Altice USA Reports Second Quarter 2021 Results

Altice USA (NYSE: ATUS) today reports results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2021.

Dexter Goei, Altice USA Chief Executive Officer, said: “As the states and businesses in which we operate have been reopening more widely, Altice USA has seen an acceleration in revenue growth led by Advertising and Business Services. Our Residential business remains extremely focused on achieving faster broadband customer growth going forward from a faster pace of footprint expansion and network upgrades including fiber. We are delighted to have announced recently the new Optimum Mobile brand as the first step in the Company’s plan to align all its connectivity brands under one national Optimum brand, and we continue to invest in innovative new products such as Optimum Stream to support increased video streaming activity which is driving broadband data usage.”

Key Financial Highlights

• Total Revenue grew +1.7% YoY in Q2 2021 to $2.52 billion, driven by Broadband revenue growth of +7.8% YoY and News & Advertising revenue growth of +36.4% YoY.
• Net income attributable to stockholders was $197.7 million in Q2 2021, or $0.43/share on a diluted basis, compared to net income of $111.3 million in Q2 2020, or $0.19/share on a diluted basis.
• Net cash flows from operating activities were $729.5 million in Q2 2021, compared to $936.0 million in Q2 2020.
• Adjusted EBITDA⁽¹⁾ flat (-0.1%) YoY in Q2 2021 at $1.10 billion due to one-time cost savings in Q2 2020, with a margin of 43.9% (44.8% ex-mobile⁽²⁾).
• Cash capex of $323.1 million in Q2 2021 represented 12.8% of revenue, and was up 41.3% YoY driven by accelerated FTTH, new builds, and Suddenlink network upgrades.
• Operating Free Cash Flow⁽¹⁾ of $781.5 million in Q2 2021, decreasing -10.9% YoY, reflecting higher cash capex.
• Free Cash Flow⁽¹⁾ of $406.4 million in Q2 2021, decreasing -42.5% YoY, reflecting higher cash capex and higher cash interest and taxes.
• Share repurchases of $202.8 million in Q2 2021 ($725.5 million YTD).

Key Operational Highlights

• Total unique Residential customer relationships grew +1.1% YoY in Q2 2021 including acquired subscribers. Unique Residential customer organic net losses were -12k in Q2 2021 (or a net gain of +23k total Residential customers when including 35k Morris Broadband subscribers acquired inorganically), compared to +53k Residential customer net additions in Q2 2020 (vs. -1k in Q2 2019 and -4k in Q2 2018). This customer performance reflects usual seasonality in the second quarter, elevated move activity as consumers return to home locations, and the protracted impact of several pandemic-related regulatory programs and storms.
• Residential Broadband RGUs: Quarterly Residential broadband net additions were flat at +0k in Q2 2021 (or +30k when including Morris Broadband subscribers acquired inorganically), compared to +70k broadband net additions in Q2 2020 (vs. +13k in Q2 2019 and +10k in Q2 2018).
• Residential Video RGUs: Reported quarterly video net losses were -48k in Q2 2021 (or -36k when including 12k Morris Broadband video subscribers acquired inorganically) compared to -35k video net losses in Q2 2020 (vs. -21k in Q2 2019 and -24k in Q2 2018).
• Residential revenue was flat (-0.1%) YoY in Q2 2021 at $1.99 billion:
  • Residential revenue per customer relationship in Q2 2021 was down -1.5% YoY to $142.24 but flat sequentially (vs. $142.24 in Q1 2021).
• Business Services revenue grew +1.8% YoY in Q2 2021 driven by Lightpath growth of +2.7% and SMB / Other revenue growth of +1.4% YoY. Business reopening activity has been accelerating as vaccination rates increase and operational restrictions relax, supporting the best SMB customer quarterly net additions in four years. During the quarter, Lightpath announced the expansion of its network into Boston, MA, and Queens, NY.
• News and Advertising revenue was up +36.4% YoY in Q2 2021, supported by strong recovery in local, regional, and national advertising plus additional political advertising revenue from the NY mayoral and NJ gubernatorial races.
• Altice Mobile rebranded as Optimum Mobile as of July 2021 as the first step in the Company’s plan to align all its connectivity brands under one national Optimum brand. Optimum Mobile has approximately 180k mobile lines as of June 30, 2021 (+5k in net additions in Q2 2021), generating revenue of $20.7 million for the quarter (up +4.0% YoY), and reaching 3.8% penetration of Altice USA's Residential customer base. Since the beginning of 2021, all active Optimum Mobile customers have migrated onto the T-Mobile network from the Sprint network.
• Increased network usage and demand for higher broadband speeds: Broadband-only customer usage averaged 558 GB per month in Q2 2021, which is 26% higher than the average usage of the entire customer base. The average broadband speed taken by Altice USA’s customer base has nearly doubled in the past three years to 316 Mbps at the end of Q2 2021. Over 50% of our broadband customers remain on plans with download speeds of 200 Mbps or less, representing a sizable opportunity to continue to upgrade speeds.
• Increase in 1 Gig broadband sell-in:In Q2 2021, 1 Gig sell-in to new customers, where 1 Gig services are available, was in line with the prior quarter at 42%. 11.3% of the total customer base currently takes Gigabit speeds, representing a significant growth opportunity for the Company.
• FTTH strategy and update: At the end of Q2 2021, Altice USA covered approximately 1.1 million homes with FTTH technology available for service, with FTTH sell-in to new customers at approximately two-thirds of net additions in areas where FTTH is available in Q2. Penetration of FTTH passings grew to 4.3% compared to 1.0% in Q2 2020. The Company remains positive on the future of its FTTH deployment initiatives and confident in delivering a better customer experience, as well as both capex and opex efficiencies, following the completion of its FTTH build.
• Increase in new-builds: Altice USA has been accelerating the pace of its network edge-outs, adding 127k homes passed in Q2 2021 (39k homes passed excluding Morris Broadband) and a total of 315k homes passed in the last twelve months (160k homes passed LTM on an organic basis excluding the acquisitions of Morris Broadband and Service Electric Cable T.V. of New Jersey). The Company continues to see strong momentum in growing customer penetration, typically reaching approximately 40% within a year of rollout in new-build areas, and this remains a focus area for growth.
• Suddenlink network upgrade: Altice USA is upgrading its network to deliver higher speeds in certain Suddenlink markets that do not currently offer up to 1 Gbps download speeds. In FY 2021 the Company is on track to upgrade 250-300k homes through RF upgrades and equipment upgrades to enable higher speeds. These markets have previously only offered up to 150 Mbps download speeds and will be upgraded to offer up to 400 Mbps or 1 Gbps.

Financial Outlook Reiterated

The Company reiterates its financial outlook for FY 2021:

• Revenue: Growth
• Adjusted EBITDA: Growth
• Cash capital expenditures: $1.3 to $1.4 billion
• Year-end leverage target (CSC Holdings, LLC debt silo): < 5.3x net debt / Adjusted EBITDA on an L2QA basis.
• Share repurchases: $1.5 billion

The Company expects to return to a leverage target of 4.5x - 5.0x net debt / Adjusted EBITDA on an L2QA basis for its CSC Holdings, LLC debt silo over time.

Balance Sheet Review

For the quarter and year ended June 30, 2021:

• Consolidated net debt for Altice USA at the end of Q2 2021 was $24,839 million⁽⁶⁾, representing consolidated net leverage of 5.7x Adjusted EBITDA at the end of Q2 2021 on an L2QA basis (5.6x last-twelve months or "LTM"). The increase in net debt in Q2 2021 of $231 million from the prior quarter is mainly due to the acquisition of Morris Broadband for an implied enterprise value of $310 million, additional Lightpath acquisitions and share repurchases offsetting Free Cash Flow generation.
• Net debt for CSC Holdings, LLC Restricted Group was $23,473 million at the end of Q2 2021⁽⁶⁾, representing net leverage of 5.7x Adjusted EBITDA on an L2QA basis (5.6x LTM). The weighted average cost of debt for CSC Holdings, LLC was 4.7% as of the end of Q2 2021 and the weighted average life was 6.6 years.
• Net debt for Cablevision Lightpath LLC was $1,416 million at the end of Q2 2021⁽⁶⁾, representing net leverage of 6.8x Adjusted EBITDA on an L2QA basis (6.6x LTM). The weighted average cost of debt for Cablevision Lightpath LLC was 4.3% as of the end of Q2 2021 and the weighted average life was 6.6 years.

Additional Highlights and Announcements

Launch of Optimum Stream and Suddenlink Stream

On July 19, 2021, Altice USA unveiled Optimum Stream and Suddenlink Stream, a new 4K streaming device, powered by Android TV OS. Customers have access to a wide variety of video content, including thousands of apps and streaming services on Google Play and over 50 free live streaming channels. The new streaming device is available for free to broadband-only customers who select 1 Gig service or the highest broadband speed available in their service area. It is available to all other broadband-only customers for loyalty pricing of $5 per month.

Lightpath Entry into the Boston Connectivity Market Accelerated by Three Acquisitions

On June 16, 2021, Lightpath announced it had become the first all-fiber, enterprise-grade connectivity provider to enter the Boston market since industry consolidation began over a decade ago. Lightpath announced three acquisitions in the region: Cambridge Network Solutions (CNS), a second area connectivity provider, and the purchase of fiber network assets from Hub Fiber.

Combined, Lightpath acquired over 80 route miles of in-place, high-count fiber network, which currently serve over 100 locations, including 12 area data centers. Additionally, Lightpath’s network in the region will be connected to its New York Metro network, expanding on the company’s existing 18,000 route miles of fiber serving over 12,000 locations.

Lightpath Extends Fiber Network in Queens, NYC Market with New Network Builds

On June 30, 2021, Lightpath announced that it is bringing new connectivity options to businesses in Queens, NY. This expansion adds to the already robust Lightpath footprint in the greater New York City metropolitan area and will bring the network to thousands of new businesses and other organizations in the area.

The Queens expansion includes over 100 miles of new, high-count fiber throughout the market, planned in two phases. Phase 1 of the build will be completed in Q1 of 2022, while the additional proposed routes are targeted for mid-2022. The build will dramatically strengthen Lightpath's density in Queens, an area that is rich with organizations that require enterprise-grade connectivity solutions.

Recent Refinancing Activity

In May 2021, CSC Holdings, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Altice USA, issued new $1.5 billion of 10.5 year (non-call 5.5) Senior Guaranteed Notes and new $500 million of 10.5 year (non-call 5.5) Senior Notes to refinance existing indebtedness. Net proceeds were used to (i) refinance the existing 5.5% Senior Guaranteed Notes due 2026, (ii) repay a portion of the drawn revolving credit facility, and (iii) pay any fees, costs and expenses associated with these transactions.

Share Repurchases

For the three months ended June 30, 2021, Altice USA repurchased an aggregate of 5.8 million shares for a total purchase price of approximately $202.8 million, at an average price of $34.84. As of June 30, 2021, Altice USA had 457,080,367 combined Class A and Class B shares outstanding.

For the six months ended June 30, 2021, Altice USA repurchased an aggregate of 21.0 million shares for a total purchase price of approximately $725.5 million, at an average price of $34.55.

Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures:

We define Adjusted EBITDA, which is a non-GAAP financial measure, as net income (loss) excluding income taxes, non-operating income or expenses, loss on extinguishment of debt and write-off of deferred financing costs, gain (loss) on interest rate swap contracts, gain (loss) on derivative contracts, gain (loss) on investments and sale of affiliate interests, interest expense, interest income, depreciation and amortization (including impairments), share-based compensation expense or benefit, restructuring expense or credits and transaction expenses.

We believe Adjusted EBITDA is an appropriate measure for evaluating the operating performance of the Company. Adjusted EBITDA and similar measures with similar titles are common performance measures used by investors, analysts and peers to compare performance in our industry. Internally, we use revenue and Adjusted EBITDA measures as important indicators of our business performance, and evaluate management’s effectiveness with specific reference to these indicators. We believe Adjusted EBITDA provides management and investors a useful measure for period-to-period comparisons of our core business and operating results by excluding items that are not comparable across reporting periods or that do not otherwise relate to the Company’s ongoing operating results. Adjusted EBITDA should be viewed as a supplement to and not a substitute for operating income (loss), net income (loss), and other measures of performance presented in accordance with GAAP. Since Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure of performance calculated in accordance with GAAP, this measure may not be comparable to similar measures with similar titles used by other companies.

We also use Operating Free Cash Flow (defined as Adjusted EBITDA less cash capital expenditures), and Free Cash Flow (defined as net cash flows from operating activities less cash capital expenditures) as indicators of the Company’s financial performance. We believe these measures are two of several benchmarks used by investors, analysts and peers for comparison of performance in the Company’s industry, although they may not be directly comparable to similar measures reported by other companies.

Consolidated Net Debt as of June 30, 2021

Net Leverage Schedules as of June 30, 2021 (in $m)

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About Altice USA

Altice USA (NYSE: ATUS) is one of the largest broadband communications and video services providers in the United States, delivering broadband, video, mobile, proprietary content and advertising services to more than 5.0 million residential and business customers across 21 states through its Optimum and Suddenlink brands. The Company operates a4, an advanced advertising and data business, which provides audience-based, multiscreen advertising solutions to local, regional and national businesses and advertising clients. Altice USA also offers hyper-local, national, international and business news through its News 12, Cheddar and i24NEWS networks.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements in this press release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including the information under the heading "Financial Outlook". These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, all statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this release, including, without limitation, those regarding our intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, among other things: our future financial conditions and performance, results of operations and liquidity; our strategy, plans, objectives, prospects, growth, goals and targets; our ability to achieve operational performance improvements; and future developments in the markets in which we participate or are seeking to participate. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms "anticipate", "believe", "could", "estimate", "expect", "forecast", "intend", "may", "plan", "project", "should", "target", "remain" or "will" or, in each case, their negative, or other variations or comparable terminology. Where, in any forward-looking statement, we express an expectation or belief as to future results or events, such expectation or belief is expressed in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis, but there can be no assurance that the expectation or belief will result or be achieved or accomplished. To the extent that statements in this release are not recitations of historical fact, such statements constitute forward-looking statements, which, by definition, involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements including risks referred to in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. You are cautioned to not place undue reliance on Altice USA’s forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it was made. Altice USA specifically disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, as of any future date.

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