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ANDOVER, Mass., Feb. 21, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Casa Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:CASA), a leading provider of converged broadband infrastructure technology solutions for mobile, cable and fixed networks, today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2018.

Fourth Quarter 2018 Financial Highlights

• Revenue of $67.8 million
• Gross margin of 73.2%
• GAAP net income of $14.9 million
• Non-GAAP net income of $17.3 million
• GAAP net income per fully diluted share of $0.17
• Non-GAAP net income per fully diluted share of $0.20
• Adjusted EBITDA of $21.6 million

2018 Financial Highlights

• Revenue of $297.1 million
• Gross margin of 73.4%
• GAAP net income of $73.0 million
• Non-GAAP net income of $81.5 million
• GAAP net income per fully diluted share of $0.79
• Non-GAAP net income per fully diluted share of $0.88
• Adjusted EBITDA of $98.1 million

“Our fourth quarter results were impacted by lower than expected spending by a few MSO customers, particularly with respect to hardware, which led to lower than expected hardware volumes. We also experienced wireless product certification delays, which affected the timing of our wireless revenue recognition,” said Jerry Guo, Casa’s President and CEO. “While we are disappointed with our financial performance, we are encouraged by several positive developments in our business in the quarter that included a high percentage of software sales in our revenue mix, a material DAA deal representing 17% of our revenue, an expanded footprint in wireless, and lower customer concentration. Looking out to 2019, wireless will be a key focus for our business. To ensure that we remain at the cutting edge of wireless with innovative and differentiated products, we intend to accelerate our investment in this area both organically and through opportunistic complementary acquisitions, such as the NetComm Wireless transaction we announced today. As network transformation continues and service provider investments in 5G and DAA begin to ramp, we remain confident in the strategic direction of the company. We believe that Casa’s converged solutions for broadband networks position the company to benefit from these material technology inflection points.”

Maurizio Nicolelli, Casa’s CFO added, “While our cable customers continue to digest recent hardware purchases and expansions, we see ongoing software-based capacity expansions, which accounted for 57% of product revenue during the fourth quarter and contributed to a healthy 73.2% GAAP gross margin.  As we move into 2019, our guidance reflects both the digestion we see in our cable business and the investment that we believe will enable us to capitalize on the significant wireless opportunity ahead of us.”

To supplement our financial results presented in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), we are presenting non-GAAP financial measures in this press release. A reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP measures has been provided in the financial statement tables included in this press release. An explanation of these measures is also included below under the heading “Non-GAAP Financial Measures”.

Financial Outlook

For the fiscal year 2019, we expect:

• Revenue between $250 million and $300 million
• Gross Margin in a range of 65% and 70%
• Adjusted EBITDA between $50 million and $60 million
• Effective income tax rate between 0% and 10%
• GAAP diluted net income per share between $0.20 and $0.30 and Non-GAAP diluted net income per share between $0.30 and $0.40

Guidance above for fiscal 2019 does not include results from the expected acquisition of NetComm Wireless.

Guidance for non-GAAP financial measures excludes stock-based compensation, which is a non-cash charge, and the resulting tax effect of these excluded items. We have not reconciled the non-GAAP metrics as to which we provide guidance to their most directly comparable GAAP metrics because certain items that impact these excluded measures are uncertain, out of our control and/or cannot be reasonably calculated or predicted at this time. Accordingly, a reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial metrics included in our guidance to the corresponding GAAP measures is not available without unreasonable effort.

Stock Repurchase Program

Casa Systems announced today that its board of directors has authorized the repurchase of up to $75 million of the Company’s common stock under a stock repurchase program. The Company’s management will determine the amount and timing of repurchases under the program based on its evaluation of market conditions, stock price and other factors. Repurchases may also be made under a Rule 10b5-1 plan, which would permit the Company to repurchase shares when it would otherwise be precluded from doing so under insider trading laws. The repurchase program may be superseded or discontinued at any time and has no expiration date.

Conference Call Information

Casa Systems is hosting a conference call for analysts and investors to discuss the financial results for its fourth quarter ended and year ended December 31, 2018, and its business outlook at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time today, February 21, 2019. The conference call can be heard via webcast in the investor relations section of our website at http://investors.casa-systems.com, or by dialing 877-407-4019 in the United States or 201-689-8337 from international locations. Callers should ask to be joined to the Casa Systems call. Shortly after the conclusion of the conference call, a replay of the audio webcast will be available in the investor relations section of our website at http://investors.casa-systems.com for 90 days after the event.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this press release, including statements regarding the projected results of operations and financial position of Casa Systems, Inc. (“Casa” or the “Company”), including financial targets, business strategy, and plans and objectives for future operations, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate”, “believe”, “continue”, “could”, “estimate”, “expect”, “intend”, “may”, “plan”, “potential”, “predict”, “project”, “target”, “should”, “would”, and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. We have based these forward-looking statements on our estimates and assumptions of our financial results and our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy, short-term and long-term business operations and objectives and financial needs as of the date of this press release. A number of important risk factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results described, implied or projected in these forward-looking statements. These factors include, without limitation:  (1) any failure by us to successfully anticipate technological shifts, market needs and opportunities, and develop new products and product enhancements that meet those technological shifts, needs and opportunities; (2) the concentration of a substantial portion of our revenue in our CCAP solutions and in certain customers; (3) fluctuations in our revenue due to timing of large orders and seasonality; (4) the length and lack of predictability of our sales cycle; (5) any difficulties we may face in expanding our platform into the wireless market; and (6) other factors discussed in the “Risk Factors” section of our public reports filed with the SEC, including our most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, which is on file with the SEC and available in the investor relations section of our website at http://investors.casa-systems.com and on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements that we may make. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this press release are inherently uncertain and may not occur, and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, you should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. We disclaim any obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements for any reason after the date of this press release. Any reference to our website address in this press release is intended to be an inactive textual reference only and not an active hyperlink.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement our financial results presented in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), we are presenting the following non-GAAP financial measures in this press release and the related earnings conference call:  non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP diluted net income per share, adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow. These non-GAAP financial measures are not based on any standardized methodology prescribed by GAAP and are not necessarily comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies.

Non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP diluted net income per share. We define non-GAAP net income as net income as reported in our consolidated statements of operations, excluding the impact of stock-based compensation expense, which is a non-cash charge, the follow-on public offering expenses, which is a one-time non-recurring charge, and the tax effect on these excluded items, and excluding the impact of the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which is a one-time non-recurring charge, and the actual tax charge for this excluded item. The tax effect of the excluded items is calculated using our effective income tax rate for the period, excluding the discrete tax benefits generated from the exercise of non-qualified stock options and the disqualifying disposition of incentive stock options. We believe that excluding these discrete tax benefits from our effective income tax rate results in more useful disclosure to investors and others regarding income tax effects of the excluded items as these amounts may vary from period to period independent of the operating performance of our business. We define non-GAAP diluted net income per share as diluted net income per share attributable to common stockholders reported in our consolidated statements of operations, excluding the impact of cumulative dividends on convertible preferred stock, which are no longer applicable following the conversion to common stock of all of our outstanding preferred stock in December 2017 in connection with our initial public offering, excluding the impact of dividends declared on convertible preferred stock, as we do not intend to declare any dividends for the foreseeable future, and excluding the impact of items that we exclude in calculating non-GAAP net income. For periods in which convertible preferred stock was excluded from GAAP diluted net income per share attributable to common stockholders, we calculate non-GAAP diluted net income per share using a non-GAAP weighted-average share count in which the impact of dilutive convertible preferred stock is added to the GAAP weighted-average share count. We have presented non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP diluted net income per share because they are key measures used by our management and board of directors to understand and evaluate our operating performance, to establish budgets and to develop operational goals for managing our business. The presentation of non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP diluted net income per share also allows our management and board of directors to make additional comparisons of our results of operations to other companies in our industry.

Adjusted EBITDA. We define adjusted EBITDA as our net income, excluding the impact of stock-based compensation expense; the follow-on public offering expenses; other income (expense), net; depreciation and amortization expense; and our provision for (benefit from) income taxes. We have presented adjusted EBITDA because it is a key measure used by our management and board of directors to understand and evaluate our operating performance, to establish budgets and to develop operational goals for managing our business. In particular, we believe that excluding the impact of these expenses in calculating adjusted EBITDA can provide a useful measure for period-to-period comparisons of our core operating performance.

Free cash flow. We define free cash flow as net cash provided by operating activities minus capital expenditures. We believe free cash flow to be a liquidity measure that provides useful information to management and investors about the amount of cash generated by our business that, after purchases of property and equipment, can be used for strategic opportunities, including investing in our business, making strategic acquisitions and strengthening our balance sheet.

We use these non-GAAP financial measures to evaluate our operating performance and trends and make planning decisions. We believe that each of these non-GAAP financial measures helps identify underlying trends in our business that could otherwise be masked by the effect of the expenses that we exclude in the calculations of each non-GAAP financial measure. Accordingly, we believe that these financial measures provide useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our operating results, enhancing the overall understanding of our past performance and future prospects.
             
Our non-GAAP financial measures are not prepared in accordance with GAAP, and should not be considered in isolation of, or as an alternative to, measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. There are a number of limitations related to the use of these non-GAAP financial measures rather than the most directly comparable financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP.  Some of these limitations are:
             

• we exclude stock-based compensation expense from each of non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP diluted net income per share and adjusted EBITDA as it has recently been, and will continue to be for the foreseeable future, a significant recurring non-cash expense for our business and an important part of our compensation strategy;
   
• we exclude the impact of the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 from non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP diluted net income per share, although it represents a significant cash expense, because it is a one-time non-recurring charge;
   
• we exclude the discrete tax benefits generated from the exercise of non-qualified stock options and the disqualifying disposition of incentive stock options, which are not related to the operating performance of our business, in calculating the effective tax rate used to determine the tax effect of the items excluded from our non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP diluted net income per share; these discrete tax benefits will result in a reduction in our income taxes and cash paid for income taxes;
   
• we exclude the follow-on public offering expenses from non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP diluted net income per share and adjusted EBITDA because it is a one-time non-recurring charge, although this is a use of our cash and included in our operating expenses;
   
• adjusted EBITDA excludes depreciation and amortization expense and, although this is a non-cash expense, the assets being depreciated and amortized may have to be replaced in the future;
   
• adjusted EBITDA does not reflect the cash requirements necessary to service interest on our debt or the cash received from our interest-bearing financial assets, both of which impact the cash available to us, and does not reflect foreign currency transaction gains and losses, all of which are reflected in other income (expense), net;
   
• adjusted EBITDA does not reflect income tax payments that reduce cash available to us;
   
• free cash flow may not represent our residual cash flow available for discretionary expenditures, since we may have other non-discretionary expenditures that are not deducted from this measure;
   
• free cash flow may not represent the total increase or decrease in the cash and cash equivalents for any given period because it excludes cash provided by or used for other investing and financing activities; and
   
• other companies, including companies in our industry, may not use non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP diluted net income per share, adjusted EBITDA or free cash flow, or may calculate such non-GAAP financial measures in a different manner than we do, or may use other non-GAAP financial measures to evaluate their performance, all of which could reduce the usefulness of these non-GAAP financial measures as comparative measures.

For the reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures, please see the section of the accompanying tables titled, “Reconciliation of Selected GAAP and Non-GAAP Financial Measures”.

About Casa Systems, Inc.

Casa Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: CASA) delivers converged broadband solutions that enable mobile, cable and fixed network service providers to meet the growing demand for gigabit bandwidth and services. Our suite of distributed and virtualized solutions for fixed and mobile 5G ultra-broadband networks are engineered for performance, flexibility and scale. Commercially deployed in over 70 countries, Casa serves more than 475 Tier 1 and regional service providers worldwide.

For more information, visit our website at http://www.casa-systems.com.

Source: Casa Systems, Inc.

IR Contact
Monica Gould
212-871-3927
investorrelations@casa-systems.com

Lindsay Savarese
212-331-8417
investorrelations@casa-systems.com

CASA SYSTEMS, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(unaudited)
(in thousands, except per share amounts)

CASA SYSTEMS, INC.
RECONCILIATION OF SELECTED GAAP AND NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
(unaudited)
 (in thousands, except percentages and per share amounts)

CASA SYSTEMS, INC.
RECONCILIATION OF SELECTED GAAP AND NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES (Continued)
(unaudited)
 (in thousands, except percentages and per share amounts)

CASA SYSTEMS, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(unaudited)
 (in thousands)

CASA SYSTEMS, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
 (unaudited)
(in thousands)

Source: Casa Systems, Inc.