RESTON, VA., Nov. 8, 2018 - Comscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a trusted partner for planning, transacting, and evaluating media across platforms, today reported financial results for the third quarter of 2018, ended September 30, 2018.
Financial and Operational Highlights
"We are pleased with our performance and progress on our strategic initiatives during the third quarter. We drove revenue growth and made significant progress in streamlining our cost structure, as evidenced by our third straight quarter of positive adjusted EBITDA," said Bryan Wiener, CEO of Comscore. "Fundamental changes in the media ecosystem require a modern measurement partner to help businesses transact media with confidence. We believe our strategic plan positions us to be that trusted partner for today and in the future.”
Summary ResultsTotal revenue in the third quarter of 2018 was $102.9 million, up from $100.3 million in the year-ago quarter. The third quarter financials reflect the three new categories in which Comscore will analyze customers and revenue moving forward. These new categories better reflect solution groups that address customer needs.
Ratings and Planning revenue is composed of revenue from digital, TV and cross-platform products. Ratings and Planning revenue increased to $70.5 million in the third quarter, compared to $69.5 million in the year-ago quarter. The increase was primarily from TV products due to increases in existing customer contract values. This was offset by lower revenues in digital products that continued to be negatively impacted by ongoing industry changes in ad buying and consolidation.
Analytics and Optimization revenue increased to $22.2 million in the third quarter, compared to $21.2 million in the year-ago quarter. Revenue increased primarily due to increases in emerging products (including activation), partially offset by lower revenue from digital custom offerings.
Movies Reporting and Analytics revenue increased to $10.2 million in the third quarter, compared to $9.7 million in the year-ago quarter. Revenue increased as the company’s global footprint remained strong and products continued to result in higher contract pricing.
GAAP net loss for the third quarter of 2018 was $24.6 million, or $(0.42) per share, compared to $130.1 million, or $(2.26) per share reported in the year-ago quarter. The improvement was driven primarily by an $81.8 million non-recurring legal settlement in the year-ago quarter, as well as continued cost discipline in selling and marketing, research and development, and G&A, and a decrease in investigation and audit-related costs.
For the third quarter of 2018, Comscore generated non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA of $5.2 million, which includes a larger than normal $1.6 million payment received from a prior-year patent settlement and excludes stock-based compensation expense, change in fair value of financing derivatives, and other items as presented in the accompanying tables. This compares to an adjusted EBITDA loss of $5.0 million in the year-ago quarter.
Balance Sheet and LiquidityAs of September 30, 2018, total debt principal, composed of senior secured convertible notes, was $202.0 million. Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at the end of the third quarter were $54.2 million, including $6.3 million in restricted cash.
Business OutlookIn the fourth quarter of 2018, Comscore expects revenue to increase modestly and adjusted EBITDA to be positive for the fourth straight quarter and at the lower end of the range of the first three quarters of 2018, excluding the $1.6 million patent payment received in the third quarter. Looking forward, management is focused on streamlining the company’s cost structure to fund critical investments in product development and drive revenue growth in 2019 and beyond.
Comscore plans to provide 2019 and multi-year financial guidance at its Investor Day hosted on November 13th in NYC and live streamed on ir.comscore.com/events-presentations. Presentation materials and an archived replay will be available for approximately 90 days following the event at the same link.
Conference Call Information for Today, Thursday, November 8 at 5:00 p.m. ET:Management will provide commentary on the company's results in a conference call today at 5:00 p.m. ET. To access this call, dial +1 844-229-7593 (domestic) or +1 314-888-4258 (international) and reference conference ID #2195848. Participants are advised to dial in at least 10 minutes prior to the call to register. Additionally, a live webcast of the conference call will be available on the Investor Relations section of the company's website at ir.comscore.com/events-presentations. Following the conference call, a replay will be available by dialing +1 855-859-2056 (domestic) or +1 404-537-3406 (international) with passcode #2195848. The replay will also be available via webcast at ir.comscore.com/events-presentations.
About ComscoreComscore (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a trusted partner for planning, transacting and evaluating media across platforms. With a data footprint that combines digital, linear TV, over-the-top and theatrical viewership intelligence with advanced audience insights, Comscore allows media buyers and sellers to quantify their multiscreen behavior and make business decisions with confidence. A proven leader in measuring digital and set-top box audiences and advertising at scale, Comscore is the industry's emerging, third-party source for reliable and comprehensive cross-platform measurement.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal and state securities laws, including, without limitation, Comscore's expectations, forecasts, plans and opinions regarding business and market opportunities, product development and innovation, financial performance, operational improvements and strategic plans, in particular Comscore’s plans regarding customer needs, market positioning and revenue presentation and expectations regarding future revenue and adjusted EBITDA performance. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events to differ materially from expectations, including, but not limited to, Comscore’s ability to achieve its expected strategic, financial and operational plans. For additional discussion of risk factors, please refer to Comscore's respective Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and other filings that Comscore makes from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), which are available on the SEC's website (www.sec.gov).
Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date such statements are made. Comscore does not intend or undertake, and expressly disclaims, any duty or obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements to reflect events, circumstances or new information after the date of this press release, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by applicable law.
Use of Non-GAAP Financial MeasuresTo provide investors with additional information regarding our financial results, we are disclosing herein non-GAAP net income (loss) and adjusted EBITDA, each of which are non-GAAP financial measures used by our management to understand and evaluate our core operating performance and trends. We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our operating results, as they permit our investors to view our core business performance using the same metrics that management uses to evaluate our performance. Nevertheless, our use of these non-GAAP financial measures has limitations as an analytical tool, and investors should not consider these measures in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. Instead, you should consider these measures alongside GAAP-based financial performance measures, net income (loss), various cash flow metrics, and our other GAAP financial results.
MediaMarie ScoutasComscore, Inc. press@comscore.com
InvestorsJohn TinkerComscore, Inc.(212) 203-2129jtinker@comscore.com