Alarmguard Holdings, Inc. Reports Record Results for 1997
ORANGE, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 25, 1998--Alarmguard Holdings, Inc. (AMEX: AGD) today reported its results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 1997.
For the quarter, revenues increased 49% to $9.6 million, compared with $6.5 million in the fourth quarter of 1996. Additionally, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization
("EBITDA") of $0.6 million were the same as in the comparable period in the prior year. The Company's net loss was $3.3 million, or $0.59 per share, compared with a net loss of $2.6 million, or $0.91 per share, in the year-ago period.
For the year, revenues increased 42% to $34.3 million, compared with $24.2 million in 1996. EBITDA was $3.6 million compared with $2.2 million in 1996. The Company's loss before extraordinary item was $12.3 million, or $2.61 per share, compared with $9.0 million, or $3.12 per share, in 1996. The increase in net loss is primarily attributable to increased amortization expense associated with the Company s growth and acquisition initiatives, as well as higher interest expense associated with increased borrowings used to finance internal growth and acquisitions. The Company recorded an extraordinary charge of $0.8 million associated with the refinancing of credit facilities in April 1997.
Alarmguard employs three internal measurements to assess its growth and the performance of operations: (1) Monthly Recurring Revenue ("MRR"), a key measure of growth; (2) Adjusted EBITDA (see financial table), which compares companies that grow internally with those that grow via acquisition; and, (3) Gross MRR attrition. MRR was approximately $2.1 million at December 31, 1997, versus $1.4 million at December 31, 1996, while Adjusted EBITDA was $6.6 million in 1997, versus $4.4 million in 1996. Gross MRR attrition was 11.8% for the twelve months ended December 31, 1997, versus 11.9% for the twelve months ended December 31, 1996.
Russell R. MacDonnell, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Alarmguard, said, "We are extremely pleased with our increased revenues in 1997, which reflect internal growth in all four of the Company's sales channels, as well as the positive impact of consolidating and integrating approximately $700,000 of MRR that resulted from six acquisitions completed in 1997. 1997 was a pivotal year in Alarmguard's growth and development. The April 1997 merger with Triton Group Ltd. allowed Alarmguard to become a public company and added approximately $15 million of capital resources that we immediately deployed in support of acquisitions and other growth programs."
Mr. MacDonnell continued, "Alarmguard is off to a fast and exciting start in 1998, as the Company raised $40 million in a convertible preferred stock offering in February and increased credit lines to $90 million from $60 million. The Company has also added additional MRR through the acquisitions of Danbury, Connecticut-based Pelletier Alarm Services in February and Malden, Massachusetts-based Sentry Protective Systems in March, bringing Alarmguard's customer base to approximately 100,000 subscribers from Maine to Maryland. Finally, we completed further expansion of our central monitoring station in March, increasing our capacity to approximately 250,000 subscribers. We will continue to seek other acquisitions in our existing markets while continuing to focus on maintaining our internal growth rate and high quality of customer service." |
