | (559) | 118 | |
Net cash provided by operating activities | 26,184 | 6,456 | |
Investing activities: | |||
Purchases of property and equipment | (3,417) | (3,776) | |
Purchase of short-term investments | — | (14,967) | |
Maturity of short-term investments | — | 30,000 | |
Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities | (3,417) | 11,257 | |
Financing activities: | |||
Cash distributions to stockholders | (25,642) | (25,011) | |
Proceeds from issuance of common stock under the Employee Stock Purchase Plan | 210 | — | |
Purchase of common stock for tax withholding on vested equity awards | (1,245) | (1,210) | |
Net cash used in financing activities | (26,677) | (26,221) | |
Effect of exchange rate on cash and cash equivalents | 145 | (321) | |
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents | (3,765) | (8,829) | |
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period | 35,754 | 44,583 | |
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period | $ 31,989 | $ 35,754 | |
Supplemental disclosure: | |||
Income taxes paid | $ 179 | $ 223 | |
SPOK HOLDINGS, INC. | ||||||||||||||||
UNITS IN SERVICE, MARKET SEGMENTS, | ||||||||||||||||
AND AVERAGE REVENUE PER UNIT (ARPU) | ||||||||||||||||
(Unaudited and in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||
For the three months ended | ||||||||||||||||
12/31/2023 | 9/30/2023 | 6/30/2023 | 3/31/2023 | 12/31/2022 | 9/30/2022 | 6/30/2022 | 3/31/2022 | |||||||||
Account size ending units in service (000’s) | ||||||||||||||||
1 to 100 units | 44 | 46 | 48 | 48 | 50 | 51 | 53 | 54 | ||||||||
101 to 1,000 units | 142 | 143 | 144 | 149 | 147 | 147 | 149 | 150 | ||||||||
>1,000 units | 579 | 596 | 614 | 614 | 620 | 626 | 633 | 634 | ||||||||
Total | 765 | 785 | 806 | 811 | 817 | 824 | 835 | 838 | ||||||||
Market segment as a percent of total ending units in service | ||||||||||||||||
Healthcare | 85.9 % | 86.0 % | 86.1 % | 85.7 % | 85.4 % | 85.0 % | 85.0 % | 84.7 % | ||||||||
Government | 4.2 % | 4.2 % | 4.2 % | 4.3 % | 4.4 % | 4.1 % | 4.2 % | 4.7 % | ||||||||
Large enterprise | 4.1 % | 4.1 % | 4.0 % | 4.1 % | 4.0 % | 3.9 % | 4.0 % | 3.9 % | ||||||||
Other(1) | 5.8 % | 5.7 % | 5.7 % | 5.9 % | 6.2 % | 7.0 % | 6.8 % | 6.7 % | ||||||||
Total | 100.0 % | 100.0 % | 100.0 % | 100.0 % | 100.0 % | 100.0 % | 100.0 % | 100.0 % | ||||||||
Account size ARPU | ||||||||||||||||
1 to 100 units | $ 12.57 | $ 12.02 | $ 11.91 | $ 12.03 | $ 11.95 | $ 11.80 | $ 11.41 | $ 11.52 | ||||||||
101 to 1,000 units | 9.16 | 8.75 | 8.56 | 8.75 | 8.66 | 8.44 | 8.27 | 8.24 | ||||||||
>1,000 units | 7.15 | 6.97 | 6.94 | 6.95 | 6.86 | 6.69 | 6.63 | 6.64 | ||||||||
Total | $ 7.84 | $ 7.59 | $ 7.53 | $ 7.59 | $ 7.50 | $ 7.40 | $ 7.23 | $ 7.24 | ||||||||
(1) Other includes hospitality, resort and indirect units | ||||||||||||||||
RECONCILIATION OF ADJUSTED OPERATING EXPENSES | ||||||||
(Unaudited and in thousands) | ||||||||
For the three months ended | For the year ended | |||||||
12/31/2023 | 12/31/2022 | 12/31/2023 | 12/31/2022 | |||||
Operating expenses | $ 29,871 | $ 30,300 | $ 117,797 | $ 134,296 | ||||
Add back: | ||||||||
Depreciation, amortization and accretion | (728) | (938) | (4,496) | (3,571) | ||||
Severance and restructuring | (378) | (881) | (573) | (7,329) | ||||
Adjusted operating expenses | $ 28,765 | $ 28,481 | $ 112,728 | $ 123,396 | ||||
RECONCILIATION OF ADJUSTED EBITDA | ||||||||
(Unaudited and in thousands) | ||||||||
For the three months ended | For the year ended | |||||||
12/31/2023 | 12/31/2022 | 12/31/2023 | 12/31/2022 | |||||
Net income | (1) | $ 3,365 | $ 24,226 | $ 15,666 | $ 21,856 | |||
Add back: | ||||||||
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes | 993 | (20,988) | 6,659 | (20,859) | ||||
(Other income) expense | (43) | (57) | 2 | (167) | ||||
Interest income | (233) | (226) | (1,099) | (592) | ||||
Depreciation and accretion | 728 | 938 | 4,496 | 3,571 | ||||
EBITDA | $ 4,810 | $ 3,893 | $ 25,724 | $ 3,809 | ||||
Adjustments: | ||||||||
Stock-based compensation | 1,321 | 873 | 4,045 | 3,827 | ||||
Severance and restructuring | 378 | 881 | 573 | 7,329 | ||||
Adjusted EBITDA | $ 6,509 | $ 5,647 | $ 30,342 | $ 14,965 | ||||
(1) For the three months and year ended December 31, 2022 Net income includes a non-cash benefit of $21.9 million related to the release of a previously established valuation allowance in alignment with our projections of future taxable income.