EXFO reports second quarter results for fiscal 2021
EXFO reported Q2 2021 sales of US$69.3 million, up 25.2% year-over-year, driven by a strong demand recovery post-COVID. Bookings reached US$79.3 million, reflecting an 8.9% increase. The company recorded a net loss of US$2.4 million, improved from US$9.0 million in Q2 2020. Adjusted EBITDA was US$3.4 million, marking a strong turnaround from a loss of US$4.9 million last year. The book-to-bill ratio stood at 1.15, indicating healthy demand for EXFO’s services, especially in 5G and cloud networks.
- Sales increased 25.2% year-over-year to US$69.3 million.
- Bookings improved 8.9% to US$79.3 million.
- Adjusted EBITDA rose to US$3.4 million from -US$4.9 million.
- Book-to-bill ratio of 1.15 indicates strong demand outlook.
- Net loss of US$2.4 million, although improved from last year.
- Sales reached US
$69.3 million - Bookings attained US
$79.3 million , up8.9% year-over-year - IFRS net loss totaled US
$2.4 million - Adjusted EBITDA amounted to US
$3.4 million
QUEBEC CITY, April 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - EXFO Inc. (NASDAQ: EXFO) (TSX: EXF), the communications industry's test, monitoring and analytics experts, reported today financial results for the second quarter ended February 28, 2021.
"EXFO delivered another solid performance in the second quarter of 2021, marked by a robust book-to-bill ratio of 1.15 and healthy cash flows from operations of US
Second Quarter Highlights
- Sales. The coronavirus outbreak had forced a one-month shutdown of EXFO's manufacturing facility in Shenzhen, China in February 2020, which negatively impacted second quarter revenues in 2020. With this in mind, sales increased
25.2% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2021 with Test and Measurement (T&M) sales growing36.8% and Service Assurance, Systems and Services (SASS) sales dropping2.1% . Sales in the Americas and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) improved25.7% and54.7% year-over-year, respectively, while sales in the Asia-Pacific region fell18.3% . EXFO's top customer accounted for6.8% of sales, while the top three represented14.3% . - Profitability. IFRS net loss totaled US
$2.4 million , or -US$0.04 per share, in the second quarter of 2021, while adjusted EBITDA* amounted to US$3.4 million , or4.9% of sales. The company generated US$14.7 million in cash flows from operations in the second quarter of 2021 and had a net cash position* of US$10.2 million at the end of the quarter.
Selected Financial Information
(In thousands of US dollars)
Q2 2021 | Q2 2020 | H1 2021 | H1 2020 | ||||||||
Test and Measurement sales | $ | 51,277 | $ | 37,477 | $ | 101,750 | $ | 93,424 | |||
Service Assurance, Systems and Services sales | 17,565 | 17,935 | 38,611 | 35,684 | |||||||
Foreign exchange gains (losses) on forward exchange contracts | 412 | (99) | 405 | (244) | |||||||
Total sales | $ | 69,254 | $ | 55,313 | $ | 140,766 | $ | 128,864 | |||
Test and Measurement bookings | $ | 53,665 | $ | 52,003 | $ | 104,913 | $ | 107,012 | |||
Service Assurance, Systems and Services bookings | 25,272 | 20,963 | 43,074 | 36,012 | |||||||
Foreign exchange gains (losses) on forward exchange contracts | 412 | (99) | 405 | (244) | |||||||
Total bookings | $ | 79,349 | $ | 72,867 | $ | 148,392 | $ | 142,780 | |||
Book-to-bill ratio (bookings/sales) | 1.15 | 1.32 | 1.05 | 1.11 | |||||||
Gross margin before depreciation and amortization* | $ | 38,831 | $ | 31,517 | $ | 80,474 | $ | 74,827 | |||
Other selected information: | |||||||||||
IFRS net earnings (loss) | $ | (2,439) | $ | (9,021) | $ | 1,115 | $ | (9,084) | |||
Amortization of intangible assets | $ | 1,987 | $ | 1,695 | $ | 4,536 | $ | 3,327 | |||
Stock-based compensation costs | $ | 1,017 | $ | 436 | $ | 1,585 | $ | 923 | |||
Restructuring charges | $ | ‒ | $ | ‒ | $ | 543 | $ | ‒ | |||
Net income tax effect of the above items | $ | (298) | $ | (254) | $ | (828) | $ | (503) | |||
Foreign exchange loss | $ | 127 | $ | 382 | $ | 373 | $ | 508 | |||
Adjusted EBITDA* | $ | 3,407 | $ | (4,916) | $ | 13,356 | $ | 2,628 | |||
Quarterly Overview
Sales increased
Bookings improved
Gross margin before depreciation and amortization* amounted to
Selling and administrative expenses totaled US
Net R&D expenses attained US
IFRS net loss totaled US
Adjusted EBITDA* amounted to US
Conference Call and Webcast
EXFO will host a conference call today at 5 p.m. (Eastern time) to review second-quarter results for fiscal 2021. To listen to the conference call and participate in the question period via telephone, dial 1-323-289-6576. Please take note the following participant passcode will be required: 8977218. Executive Chairman Germain Lamonde, CEO Philippe Morin and Pierre Plamondon, CPA, Chief Financial Officer and Vice-President of Finance, will participate in the call. An audio replay of the conference call will be available two hours after the event until 8 p.m. on April 14, 2021. The replay number is 1-719-457-0820 and the participant passcode is 8977218. The audio Webcast and replay of the conference call will also be available on EXFO's website at www.EXFO.com, under the Investors section.
About EXFO
EXFO (NASDAQ: EXFO) (TSX: EXF) develops smarter test, monitoring and analytics solutions for fixed and mobile network operators, webscale companies and equipment manufacturers in the global communications industry. Our customers count on us to deliver superior network performance, service reliability and subscriber insights. They count on our unique blend of equipment, software and services to accelerate digital transformations related to fiber, 4G/LTE and 5G deployments. They count on our expertise with automation, real-time troubleshooting and big data analytics, which are critical to their business performance. We've spent over 30 years earning this trust, and today 1,900 EXFO employees in over 25 countries work side by side with our customers in the lab, field, data center and beyond.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and we intend that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbors created thereby. Forward-looking statements are statements other than historical information or statements of current condition. Words such as may, expect, believe, plan, anticipate, intend, could, estimate, continue, or similar expressions or the negative of such expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events and circumstances are considered forward-looking statements. They are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements due to various factors including, but not limited to, macroeconomic uncertainty, namely the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on our employees, customers and global operations, including the ability of our suppliers to fulfil raw material requirements and services and our ability to manufacture and deliver our products and services to our customers; the effects of emergency measures related to isolation periods for individuals in affected areas, lockdown restrictions imposed by national governments on businesses in countries where we operate and have employees, and limitations on travel to attract new customers and serve existing ones; deteriorating financial and market conditions as well as a potential recession; trade wars, and our ability to successfully integrate businesses that we acquire; capital spending and network deployment levels in the communications industry (including our ability to quickly adapt cost structures to anticipated levels of business and our ability to manage inventory levels with market demand); future economic, competitive, financial and market conditions; consolidation in the global communications test, monitoring and analytics solutions markets and increased competition among vendors; capacity to adapt our future product offering to future technological changes; limited visibility with regard to the timing and nature of customer orders; delay in revenue recognition due to longer sales cycles for complex systems involving customers' acceptance; fluctuating exchange rates; concentration of sales; timely release and market acceptance of our new products and other upcoming products; our ability to successfully expand international operations and to conduct business internationally; and the retention of key technical and management personnel. Assumptions relating to the foregoing involve judgments and risks, all of which are difficult or impossible to predict and many of which are beyond our control. Other risk factors that may affect our future performance and operations are detailed in our Annual Report, on Form 20-F, and our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Canadian securities commissions. We believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable based on information currently available to us, but we cannot assure you that the expectations will prove to have been correct. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These statements speak only as of the date of this document. Unless required by law or applicable regulations, we undertake no obligation to revise or update any of them to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date of this document.
*Non-IFRS Measures
EXFO provides non-IFRS measures (net cash position, gross margin before depreciation and amortization and adjusted EBITDA) as supplemental information regarding its operational performance. Net cash position represents cash and short-term investments, less bank loan and long-term debt. Gross margin before depreciation and amortization represents sales, less cost of sales, excluding depreciation and amortization. Adjusted EBITDA represent net earnings (loss) before interest and other income/expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation costs, restructuring charges, and foreign exchange loss.
These non-IFRS measures eliminate the effect on IFRS results of non-cash statement of earnings elements, restructuring charges as well as elements subject to significant volatility such as foreign exchange gain or loss. EXFO uses these measures for evaluating historical and prospective financial performance, as well as its performance relative to competitors. These non-IFRS measures are also used by financial analysts to evaluate and compare EXFO's performance against that of competitors and industry players in the company's sector.
Finally, these measures help EXFO plan and forecast future periods as well as make operational and strategic decisions. EXFO believes that providing this information, in addition to the IFRS measures, allows investors to see the company's results through the eyes of management, and to better understand historical and future financial performance. More importantly, it enables the comparison of EXFO's performance on a relatively similar basis against that of other public and private companies in the industry worldwide.
The presentation of this additional information is not prepared in accordance with IFRS. Therefore, the information may not necessarily be comparable to that of other companies and should be considered as a supplement to, not a substitute for, the corresponding measures calculated in accordance with IFRS.
The following table summarizes the reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA to IFRS net earnings (loss), in thousands of US dollars:
Adjusted EBITDA
Q2 2021 | Q2 2020 | H1 2021 | H1 2020 | ||||||||
IFRS net earnings (loss) for the period | $ | (2,439) | $ | (9,021) | $ | 1,115 | $ | (9,084) | |||
Add (deduct): | |||||||||||
Depreciation and amortization | 4,236 | 3,973 | 8,959 | 7,899 | |||||||
Interest and other (income) expense | (137) | 285 | (2,003) | 684 | |||||||
Income taxes | 603 | (971) | 2,784 | 1,698 | |||||||
Stock-based compensation costs | 1,017 | 436 | 1,585 | 923 | |||||||
Restructuring charges | – | – | 543 | – | |||||||
Foreign exchange loss | 127 | 382 | 373 | 508 | |||||||
Adjusted EBITDA for the period | $ | 3,407 | $ | (4,916) | $ | 13,356 | $ | 2,628 | |||
Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of sales | ( | ||||||||||
EXFO Inc. | ||||||
(in thousands of US dollars) | ||||||
As at February 28, 2021 | As at August 31, 2020 | |||||
Assets | ||||||
Current assets | ||||||
Cash | $ | 23,868 | $ | 32,818 | ||
Short-term investments | 458 | 919 | ||||
Accounts receivable | ||||||
Trade | 51,521 | 56,291 | ||||
Other | 5,168 | 4,055 | ||||
Income taxes and tax credits recoverable | 5,883 | 4,203 | ||||
Inventories | 41,835 | 38,865 | ||||
Prepaid expenses | 5,057 | 5,631 | ||||
Other assets | 3,595 | 5,493 | ||||
137,385 | 148,275 | |||||
Tax credits recoverable | 48,457 | 48,812 | ||||
Property, plant and equipment | 39,462 | 39,722 | ||||
Right-of-use assets | 9,082 | 10,758 | ||||
Intangible assets | 15,025 | 17,616 | ||||
Goodwill | 41,453 | 40,290 | ||||
Deferred income tax assets | 4,110 | 3,633 | ||||
Other assets | 1,656 | 1,548 | ||||
$ | 296,630 | $ | 310,654 | |||
Liabilities | ||||||
Current liabilities | ||||||
Bank loan | $ | 10,999 | $ | 32,737 | ||
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities | 45,856 | 41,348 | ||||
Provisions | 1,280 | 3,792 | ||||
Income taxes payable | 384 | 43 | ||||
Deferred revenue | 26,341 | 25,785 | ||||
Other liabilities | 4,086 | 4,032 | ||||
Current portion of lease liabilities | 3,167 | 3,249 | ||||
Current portion of long-term debt | 1,548 | 2,076 | ||||
93,661 | 113,062 | |||||
Provisions | 2,898 | 2,782 | ||||
Deferred revenue | 9,155 | 8,858 | ||||
Lease liabilities | 6,213 | 7,334 | ||||
Long-term debt | 1,532 | 2,144 | ||||
Deferred income tax liabilities | 2,795 | 3,760 | ||||
Other liabilities | 149 | 151 | ||||
116,403 | 138,091 | |||||
Shareholders' equity | ||||||
Share capital | 95,164 | 94,024 | ||||
Contributed surplus | 20,102 | 19,680 | ||||
Retained earnings | 103,748 | 102,633 | ||||
Accumulated other comprehensive loss | (38,787) | (43,774) | ||||
180,227 | 172,563 | |||||
$ | 296,630 | $ | 310,654 | |||
EXFO Inc. | ||||||||||||
(in thousands of US dollars, except share and per share data) | ||||||||||||
Three months ended February 28, 2021 | Six months ended February 28, 2021 | Three months ended February 29, 2020 | Six months ended February 29, 2020 | |||||||||
Sales | $ | 69,254 | $ | 140,766 | $ | 55,313 | $ | 128,864 | ||||
Cost of sales (1) | 30,423 | 60,292 | 23,796 | 54,037 | ||||||||
Selling and administrative | 22,893 | 44,499 | 24,303 | 48,807 | ||||||||
Net research and development | 13,548 | 24,747 | 12,566 | 24,315 | ||||||||
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment | 1,472 | 2,813 | 1,424 | 2,867 | ||||||||
Depreciation of right-of-use assets | 777 | 1,610 | 854 | 1,705 | ||||||||
Amortization of intangible assets | 1,987 | 4,536 | 1,695 | 3,327 | ||||||||
Interest and other (income) expense | (137) | (2,003) | 285 | 684 | ||||||||
Foreign exchange loss | 127 | 373 | 382 | 508 | ||||||||
Earnings (loss) before income taxes | (1,836) | 3,899 | (9,992) | (7,386) | ||||||||
Income taxes | 603 | 2,784 | (971) | 1,698 | ||||||||
Net earnings (loss) for the period | $ | (2,439) | $ | 1,115 | $ | (9,021) | $ | (9,084) | ||||
Basic and diluted net earnings (loss) | $ | (0.04) | $ | 0.02 | $ | (0.16) | $ | (0.16) | ||||
Basic weighted average number of shares | 55,940 | 55,844 | 55,603 | 55,521 | ||||||||
Diluted weighted average number of | 55,940 | 57,233 | 55,603 | 55,521 | ||||||||
(1) | The cost of sales is exclusive of depreciation and amortization, shown separately. |
EXFO Inc. | ||||||||||||
(in thousands of US dollars) | ||||||||||||
Three months ended February 28, 2021 | Six months ended February 28, 2021 | Three months ended February 29, 2020 | Six months ended February 29, 2020 | |||||||||
Net earnings (loss) for the period | $ | (2,439) | $ | 1,115 | $ | (9,021) | $ | (9,084) | ||||
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of | ||||||||||||
Items that may be reclassified | ||||||||||||
Foreign currency translation | 3,921 | 4,643 | (1,319) | (758) | ||||||||
Unrealized gains/losses on forward | 691 | 947 | (718) | (753) | ||||||||
Reclassification of realized gains/losses | (313) | (469) | 173 | 356 | ||||||||
Deferred income tax effect of | (100) | (134) | 146 | 116 | ||||||||
Other comprehensive income (loss) | 4,199 | 4,987 | (1,718) | (1,039) | ||||||||
Comprehensive income (loss) for | $ | 1,760 | $ | 6,102 | $ | (10,739) | $ | (10,123) | ||||
EXFO Inc. | |||||||||||||||
(in thousands of US dollars) | |||||||||||||||
Six months ended February 29, 2020 | |||||||||||||||
Share capital | Contributed | Retained | Accumulated | Total shareholders' | |||||||||||
Balance as at September 1, 2019 | $ | 92,706 | $ | 19,196 | $ | 112,173 | $ | (51,511) | $ | 172,564 | |||||
Reclassification of stock-based | 1,333 | (1,333) | – | – | – | ||||||||||
Redemption of share capital | (212) | (13) | – | – | (225) | ||||||||||
Stock-based compensation costs | – | 930 | – | – | 930 | ||||||||||
Net loss for the period | – | – | (9,084) | – | (9,084) | ||||||||||
Other comprehensive loss | |||||||||||||||
Foreign currency translation | – | – | – | (758) | (758) | ||||||||||
Changes in unrealized gains/losses | – | – | – | (281) | (281) | ||||||||||
Total comprehensive loss for the period | (10,123) | ||||||||||||||
Balance as at February 29, 2020 | $ | 93,827 | $ | 18,780 | $ | 103,089 | $ | (52,550) | $ | 163,146 | |||||
Six months ended February 28, 2021 | |||||||||||||||
Share capital | Contributed | Retained | Accumulated | Total shareholders' | |||||||||||
Balance as at September 1, 2020 | $ | 94,024 | $ | 19,680 | $ | 102,633 | $ | (43,774) | $ | 172,563 | |||||
Reclassification of stock-based | 1,305 | (1,305) | – | – | – | ||||||||||
Issuance of share capital | 414 | – | – | – | 414 | ||||||||||
Share issue expenses | (14) | – | – | – | (14) | ||||||||||
Redemption of share capital | (565) | 157 | – | – | (408) | ||||||||||
Stock-based compensation costs | – | 1,570 | – | – | 1,570 | ||||||||||
Net earnings for the period | – | – | 1,115 | – | 1,115 | ||||||||||
Other comprehensive income | |||||||||||||||
Foreign currency translation | – | – | – | 4,643 | 4,643 | ||||||||||
Changes in unrealized gains/losses | – | – | – | 344 | 344 | ||||||||||
Total comprehensive income for the period | 6,102 | ||||||||||||||
Balance as at February 28, 2021 | $ | 95,164 | $ | 20,102 | $ | 103,748 | $ | (38,787) | $ | 180,227 | |||||
EXFO Inc. | ||||||||||||
(in thousands of US dollars) | ||||||||||||
Three months ended February 28, 2021 | Six months ended February 28, 2021 | Three months ended February 29, 2020 | Six months ended February 29, 2020 | |||||||||
Cash flows from operating activities | ||||||||||||
Net earnings (loss) for the period | $ | (2,439) | $ | 1,115 | $ | (9,021) | $ | (9,084) | ||||
Add (deduct) items not affecting cash | ||||||||||||
Stock-based compensation costs | 1,017 | 1,585 | 436 | 923 | ||||||||
Depreciation and amortization | 4,236 | 8,959 | 3,973 | 7,899 | ||||||||
Gain on disposal of capital assets | (17) | (17) | – | – | ||||||||
Write-off of capital assets | – | 10 | – | 216 | ||||||||
Other income | (669) | (669) | – | – | ||||||||
Deferred revenue | 1,519 | (81) | 1,557 | (2,815) | ||||||||
Deferred income taxes | (301) | (1,619) | (212) | (654) | ||||||||
Changes in foreign exchange gain/loss | (213) | (1) | 902 | 881 | ||||||||
3,133 | 9,282 | (2,365) | (2,634) | |||||||||
Changes in non-cash operating items | ||||||||||||
Accounts receivable | 7,214 | 6,383 | 18,539 | 18,611 | ||||||||
Income taxes and tax credits | (997) | 223 | (3,178) | (2,662) | ||||||||
Inventories | 1,924 | (681) | (458) | (3,951) | ||||||||
Prepaid expenses | 549 | 1,128 | 610 | 988 | ||||||||
Other assets | 272 | 1,663 | (491) | (456) | ||||||||
Accounts payable, accrued liabilities | 2,580 | (1,253) | (5,580) | (9,273) | ||||||||
Other liabilities | 2 | (6) | 58 | 42 | ||||||||
14,677 | 16,739 | 7,135 | 665 | |||||||||
Cash flows from investing activities | ||||||||||||
Additions to short-term investments | (275) | (505) | – | (147) | ||||||||
Disposal of short-term investments | 948 | 978 | 701 | 1,264 | ||||||||
Purchases of capital assets | (1,172) | (2,283) | (2,146) | (4,186) | ||||||||
Cash acquired in a business combination | 799 | 799 | – | – | ||||||||
300 | (1,011) | (1,445) | (3,069) | |||||||||
Cash flows from financing activities | ||||||||||||
Bank loan | (5,355) | (21,693) | 16 | 8,370 | ||||||||
Repayment of lease liabilities | (777) | (1,610) | (846) | (1,690) | ||||||||
Repayment of long-term debt | (578) | (1,159) | (639) | (1,315) | ||||||||
Redemption of share capital | (28) | (408) | – | (225) | ||||||||
(6,738) | (24,870) | (1,469) | 5,140 | |||||||||
Effect of foreign exchange rate changes on | 237 | 192 | (140) | (128) | ||||||||
Change in cash during the period | 8,476 | (8,950) | 4,081 | 2,608 | ||||||||
Cash – Beginning of the period | 15,392 | 32,818 | 15,045 | 16,518 | ||||||||
Cash – End of the period | $ | 23,868 | $ | 23,868 | $ | 19,126 | $ | 19,126 | ||||
EXFO-F
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SOURCE EXFO Inc.
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