Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Cbeyond Reports Third Quarter 2009 Results

ATLANTA, Nov 04, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Cbeyond, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBEY), ("Cbeyond"), a managed services provider that delivers integrated packages of voice, broadband, and mobile services to small businesses, today announced its results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2009.

Recent financial and operating highlights include the following:

• Strong third quarter revenue growth with revenues of $106.0 million, up 17.4% over the third quarter of 2008;
• Total adjusted EBITDA of $15.3 million during the third quarter of 2009 compared to $16.9 million during the third quarter of 2008 and $13.8 million during the second quarter of 2009 (see page 9 for reconciliation to net income);
• Net loss of $1.0 million in the third quarter of 2009 compared with net income of $1.7 million in the third quarter of 2008;
• Total customers of 48,580 in Cbeyond's twelve operating markets, reflecting net customer additions of 2,175 in the third quarter of 2009, the highest quarterly customer additions in company history, and a 19.7% increase year-over-year;
• Average monthly revenue per customer location (ARPU) of $744 during the third quarter of 2009, compared to $748 in the second quarter of 2009 and $760 in the third quarter of 2008; and
• Monthly customer churn of 1.4% in the third quarter of 2009 as compared to 1.5% in the second quarter of 2009.

Financial Overview and Key Operating Metrics

Financial and operating metrics, which include non-GAAP financial measures, for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2008 and 2009, include the following:

Management Comments

"Cbeyond continues to execute effectively in a challenging environment," said Jim Geiger, chief executive officer of Cbeyond. "We are pleased to note that in the third quarter of 2009 we recorded our highest level of gross customer additions and, in part, due to a decline in customer churn to 1.4% per month, our highest level of net customer additions as well."

Geiger added, "Cbeyond also demonstrated continued financial success in the third quarter, with our San Francisco market reaching positive adjusted EBITDA and our other early stage markets showing improvements on their path to future profitability. As a result, we posted increased consolidated adjusted EBITDA from the prior quarter and expect that the continued improvements in adjusted EBITDA from markets that we launched in 2007 and 2008 will cause an acceleration in consolidated adjusted EBITDA in the fourth quarter of this year."

Third Quarter Financial and Business Summary

Revenues and ARPU

Cbeyond reported revenues of $106.0 million for the third quarter of 2009, an increase of 17.4% from the third quarter of 2008. The sequential increase in revenue for the third quarter of 2009 was $4.1 million, as compared to a sequential increase of $3.6 million for the second quarter of 2009.

ARPU, or average monthly revenue per customer location, was $744 in the third quarter of 2009, as compared to $760 in the third quarter of 2008 and $748 in the second quarter of 2009. The decline in ARPU from the third quarter of 2008 and the second quarter of 2009 was primarily due to increases in the impact of credits and promotional incentives issued to customers, contract renewals at lower base prices, and decreased levels of voice usage that contribute to overage charges above the Company's base packages, which the Company believes are related to the effects of the economic recession on customers and increased competitive pressures.

Cost of Service and Gross Margin

Cbeyond's gross margin was 66.0% in the third quarter of 2009 as compared with 66.2% in the second quarter of 2009 and 70.1% in the third quarter of 2008. Gross profit in the third quarter of 2008 benefitted from access cost recoveries that were $2.8 million greater than is typical during a quarter, the majority of which were recorded to the Atlanta, Dallas, and Houston segments.

Operating Income (Loss), Adjusted EBITDA, Income Taxes and Net Income (Loss)

Cbeyond reported an operating loss of ($2.0) million in the third quarter of 2009 compared with operating income of $2.8 million in the third quarter of 2008. Total adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter of 2009 was $15.3 million, as compared to total adjusted EBITDA of $16.9 million in the third quarter of 2008. The operating income and adjusted EBITDA for 2008 reflect the $2.8 million benefit to access costs noted above. Total adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter of 2009 included $4.3 million of planned negative adjusted EBITDA from early stage markets, while negative adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter of 2008 totaled $4.9 million from early stage markets. Total adjusted EBITDA would have been significantly higher without the impact of negative results from these early stage markets, which were entered to drive longer term growth in the business (see Selected Quarterly Financial Data and Operating Metrics, pages 7-8). Cbeyond reported a net loss of ($1.0) million for the third quarter of 2009 as compared to net income of $1.7 million for the third quarter of 2008.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents amounted to $31.3 million at the end of the third quarter of 2009, as compared to $27.9 million at the end of the second quarter of 2009.

Capital Expenditures

Capital expenditures were $13.4 million during the third quarter of 2009, compared to $16.9 million in the second quarter of 2009 and $13.8 million in the third quarter of 2008. Capital expenditures in the third quarter of 2009 decreased from the second quarter of 2009 due to typical fluctuations in the timing of capital expenditures in Cbeyond's markets and due to decreases in spending related to the Company's data center expansion at its corporate location.

Business Outlook for 2009

Cbeyond provides the following annual guidance for 2009:

The decreased revenue guidance since the prior quarter resulted from several factors that were different in the third quarter than the Company's expectations based on results from operations and trends in the first half of the year, including lower new sales volumes in the second half of the year, higher promotional incentives and credits, and lower levels of voice usage and additional line adoption, which the Company believes relate to the continuing impact of the sluggish economy on the small business sector and increased competitive pressures. However, Cbeyond still expects that its adjusted EBITDA and capital expenditures will be in the range, yet in the lower end of the guidance range. This guidance assumes an increased level of adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin in the fourth quarter due to the improved performance of markets launched in 2007 and 2008.

Conference Call

Cbeyond will hold a conference call to discuss this press release Wednesday, November 4, 2009, at 5:00 p.m. EST. A live broadcast of the conference call will be available on-line at www.cbeyond.net. To listen to the live call, please go to the web site at least 10 minutes early to register, download, and install any necessary audio software. The conference call will also be available by dialing (877) 675-4751 (for domestic U.S. callers) and (719) 325-4901 (for international callers). For those who cannot listen to the live broadcast, an on-line replay will be available shortly after the call and continue to be available for one year.

About Cbeyond

Cbeyond, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBEY) is a leading provider of IT and communications services to more than 48,000 small businesses throughout the United States. Recently named as the sixth fastest growing technology company by Forbes magazine, and added to Standard & Poor's Small Cap S&P 600 Index, Cbeyond offers more than 30 productivity-enhancing applications including local and long-distance voice, broadband Internet, mobile, BlackBerry(R), broadband laptop access, voicemail, email, web hosting, fax-to-email, data backup, file-sharing and virtual private networking. Cbeyond delivers these services over a 100 percent private all IP network. For more information on Cbeyond, visit www.cbeyond.net.

Forward-Looking Statements

This document contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.Such statements include, but are not limited to statements identified by words such as "expectations," "guidance," "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "intends," "plans," "targets," "projects" and similar expressions.Such statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of Cbeyond's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties.Actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.Factors that might cause future results to differ include, but are not limited to, the following: finalization of operating data, the significant reduction in economic activity, which particularly affects our target market of small businesses; the risk that we may be unable to continue to experience revenue growth at historical or anticipated levels; final court approval of the settlement of pending litigation matters; the risk of unexpected increases in customer churn levels; changes in federal or state regulation or decisions by regulatory bodies that affect Cbeyond; periods of economic downturn or unusual volatility in the capital markets or other negative macroeconomic conditions that could harm our business, including the resulting inability of certain of our customers to meet their payment obligations; the timing of the initiation, progress or cancellation of significant contracts or arrangements; the mix and timing of services sold in a particular period; our ability to recruit and maintain experienced management and personnel; rapid technological change and the timing and amount of start-up costs incurred in connection with the introduction of new services or the entrance into new markets; our ability to maintain or attract sufficient customers in existing or new markets; our ability to respond to increasing competition; our ability to manage the growth of our operations; changes in estimates of taxable income or utilization of deferred tax assets which could significantly affect the Company's effective tax rate; pending regulatory action relating to our compliance with customer proprietary network information; external events outside of our control, including extreme weather, natural disasters, pandemics or terrorist attacks that could adversely affect our target markets; and general economic and business conditions.You are advised to consult any further disclosures we make on related subjects in the reports we file with the SEC, including the "Risk Factors" in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K, together with updates that may occur in our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K.Such disclosure covers certain risks, uncertainties and possibly inaccurate assumptions that could cause our actual results to differ materially from expected and historical results.We undertake no obligation to correct or update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Key Operating Metrics and Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In this press release, the Company uses several key operating metrics and non-GAAP financial measures. The Company defines each of these metrics and provides a reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable generally accepting accounting principles in the United States, or GAAP, financial measure. These financial measures and operating metrics are a supplement to GAAP financial information and should not be considered as an alternative to, or more meaningful than, net income, cash flow or operating income as determined in accordance with GAAP.

Adjusted EBITDA is not a substitute for operating income, net income, or cash flow from operating activities as determined in accordance with GAAP, as a measure of performance or liquidity. The Company defines adjusted EBITDA as net income before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization expenses, excluding, when applicable, non-cash share-based compensation, public offering expenses, loss on disposal of property and equipment and other non-operating income or expense. Information relating to total adjusted EBITDA is provided so that investors have the same data that management employs in assessing the overall operation of the Company's business.

Total adjusted EBITDA allows the chief operating decision maker to assess the performance of the Company's business on a consolidated basis that corresponds to the measure used to assess the ability of its operating segments to produce operating cash flow to fund working capital needs, to service debt obligations and to fund capital expenditures. In particular, total adjusted EBITDA permits a comparative assessment of the Company's operating performance, relative to a performance based on GAAP results, while isolating the effects of depreciation and amortization, which may vary among segments without any correlation to their underlying operating performance, and of non-cash share-based compensation, which is a non-cash expense that varies widely among similar companies.

CBEY-F CBEY-G

SOURCE: Cbeyond, Inc.

Cbeyond, Inc.
Kurt Abkemeier
Vice President, Finance and Treasurer
678-370-2887

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