OREANDA-NEWS. Synacor Inc. (NASDAQ:SYNC), the trusted multiscreen technology and monetization partner for video, internet and communications providers, device manufacturers, and enterprises, today announced its financial results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2015.

"We close an eventful 2015 for Synacor with another successful quarter," said Synacor CEO Himesh Bhise. "We acquired advertising pioneer Technorati, added new customers for our video platform, and won several email contracts around the world. Our 2015 financial results show significant year-over-year growth." 

"Today's Synacor is strong. We have gone through a massive transformation, strengthened further with the acquisitions of Zimbra and Technorati. We have emerged with a global customer base, a compelling portfolio of products generating recurring and fee-based revenue, and innovative advertising solutions. Our customers value us as their trusted partner, enabling them to better engage with their hundreds of millions of consumers. We are poised for significant growth."

Recent Highlights

  • Acquired digital advertising pioneer Technorati, which serves 1,000+ publishers and brings 100+ million monthly unique visitors to Synacor's advertising reach, as well as a state-of-the-art header bidding management solution.
     
  • Signed a new multi-year contract with a communications provider to deploy Synacor's End-to-End Advanced Video Solutions. 
     
  • Expanded relationship with Grande Communications, a Texas-based broadband communications company, with a multi-year agreement to include Managed Portals, Cloud ID TV Everywhere Authentication, and Search & Discovery Metadata platform for multiplatform TV.
     
  • Won several email engagements, including a large insurance and financial company, an international defense department and an international financial government agency.
     
  • Announced a partnership with VNC to incorporate a chat and conferencing solution into the Zimbra Email and Collaboration platform.

Q4 2015 Financial Results

Revenue: For the fourth quarter of 2015, total revenue was $32.4 million, an increase of 5% compared with $30.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2014. Search and advertising revenue was $19.3 million, a decrease of 22% compared with $24.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2014. Recurring and fee-based revenue was $13.1 million, an increase of 118% compared with $6.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2014.

For the fourth quarter of 2015, Synacor averaged 21.0 million multi-platform unique visitors per month, compared with 21.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Adjusted EBITDA: For the fourth quarter of 2015, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), which excludes stock-based compensation expense, was $2.9 million, or 9% of revenue, compared with $4.0 million, for the fourth quarter of 2014.

Net Income: For the fourth quarter of 2015, net loss was $0.4 million, compared with net loss of $6.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2014. Earnings per share, or EPS, was a loss of $0.01. The net loss includes stock-based compensation expense of $0.8 million, or $0.03 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2015, compared with $0.8 million, or $0.03 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2014. The EPS calculations for the fourth quarter of 2015 are based on 30.0 million weighted average common shares outstanding. The EPS calculations for the fourth quarter of 2014 are based on 27.4 million weighted average common shares outstanding.

Cash: The Company ended the fourth quarter of 2015 with $15.7 million in cash and cash equivalents, compared with $15.6 million at the end of the prior quarter. Cash generated by operating activities was $1.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2015, compared with $3.0 million generated by operating activities in the same period of the prior year.  

FY 2015 Financial Results

Revenue: For fiscal 2015, total revenue was $110.2 million, an increase of 3% compared with $106.6 million in fiscal 2014. Search and advertising revenue was $78.3 million, a decrease of 7% compared with $83.9 million in fiscal 2014. Recurring and fee-based revenue was $31.9 million, an increase of 41% compared with $22.7 million in fiscal 2014.

For 2015, Synacor averaged 20.9 million multi-platform unique visitors per month, unchanged from 2014.

Adjusted EBITDA: For fiscal 2015, EBITDA, which excludes stock-based compensation expense and $0.5 million in Zimbra acquisition costs, was $7.6 million, or 7% of revenue, compared with $2.2 million for fiscal year 2014, which excludes restructuring costs of $1.3 million and a gain on the sale of the check.com domain name of $1.0 million.

Net Income: For fiscal 2015, net loss was $3.5 million, compared with net loss of $12.9 million in fiscal 2014. EPS was a loss of $0.12 per share compared with a loss of $0.47 per share in fiscal 2014. The net loss includes stock-based compensation expense of $3.1 million, or $0.11 per share, in fiscal 2015, compared with $3.6 million, or $0.13 per share, in fiscal 2014. The EPS calculations for fiscal 2015 are based on 28.2 million weighted average common shares outstanding. The EPS calculations for fiscal 2014 are based on 27.4 million weighted average common shares outstanding.

Guidance

Based on information available as of March 16, 2016, the company is providing financial guidance for the first quarter and fiscal 2016 as follows:

  • Q1 2016 Guidance: Revenue for the first quarter of 2016 is projected to be in the range of $28.0 million to $29.0 million. The company expects to report adjusted EBITDA of $0.0 million to $1.0 million.
  • Fiscal 2016 Guidance: Revenue for the full year of 2016 is projected to be in the range of $125.0 million to $130.0 million. For the full year of 2016, the company expects to report adjusted EBITDA of $4.0 million to $6.0 million.