Cable One Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2022 Results

PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cable One, Inc. (NYSE: CABO) (the “Company” or “Cable One”) today reported financial and operating results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2022. As previously disclosed, Cable One contributed certain fiber operations to Clearwave Fiber on January 1, 2022; divested certain other operations during the second quarter of 2022; and acquired certain operations during 2021.⁽¹⁾ These transactions impacted the year-over-year changes reflected in the Company’s 2022 revenues and other financial results for the fourth quarter and full year periods.

Fourth Quarter 2022 Highlights:

Total revenues were $425.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to $432.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2021. Year-over-year, residential data revenues increased 5.7% and business services revenues decreased 11.4%. Revenues for the fourth quarter of 2022 included $4.9 million from CableAmerica⁽¹⁾ operations. Revenues for the fourth quarter of 2021 included $16.1 million from operations that were contributed to Clearwave Fiber⁽¹⁾ and from the Divested Operations⁽¹⁾, of which a substantial majority consisted of business services revenues.
Net loss was $77.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to net income of $64.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, a decrease of 219.1% year-over-year. The Company recognized a $128.8 million non-cash loss on fair value adjustment associated with the call and put options to acquire the remaining equity interests in Mega Broadband Investments Holdings LLC ("MBI") during the fourth quarter of 2022. Net profit margin was negative 18.1% in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Adjusted EBITDA⁽²⁾ was $233.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to $225.3 million in the prior year quarter, an increase of 3.5% year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA margin⁽²⁾ was 54.8% in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Net cash provided by operating activities was $168.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to $174.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2021. Adjusted EBITDA less capital expenditures⁽²⁾ was $126.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to $115.4 million in the prior year quarter.
Residential data primary service units (“PSUs”) grew by approximately 6,000, or 0.7%, year-over-year. Approximately 8,700 residential data PSUs were contributed to Clearwave Fiber.
The Company repurchased 61,425 shares of its common stock at an aggregate cost of $46.3 million and paid $16.5 million in dividends during the fourth quarter of 2022.

Full Year 2022 Highlights:

Total revenues were $1.7 billion in 2022 compared to $1.6 billion in 2021. Residential data revenues increased 11.8% and business services revenues decreased 1.1% year-over-year. Revenues from the Acquired Operations in 2022 increased by $96.8 million year-over-year. Revenues for 2021 included $22.5 million from non-Hargray operations that were contributed to Clearwave Fiber, consisting of business services revenues.
Net income was $234.1 million in 2022 compared to $291.8 million in 2021, a decrease of 19.8% year-over-year. Net profit margin was 13.7% for 2022.
Adjusted EBITDA was $911.9 million in 2022 compared to $839.3 million in 2021, an increase of 8.6% year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 53.4% for 2022.
Net cash provided by operating activities was $738.0 million in 2022, an increase of 4.8% year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA less capital expenditures was $497.8 million in 2022, an increase of 11.3% compared to 2021.
The Company repurchased 294,062 shares of its common stock at an aggregate cost of $353.3 million and paid $66.3 million in dividends during 2022.

Other Highlight:

On February 22, 2023, the Company opportunistically amended, upsized and extended certain existing credit facilities totaling approximately $2.0 billion with a core group of its lenders, most notably achieving extended maturities, enhanced liquidity and improved strategic flexibility at comparable costs to the existing facilities.

(1)		Cable One acquired the remaining equity interests in Hargray Acquisition Holdings, LLC, a data, video and voice services provider ("Hargray"), that it did not already own (the “Hargray Acquisition”) on May 3, 2021 and acquired certain assets and assumed certain liabilities from Cable America Missouri, LLC, a data, video and voice services provider ("CableAmerica"), on December 30, 2021 (collectively, the "Acquired Operations"). Cable One contributed certain fiber operations to Clearwave Fiber LLC, a joint venture amongst Cable One and certain unaffiliated third-party investors ("Clearwave Fiber"), on January 1, 2022 (the "Clearwave Fiber Contribution"). During the second quarter of 2022, Cable One divested its Tallahassee, Florida system and certain other non-core assets (collectively, the "Divested Operations"). The results discussed and presented in the tables within this press release include Hargray operations for the period since the May 3, 2021 acquisition date and CableAmerica operations for the period since the December 30, 2021 acquisition date and exclude the fiber operations contributed to Clearwave Fiber for the period since the January 1, 2022 contribution date and the Divested Operations from their respective divestiture dates.
(2)		Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin and Adjusted EBITDA less capital expenditures are defined in the section of this press release entitled “Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures.” Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA less capital expenditures are reconciled to net income, Adjusted EBITDA margin is reconciled to net profit margin and Adjusted EBITDA less capital expenditures is also reconciled to net cash provided by operating activities. Refer to the “Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Measures” tables within this press release.

Fourth Quarter 2022 Financial Results Compared to Fourth Quarter 2021

Revenues decreased $7.1 million, or 1.6%, to $425.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2022. The decrease was due primarily to the contribution of operations to Clearwave Fiber and the disposition of the Divested Operations during 2022 that collectively generated $16.1 million of revenues in the prior year quarter, predominantly consisting of business services revenues, and decreases in residential video and residential voice revenues. The decrease was partially offset by increases in higher margin residential data and business services revenues from continuing operations and the addition of CableAmerica operations.

Operating expenses (excluding depreciation and amortization) were $112.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2022 and decreased $7.3 million, or 6.1%, compared to the fourth quarter of 2021. The decrease in operating expenses was primarily attributable to $11.7 million of lower programming and franchise fees as a result of video customer losses, partially offset by higher health insurance costs and rent expense. Operating expenses as a percentage of revenues were 26.5% and 27.7% for the fourth quarter of 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Selling, general and administrative expenses were $85.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2022 and decreased $9.2 million, or 9.7%, compared to the fourth quarter of 2021. The decrease in selling, general and administrative expenses was primarily attributable to decreases in labor and other compensation-related costs, marketing costs, maintenance costs and system conversion costs, partially offset by higher software costs. Selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenues were 20.1% and 21.9% for the fourth quarter of 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Depreciation and amortization expense was $86.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2022 and decreased $6.1 million, or 6.5%, compared to the fourth quarter of 2021. The decrease in depreciation and amortization expense was primarily due to lower expenses resulting from the Clearwave Fiber Contribution. Depreciation and amortization expense as a percentage of revenues was 20.4% and 21.5% for the fourth quarter of 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Interest expense was $39.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2022 and increased $8.7 million, or 28.7%, compared to the fourth quarter of 2021. The increase was driven primarily by higher interest rates.

Other expense, net, was $122.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2022 and consisted primarily of a $128.8 million non-cash loss on fair value adjustment associated with the call and put options to acquire the remaining equity interests in MBI, partially offset by interest and investment income. Other expense, net, of $3.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2021 consisted primarily of an $8.9 million non-cash loss on fair value adjustment associated with the call and put options to acquire the remaining equity interests in MBI, partially offset by interest and investment income and a non-cash mark-to-market investment gain.

Income tax provision was $40.2 million and $23.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2022 and 2021, respectively. The increase was due primarily to a $22.9 million deferred income tax expense in the current year due to a revaluation of the existing net deferred tax liability as a result of the adoption of unitary filing position for state income tax purposes upon Hargray's integration into Cable One.

Net loss was $77.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, driven by the $128.8 million non-cash loss on fair value adjustment discussed above, compared to net income of $64.8 million in the prior year quarter.

Adjusted EBITDA was $233.2 million and $225.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2022 and 2021, respectively. Capital expenditures for the fourth quarter of 2022 totaled $106.8 million compared to $109.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2021. Adjusted EBITDA less capital expenditures for the fourth quarter of 2022 was $126.4 million compared to $115.4 million in the prior year quarter.

Full Year 2022 Financial Results Compared to Full Year 2021

Revenues increased $100.2 million, or 6.2%, to $1.7 billion for 2022. The year-over-year increase was driven primarily by increased revenues from the Acquired Operations and residential data services, and business services revenue growth from operations not contributed to Clearwave Fiber, partially offset by the contribution of operations to Clearwave Fiber and the disposition of the Divested Operations during 2022, and decreases in residential video and residential voice revenues. Revenues from the Acquired Operations in 2022 increased by $96.8 million year-over-year. Revenues for 2021 included $22.5 million from non-Hargray operations that were contributed to Clearwave Fiber, consisting of business services revenues. For 2022 and 2021, residential data revenues comprised 54.8% and 52.0% of total revenues, respectively, and business services revenues comprised 17.9% and 19.2% of total revenues, respectively.

Operating expenses (excluding depreciation and amortization) were $470.9 million for 2022 and increased $15.6 million, or 3.4%, compared to 2021. The increase in operating expenses was primarily attributable to $28.0 million of additional expenses related to the Acquired Operations and increases in labor and other compensation-related costs, fuel costs, health insurance costs and professional fees, partially offset by a $26.6 million reduction in programming and franchise fees as a result of video customer losses and lower rent expense. Operating expenses as a percentage of revenues were 27.6% and 28.4% for 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Selling, general and administrative expenses were $350.3 million for 2022 and increased $3.3 million, or 0.9%, compared to 2021. The increase in selling, general and administrative expenses was primarily attributable to increases in professional fees, bad debt expense, software costs and health insurance costs, partially offset by decreases in acquisition-related costs and system conversion costs. Selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenues were 20.5% and 21.6% for 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Depreciation and amortization expense was $350.5 million for 2022 and increased $11.4 million, or 3.4%, compared to 2021. Depreciation and amortization expense as a percentage of revenues was 20.5% and 21.1% for 2022 and 2021, respectively.

The Company recognized a non-cash gain of $22.1 million associated with the Clearwave Fiber Contribution and a $8.3 million non-cash loss associated with the dispositions of its Tallahassee, Florida system and certain other non-core assets during 2022.

Interest expense was $137.7 million for 2022 and increased $24.3 million, or 21.4%, compared to 2021. The increase was driven primarily by additional outstanding debt and higher interest rates.

Other expense, net, was $25.9 million for 2022 and consisted primarily of a $40.7 million non-cash loss on fair value adjustment associated with the call and put options to acquire the remaining equity interests in MBI, partially offset by interest and investment income. Other expense, net, was $6.0 million for 2021 and consisted primarily of a $50.3 million non-cash loss on fair value adjustment associated with the MBI options and debt issuance cost write-offs, partially offset by a $33.4 million non-cash gain on fair value adjustment associated with the existing investment in Hargray upon the Hargray Acquisition, interest and investment income and a non-cash mark-to-market investment gain.

Income tax provision was $126.3 million and $45.8 million for 2022 and 2021, respectively, and the Company's effective tax rate was 33.7% and 13.6% for 2022 and 2021, respectively. The increase in the effective tax rate was due primarily to a $35.4 million income tax benefit from the reversal of a pre-existing deferred tax liability on the Hargray investment in the prior year that did not recur in the current year and a $22.9 million deferred income tax expense in the current year due to a revaluation of the existing net deferred tax liability as a result of the adoption of unitary filing position for state income tax purposes upon Hargray's integration into Cable One.

Net income was $234.1 million for 2022 compared to $291.8 million for 2021.

Adjusted EBITDA was $911.9 million and $839.3 million for 2022 and 2021, respectively. Capital expenditures for 2022 totaled $414.1 million compared to $391.9 million for 2021. Adjusted EBITDA less capital expenditures for 2022 was $497.8 million compared to $447.4 million in 2021.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

At December 31, 2022, the Company had $215.2 million of cash and cash equivalents on hand compared to $388.8 million at December 31, 2021. The Company’s debt balance was $3.8 billion and $3.9 billion at December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The Company had $500.0 million available for borrowing under its revolving credit facility as of December 31, 2022.

The Company paid $16.5 million in dividends to stockholders and repurchased 61,425 shares of its common stock at an aggregate cost of $46.3 million during the fourth quarter of 2022. During 2022, the Company paid $66.3 million in dividends and repurchased 294,062 shares of its common stock at an aggregate cost of $353.3 million. The Company had $241.8 million of remaining share repurchase authorization as of December 31, 2022.

On February 22, 2023, the Company amended and restated its credit agreement (the "New Credit Agreement") to, among other things, (i) increase the aggregate principal amount of commitments under its revolving credit facility by $500.0 million to $1.0 billion; (ii) extend the scheduled maturity of its revolving credit facility from October 2025 to February 2028; (iii) upsize its $625.0 million term loan maturing in 2027 (the "Term Loan B-3") by $150.0 million to $775.0 million; (iv) extend the scheduled maturities of its $250.0 million term loan maturing in 2027 (the "Term Loan B-2") and the Term Loan B-3 from October 2027 to October 2029; and (v) transition the benchmark interest rate for its revolving credit facility, the Term Loan B-2 and the Term Loan B-3 from the London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate plus a 10 basis point credit spread adjustment by March 1, 2023. The variable interest rate spread on the Company's revolving credit facility remained unchanged while the fixed spreads on the Term Loan B-2 and the Term Loan B-3 increased from 2.00% to 2.25%. Except as described above, the New Credit Agreement did not make any material changes to the principal terms of its revolving credit facility or its term loans. Upon the effectiveness of the New Credit Agreement, the Company drew $488.0 million under its revolving credit facility and, together with the net proceeds from the upsized Term Loan B-3, repaid all $638.3 million aggregate principal amount of its outstanding term "A-2" loan tranche that was scheduled to mature on October 30, 2025.

Conference Call

Cable One will host a conference call with the financial community to discuss results for the fourth quarter and full year 2022 on Thursday, February 23, 2023, at 5 p.m. Eastern Time (ET).

The conference call will be available via an audio webcast on the Cable One Investor Relations website at ir.cableone.net or by dialing 1-844-200-6205 (International: 1-929-526-1599) and using the access code 455731. Participants should register for the webcast or dial in for the conference call shortly before 5 p.m. ET.

A replay of the call will be available from February 23, 2023 until March 9, 2023 at ir.cableone.net.

Additional Information Available on Website

The information in this press release should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto contained in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2022 (the "2022 Form 10-K"), which will be posted on the “SEC Filings” section of the Cable One Investor Relations website at ir.cableone.net when it is filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Investors and others interested in more information about Cable One should consult the Company’s website, which is regularly updated with financial and other important information about the Company.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The Company uses certain measures that are not defined by generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”) to evaluate various aspects of its business. Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin, Adjusted EBITDA less capital expenditures and capital expenditures as a percentage of Adjusted EBITDA are non-GAAP financial measures and should be considered in addition to, not as superior to, or as a substitute for, net income (loss), net profit margin, net cash provided by operating activities or capital expenditures as a percentage of net income (loss) reported in accordance with GAAP. Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA less capital expenditures are reconciled to net income (loss), Adjusted EBITDA margin is reconciled to net profit margin and capital expenditures as a percentage of Adjusted EBITDA is reconciled to capital expenditures as a percentage of net income (loss). Adjusted EBITDA less capital expenditures is also reconciled to net cash provided by operating activities. These reconciliations are included in the “Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Measures” tables within this press release.

“Adjusted EBITDA” is defined as net income (loss) plus interest expense, income tax provision, depreciation and amortization, equity-based compensation, (gain) loss on deferred compensation, acquisition-related costs, (gain) loss on asset sales and disposals, system conversion costs, rebranding costs, (gain) loss on sales of businesses, equity method investment (income) loss, other (income) expense and other unusual items, as provided in the “Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Measures” tables within this press release. As such, it eliminates the significant non-cash depreciation and amortization expense that results from the capital-intensive nature of the Company’s business as well as other non-cash or special items and is unaffected by the Company’s capital structure or investment activities. This measure is limited in that it does not reflect the periodic costs of certain capitalized tangible and intangible assets used in generating revenues and the Company’s cash cost of debt financing. These costs are evaluated through other financial measures.

“Adjusted EBITDA margin” is defined as Adjusted EBITDA divided by total revenues.

“Adjusted EBITDA less capital expenditures,” when used as a liquidity measure, is calculated as net cash provided by operating activities excluding the impact of capital expenditures, interest expense, income tax provision, changes in operating assets and liabilities, change in deferred income taxes and other unusual items, as provided in the “Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Measures” tables within this press release.

“Capital expenditures as a percentage of Adjusted EBITDA” is defined as capital expenditures divided by Adjusted EBITDA.

The Company uses Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin, Adjusted EBITDA less capital expenditures and capital expenditures as a percentage of Adjusted EBITDA to assess its performance, and it also uses Adjusted EBITDA less capital expenditures as an indicator of its ability to fund operations and make additional investments with internally generated funds. In addition, Adjusted EBITDA generally correlates to the measure used in the leverage ratio calculations under the Company’s credit agreement and the indenture governing the Company’s non-convertible senior unsecured notes to determine compliance with the covenants contained in the credit agreement and the ability to take certain actions under the indenture governing the non-convertible senior unsecured notes. Adjusted EBITDA and capital expenditures as a percentage of Adjusted EBITDA are also significant performance measures used by the Company in its incentive compensation programs. Adjusted EBITDA does not take into account cash used for mandatory debt service requirements or other non-discretionary expenditures, and thus does not represent residual funds available for discretionary uses.

The Company believes that Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin and capital expenditures as a percentage of Adjusted EBITDA are useful to investors in evaluating the operating performance of the Company. The Company believes that Adjusted EBITDA less capital expenditures is useful to investors as it shows the Company’s performance while taking into account cash outflows for capital expenditures and is one of several indicators of the Company’s ability to service debt, make investments and/or return capital to its stockholders.

Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin, Adjusted EBITDA less capital expenditures, capital expenditures as a percentage of Adjusted EBITDA and similar measures with similar titles are common measures used by investors, analysts and peers to compare performance in the Company’s industry, although the Company’s measures of Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin, Adjusted EBITDA less capital expenditures and capital expenditures as a percentage of Adjusted EBITDA may not be directly comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies.

About Cable One

Cable One, Inc. (NYSE: CABO) is a leading broadband communications provider committed to connecting customers and communities to what matters most. Through Sparklight® and the associated Cable One family of brands, the Company serves more than 1.

Contacts

Trish Niemann
Vice President, Communications Strategy
602-364-6372
patricia.niemann@cableone.biz

Todd Koetje
Chief Financial Officer
investor_relations@cableone.biz

Read full story here

First published on Fri, Feb 24, 2023

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