The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements. All such forward-looking statements are based upon data available as of the date of this release or other specified date and speak only as of such date. MDA and DigitalGlobe disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements in this press release as a result of new information or future events, except as may be required under applicable securities legislation.
References in this filing to “DigitalGlobe,” “Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to DigitalGlobe, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries.
Non-U.S. GAAP Financial Measures
EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are not recognized terms under U.S. GAAP and may not be defined similarly by other companies. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered alternatives to net income (loss) as indications of financial performance or as alternatives to cash flow from operations as measures of liquidity. There are limitations to using non-U.S. GAAP financial measures, including the difficulty associated with comparing companies in different industries that use similar performance measures whose calculations may differ from ours.
EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are key measures used in our internal operating reports by management and our Board of Directors to evaluate the performance of our operations and are also used by analysts, investment banks and lenders for the same purpose. Adjusted EBITDA is a measure being used as a key element of our bonus incentive plan. We believe that the presentation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA enables a more consistent measurement of period to period performance of our operations, and EBITDA facilitates comparison of our operating performance to companies in our industry.
We believe that EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA measures are particularly important in a capital intensive industry such as ours, in which our current period depreciation is not a good indication of our current or future period capital expenditures. The cost to construct and launch a satellite and to build the related ground infrastructure may vary greatly from one satellite to another, depending on the satellite’s size, type and capabilities. Current depreciation expense is also not indicative of the revenue generating potential of the satellites.
We use EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA in conjunction with traditional U.S. GAAP operating performance measures as part of our overall assessment of our performance and we do not place undue reliance on these non-GAAP measures as our only measures of operating performance. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as substitutes for other measures of financial performance reported in accordance with U.S. GAAP.
EBITDA excludes depreciation and amortization expense because these non-cash expenses reflect the impact of prior capital expenditure decisions which are not indicative of future capital expenditure requirements. EBITDA also excludes interest income, interest expense and income taxes because these items are associated with our capitalization and tax structures.
Adjusted EBITDA further adjusts EBITDA to exclude restructuring and other re-engineering charges related to specific restructuring and re-engineering actions because we do not believe these costs are indicative of the underlying operating performance of our business and our ongoing operations. The amount and timing of these restructuring and other re-engineering costs are dependent on the size, type and status of the specific actions undertaken as part of our restructuring or re-engineering plans.
Adjusted EBITDA also excludes merger and integration costs, equity in earnings from joint ventures, net of tax, and the loss on early extinguishment of debt as these are non-core items that are not directly related to our primary operations. Merger costs are costs incurred to effect the Merger with MDA, such as advisory, legal, accounting, consulting and other professional fees. Integration costs consist primarily of professional fees incurred to assist us with system and process improvements associated with integrating operations as part of the Radiant acquisition. Loss on early extinguishment of debt is related to the redemption of our remaining outstanding Senior Notes in January 2017.
Free Cash Flow. Free cash flow is defined as net cash flows provided by operating activities less Capital expenditures as disclosed in the Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. Free cash flow is not a recognized term under U.S. GAAP and may not be defined similarly by other companies. Free cash flow should not be considered an alternative to “operating income (loss),” “net income (loss),” “net cash flows provided by (used in) operating activities” or any other measure determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Since free cash flow includes investments in operating assets, we believe this non-GAAP liquidity measure is useful in addition to the most comparable U.S. GAAP measure — “net cash flows provided by (used in) operating activities” because it provides information about the amount of cash generated before acquisitions of businesses that is then available to repay debt obligations, make investments, fund acquisitions, and for certain other activities. There are limitations to using non-U.S. GAAP financial measures, including the difficulty associated with comparing companies in different industries that use similar performance measures whose calculations may differ from ours.
Performance against key metrics:
For the three months ended |
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June 30, |
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($ in millions) |
2017 |
2016 |
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Revenue | $ | 225.7 | $ | 175.5 | ||||
Net income | $ | 2.7 | $ | 12.2 | ||||
Net income margin | 1.2 | % | 7.0 | % | ||||
Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 104.1 | $ | 95.3 | ||||
Adjusted EBITDA margin | 46.1 | % | 54.3 | % | ||||
Net cash flows provided by operating activities | $ | 46.7 | $ | 91.2 | ||||
Free cash flow | $ | 31.8 | $ | 44.0 | ||||