exactEarth ltd EXRTF

Q4

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Q4 and Fiscal 2018 Highlights:

• Q4 2018 revenue was $3.8 million, up 32% compared to $2.9 million in Q4 2017. Fiscal 2018 revenue was $13.0 million, up 1% compared to $12.8 million in Fiscal 2017;
• Subscription-based revenue was 90% of total revenue in Q4 2018 (Q4 2017: 94%) and 87% of total revenue in Fiscal 2018 (Fiscal 2017: 83%);
• Subscription-based revenue increased 27% in Q4 2018 compared to Q4 2017, and 6% in Fiscal 2018 compared to Fiscal 2017;
• Revenue backlog was $31.5 million at year-end, compared to $26.0 million at the end of Fiscal 2017 and $29.3 million at the end of Q3 2018;
• Adjusted EBITDA* was $1.0 million in Q4 2018 compared to ($1.4) million in Q4 2017. Fiscal 2018 Adjusted EBITDA was ($3.2) million compared to ($4.4) million in Fiscal 2017;
• Cash balance was $4.8 million at year-end compared to $8.1 million at the end of Fiscal 2017 and $3.5 million at the end of Q3 2018;
• Increased the number of exactView RT payloads to 51, achieving real-time S-AIS performance with message latency of less than one minute;
• Announced the first commercial and fully-operational AIS payload onboard a radar satellite with the launch and commissioning of the Spanish radar satellite, PAZ;
• Entered into an alliance agreement with IHS Markit (NASDAQ: INFO) to launch AIS Platinum, which offers unprecedented frequency and coverage of vessel movements worldwide;
• Government of Canada's Strategic Innovation Fund ("SIF") committed to an investment of up to $7.2 million over three years to support the development, management and expansion of exactView RT;
• Subsequent to year-end, completed a $13.0 million private placement of convertible debentures to strengthen the balance sheet and support exactView RT growth plans; and
• Subsequent to quarter-end, the final launch of the Iridium NEXT constellation successfully took place with ten more exactView RT payloads onboard.

 

"Driven by the growing adoption of our real-time S-AIS service, exactView RT, our revenue trend was favourable in 2018, which culminated in Q4 results that generated a significant year-over-year increase in subscription revenue and in our order backlog," said Peter Mabson, President & CEO of exactEarth. "In 2018, we also took positive steps to strengthen our balance sheet and reduce our cash burn. The SIF funding announcement in Q4 and private placement financing completed shortly after Q4 provide the Company with significant financial flexibility and approximately $20.0 million in capital to support operational and growth initiatives. Of note, the SIF payment of $1.2 million in Q4 represented a catch-up from Q2 through the end of the fiscal year, so quarterly SIF payments will be more moderate going forward." 

Mr. Mabson continued: "Looking out to 2019, our agreement with Harris Corp will come into full-effect and we expect to have all 58 payloads in our second-generation constellation fully-operational. We believe we have a significant growth opportunity in front of us and we will continue to leverage the unique real-time capabilities of exactView RT to develop and launch new analytics products and to maintain sales momentum in our core S-AIS market, while further expanding our footprint in the broader maritime information services market."