Centennial Communications Corp. Announces Record Second Quarter Results.Business Editors WALL, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 20, 2000 (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on : CYCL CYCL - A frame language. ["Building Large Knowledge-Based Systems", Doug B. Lenat et al, A-W 1990]. ) Centennial Communications Centennial Communications (NASDAQ: CYCL) and its subsidiaries (Centennial Wireless (U.S.), Centennial Dominicana and Centennial de Puerto Rico) provide wireless and broadband telecommunications services to wireless telephone subscribers in the United States, Puerto Rico, the Corp. ("Centennial" or "the Company") today announced record results for revenues and earnings for the quarter ended November November: see month. 30, 2000. Consolidated revenues grew 25% from the same quarter last year to $154.4 million, and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and gain on disposition of assets ("EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) A metric used to show a company's profitability, but not its cash flow. EBITDA became popular in the 1980s to show the potential profitability of leveraged buyouts, but has become ") increased 14% from the same quarter last year to $68.5 million. Diluted earnings per share diluted earnings per share An earnings measure calculated by dividing net income less preferred stock dividends for a period by the average number of shares of common stock that would be outstanding if all convertible securities were converted into shares of for the second quarter were $1.88, including a gain on disposition of assets of $1.86. The Company's wireless subscribers at November 30, 2000 were 664,400, compared to 525,100 on the same date last year, an increase of 27%. Domestic cellular subscribers decreased by 12,100 during the quarter, including a deduction deduction, in logic, form of inference such that the conclusion must be true if the premises are true. For example, if we know that all men have two legs and that John is a man, it is then logical to deduce that John has two legs. of 22,600 for the divestiture The breakup of AT&T. By federal court order, AT&T divested itself on January 1, 1984 of its 23 operating companies, which became known as the Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs). of the Southwest cluster in November. Caribbean Wireless subscribers increased 12,500 during the quarter compared to an increase of 16,700 during the same quarter last year. During the quarter the Company: -- realized approximately $400 million of after-tax proceeds from the dispositions of the Southwest cluster with approximately 311,000 Pops and minority interests representing over 1.1 million Net Pops; -- launched wireless service in the Dominican Republic and obtained a $75 million vendor financing commitment for the construction of a wireless network in Jamaica; -- completed the acquisition of Pegasus Communications' cable television assets for approximately $170 million in cash and more recently announced a definitive agreement to acquire the Teleponce cable television company for $108 million in cash. Together these cable television operations pass approximately 300,000 homes; and -- announced on December 19, the acquisition of Com Tech International Corporation. Com Tech's assets are undersea fiber optic capacity on ARCOS-1 in the Caribbean, TAT-14 in the Atlantic, and Japan-U.S. in the Pacific. "We are more than fully funded to pursue greater growth opportunities than ever before as a result of our corporate development activity this quarter," said Michael J. Small, president and chief executive officer. "We accomplished our goal of monetizing non-control investments and we added key assets to our Caribbean operations. I am particularly pleased with the rapid growth of our Caribbean wireline business." On December 19, 2000, Centennial announced that it had signed a definitive agreement to purchase the Teleponce cable television company for $108 million in cash. The Teleponce systems serve areas in and around Ponce in the southwestern part of Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (pwār`tō rē`kō), island (2005 est. pop. 3,917,000), 3,508 sq mi (9,086 sq km), West Indies, c.1,000 mi (1,610 km) SE of Miami, Fla. , have over 37,000 subscribers, and pass over 124,500 homes. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions. On December 19, 2000 the Company announced that it had acquired Com Tech International Corporation, an owner of undersea fiber optic cable Noun 1. fiber optic cable - a cable made of optical fibers that can transmit large amounts of information at the speed of light fibre optic cable transmission line, cable, line - a conductor for transmitting electrical or optical signals or electric power capacity. Com Tech's cable ownership extend around the Caribbean on the ARCOS-1 cable network, from the U.S. to Europe on the TAT-14 cable network and from the U. S. to Japan on the Japan- U.S. cable network. Currently, Centennial owns undersea capacity on the ARCOS-1 and Americas II fiber optic cables linking Puerto Rico, the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. mainland and Latin America Latin America, the Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, and French-speaking countries (except Canada) of North America, South America, Central America, and the West Indies. . On November 21, 2000, Centennial announced that it completed the sale of its 23.472% limited partnership interest in Sacramento-Valley Limited Partnership to Verizon Wireless Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, owns and operates the second largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States, based on total wireless customers. for $236 million in cash. Centennial's interest represents approximately 865,000 Net Pops. Sacramento-Valley Limited Partnership provides wireless telephone service in portions of Northern California Northern California, sometimes referred to as NorCal, is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The region contains the San Francisco Bay Area, the state capital, Sacramento; as well as the substantial natural beauty of the redwood forests, the northern and Nevada and is controlled and managed by Verizon Wireless. On November 16, 2000, the Company announced that it had closed the previously announced sale of its Southwest properties to Western Wireless for $202.5 million in cash. Centennial's Southwest properties consist of rural service areas (RSAs) in and around Yuma, Arizona Yuma is a city in and the county seatGR6 of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 84,688. (Arizona Arizona (âr'əzō`nə), state in the southwestern United States. It is bordered by Utah (N), New Mexico (E), Mexico (S), and, across the Colorado R., Nevada and California (W). 4) and El Centro, California “El Centro” redirects here. For other uses, see El Centro (disambiguation). El Centro is the county seat of Imperial County, California, United States and the largest city in the Imperial Valley, the region east of San Diego. It is also the largest U.S. (California California (kăl'ĭfôr`nyə), most populous state in the United States, located in the Far West; bordered by Oregon (N), Nevada and, across the Colorado River, Arizona (E), Mexico (S), and the Pacific Ocean (W). 7) representing approximately 311,000 Pops and approximately 22,600 cellular subscribers. The Southwest properties also included paging and SMR (Specialized Mobile Radio) The communications services used by police, ambulances, taxicabs, trucks and other delivery vehicles. Throughout the U.S., approximately 3,000 independent operators are licensed by the FCC to offer this service, which provides always-on operations. On September 15, 2000, the Company completed the previously announced acquisition of the cable television assets of Pegasus Communications for approximately $170 million in cash. Pegasus' cable systems serve various communities in the western region of Puerto Rico, passing 170,000 homes with their 123 route-miles of fiber optic and 1,268 route-miles of coaxial co·ax·i·al adj. Having or mounted on a common axis. coaxial Adjective 1. Electronics (of a cable) transmitting by means of two concentric conductors separated by an insulator cable. The Pegasus cable system has approximately 57,000 subscribers. For the quarter, Domestic Wireless revenues were $85.8 million and EBITDA was $43.6 million, up 16% and 14%, respectively from the same quarter last year. The increases are due to subscriber growth and roaming The ability to use a communications device such as a cellphone or PDA and be able to move from one cell or access point to another without losing the connection. revenue growth. Over 60% of our Domestic Wireless subscribers now use a digital phone, which has facilitated a 20% increase in average minutes of use per customer over the last year. Also for the quarter, total Caribbean revenues were $68.6 million and EBITDA was $24.9 million, up 39% and 14%, respectively from the same quarter last year. Caribbean Wireline revenues for the quarter reached $22.9 million from $11.3 million in the same quarter last year, an increase of 104%. Centennial is one of the largest independent wireless telecommunications service providers A Telecommunications Service Provider or TSP is a type of Communications Service Provider that has traditionally provided telephone and similar services. This category includes ILECs, CLECs, and mobile wireless companies. in the United States and the Caribbean with approximately 17.5 million Net Pops and over 664,400 wireless subscribers. Centennial's Domestic operations have approximately 6.0 million Net Pops in small cities and rural areas. Centennial's Caribbean integrated communications operation owns and operates wireless licenses for 11.4 million Net Pops in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic Dominican Republic (dəmĭn`ĭkən), republic (2005 est. pop. 8,950,000), 18,700 sq mi (48,442 sq km), West Indies, on the eastern two thirds of the island of Hispaniola. The capital and largest city is Santo Domingo. , Jamaica and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and provides voice, data and Internet Internet Publicly accessible computer network connecting many smaller networks from around the world. It grew out of a U.S. Defense Department program called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), established in 1969 with connections between computers at the services on wireline networks in the region. Welsh, Carson, Anderson Anderson, river, Canada Anderson, river, c.465 mi (750 km) long, rising in several lakes in N central Northwest Territories, Canada. It meanders north and west before receiving the Carnwath River and flowing north to Liverpool Bay, an arm of the Arctic & Stowe and an affiliate of The Blackstone Group Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE: BX) is a prominent private equity and investment management firm founded in 1985 by Peter G. Peterson and Stephen A. Schwarzman. The company is based in New York City, in River House on Park Avenue at Fifty-first Street, with offices in Atlanta, are controlling shareholders of Centennial. For more information regarding Centennial, please visit our website at www.centennialcom.com. Cautionary statement for purposes of the "Safe Harbor Safe Harbor 1. A legal provision to reduce or eliminate liability as long as good faith is demonstrated. 2. A form of shark repellent implemented by a target company acquiring a business that is so poorly regulated that the target itself is less attractive. " provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995: Information in this release that involves Centennial's expectations, beliefs, hopes, plans, projections, estimates, intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. that involve risks and uncertainties. All forward-looking statements included in this release are based upon information available to Centennial as of the date of the release, and we assume no obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results could differ materially from our current expectations.
CENTENNIAL COMMUNICATIONS CORP.
STATISTICS
November 30, 2000
($000's, except per subscriber data)
Three Months Ended Six Months Ended
Nov-00 Nov-99 Nov-00 Nov-99
---------------------------------------------
DOMESTIC
Subscribers 454,700 363,300 454,700 363,300
Net Gain - Subscribers(a) (12,100) 22,100 9,400 42,700
Revenue per Average
Customer $61 $70 $62 $71
Roaming Revenue $31,706 $28,594 $65,055 $56,612
Penetration 7.6% 6.2% 7.6% 6.2%
Monthly Churn 2.3% 2.0% 2.1% 2.0%
Monthly MOU's per Customer 143 119 138 115
Cost to Acquire per
Activation $286 $296 $290 $294
Capital Expenditures $11,287 $15,891 $24,393 $26,576
CARIBBEAN
Wireless Subscribers 209,700 161,800 209,700 161,800
Net Gain - Wireless
Subscribers 12,500 16,700 28,200 28,300
Revenue per Average
Wireless Customer $78 $87 $79 $88
Penetration - Wireless 1.6% 4.2% 1.6% 4.2%
Monthly Churn - Wireless 2.1% 3.5% 2.2% 3.6%
Monthly MOU's per
Wireless Customer 500 468 510 465
Capital Expenditures $32,958 $28,095 $83,139 $49,795
Fiber Route Miles 556 358 556 358
Access Lines 19,754 12,775 19,754 12,775
Dedicated Access Line
Equivalents 73,936 23,924 73,936 23,924
REVENUES
Domestic $85,775 $74,228 $172,506 $146,747
Caribbean - Wireless $47,313 $39,963 $92,764 $76,846
Caribbean - Wireline $22,930 $11,259 $37,589 $20,952
Caribbean - Intercompany ($1,657) ($1,920) ($3,254) ($3,743)
Total Caribbean $68,586 $49,302 $127,099 $94,055
Consolidated $154,361 $123,530 $299,605 $240,802
EBITDA
Domestic $43,613 $38,136 $89,491 $76,886
Caribbean - Wireless $17,844 $20,404 $36,794 $36,267
Caribbean - Wireline $7,049 $1,486 $10,587 $4,799
Total Caribbean $24,893 $21,890 $47,381 $41,066
Consolidated $68,506 $60,026 $136,872 $117,952
LIQUIDITY
Total Debt Less Cash
Equivalents $1,332,000 $1,430,000 $1,332,000 $1,430,000
(a) Includes a reduction of 22,600 subscribers from the divested
Southwest cluster.
CENTENNIAL COMMUNICATIONS CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
(Amounts in thousands, except per share data)
Three Months Ended Six Months Ended
-------------------- --------------------
November 30, November 30,
2000 1999 2000 1999
--------- --------- --------- ---------
REVENUE:
Service revenue $ 147,476 $ 118,575 $ 286,289 $ 231,530
Equipment sales 6,885 4,955 13,316 9,272
--------- --------- --------- ---------
154,361 123,530 299,605 240,802
--------- --------- --------- ---------
COSTS AND EXPENSES: (a)
Cost of equipment sold 10,028 7,365 19,734 14,964
Cost of services 24,645 14,711 45,417 30,416
Sales and marketing 22,799 19,224 44,619 36,998
General and
administrative 28,383 22,204 52,963 40,472
Depreciation and
amortization 27,192 19,655 49,738 38,639
Gain on disposition
of assets (331,209) (2) (363,344) 0
--------- --------- --------- ---------
(218,162) 83,157 (150,873) 161,489
--------- --------- --------- ---------
OPERATING INCOME 372,523 40,373 450,478 79,313
--------- --------- --------- ---------
INCOME FROM EQUITY
INVESTMENTS 4,314 3,856 9,629 7,340
INTEREST EXPENSE - NET (42,501) (36,495) (84,085) (72,429)
--------- --------- --------- ---------
INCOME BEFORE INCOME
TAX EXPENSE AND
MINORITY INTEREST 334,336 7,734 376,022 14,224
INCOME TAX EXPENSE (154,226) (700) (172,904) (1,556)
--------- --------- --------- ---------
INCOME BEFORE MINORITY
INTEREST 180,110 7,034 203,118 12,668
MINORITY INTEREST IN LOSS
OF SUBSIDIARIES 2,130 15 2,973 60
--------- --------- --------- ---------
NET INCOME $ 182,240 $ 7,049 $ 206,091 $ 12,728
========= ========= ========= =========
EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE:
BASIC $ 1.93 $ 0.08 $ 2.18 $ 0.14
========= ========= ========= =========
DILUTED $ 1.88 $ 0.07 $ 2.13 $ 0.13
========= ========= ========= =========
(a) Certain prior period balances have been reclassified to conform
with the current period presentation.
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