Altice USA Reports First Quarter 2021 Results

Altice USA (NYSE: ATUS) today reports results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021.

Dexter Goei, Altice USA Chief Executive Officer, said: “I am delighted to share that 2021 is off to a great start, positioning us well for the rest of the year. We continue to see increased demand for broadband and higher speeds as we accelerate our best-in-class network performance through our investments in fiber and enhance our product offerings. Our team's ongoing commitment to serving our customers continues to be reflected by our strong broadband customer results and financials in the quarter. Furthermore, we delivered best-ever first quarter free cash flow performance, supporting an incremental $523 million in share repurchases. Earlier this month we closed our Morris Broadband acquisition, and we continue to look for opportunities to expand our footprint to complement our numerous organic growth opportunities, including accelerated new builds and fiber upgrades."

Key Financial Highlights

• Total Revenue grew +1.2% YoY in Q1 2021 to $2.48 billion, driven by Broadband revenue growth of +9.6% YoY.
• Net income attributable to stockholders was $274.1 million in Q1 2021, or $0.58/share on a diluted basis, compared to a net loss of ($0.9) million in Q1 2020, or $0.00/share on a diluted basis.
• Net cash flows from operating activities were $749.6min Q1 2021, compared to $593.6m in Q1 2020.
• Adjusted EBITDA⁽¹⁾ increased +4.2% YoY in Q1 2021 to $1.07 billionwith a margin of 43.4% (growth of +3.7% YoY and a margin of 44.1% ex-mobile ⁽²⁾).
• Cash capex of $212.8 million in Q1 2021 represented 8.6% of revenue, and was down 28.9% YoY mainly due to reduced FTTH and CPE spend.
• Operating Free Cash Flow⁽¹⁾ for Q1 2021 increased +17.7% YoY to $862.0 million, reflecting Adjusted EBITDA growth and lower capital spending on a YoY basis.
• Free Cash Flow⁽¹⁾increased +82.3% YoY in Q1 2021 to $536.8 million.
• Share repurchases were approximately $522.7 million in Q1 2021.

Q1-21 Summary Financials

Key Operational Highlights

• Total unique Residential customer relationships grew +1.7% YoY in Q1 2021. Reported unique Residential customers net losses were -1k in Q1 2021. Adjusted for the retention activity of subscribers who were affected by Hurricanes Laura and Delta and previously had balances outstanding that were more than 90 days past due ("former storm-affected >90 day subscribers")⁽³⁾, Residential customer net additions would have been +8k, compared to +35k Residential customer net additions in Q1 2020.
• Residential Broadband RGUs: Reported quarterly Residential broadband net additions were +12k in Q1 2021, or +20k adjusted for the retention of former storm-affected >90 day subscribers, compared to +50k broadband net additions in Q1 2020.
• Residential Video RGUs: Reported quarterly video net losses were -54k in Q1 2021, or -50k adjusted for the retention of former storm-affected >90 day subscribers, compared to -42k in Q1 2020.
• Residential revenue grew +1.3% YoY in Q1 2021 to $1.98 billion:
  • Residential revenue per customer relationship in Q1 2021 was down -0.8% YoY to $142.24 vs. $143.39 in Q1 2020.
• Business Services revenue grew +0.7% YoY in Q1 2021 with Lightpath growing +2.4% YoY and SMB / Other revenue growing +0.2% YoY. We believe early reopening activity is encouraging, with seasonal businesses opening earlier than usual this year. Lightpath continues to gain momentum in the education and healthcare verticals, driven by elevated connectivity needs during the pandemic.
• News and Advertising revenue was flat at -0.4% YoY in Q1 2021, supported by ongoing recovery in local and regional advertising. In April, Cheddar completed a rebranding campaign to "Cheddar News" with a tag line of “Look Forward,” to focus on expanding its range of news offerings that highlight both the technology and innovation coverage of the network. Cheddar has seen a +14% increase in viewing streaming minutes and +16% increase in website traffic in Q1 2021 compared to Q1 2020.
• Altice Mobile has approximately 174k mobile lines as of March 31, 2021 (+5k net additions in Q1 2021), generating revenue of $19.2 million for the quarter (up +4.8% YoY), and reaching 3.7% penetration of Altice USA's Residential customer base. At the end of March 2021, substantially all of Altice Mobile customers have migrated onto the T-Mobile network from the Sprint network, with improved network quality contributing to a 20% reduction in churn in Q1 2021 compared to Q4 2020.
• Increased network usage and demand for higher broadband speeds: In Q1 2021, the Company saw an increase of +39% YoY in average data usage per customer. Broadband-only customer usage averaged 613 GB per month in Q1 2021, which is 26% higher than the average usage of all customers. The average broadband speeds taken by Altice USA’s customer base has more than doubled in the past three years to 302 Mbps at the end of Q1 2021. Over 50% of our broadband customers remain on plans with download speeds of 200 Mbps or less, representing a sizable opportunity to continue to upgrade speeds.
• Increase in 1 Gig broadband sell-in: 1 Gig broadband capability is available across 92% of Altice USA's consolidated footprint. In Q1 2021, 1 Gig sell-in to new customers increased to 43% where 1 Gig services are available, up from 13% in Q1 2020. Less than 10% of the total customer base currently take Gigabit speeds, representing a significant growth opportunity for the Company.
• FTTH strategy and update: At the end of Q1 2021, Altice USA covered over 1 million homes with FTTH technology available for service, with FTTH sell-in to new customers increasing to approximately two-thirds of gross additions in areas where FTTH is available in Q1, up from 14% in Q1 2020. Penetration of FTTH passings is 3.6% compared to 0.7% in Q1 2020. The Company remains positive on the future of its FTTH deployment initiatives and confident in delivering a better customer experience, as well as both capex and opex efficiencies following the completion of its FTTH build.
• Increase in new-builds: Altice USA has been accelerating the pace of its network edge-outs, adding 34k homes passed in Q1 2021 and a total of 233k homes passed in the last twelve months (163k homes passed on an organic basis excluding Service Electric). The Company is seeing strong momentum in growing customer penetration, typically reaching approximately 40% within a year of rollout in new-build areas, and this remains a focus area for growth.

Financial Outlook Reiterated

The Company reiterates its financial outlook for FY 2021:

• Revenue: Growth
• Adjusted EBITDA: Growth
• Cash capital expenditures: $1.3 to $1.4 billion
• Year-end leverage target (CSC Holdings, LLC debt silo): < 5.3x net debt / Adjusted EBITDA on an L2QA basis

• Share repurchases: $1.5 billion

The Company expects to return to a leverage target of 4.5x - 5.0x net debt / Adjusted EBITDA on an L2QA basis for its CSC Holdings, LLC debt silo over time.

Balance Sheet Review

For the quarter and year ended March 31, 2021:

• Consolidated net debt for Altice USA at the end of Q1 2021 was $24,607 million on a reported basis⁽⁵⁾, representing consolidated net leverage of 5.5x Adjusted EBITDA at the end of Q1 2021 on an L2QA basis (5.5x last-twelve months or "LTM").
• Net debt for CSC Holdings Restricted Group was $23,261 million at the end of Q1 2021⁽⁵⁾, representing net leverage of 5.5x Adjusted EBITDA on an L2QA basis (5.5x LTM).
• The weighted average cost of debt for CSC Holdings, LLC was 4.7% as of the end of Q1 2021 and the weighted average life was 6.3 years.
• Net debt for Cablevision Lightpath LLC was $1,405 million at the end of Q1 2021⁽⁵⁾, representing net leverage of 6.4x Adjusted EBITDA on an L2QA basis (6.4x LTM). The weighted average cost of debt for Cablevision Lightpath LLC was 4.3% as of the end of Q1 2021 and the weighted average life was 6.5 years.

Additional Highlights and Announcements

Altice USA Completes Acquisition of Morris Broadband

On April 6, 2021, Altice USA completed the previously announced acquisition of the assets of Morris Broadband, LLC (“Morris Broadband”). The transaction expands Altice USA’s footprint in North Carolina, where the Company already has a presence with its Suddenlink business, and implies an enterprise value of $310 million total for the Morris Broadband business on a debt-free and cash-free basis. Following this acquisition, North Carolina represents the sixth largest state for Altice USA out of its 21 states of operations in terms of number of residential customers, demonstrating the Company’s commitment to invest heavily in the region with additional resources and network investments.

Morris Broadband is a rapidly growing broadband communications services company providing high-speed data, video and voice services to approximately 37,000 residential and business customers in western North Carolina. As of December 31, 2020, Morris Broadband passed approximately 89,000 homes throughout growing communities including Hendersonville, Franklin, Sylva, Nebo and West Jefferson with broadband penetration of approximately 35%.

With this transaction, Morris Broadband will benefit from enhanced scale, operating efficiencies and further investment support that are at the core of the Company’s business model and strategy, including accelerated new homes build.

Smart WiFi 6

On April 26, 2021, the Company launched Smart WiFi 6, powered by the Company’s next generation WiFi 6 gateways, which delivers up to 3x faster speeds than previous WiFi technology. Smart WiFi 6 will work across a variety of different environments and home layouts, including apartment buildings and single-family homes, while maintaining network efficiency and reliability even in busy households. Intelligent band steering provides strong connection for devices no matter where the device is in the home. Faster speeds help enable quicker downloads, improve the clarity of video calls, enable a better low-latency online gaming experience, and support simultaneous streaming of 4K programming.

Share Repurchases

For the three months ended March 31, 2021, Altice USA repurchased an aggregate of 15.2 million shares for a total purchase price of approximately $522.7 million, at an average price of $34.43. As of March 31, 2021, Altice USA had 461,977,407 combined Class A and Class B shares outstanding.

Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures:

We define Adjusted EBITDA, which is a non-GAAP financial measure, as net income (loss) excluding income taxes, non-operating income or expenses, loss on extinguishment of debt and write-off of deferred financing costs, gain (loss) on interest rate swap contracts, gain (loss) on derivative contracts, gain (loss) on investments and sale of affiliate interests, interest expense, interest income, depreciation and amortization (including impairments), share-based compensation expense or benefit, restructuring expense or credits and transaction expenses.

We believe Adjusted EBITDA is an appropriate measure for evaluating the operating performance of the Company. Adjusted EBITDA and similar measures with similar titles are common performance measures used by investors, analysts and peers to compare performance in our industry. Internally, we use revenue and Adjusted EBITDA measures as important indicators of our business performance, and evaluate management’s effectiveness with specific reference to these indicators. We believe Adjusted EBITDA provides management and investors a useful measure for period-to-period comparisons of our core business and operating results by excluding items that are not comparable across reporting periods or that do not otherwise relate to the Company’s ongoing operating results. Adjusted EBITDA should be viewed as a supplement to and not a substitute for operating income (loss), net income (loss), and other measures of performance presented in accordance with GAAP. Since Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure of performance calculated in accordance with GAAP, this measure may not be comparable to similar measures with similar titles used by other companies.

We also use Operating Free Cash Flow (defined as Adjusted EBITDA less cash capital expenditures), and Free Cash Flow (defined as net cash flows from operating activities less cash capital expenditures) as indicators of the Company’s financial performance. We believe these measures are two of several benchmarks used by investors, analysts and peers for comparison of performance in the Company’s industry, although they may not be directly comparable to similar measures reported by other companies.

Customer Metrics^(9)(10) (in thousands, except per customer amounts)

Consolidated Net Debt as of March 31, 2021

Net Leverage Schedules as of March 31, 2021 (in $m)

About Altice USA

Altice USA (NYSE: ATUS) is one of the largest broadband communications and video services providers in the United States, delivering broadband, video, mobile, proprietary content and advertising services to more than 5.0 million residential and business customers across 21 states through its Optimum and Suddenlink brands. The Company operates a4, an advanced advertising and data business, which provides audience- based, multiscreen advertising solutions to local, regional and national businesses and advertising clients. Altice USA also offers hyper-local, national, international and business news through its News 12, Cheddar and i24NEWS networks.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements in this press release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including the information under the heading "Financial Outlook". These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, all statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this release, including, without limitation, those regarding our intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, among other things: our future financial conditions and performance, results of operations and liquidity; our strategy, plans, objectives, prospects, growth, goals and targets; our ability to achieve operational performance improvements; and future developments in the markets in which we participate or are seeking to participate. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms "anticipate", "believe", "could", "estimate", "expect", "forecast", "intend", "may", "plan", "project", "should", "target", "remain" or "will" or, in each case, their negative, or other variations or comparable terminology. Where, in any forward-looking statement, we express an expectation or belief as to future results or events, such expectation or belief is expressed in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis, but there can be no assurance that the expectation or belief will result or be achieved or accomplished. To the extent that statements in this release are not recitations of historical fact, such statements constitute forward-looking statements, which, by definition, involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements including risks referred to in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. You are cautioned to not place undue reliance on Altice USA’s forward-looking statements. Any forward- looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it was made. Altice USA specifically disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, as of any future date.

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