News Release
Spok Reports Third Quarter 2024 Results
Strong Q3 Software Operations Bookings Up Both Sequentially and Year-Over-Year
Software Backlog Up More Than 19% From Prior Year Quarter
Plano, Tx. (October 30, 2024) – Spok Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPOK), a global leader in healthcare communications, today announced results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2024. In addition, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.3125 per share, payable on December 9, 2024, to stockholders of record on November 18, 2024.
Recent Highlights:
- Software operations bookings totaled $10.4 million in the third quarter, up 64.4% from the third quarter of 2023, and representing the highest third quarter total in the past six years
- Third quarter software operations bookings included 24 six-figure customer contracts, double the amount generated in the prior year quarter
- Software backlog totaled $63.6 million at September 30, 2024, up more than 19% from the prior year quarter
- Third quarter 2024 Wireless average revenue per unit (ARPU) was $7.95, up nearly 5% on a year-over-year basis
- Capital returned to stockholders in the third quarter of 2024 totaled $6.3 million
- Cash and cash equivalents increased by nearly $4.0 million in the third quarter, totaling $27.8 million at September 30, 2024
- Research and development costs totaled $9.0 million in the first nine months of 2024, supporting Spok’s investment in the Company’s industry-leading solutions to fuel future growth
“I am proud of the performance that our team was able to deliver in the third quarter as we continue to serve our customers at a high level and position Spok for strong growth in the fourth quarter and 2025,” said Vincent D. Kelly, chief executive officer. “We continue to achieve our goal to consistently generate cash flow in order to return capital to our loyal stockholders over the long term. I am particularly pleased with our performance in generating both sequential and year-over-year growth in software operations bookings.”
“I believe Spok is doing an excellent job of balancing the necessary investments in our products and infrastructure in order to fuel future growth, while continuing to return capital to our stockholders,” continued Kelly. “Through the first nine months of this year, Spok has generated more than $11.3 million of net income and over $22.1 million of adjusted EBITDA. More importantly, adjusted EBITDA in the third quarter was more than enough to cover our quarterly dividend payment, as well as our capital expenditure requirements. This also resulted in a nearly $4.0 million increase in our cash and cash equivalents balance, which we believe will continue to build through the remainder of the year.
“We were very pleased with our performance in the third quarter and believe that our results in the first nine months of the year provide a solid foundation for the remainder of 2024. As a result, we are reiterating the guidance ranges for revenue and adjusted EBITDA that we had previously outlined,” concluded Kelly.
Financial Highlights:
For the three months ended September 30, | For the nine months ended September 30, | ||||||||||
(Dollars in thousands) | 2024 | 2023 | Change (%) | 2024 | 2023 | Change (%) | |||||
Revenue | |||||||||||
Wireless revenue | |||||||||||
Paging revenue | $ 17,605 | $ 18,119 | (2.8) % | $ 53,208 | $ 54,915 | (3.1) % | |||||
Product and other revenue | 656 | 853 | (23.1) % | 1,945 | 1,962 | (0.9) % | |||||
Total wireless revenue | $ 18,261 | $ 18,972 | (3.7) % | $ 55,153 | $ 56,877 | (3.0) % | |||||
Software revenue | |||||||||||
License | $ 2,042 | $ 2,413 | (15.4) % | $ 6,365 | $ 7,723 | (17.6) % | |||||
Professional services | 4,835 | 3,833 | 26.1 % | 13,146 | 10,909 | 20.5 % | |||||
Hardware | 395 | 798 | (50.5) % | 1,113 | 2,088 | (46.7) % | |||||
Maintenance | 9,337 | 9,412 | (0.8) % | 27,984 | 27,475 | 1.9 % | |||||
Total software revenue | $ 16,609 | $ 16,456 | 0.9 % | $ 48,608 | $ 48,195 | 0.9 % | |||||
Total revenue | $ 34,870 | $ 35,428 | (1.6) % | $ 103,761 | $ 105,072 | (1.2) % | |||||
For the three months ended September 30, | For the nine months ended September 30, | ||||||||||
(Dollars in thousands) | 2024 | 2023 | Change (%) | 2024 | 2023 | Change (%) | |||||
GAAP | |||||||||||
Operating expenses | $ 29,909 | $ 29,215 | 2.4 % | $ 89,434 | $ 87,926 | 1.7 % | |||||
Net income | $ 3,660 | $ 4,451 | (17.8) % | $ 11,321 | $ 12,301 | (8.0) % | |||||
Cash and cash equivalents (as of period end) | $ 27,830 | $ 27,301 | 1.9 % | $ 27,830 | $ 27,301 | 1.9 % | |||||
Capital returned to stockholders | $ 6,330 | $ 6,241 | 1.4 % | $ 20,045 | $ 19,404 | 3.3 % | |||||
Non-GAAP | |||||||||||
Adjusted operating expenses | $ 28,509 | $ 27,871 | 2.3 % | $ 85,123 | $ 83,963 | 1.4 % | |||||
Adjusted EBITDA | $ 7,534 | $ 8,422 | (10.5) % | $ 22,118 | $ 23,833 | (7.2) % | |||||
For the three months ended September 30, | For the nine months ended September 30, | ||||||||||
(Dollars in thousands, excluding units in service and ARPU) | 2024 | 2023 | Change (%) | 2024 | 2023 | Change (%) | |||||
Key Statistics | |||||||||||
Wireless units in service (000’s) | 730 | 785 | (7.0) % | 730 | 785 | (7.0) % | |||||
Wireless average revenue per unit (ARPU) | $ 7.95 | $ 7.59 | 4.7 % | $ 7.91 | $ 7.62 | 3.8 % | |||||
Software operations bookings(1) | $ 10,379 | $ 6,312 | 64.4 % | $ 26,959 | $ 26,000 | 3.7 % | |||||
Software backlog (as of period end)(2) | $ 63,579 | $ 53,309 | 19.3 % | $ 63,579 | $ 53,309 | 19.3 % | |||||
(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.
(2) Software backlog excludes $5.3 million and $5.4 million of contractual obligations that are deemed cancellable by the customer without significant penalty as of September 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Financial Outlook:
Regarding financial guidance, the Company reiterated the following expectations 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 | ||
2024 Third Quarter Call:
Management will host a conference call and webcast to discuss these financial results on Wednesday, October 30, 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, October 30, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. ET |
Webcast: | |
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 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 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 nine months ended | |||||||
9/30/2024 | 9/30/2023 | 9/30/2024 | 9/30/2023 | |||||
Revenue: | ||||||||
Wireless | $ 18,261 | $ 18,972 | $ 55,153 | $ 56,877 | ||||
Software | 16,609 | 16,456 | 48,608 | 48,195 | ||||
Total revenue | 34,870 | 35,428 | 103,761 | 105,072 | ||||
Operating expenses: | ||||||||
Cost of revenue (exclusive of items shown separately below) | 7,133 | 6,622 | 21,435 | 19,885 | ||||
Research and development | 2,831 | 2,561 | 8,958 | 7,907 | ||||
Technology operations | 6,083 | 6,405 | 18,563 | 19,444 | ||||
Selling and marketing | 3,928 | 4,067 | 11,582 | 12,322 | ||||
General and administrative | 8,534 | 8,216 | 24,585 | 24,405 | ||||
Depreciation and accretion | 1,075 | 1,267 | 3,210 | 3,768 | ||||
Severance and restructuring | 325 | 77 | 1,101 | 195 | ||||
Total operating expenses | 29,909 | 29,215 | 89,434 | 87,926 | ||||
% of total revenue | 85.8 % | 82.5 % | 86.2 % | 83.7 % | ||||
Operating income | 4,961 | 6,213 | 14,327 | 17,146 | ||||
% of total revenue | 14.2 % | 17.5 % | 13.8 % | 16.3 % | ||||
Interest income | 264 | 240 | 908 | 866 | ||||
Other (expense) income | (75) | 41 | (91) | (45) | ||||
Income before income taxes | 5,150 | 6,494 | 15,144 | 17,967 | ||||
Provision for income taxes | (1,490) | (2,043) | (3,823) | (5,666) | ||||
Net income | $ 3,660 | $ 4,451 | $ 11,321 | $ 12,301 | ||||
Basic net income per common share | $ 0.18 | $ 0.22 | $ 0.56 | $ 0.62 | ||||
Diluted net income per common share | $ 0.18 | $ 0.22 | $ 0.55 | $ 0.61 | ||||
Basic weighted average common shares outstanding | 20,264,055 | 19,970,936 | 20,229,146 | 19,942,325 | ||||
Diluted weighted average common shares outstanding | 20,523,873 | 20,304,092 | 20,534,883 | 20,308,973 | ||||
Cash dividends declared per common share | 0.3125 | 0.3125 | 0.9375 | 0.9375 | ||||
SPOK HOLDINGS, INC. | ||||
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS | ||||
(In thousands) | ||||
9/30/2024 | 12/31/2023 | |||
ASSETS | (Unaudited) |
| ||
Current assets: | ||||
Cash and cash equivalents | $ 27,830 | $ 31,989 | ||
Accounts receivable, net | 21,377 | 23,314 | ||
Prepaid expenses | 8,450 | 7,885 | ||
Other current assets | 723 | 704 | ||
Total current assets | 58,380 | 63,892 | ||
Non-current assets: | ||||
Property and equipment, net | 6,988 | 7,321 | ||
Operating lease right-of-use assets | 8,597 | 10,526 | ||
Goodwill | 99,175 | 99,175 | ||
Deferred income tax assets, net | 42,635 | 46,260 | ||
Other non-current assets | 987 | 510 | ||
Total non-current assets | 158,382 | 163,792 | ||
Total assets | $ 216,762 | $ 227,684 | ||
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY | ||||
Current liabilities: | ||||
Accounts payable | $ 3,944 | $ 5,969 | ||
Accrued compensation and benefits | 5,188 | 7,284 | ||
Deferred revenue | 28,743 | 26,298 | ||
Operating lease liabilities | 2,961 | 4,184 | ||
Other current liabilities | 4,796 | 4,273 | ||
Total current liabilities | 45,632 | 48,008 | ||
Non-current liabilities: | ||||
Asset retirement obligations | 7,268 | 7,191 | ||
Operating lease liabilities | 6,148 | 6,902 | ||
Other non-current liabilities | 1,426 | 1,812 | ||
Total non-current liabilities | 14,842 | 15,905 | ||
Total liabilities | 60,474 | 63,913 | ||
Commitments and contingencies | ||||
Stockholders’ equity: | ||||
Preferred stock | $ — | $ — | ||
Common stock | 2 | 2 | ||
Additional paid-in capital | 104,119 | 102,936 | ||
Accumulated other comprehensive loss | (1,747) | (1,764) | ||
Retained earnings | 53,914 | 62,597 | ||
Total stockholders’ equity | 156,288 | 163,771 | ||
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity | $ 216,762 | $ 227,684 | ||
SPOK HOLDINGS, INC. | |||
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS | |||
(Unaudited and in thousands) | |||
For the nine months ended | |||
9/30/2024 | 9/30/2023 | ||
Operating activities: | |||
Net income | $ 11,321 | $ 12,301 | |
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities: | |||
Depreciation and accretion | 3,210 | 3,768 | |
Deferred income tax expense | 3,624 | 5,605 | |
Stock-based compensation | 3,480 | 2,743 | |
Provisions for credit losses, service credits and other | 450 | 415 | |
Changes in assets and liabilities: | |||
Accounts receivable | 1,481 | 1,305 | |
Prepaid expenses and other assets | (1,061) | (1,102) | |
Net operating lease liabilities | (48) | (1,243) | |
Accounts payable, accrued liabilities and other | (4,284) | (7,396) | |
Deferred revenue | 2,342 | (2,000) | |
Net cash provided by operating activities | 20,515 | 14,396 | |
Investing activities: | |||
Purchases of property and equipment | (2,348) | (2,419) | |
Net cash used in investing activities | (2,348) | (2,419) | |
Financing activities: | |||
Cash distributions to stockholders | (20,045) | (19,404) | |
Proceeds from issuance of common stock under the Employee Stock Purchase Plan | 130 | 90 | |
Purchase of common stock for tax withholding on vested equity awards | (2,428) | (1,245) | |
Net cash used in financing activities | (22,343) | (20,559) | |
Effect of exchange rate on cash and cash equivalents | 17 | 129 | |
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents | (4,159) | (8,453) | |
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period | 31,989 | 35,754 | |
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period | $ 27,830 | $ 27,301 | |
Supplemental disclosure: | |||
Income taxes paid | $ 298 | $ 236 | |
SPOK HOLDINGS, INC. | ||||||||||||||||
UNITS IN SERVICE, MARKET SEGMENTS, | ||||||||||||||||
AND AVERAGE REVENUE PER UNIT (ARPU) | ||||||||||||||||
(Unaudited and in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||
For the three months ended | ||||||||||||||||
9/30/2024 | 6/30/2024 | 3/31/2024 | 12/31/2023 | 9/30/2023 | 6/30/2023 | 3/31/2023 | 12/31/2022 | |||||||||
Account size ending units in service (000’s) | ||||||||||||||||
1 to 100 units | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 46 | 48 | 48 | 50 | ||||||||
101 to 1,000 units | 125 | 128 | 135 | 142 | 143 | 144 | 149 | 147 | ||||||||
>1,000 units | 564 | 577 | 575 | 579 | 596 | 614 | 614 | 620 | ||||||||
Total | 730 | 747 | 753 | 765 | 785 | 806 | 811 | 817 | ||||||||
Market segment as a percent of total ending units in service | ||||||||||||||||
Healthcare | 85.7 % | 85.8 % | 86.1 % | 85.9 % | 86.0 % | 86.1 % | 85.7 % | 85.4 % | ||||||||
Government | 4.1 % | 4.4 % | 4.1 % | 4.2 % | 4.2 % | 4.2 % | 4.3 % | 4.4 % | ||||||||
Large enterprise | 4.0 % | 4.0 % | 3.9 % | 4.1 % | 4.1 % | 4.0 % | 4.1 % | 4.0 % | ||||||||
Other(1) | 6.2 % | 5.8 % | 5.9 % | 5.8 % | 5.7 % | 5.7 % | 5.9 % | 6.2 % | ||||||||
Total | 100.0 % | 100.0 % | 100.0 % | 100.0 % | 100.0 % | 100.0 % | 100.0 % | 100.0 % | ||||||||
Account size ARPU | ||||||||||||||||
1 to 100 units | $ 12.70 | $ 12.51 | $ 12.66 | $ 12.57 | $ 12.02 | $ 11.91 | $ 12.03 | $ 11.95 | ||||||||
101 to 1,000 units | 9.19 | 9.06 | 9.14 | 9.16 | 8.75 | 8.56 | 8.75 | 8.66 | ||||||||
>1,000 units | 7.33 | 7.21 | 7.23 | 7.15 | 6.97 | 6.94 | 6.95 | 6.86 | ||||||||
Total | $ 7.95 | $ 7.84 | $ 7.89 | $ 7.84 | $ 7.59 | $ 7.53 | $ 7.59 | $ 7.50 | ||||||||
(1) Other includes hospitality, resort and indirect units | ||||||||||||||||
RECONCILIATION OF ADJUSTED OPERATING EXPENSES | ||||||||
(Unaudited and in thousands) | ||||||||
For the three months ended | For the nine months ended | |||||||
9/30/2024 | 9/30/2023 | 9/30/2024 | 9/30/2023 | |||||
Operating expenses | $ 29,909 | $ 29,215 | $ 89,434 | $ 87,926 | ||||
Add back: | ||||||||
Depreciation and accretion | (1,075) | (1,267) | (3,210) | (3,768) | ||||
Severance and restructuring | (325) | (77) | (1,101) | (195) | ||||
Adjusted operating expenses | $ 28,509 | $ 27,871 | $ 85,123 | $ 83,963 | ||||
RECONCILIATION OF ADJUSTED EBITDA | ||||||||
(Unaudited and in thousands) | ||||||||
For the three months ended | For the nine months ended | |||||||
9/30/2024 | 9/30/2023 | 9/30/2024 | 9/30/2023 | |||||
Net income | $ 3,660 | $ 4,451 | $ 11,321 | $ 12,301 | ||||
Add back: | ||||||||
Provision for income taxes | 1,490 | 2,043 | 3,823 | 5,666 | ||||
Other expense (income) | 75 | (41) | 91 | 45 | ||||
Interest income | (264) | (240) | (908) | (866) | ||||
Depreciation and accretion | 1,075 | 1,267 | 3,210 | 3,768 | ||||
EBITDA | $ 6,036 | $ 7,480 | $ 17,537 | $ 20,914 | ||||
Adjustments: | ||||||||
Stock-based compensation | 1,173 | 865 | 3,480 | 2,724 | ||||
Severance and restructuring | 325 | 77 | 1,101 | 195 | ||||
Adjusted EBITDA | $ 7,534 | $ 8,422 | $ 22,118 | $ 23,833 | ||||