Fluent Announces Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2020 Financial Results
Fluent, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLNT) reported a 2.5% increase in Q4 2020 revenue to $82.0 million compared to Q4 2019. Net income was $0.2 million, or $0.00 per share, down from $1.0 million a year prior. Media margin rose by 21.8% to $32.0 million, representing 39.0% of revenue. For the full year 2020, revenue grew by 10.3% to $310.7 million, with net income of $2.2 million, or $0.03 per share, reversing a loss from 2019. The company emphasized a focus on traffic quality and strategic partnerships to drive long-term growth.
- Revenue increased by 10.3% in 2020 to $310.7 million.
- Media margin improved by 21.8% in Q4 2020 to $32.0 million.
- Adjusted EBITDA rose to $41.2 million for the full year, an 18.7% increase.
- Net income fell to $0.2 million in Q4 2020 from $1.0 million in Q4 2019.
- Traffic Quality Initiative may reduce near-term revenue.
- Net income for the full year was only $2.2 million compared to a net loss in 2019.
- Q4 2020 revenue of
$82.0 million , up2.5% over Q4 2019 - Net income of
$0.2 million , or$0.00 per share - Media margin of
$32.0 million , up21.8% over Q4 2019 and representing39.0% of revenue - Adjusted EBITDA of
$11.1 million , representing13.6% of revenue - Adjusted net income of
$5.4 million , or$0.07 per share
NEW YORK, March 16, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fluent, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLNT), a leading data-driven performance marketing company, today reported results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2020.
Ryan Schulke, Fluent’s Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Our fourth quarter results came in at the high end of the ranges we previewed in mid-January. Our results for the quarter and the full year reflect significant strides on the advertiser side of our business, adding and fortifying strategic partnerships with major brands, which in turn enhances the value of Fluent’s brand equity.
To support our sustainable long-term growth strategy, we continue to evolve our media properties, platform and traffic quality. As our industry is evolving rapidly, both commercially and through a regulatory lens, we are leading by example. In 2020, we commenced a Traffic Quality Initiative, to further enhance our value proposition for our clients and position Fluent as an industry leader. We see our commitment to higher quality traffic as the road to sustainable growth, notwithstanding a reduction in our near-term revenue profile during this transition.
Our clients are leaning in for more, and we are recalibrating our media strategy to fundamentally deliver high-value customer acquisition solutions to build value and drive growth for our clients and Fluent.”
Fourth Quarter Highlights
- Revenue increased
2.5% to$82.0 million , from$80.0 million in Q4 2019 - Net income of
$0.2 million , or$0.00 per share, compared to net income of$1.0 million , or$0.01 per share - Media margin of
$32.0 million , an increase of21.8% over prior year period and representing39.0% of revenue - Adjusted EBITDA of
$11.1 million , representing13.6% of revenue - Adjusted net income of
$5.4 million, or$0.07 per share
Full-Year 2020 Highlights
- Revenue increased
10.3% to$310.7 million , from$281.7 million in 2019 - Net income of
$2.2 million , or$0.03 per share, compared to net loss of$1.7 million , or$0.02 per share - Media margin of
$110.4 million , an increase of18.0% over prior period and representing35.5% of revenue - Adjusted EBITDA of
$41.2 million , an increase of18.7% over prior period and representing13.3% of revenue - Adjusted net income
$19.7 million , or$0.25 per share
Media margin, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income are non-GAAP financial measures, as defined and reconciled below.
Business Outlook
- Strategic client relationships driving strong demand on Fluent’s performance marketplace
- Monetization, as measured by media margin per registration, up two-fold in-year 2020 (Q4 vs. Q1), enabled by investments in technology and analytics; remains robust in Q1 2021
- Traffic Quality Initiative reducing revenue during transition to higher value strategy
- Winopoly contact center capability scaling quickly, exceeding expectations
Conference Call
Fluent, Inc. will host a conference call on Tuesday, March 16, 2021 at 4:30 PM ET to discuss its 2020 fourth quarter and full-year financial results. To listen to the conference call on your telephone, please dial (888) 339-0797 for domestic callers, or (412) 317-5248 for international callers. To access the live audio webcast, visit the Fluent website at investors.fluentco.com. Please login at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the call to ensure adequate time for any downloads that may be required. Following completion of the conference call, a recorded replay of the webcast will be available for those unable to participate. To listen to the telephone replay, please dial (877) 344-7529 or (412) 317-0088, with the replay passcode 10153134. The replay will also be available for one week on the Fluent website at investors.fluentco.com.
About Fluent, Inc.
Fluent (NASDAQ: FLNT) is a leading performance marketing company with expertise in creating meaningful connections between consumers and brands. Leveraging our proprietary first-party database of opted-in consumer profiles, Fluent drives intelligent growth strategies that deliver superior outcomes. Founded in 2010, the company is headquartered in New York City. For more information, visit www.fluentco.com.
Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
The matters contained in this press release may be considered to be “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Those statements include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations or anticipations of Fluent and members of our management team. Factors currently known to management that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include the following: compliance with a significant number of governmental laws and regulations, including those laws and regulations regarding privacy and data; the outcome of litigation, regulatory investigations or other legal proceedings in which we are involved or may become involved; failure to safeguard the personal information and other data contained in our database; failure to adequately protect intellectual property rights or allegations of infringement of intellectual property rights; unfavorable global economic conditions, including as a result of health and safety concerns around the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic; dependence on our key personnel; dependence on third-party service providers; management of the growth of our operations, including international expansion and the integration of acquired business units or personnel; the impact of the Traffic Quality Initiative, including our ability to replace lower quality consumer traffic with traffic that meets our quality requirements; ability to compete and manage media costs in an industry characterized by rapidly-changing internet media and advertising technology, evolving industry standards, regulatory uncertainty, and changing user and client demands; management of unfavorable publicity and negative public perception about our industry; failure to compete effectively against other online marketing and advertising companies; competition we face for web traffic; dependence on third-party publishers, internet search providers and social media platforms for a significant portion of visitors to our websites; dependence on emails, text messages and telephone calls, among other channels, to reach users for marketing purposes; liability related to actions of third-party publishers; limitations on our or our third-party publishers’ ability to collect and use data derived from user activities; ability to remain competitive with the shift to mobile applications; failure to detect click-through or other fraud on advertisements; impact of increased fulfillment costs; failure to meet our clients’ performance metrics or changing needs; compliance with the covenants of our credit agreement; and the potential for failures in our internal control over financial reporting. These and additional factors to be considered are set forth under “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Fluent undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results or expectations.
FLUENT, INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(Amounts in thousands, except share and per share data)
(unaudited)
| December 31, 2020 | December 31, 2019 | |||||||
| ASSETS: | ||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 21,087 | $ | 18,679 | ||||
| Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of | 62,669 | 60,915 | ||||||
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets | 2,435 | 1,921 | ||||||
| Total current assets | 86,191 | 81,515 | ||||||
| Restricted cash | 1,480 | 1,480 | ||||||
| Property and equipment, net | 2,201 | 2,863 | ||||||
| Operating lease right-of-use assets | 8,284 | 9,865 | ||||||
| Intangible assets, net | 45,417 | 55,603 | ||||||
| Goodwill | 165,088 | 164,774 | ||||||
| Other non-current assets | 1,559 | 993 | ||||||
| Total assets | $ | 310,220 | $ | 317,093 | ||||
| LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY: | ||||||||
| Accounts payable | $ | 7,692 | $ | 21,574 | ||||
| Accrued expenses and other current liabilities | 31,568 | 20,358 | ||||||
| Deferred revenue | 1,373 | 1,140 | ||||||
| Current portion of long-term debt | 7,293 | 6,873 | ||||||
| Current portion of operating lease liability | 2,291 | 2,282 | ||||||
| Total current liabilities | 50,217 | 52,227 | ||||||
| Long-term debt, net | 33,283 | 44,098 | ||||||
| Operating lease liability, net | 7,290 | 9,056 | ||||||
| Other non-current liabilities | 2,545 | 775 | ||||||
| Total liabilities | 93,335 | 106,156 | ||||||
| Contingencies | ||||||||
| Shareholders' equity: | ||||||||
| Preferred stock — | — | — | ||||||
| Common stock — | 40 | 39 | ||||||
| Treasury stock, at cost — 3,945,867 and 2,768,399 shares, respectively | (9,999 | ) | (8,184 | ) | ||||
| Additional paid-in capital | 411,753 | 406,198 | ||||||
| Accumulated deficit | (184,909 | ) | (187,116 | ) | ||||
| Total shareholders’ equity | 216,885 | 210,937 | ||||||
| Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity | $ | 310,220 | $ | 317,093 | ||||
FLUENT, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(Amounts in thousands, except share and per share data)
(unaudited)
| Three Months Ended December 31, | Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
| 2020 | 2019 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||||||||
| Revenue | $ | 81,996 | $ | 80,011 | $ | 310,719 | $ | 281,684 | ||||||||
| Costs and expenses: | ||||||||||||||||
| Cost of revenue (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) | 56,733 | 55,905 | 215,135 | 194,435 | ||||||||||||
| Sales and marketing (1) | 3,040 | 2,336 | 11,683 | 11,545 | ||||||||||||
| Product development (1) | 3,403 | 1,570 | 12,604 | 8,055 | ||||||||||||
| General and administrative (1) | 12,906 | 13,687 | 46,798 | 48,065 | ||||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization |
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FAQ
What were Fluent's Q4 2020 revenue figures?
Fluent reported Q4 2020 revenue of $82.0 million, a 2.5% increase compared to Q4 2019.
What is Fluent's net income for Q4 2020?
Fluent's net income for Q4 2020 was $0.2 million, or $0.00 per share.
How did Fluent perform in the full year 2020?
For the full year 2020, Fluent revenue increased by 10.3% to $310.7 million, with a net income of $2.2 million.
What is the impact of the Traffic Quality Initiative on Fluent's revenue?
The Traffic Quality Initiative is expected to reduce revenue in the near term as the company transitions to a higher value strategy.
When will Fluent hold its conference call to discuss its financial results?
Fluent will host a conference call on March 16, 2021, at 4:30 PM ET.
Fluent, Inc.
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