Shenandoah Telecommunications Company Reports Second Quarter 2020 Results

In this article:

EDINBURG, Va., July 30, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Shenandoah Telecommunications Company (“Shentel”) (Nasdaq: SHEN) announced second quarter 2020 financial and operating results.

Second Quarter 2020 Highlights

  • Record quarter for Broadband data net additions of 6,000

  • Wireless prepaid gross and net additions grew 15.8% and 469.2%, respectively, over prior year period

  • Sprint travel dispute favorably resolved with fee reset to $18.0 million per year for 2019 to 2021

  • Operating cash flow was $67.8 million consistent with prior year period

  • Normalized free cash flow grew 38.5% to $46.1 million compared to the second quarter 2019, driven primarily by our Wireless segment

"We continue to manage through the changes created by COVID-19 and the Sprint/T-Mobile merger. Our broadband business had strong operating results driven by demand from stay-at-home and work-from-home initiatives, new offerings and complementary temporary increases in bandwidth speeds and data allowances," said President and CEO, Christopher E. French. "We have the most robust broadband network in our service areas, and it has continued to perform very well. Our wireless business began to rebound in the second quarter with strong prepaid growth and all of our COVID-19 related temporary retail store closures were able to re-open by the end of the quarter. We expect to return to pre-COVID postpaid sales levels when the economies in our markets fully re-open. Our wireless segment continues to generate strong and steady cash flow.”

Shentel's second-quarter earnings conference call will be webcast at 8:00 a.m. ET on Thursday, July 30, 2020. The webcast and related materials will be available on Shentel’s Investor Relations website at https://investor.shentel.com.

COVID-19 Update

Broadband

  • The stay-at-home directives by our governments spurred strong demand for broadband services during the second quarter 2020 resulting in record data net additions of 6,000 and the first quarter of positive video net additions since 2014.

  • Approximately 700 COVID-19 related non-payment service disconnections were deferred during the quarter ending June 30, 2020. We resumed normal collection practices on July 1, 2020 and expect this will have minimal impact on bad debt expense in future periods.

Wireless

  • Our markets continued to be affected by the stay-at-home directives and the phased re-opening of local economies. We re-opened all the Sprint branded retail stores by the end of June that were temporarily closed in mid-March. Wireless postpaid gross additions and voluntary churn declined year over year approximately 28% and 23%, respectively, for the three months ended June 30, 2020 due to the store closures and lower store traffic from the stay-at-home directives.

  • As a Sprint affiliate, our wireless segment participated in the Keep Americans Connected pledge and deferred an estimated 2,300 COVID-19 related non-payment service disconnections during the quarter ended June 30, 2020. While the majority of these subscribers have agreed to payment plans with Sprint, we recognized contra-revenue of $1.2 million during the second quarter of 2020, which effectively represents the pass-through of Sprint’s bad debt expense for these customers. Sprint resumed normal collection practices on July 1, 2020.

  • During the second quarter of 2020, Sprint issued $1.4 million of credits to prepaid customers in our service territory to alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 and keep these customers connected. Issuance of these credits ceased on June 1, 2020.

  • Expense for payroll paid to idled employees and as a premium for certain employees interfacing with the general public, totaled $1.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2020 and was presented within the cost of service and selling, general, and administrative expense captions.

  • With the stay-at-home directives continuing through the second quarter, we also reduced our wireless advertising spend for the three month period ended June 30, 2020 by $2.8 million from the comparable prior year period.

Sprint Travel Dispute

Our travel revenue dispute with Sprint was resolved through binding arbitration during June 2020. The arbitrators’ ruling reset the fee to $1.5 million per month through December 31, 2021. As a result, we recognized $21.0 million of travel revenue during the second quarter 2020 for service that we have provided since May 1, 2019. We recognized and collected $6.0 million in travel revenue in 2019 prior to Sprint ceasing payments in May 2019. Sprint paid the $21.0 million in July 2020.

Consolidated Second Quarter 2020 Results

  • Revenue in the second quarter of 2020 was $169.5 million compared with $158.9 million in the second quarter of 2019, due to the growth of $8.6 million, $1.9 million and $0.1 million in the Wireless, Broadband and Tower segments, respectively. The Wireless growth was driven by the resolution of the travel dispute with Sprint.

  • Adjusted OIBDA in the second quarter of 2020 increased $14.0 million to $80.9 million compared with $67.0 million in 2019 due primarily to the aforementioned travel revenue dispute resolution in the Wireless segment.

  • Operating income increased 79.0% to $43.0 million in 2020 from $24.0 million in 2019, primarily due to the resolution of the travel revenue dispute in the Wireless segment.

  • Earnings per diluted share grew 123.1% to $0.58 from $0.26 per diluted share in 2019.

Wireless

  • Shentel served 846,428 wireless postpaid subscribers at June 30, 2020, representing an increase of 4.3% compared with June 30, 2019. Second quarter 2020 postpaid gross adds were 37,832, as compared to 52,799 in the second quarter of 2019. Net adds were (1,343) as compared to 10,767 in the second quarter 2019. Postpaid churn was 1.55% as compared to 1.74% in the second quarter 2019. During the second quarter 2020, Sprint adopted the T-Mobile credit and collection policies for Sprint branded customers including those in the Shentel service area. Approximately 4,400 involuntary (non-payment) postpaid disconnects were accelerated into our second quarter subscriber results. Excluding this policy change, postpaid net additions and churn for the quarter would have been 3,021 and 1.37%, respectively. Wireless postpaid gross and net additions for the second quarter were adversely affected by COVID-19.

  • Shentel served 289,449 wireless prepaid subscribers at June 30, 2020, representing an increase of 7.6% compared with June 30, 2019. Second quarter 2020 prepaid gross additions grew 15.8% to 39,083 from the second quarter 2019. Net additions were 10,353, as compared to 1,819 in the same period a year ago. Prepaid churn was 3.38%, an improvement over 3.97% for the prior year quarter. Prepaid gross and net additions were favorably impacted by the prepaid value proposition in a recessionary economy and COVID related retention credits.

  • Wireless revenue increased approximately $8.6 million, or 7.8%, for the three months ended June 30, 2020 compared with the three months ended June 30, 2019. The growth was driven by a $19.5 million increase in travel revenue due to the resolution of the Sprint travel fee dispute, $1.5 million due to subscriber growth, $0.7 million in higher roaming and MVNO revenues partially offset by a $6.9 million decline in equipment revenue as retail stores were temporarily closed amidst the COVID-19 outbreak, $3.2 million in higher amortized customer contract costs, $1.4 million in COVID related prepaid customer retention credits and $1.2 million of COVID-19 related postpaid bad debt in connection with the Keep Americans Connected pledge.

  • Wireless operating expenses in the second quarter of 2020 were $75.9 million compared to $90.2 million in the second quarter of 2019. The decrease was primarily attributable to a $8.0 million decline in depreciation and amortization as certain assets acquired from nTelos became fully utilized, a $6.3 million decline in cost of goods sold on lower volume of equipment sales and $2.8 million in lower advertising costs both driven by COVID-19 related slower economic activity, partially offset by $1.1 million in COVID-19 related payroll expense, $0.6 million of legal fees to support the Sprint dispute matter, $0.6 million in higher operating taxes due to a non-recurring benefit recognized in the second quarter 2019, higher cell site rent expense of $0.5 million related to our network expansion and $0.4 million in employee retention bonus accrual relating to the Sprint/T-Mobile merger.

  • Wireless Adjusted OIBDA in the second quarter of 2020 was $67.7 million, compared with $52.4 million for the second quarter of 2019.

  • Wireless operating income in the second quarter of 2020 was $43.9 million, compared to $20.9 million for the second quarter of 2019.

Broadband

  • Total Revenue Generating Units ("RGUs") as of June 30, 2020 were 199,667, representing an increase of 4.7% from June 30, 2019, driven by a record quarter for incumbent cable and Glo Fiber data net additions of 5,150 and 878, respectively, for the second quarter 2020. Incumbent cable broadband penetration grew from 38.5% to 44.1% and churn declined 83 basis points to 1.32%. Glo Fiber added over 7,800 homes passed and ended the quarter with approximately 13,000 homes passed and 10.1% broadband penetration. Video net additions were approximately 100 in the second quarter driven by 1.36% churn.

  • Broadband revenue in the second quarter of 2020 increased $1.6 million or 3.3% to $50.1 million compared with $48.6 million in the second quarter of 2019, primarily driven by a $2.2 million increase in Cable Residential and SMB revenue and $0.9 million increase in Fiber, enterprise and wholesale revenue partially offset by $1.2 million decrease in RLEC revenues.

  • Broadband operating expenses in the second quarter of 2020 were $41.4 million compared to $36.7 million in the second quarter of 2019. The increase was primarily due to $3.3 million in higher payroll and benefit expense due to a combination of Glo Fiber and fixed wireless start-up staffing, supplemental COVID-19 compensation expense for customer interfacing employees, an increase in benefit plans and higher incentive accrual from strong operating results and $1.2 million increase in depreciation and amortization expense due to the expansion of our network.

  • Broadband Adjusted OIBDA in the second quarter of 2020 decreased 8.5% to $20.0 million, compared with $21.9 million for the second quarter of 2019 due primarily to the dilution of start-up costs from Glo Fiber and fixed wireless.

  • Broadband Operating income in the second quarter of 2020 was $8.8 million, compared to $11.9 million in the second quarter of 2019.

Tower

  • Total macro towers, small cells and tenants were 220, 8 and 413 as of June 30, 2020 as compared to 217, zero and 377, respectively, as of June 30, 2019.

  • Tower revenue in the second quarter of 2020 grew 41.0% to $4.3 million, compared with $3.0 million for the second quarter of 2019. This increase was due to a 9.5% increase in tenants and an 20.8% increase in the average lease rate driven by amendments to the intercompany leases.

  • Tower operating expenses in both the second quarter of 2020 and 2019 were approximately $2.0 million.

  • Tower Adjusted OIBDA in the second quarter of 2020 grew 46.1% to $2.7 million, compared with $1.9 million for the second quarter of 2019.

  • Tower operating income in the second quarter of 2020 was $2.2 million, compared to $1.1 million for the second quarter of 2019.

Other Information

  • Capital expenditures were $66.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2020 compared with $79.1 million in the comparable 2019 period. The $12.5 million decrease in capital expenditures was primarily due to a $30.1 million decline in Wireless as the nTelos and Parkersburg network expansions were completed in the first half of 2019 and Richmond Sliver territory expansion projects have been postponed as we await further clarity on the impact of ongoing negotiations with the new T-Mobile. The decline in Wireless spending was partially offset by $19.5 million in higher spending in Broadband driven primarily by our Glo Fiber market expansion.

  • Outstanding debt at June 30, 2020 totaled $704.3 million, net of unamortized loan costs, compared to $720.1 million as of December 31, 2019. As of June 30, 2020, the Company had liquidity of approximately $218.7 million, including $75.0 million of revolving line of credit availability.

  • On April 1, 2020, T-Mobile publicly announced the completion of its business combination with Sprint and subsequently delivered to the Company a notice of Network Technology Conversion, Brand Conversion and Combination Conversion (a “Conversion Notice”) pursuant to the terms of the Company’s affiliate agreement with Sprint. As described in more detail in the Company’s 2019 Annual Report on Form 10-K, our Wireless segment has been an affiliate of Sprint since 1999. The 90-day period following receipt of the Conversion Notice for the parties to negotiate mutually agreeable terms and conditions, under which the Company would continue as an affiliate of T-Mobile, expired on June 30, 2020. The affiliate agreement further provides that, if T-Mobile and the Company have not negotiated a mutually acceptable agreement within the 90 day period, then T-Mobile would have a period of 60 days thereafter to exercise an option to purchase the assets of our Wireless operations for 90% of the “Entire Business Value” (as defined under our affiliate agreement and determined pursuant to the appraisal process under the affiliate agreement); this period will expire on August 31, 2020. If T-Mobile does not exercise its purchase option, the Company would then have a 60 day period to exercise an option to purchase the legacy T-Mobile network and subscribers in our service area. If the Company does not exercise its purchase option, T-Mobile must sell or decommission its legacy network and customers in our service area.

  • Our Sprint affiliate agreement required T-Mobile to comply with certain restrictive operating requirements during the 90 day period following their Conversion Notice which ended on June 30, 2020. T-Mobile publicly announced on July 22, 2020 its intention to begin integration of the brands, rate plans, sales and network on August 2, 2020. Although the impact to Sprint customers in our affiliate area is uncertain at this point in time, the integration plans are likely to adversely affect our Wireless segment operating and financial results in future periods.

Free cash flow, normalized free cash flow and Adjusted OIBDA are non-GAAP financial measures that are not determined in accordance with US generally accepted accounting principles. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures are provided in this press release after the consolidated financial statements.

Conference Call and Webcast

Teleconference Information:

Date: July 30, 2020
Time: 8:00 A.M. (ET)
Dial in number: 1-888-695-7639

Password: 1246368

Audio webcast: http://investor.shentel.com/

An audio replay of the call will be available approximately two hours after the call is complete, through August 29, 2020 by calling (855) 859-2056.

About Shenandoah Telecommunications

Shenandoah Telecommunications Company (Shentel) provides a broad range of diversified communications services through its high speed, state-of-the-art wireless, cable and fiber optic networks to customers in the Mid-Atlantic United States. The Company’s services include: wireless voice and data; broadband internet, video, and digital voice; fiber optic Ethernet, wavelength and leasing; telephone voice and digital subscriber line; and tower colocation leasing. Shentel is the exclusive personal communications service (“PCS”) Affiliate of Sprint in a multi-state area covering large portions of central and western Virginia, south-central Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and portions of Maryland, Kentucky, and Ohio. For more information, please visit www.shentel.com.

This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of unforeseen factors. A discussion of factors that may cause actual results to differ from management's projections, forecasts, estimates and expectations, is available in the Company’s filings with the SEC. 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, increases in costs, changes in regulation and other competitive factors.

CONTACTS:
Shenandoah Telecommunications Company
Jim Volk
Senior Vice President - Chief Financial Officer
540-984-5168
Jim.Volk@emp.shentel.com
Or
John Nesbett/Jennifer Belodeau
IMS Investor Relations
203-972-9200
jnesbett@institutionalms.com


SHENANDOAH TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(in thousands, except per share amounts)

Three Months Ended June 30,

Six Months Ended June 30,

2020

2019

2020

2019

Revenue:

Service revenue and other

$

159,720

$

142,059

$

299,908

$

285,290

Equipment revenue

9,806

16,855

22,806

32,467

Total revenue

169,526

158,914

322,714

317,757

Operating expenses:

Cost of services

50,640

49,497

100,205

99,015

Cost of goods sold

9,658

15,874

22,329

30,511

Selling, general and administrative

31,394

27,170

62,385

55,892

Depreciation and amortization

34,832

42,353

71,743

83,532

Total operating expenses

126,524

134,894

256,662

268,950

Operating income

43,002

24,020

66,052

48,807

Other income (expense):

Interest expense

(5,044

)

(7,522

)

(11,255

)

(15,476

)

Other

1,573

1,176

2,306

2,463

Income before income taxes

39,531

17,674

57,103

35,794

Income tax expense

10,284

4,524

14,576

8,734

Net income

$

29,247

$

13,150

$

42,527

$

27,060

Net income per share, basic and diluted:

Basic net income per share

$

0.59

$

0.26

$

0.85

$

0.54

Diluted net income per share

$

0.58

$

0.26

$

0.85

$

0.54

Weighted average shares outstanding, basic

49,902

49,848

49,878

49,812

Weighted average shares outstanding, diluted

50,082

50,142

50,039

50,118


SHENANDOAH TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(in thousands)

June 30,
2020

December 31,
2019

Cash and cash equivalents

$

143,712

$

101,651

Other current assets

155,821

140,102

Total current assets

299,533

241,753

Investments

12,661

12,388

Property, plant and equipment, net

703,012

701,514

Intangible assets, net

285,081

314,147

Goodwill

149,070

149,070

Operating lease right-of-use assets

376,912

392,589

Deferred charges and other assets, net

54,311

53,352

Total assets

$

1,880,580

$

1,864,813

Total current liabilities

145,327

$

147,336

Long-term debt, less current maturities

672,601

688,464

Other liabilities

551,195

556,585

Total shareholders’ equity

511,457

472,428

Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity

$

1,880,580

$

1,864,813


SHENANDOAH TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES
UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(in thousands)

Six Months Ended June 30,

2020

2019

Cash flows from operating activities:

Net income

$

42,527

$

27,060

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:

Depreciation

63,258

72,737

Amortization of intangible assets

9,336

10,795

Bad debt expense

436

764

Stock based compensation expense, net of amount capitalized

4,520

2,307

Deferred income taxes

8,714

3,434

Other adjustments

1,923

275

Changes in assets and liabilities

(1,775

)

12,260

Net cash provided by operating activities

128,939

129,632

Cash flows from investing activities:

Capital expenditures

(66,626

)

(79,124

)

Cash disbursed for acquisitions

(10,000

)

Proceeds from sale of assets and other

286

105

Net cash used in investing activities

(67,540

)

(89,019

)

Cash flows from financing activities:

Principal payments on long-term debt

(17,061

)

(24,777

)

Taxes paid for equity award issuances

(2,182

)

(2,912

)

Proceeds from exercise of stock options

(95

)

81

Net cash used in financing activities

(19,338

)

(27,608

)

Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

42,061

13,005

Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period

101,651

85,086

Cash and cash equivalents, end of period

$

143,712

$

98,091


Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Adjusted OIBDA

Adjusted OIBDA represents Operating income before depreciation, amortization of intangible assets, stock-based compensation and certain other items of revenue, expense, gain or loss not reflective of our operating performance, which may or may not be recurring in nature.

Adjusted OIBDA is a non-GAAP financial measure that we use to evaluate our operating performance in comparison to our competitors. Management believes that analysts and investors use Adjusted OIBDA as a supplemental measure of operating performance to facilitate comparisons with other telecommunications companies. This measure isolates and evaluates operating performance by excluding the cost of financing (e.g., interest expense), as well as the non-cash depreciation and amortization of past capital investments, non-cash share-based compensation expense, and certain other items of revenue, expense, gain or loss not reflective of our operating performance, which may or may not be recurring in nature.

Adjusted OIBDA has limitations as an analytical tool and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for operating income, net income or any other measure of financial performance reported in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”).

The following tables reconcile Adjusted OIBDA to operating income, which we consider to be the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure:

Three Months Ended June 30, 2020

(in thousands)

Wireless

Broadband

Tower

Corporate & Eliminations

Consolidated

Operating income

$

43,872

$

8,767

$

2,229

$

(11,866

)

$

43,002

Depreciation

19,545

11,078

477

(310

)

30,790

Amortization of intangible assets

4,301

167

4,468

OIBDA

67,718

20,012

2,706

(12,176

)

78,260

Share-based compensation expense

1,615

1,615

Deal advisory fees

1,060

1,060

Adjusted OIBDA

$

67,718

$

20,012

$

2,706

$

(9,501

)

$

80,935


Three Months Ended June 30, 2019

(in thousands)

Wireless

Broadband

Tower

Corporate & Eliminations

Consolidated

Operating income

$

20,928

$

11,880

$

1,096

$

(9,884

)

$

24,020

Depreciation

26,447

9,882

756

132

37,217

Amortization of intangible assets

5,016

120

5,136

OIBDA

52,391

21,882

1,852

(9,752

)

66,373

Share-based compensation expense

593

593

Adjusted OIBDA

$

52,391

$

21,882

$

1,852

$

(9,159

)

$

66,966


Six Months Ended June 30, 2020

(in thousands)

Wireless

Broadband

Tower

Corporate & Eliminations

Consolidated

Operating income

$

67,316

$

18,797

$

4,024

$

(24,085

)

$

66,052

Depreciation

40,555

21,795

947

(39

)

63,258

Amortization of intangible assets

9,015

321

9,336

OIBDA

116,886

40,913

4,971

(24,124

)

138,646

Share-based compensation expense

4,520

4,520

Deal advisory fees

1,970

1,970

Adjusted OIBDA

$

116,886

$

40,913

$

4,971

$

(17,634

)

$

145,136


Six Months Ended June 30, 2019

(in thousands)

Wireless

Broadband

Tower

Corporate & Eliminations

Consolidated

Operating income

$

45,141

$

21,929

$

2,220

$

(20,483

)

$

48,807

Depreciation

51,199

19,832

1,436

270

72,737

Amortization of intangible assets

10,634

161

10,795

OIBDA

106,974

41,922

3,656

(20,213

)

132,339

Share-based compensation expense

2,307

2,307

Adjusted OIBDA

$

106,974

$

41,922

$

3,656

$

(17,906

)

$

134,646

Segment Results

Three Months Ended June 30, 2020:

(in thousands)

Wireless

Broadband

Tower

Corporate & Eliminations

Consolidated

External revenue

Postpaid

$

73,269

$

$

$

$

73,269

Prepaid

12,432

12,432

Tower lease

1,829

1,829

Cable, residential and SMB (1)

35,829

35,829

Fiber, enterprise and wholesale

5,663

5,663

Rural local exchange carrier

4,602

4,602

Travel, installation, and other

24,438

1,658

26,096

Service revenue and other

110,139

47,752

1,829

159,720

Equipment

9,610

196

9,806

Total external revenue

119,749

47,948

1,829

169,526

Revenue from other segments

2,185

2,430

(4,615

)

Total revenue

119,749

50,133

4,259

(4,615

)

169,526

Operating expenses

Cost of services

33,237

20,640

1,315

(4,552

)

50,640

Cost of goods sold

9,437

221

9,658

Selling, general and administrative

9,783

9,260

238

12,113

31,394

Depreciation and amortization

23,420

11,245

477

(310

)

34,832

Total operating expenses

75,877

41,366

2,030

7,251

126,524

Operating income (loss)

$

43,872

$

8,767

$

2,229

$

(11,866

)

$

43,002

____________________________
(1) SMB refers to Small and Medium Businesses.


Three Months Ended June 30, 2019:

(in thousands)

Wireless

Broadband

Tower

Corporate & Eliminations

Consolidated

External revenue

Postpaid

$

75,997

$

$

$

$

75,997

Prepaid

13,603

13,603

Tower lease

1,751

1,751

Cable, residential and SMB

33,581

33,581

Fiber, enterprise and wholesale

4,921

4,921

Rural local exchange carrier

5,581

5,581

Travel, installation, and other

4,971

1,654

6,625

Service revenue and other

94,571

45,737

1,751

142,059

Equipment

16,548

307

16,855

Total external revenue

111,119

46,044

1,751

158,914

Revenue from other segments

2,507

1,270

(3,777

)

Total revenue

111,119

48,551

3,021

(3,777

)

158,914

Operating expenses

Cost of services

32,668

19,014

895

(3,080

)

49,497

Cost of goods sold

15,742

131

1

15,874

Selling, general and administrative

10,318

7,524

274

9,054

27,170

Depreciation and amortization

31,463

10,002

756

132

42,353

Total operating expenses

90,191

36,671

1,925

6,107

134,894

Operating income (loss)

$

20,928

$

11,880

$

1,096

$

(9,884

)

$

24,020

Six Months Ended June 30, 2020:

(in thousands)

Wireless

Broadband

Tower

Corporate & Eliminations

Consolidated

External revenue

Postpaid

$

148,197

$

$

$

$

148,197

Prepaid

25,541

25,541

Tower lease

3,626

3,626

Cable, residential and SMB

70,772

70,772

Fiber, enterprise and wholesale

11,151

11,151

Rural local exchange carrier

9,358

9,358

Travel, installation, and other

27,789

3,474

31,263

Service revenue and other

201,527

94,755

3,626

299,908

Equipment

22,360

446

22,806

Total external revenue

223,887

95,201

3,626

322,714

Revenue from other segments

4,718

4,363

(9,081

)

Total revenue

223,887

99,919

7,989

(9,081

)

322,714

Operating expenses

Cost of services

66,676

39,883

2,254

(8,608

)

100,205

Cost of goods sold

21,965

364

22,329

Selling, general and administrative

19,211

18,759

764

23,651

62,385

Depreciation and amortization

48,719

22,116

947

(39

)

71,743

Total operating expenses

156,571

81,122

3,965

15,004

256,662

Operating income (loss)

$

67,316

$

18,797

$

4,024

$

(24,085

)

$

66,052

Six Months Ended June 30, 2019:

(in thousands)

Wireless

Broadband

Tower

Corporate & Eliminations

Consolidated

External revenue

Postpaid

$

152,179

$

$

$

$

152,179

Prepaid

26,733

26,733

Tower lease

3,514

3,514

Cable, residential and SMB

66,007

66,007

Fiber, enterprise and wholesale

9,749

9,749

Rural local exchange carrier

10,819

10,819

Travel, installation, and other

12,989

3,300

16,289

Service revenue and other

191,901

89,875

3,514

285,290

Equipment

31,839

628

32,467

Total external revenue

223,740

90,503

3,514

317,757

Revenue from other segments

4,929

2,540

(7,469

)

Total revenue

223,740

95,432

6,054

(7,469

)

317,757

Operating expenses

Cost of services

65,200

38,075

1,841

(6,101

)

99,015

Cost of goods sold

30,169

342

30,511

Selling, general and administrative

21,397

15,093

557

18,845

55,892

Depreciation and amortization

61,833

19,993

1,436

270

83,532

Total operating expenses

178,599

73,503

3,834

13,014

268,950

Operating income (loss)

$

45,141

$

21,929

$

2,220

$

(20,483

)

$

48,807

Supplemental Information

Wireless Operating Statistics

The following tables indicate selected operating statistics of Wireless, including Sprint subscribers, as of the dates shown:

June 30,
2020

June 30,
2019

Retail PCS total subscribers - postpaid

846,428

811,719

Retail PCS phone subscribers

735,028

726,899

Retail PCS connected device subscribers

111,400

84,820

Retail PCS subscribers - prepaid

289,449

269,039

PCS market POPS (000) (1)

7,227

7,227

PCS covered POP (000) (1)

6,379

6,285

Macro base stations (cell sites)

1,968

1,910


Three Months Ended
June 30,

Six Months Ended
June 30,

Postpaid:

2020

2019

2020

2019

Gross PCS total subscriber additions

37,832

52,799

89,823

103,646

Gross PCS phone additions

26,567

39,948

63,301

77,734

Gross PCS connected device additions

11,265

12,851

26,522

25,912

Net PCS total subscriber (losses) additions (2)

(1,343

)

10,767

2,234

16,543

Net PCS phone (losses) additions

(3,967

)

4,069

(6,278

)

3,444

Net PCS connected device additions

2,624

6,698

8,512

13,099

PCS monthly retail total churn % (2)

1.55

%

1.74

%

1.73

%

1.81

%

PCS monthly phone churn %

1.38

%

1.62

%

1.57

%

1.68

%

PCS monthly connected device churn %

2.63

%

2.88

%

2.80

%

3.09

%

Prepaid:

Gross PCS subscriber additions

39,083

33,753

78,157

74,732

Net PCS subscriber additions

10,353

1,819

15,437

10,335

PCS monthly retail churn %

3.38

%

3.97

%

3.76

%

4.06

%

______________________________
(1) "POPS" refers to the estimated population of a given geographic area. Market POPS are those within a market area which we are authorized to serve under our Sprint PCS affiliate agreements, and Covered POPS are those covered by our network. The data source for POPS is U.S. census data.
(2) Includes an estimated 4,364 involuntary (nonpayment) postpaid disconnects were accelerated into our second quarter subscriber results due to a change in Sprint collection policy. Excluding this policy change, postpaid net additions for the three and six months ending June 30, 2020 would have been 3,021 and 6,598, respectively, and churn would have been 1.37% and 1.64%, respectively.


Broadband Operating Statistics

June 30,
2020

June 30,
2019

Broadband homes passed (1) (2)

220,442

206,262

Incumbent Cable

207,269

206,262

Glo Fiber

13,173

Broadband customer relationships (3)

101,816

88,860

Video:

RGUs

53,153

57,215

Penetration (4)

24.1

%

27.7

%

Digital video penetration (5)

94.3

%

90.3

%

Broadband:

RGUs

92,695

79,507

Incumbent Cable

91,364

79,507

Glo Fiber

1,331

Penetration (4)

42.0

%

38.5

%

Incumbent Cable penetration (4)

44.1

%

38.5

%

Glo Fiber penetration (4)

10.1

%

%

Voice:

RGUs

32,252

30,754

Penetration (4)

16.5

%

16.2

%

Total Cable and Glo Fiber RGUs

178,100

167,476

RLEC homes passed

25,852

25,814

RLEC customer relationships (3)

12,587

13,528

RLEC RGUs:

Data RLEC

7,755

8,424

Penetration (4)

30.0

%

32.6

%

Voice RLEC

13,812

14,873

Penetration (4)

53.4

%

57.6

%

Total RLEC RGUs

21,567

23,297

Total RGUs

199,667

190,773

Fiber route miles

6,478

5,833

Total fiber miles (6)

346,969

307,125

_______________________________
(1) Homes and businesses are considered passed (“homes passed”) if we can connect them to our distribution system without further extending the transmission lines. Homes passed is an estimate based upon the best available information. Homes passed have access to video, broadband and voice services.
(2) Includes approximately 16,600 RLEC homes passed where we are the dual incumbent telephone and cable provider.
(3) Customer relationships represent the number of billed customers who receive at least one of our services.
(4) Penetration is calculated by dividing the number of users by the number of homes passed or available homes, as appropriate.
(5) Digital video penetration is calculated by dividing the number of digital video users by total video users. Digital video users are video customers who receive any level of video service via digital transmission. A dwelling with one or more digital set-top boxes or digital adapters counts as one digital video user.
(6) 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.


Tower Operating Statistics

June 30,
2020

June 30,
2019

Macro towers owned

220

217

Small cell sites

8.0

Tenants (1)

413

377

Average tenants per tower

1.8

1.7

______________________________
(1) Includes 206 and 177 intercompany tenants for our Wireless segment as of June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively.


Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures Normalized Free Cash Flow and Free Cash Flow

Three Months Ended
June 30,

Six Months Ended
June 30,

(in thousands)

2020

2019

2020

2019

Net cash provided by operating activities

$

67,831

$

67,969

$

128,939

$

129,632

Less: Capital expenditures (1)

(21,767

)

(34,704

)

(46,871

)

(79,124

)

Normalized free cash flow

46,064

33,265

82,068

50,508

Glo Fiber and Beam capital expenditures

(12,560

)

(19,755

)

Free cash flow

$

33,504

$

33,265

$

62,313

$

50,508

______________________________
(1) Excludes capital expenditures for the development of Glo Fiber and Fixed Wireless (Beam).


Free cash flow and normalized free cash flow are non-GAAP financial measures that, when viewed with our GAAP results, provides a more complete understanding of factors and trends affecting our cash flows. Free cash flow is calculated by subtracting capital expenditures from net cash provided by operating activities. Normalized free cash flow is calculated by subtracting capital expenditures, excluding spending on the development of Glo Fiber and Beam fixed wireless services, from net cash provided by operating activities. We believe they are more conservative measures of our cash flow since purchases of fixed assets are necessary for ongoing operations and expansion. Free cash flow and normalized free cash flow are utilized by our management, investors and analysts to evaluate cash available that may be used to pay scheduled principal payments on our debt obligations and provide further investment in the business.


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