Nice Q2 earning, nice cash balance, nice dividend, nice cost control, nice/tighter guidance, Congrats USMO management!
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SPRINGFIELD, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--USA Mobility, Inc. (Nasdaq: USMO - News), a leading provider of wireless messaging and communications services, today announced operating results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2010.
In addition, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly cash distribution of $0.25 per share, payable on September 10, 2010 to stockholders of record on August 19, 2010. Of the $0.25 cash distribution, the Company expects $0.23 will be a return of capital and $0.02 will be a dividend distribution.
Total revenue for the second quarter was $59.1 million, compared to $62.8 million in the first quarter of 2010 and $75.1 million in the year-earlier quarter. Second quarter EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and accretion) totaled $20.4 million, compared to $22.0 million in the first quarter and $24.0 million in the second quarter of 2009.
Net income for the second quarter was $13.1 million, or $0.58 per fully diluted share, compared to $8.9 million, or $0.39 per fully diluted share, in the first quarter, and $44.7 million, or $1.93 per fully diluted share, in the year-earlier quarter. The second quarter of 2009 net income included a one-time income tax benefit of $37.0 million due to the settlement of uncertain tax positions and tax refund claims and a litigation settlement expense of $4.0 million. Excluding those two items, net income in the year-earlier quarter would have been $10.1 million, or $0.43 per fully diluted share. In the second quarter of 2010, the Company reassessed the expected level of the Company’s 2010 taxable income, which allowed the Company to reduce the deferred tax asset valuation allowance by $4.7 million with a corresponding reduction in income tax expense. Absent the reduction in income tax expense, net income would have been $8.4 million or $0.37 per fully diluted share.
Second quarter results included:
Net unit loss was 72,000 in the second quarter, compared to 83,000 in the prior quarter and 158,000 in the second quarter of 2009. Units in service totaled 2,027,000 at June 30, 2010, compared to 2,449,000 a year earlier.
The quarterly rate of subscriber loss improved to 3.5 percent, compared to 3.8 percent in the first quarter and 6.0 percent in the second quarter of 2009. The annual rate of subscriber erosion also improved to 17.2 percent in the second quarter from 19.5 percent in the first quarter and 22.9 percent in the year-earlier quarter.
Total paging ARPU (average revenue per unit) was $8.87 in the second quarter, compared to $9.00 in the first quarter and $8.96 in the year-earlier quarter.
The quarterly rate of revenue erosion was 5.8 percent, compared to 4.0 percent in the prior quarter and 5.7 percent in the second quarter of 2009. The annual rate of revenue erosion was 21.3 percent, compared to 21.2 percent in the first quarter and 18.4 percent in the year-earlier quarter.
Operating expenses (excluding depreciation, amortization and accretion) totaled $38.7 million in the second quarter, a reduction of $12.5 million, or 24.4 percent, from $51.2 million in the second quarter of 2009. Operating expenses declined 5.3 percent from the prior quarter.
EBITDA margin (or EBITDA as a percentage of revenue) was 34.6 percent, compared to 31.9 percent in the second quarter of 2009.
Capital expenses were $0.6 million in the quarter, compared to $4.4 million in the year-earlier quarter, due to fewer paging device purchases.
The Company repurchased 176,839 shares of common stock during the quarter under its buy back program, and approximately $18.1 million remains available for purchases under the currently approved plan.
The Company’s cash balance at June 30, 2010 was $129.1 million.
Vincent D. Kelly, president and chief executive officer, said: “USA Mobility reported another quarter of solid operating results, meeting or exceeding the majority of our key performance objectives. We were particularly pleased to see continued improvement in the pace of subscriber erosion, which slowed for the third consecutive quarter. At the same time, revenue, ARPU, and operating margins remained at high levels while our expense reduction efforts continued on track, all consistent with the financial guidance we provided earlier this year. In addition, we again generated sufficient cash flow during the quarter to return significant capital to stockholders in the form of cash distributions and share repurchases.”
Thomas L. Schilling, chief operating officer and chief financial officer, said the Company continued to pursue various cost reduction initiatives during the quarter. “Operating expenses (excluding depreciation, amortization and accretion) decreased 5.3 percent from the first quarter and 24.4 percent over the past 12 months,” Schilling noted, “including significant reductions in payroll expense and site rent expense. Operating expense as a percentage of revenue was 65.4 percent in the quarter, compared to 68.1 percent in the year-earlier quarter, with the lower expenses contributing to an EBITDA margin of 34.6 percent versus 31.9 percent in the same quarter of 2009.”
Based on current trends, the Company is revising its financial guidance for 2010. Revenues are now expected to be between $230 million to $235 million, operating expenses (excluding depreciation, amortization and accretion) between $156 million to $159 million, and capital expenses between $7 million to $9 million.
AI
