Altice USA Reports Third Quarter 2018 Results
Business Wire Business Wire•November 5, 2018
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Altice USA Delivers Its Best Financial Performance
+4.1% YoY Accelerated Revenue Growth, Highest Ever Adjusted EBITDA(1) margin
+28% YoY Free Cash Flow(2) Growth
Improved Residential Customer Trends
Continued Differentiated Investments in FTTH, Mobile, Altice One and Advanced Advertising
Share Buyback Target up to $500 Million in 2018 ($241M in Q3); 2018 Total Return $2 Billion(3)
Successful Debt Silo Transaction Will Strengthen Credit Profile and Simplify Structure
Altice USA (ATUS) today reported results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2018.
Dexter Goei, Altice USA Chief Executive Officer, said: "We are extremely pleased to present Altice USA’s best financial performance yet, including improved subscriber trends, accelerated revenue growth, highest ever margin and material growth in free cash flow. We are delivering on our differentiated investment thesis anchored in infrastructure-based investment to future-proof our business, to enhance the customer experience and services offered, and to reduce costs over the long-term. This is demonstrated by having just completed the initial launch of the Altice One entertainment platform, launching fiber (FTTH) broadband services and progressing very quickly with preparations for the launch of Altice Mobile in 2019. Separately, the entrepreneurial spirit of our dynamic management team has allowed us to build a differentiated advanced advertising platform in under two years, competing on a national basis, and developing a new core competency. Finally, rapid deleveraging down to our target range is now facilitating material shareholder returns, with approximately $2 billion in dividend and buybacks set to be returned during 2018 and further returns planned for 2019.”
Altice USA Key Financial Highlights
Revenue growth +4.1% YoY in Q3 2018 to $2.42 billion, driven by Residential revenue growth of +2.4%, Business Services revenue growth of +6.0% and advertising revenue growth of +37.8%
Adjusted EBITDA grew +5.8% YoY in Q3 2018 to $1.07 billion; Adjusted EBITDA margin highest ever level at 44.3% (+6.8% YoY Adjusted EBITDA growth and margin of 44.7% excluding impact of consolidating i24 losses)
Operating Free Cash Flow (“OpFCF”)(1) declined -2.8% YoY in Q3 2018 to $736 million with an OpFCF margin of 30.4% vs. 32.6% in Q3 2017 with higher investment in key growth initiatives
Free Cash Flow(2) grew +28.0% YoY in Q3 2018 to $276 million (YTD $937m, +66.4% YoY), supporting $241 million of share repurchases; initial target up to $500m of share repurchases in 2H 2018 (total shareholder return ~$2bn in FY 2018(3))
Three Months Ended September 30,
($k) 2018 2017
Actual Actual