Fluent Announces Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2020 Financial Results
03/16/2021 - 04:20 PM
Q4 2020 revenue of $82.0 million , up 2.5% over Q4 2019 Net income of $0.2 million , or $0.00 per share Media margin of $32.0 million , up 21.8% over Q4 2019 and representing 39.0% of revenue Adjusted EBITDA of $11.1 million , representing 13.6% of revenue Adjusted net income of $5.4 million , or $0.07 per share NEW YORK, March 16, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fluent, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLNT), a leading data-driven performance marketing company, today reported results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2020.
Ryan Schulke, Fluent’s Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Our fourth quarter results came in at the high end of the ranges we previewed in mid-January. Our results for the quarter and the full year reflect significant strides on the advertiser side of our business, adding and fortifying strategic partnerships with major brands, which in turn enhances the value of Fluent’s brand equity.
To support our sustainable long-term growth strategy, we continue to evolve our media properties, platform and traffic quality. As our industry is evolving rapidly, both commercially and through a regulatory lens, we are leading by example. In 2020, we commenced a Traffic Quality Initiative, to further enhance our value proposition for our clients and position Fluent as an industry leader. We see our commitment to higher quality traffic as the road to sustainable growth, notwithstanding a reduction in our near-term revenue profile during this transition.
Our clients are leaning in for more, and we are recalibrating our media strategy to fundamentally deliver high-value customer acquisition solutions to build value and drive growth for our clients and Fluent.”
Fourth Quarter Highlights
Revenue increased 2.5% to $82.0 million , from $80.0 million in Q4 2019 Net income of $0.2 million , or $0.00 per share, compared to net income of $1.0 million , or $0.01 per share Media margin of $32.0 million , an increase of 21.8% over prior year period and representing 39.0% of revenue Adjusted EBITDA of $11.1 million , representing 13.6% of revenue Adjusted net income of $5.4 million, or $0.07 per share Full-Year 2020 Highlights
Revenue increased 10.3% to $310.7 million , from $281.7 million in 2019 Net income of $2.2 million , or $0.03 per share, compared to net loss of $1.7 million , or $0.02 per share Media margin of $110.4 million , an increase of 18.0% over prior period and representing 35.5% of revenue Adjusted EBITDA of $41.2 million , an increase of 18.7% over prior period and representing 13.3% of revenue Adjusted net income $19.7 million , or $0.25 per share Media margin, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income are non-GAAP financial measures, as defined and reconciled below.
Business Outlook
Strategic client relationships driving strong demand on Fluent’s performance marketplace Monetization, as measured by media margin per registration, up two-fold in-year 2020 (Q4 vs. Q1), enabled by investments in technology and analytics; remains robust in Q1 2021 Traffic Quality Initiative reducing revenue during transition to higher value strategy Winopoly contact center capability scaling quickly, exceeding expectations Conference Call
Fluent, Inc. will host a conference call on Tuesday, March 16, 2021 at 4:30 PM ET to discuss its 2020 fourth quarter and full-year financial results. To listen to the conference call on your telephone, please dial (888) 339-0797 for domestic callers, or (412) 317-5248 for international callers. To access the live audio webcast, visit the Fluent website at investors.fluentco.com. Please login at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the call to ensure adequate time for any downloads that may be required. Following completion of the conference call, a recorded replay of the webcast will be available for those unable to participate. To listen to the telephone replay, please dial (877) 344-7529 or (412) 317-0088, with the replay passcode 10153134. The replay will also be available for one week on the Fluent website at investors.fluentco.com.
About Fluent, Inc.
Fluent (NASDAQ: FLNT) is a leading performance marketing company with expertise in creating meaningful connections between consumers and brands. Leveraging our proprietary first-party database of opted-in consumer profiles, Fluent drives intelligent growth strategies that deliver superior outcomes. Founded in 2010, the company is headquartered in New York City. For more information, visit www.fluentco.com.
Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
The matters contained in this press release may be considered to be “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Those statements include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations or anticipations of Fluent and members of our management team. Factors currently known to management that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include the following: compliance with a significant number of governmental laws and regulations, including those laws and regulations regarding privacy and data; the outcome of litigation, regulatory investigations or other legal proceedings in which we are involved or may become involved; failure to safeguard the personal information and other data contained in our database; failure to adequately protect intellectual property rights or allegations of infringement of intellectual property rights; unfavorable global economic conditions, including as a result of health and safety concerns around the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic; dependence on our key personnel; dependence on third-party service providers; management of the growth of our operations, including international expansion and the integration of acquired business units or personnel; the impact of the Traffic Quality Initiative, including our ability to replace lower quality consumer traffic with traffic that meets our quality requirements; ability to compete and manage media costs in an industry characterized by rapidly-changing internet media and advertising technology, evolving industry standards, regulatory uncertainty, and changing user and client demands; management of unfavorable publicity and negative public perception about our industry; failure to compete effectively against other online marketing and advertising companies; competition we face for web traffic; dependence on third-party publishers, internet search providers and social media platforms for a significant portion of visitors to our websites; dependence on emails, text messages and telephone calls, among other channels, to reach users for marketing purposes; liability related to actions of third-party publishers; limitations on our or our third-party publishers’ ability to collect and use data derived from user activities; ability to remain competitive with the shift to mobile applications; failure to detect click-through or other fraud on advertisements; impact of increased fulfillment costs; failure to meet our clients’ performance metrics or changing needs; compliance with the covenants of our credit agreement; and the potential for failures in our internal control over financial reporting. These and additional factors to be considered are set forth under “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Fluent undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results or expectations.
FLUENT, INC. CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Amounts in thousands, except share and per share data) (unaudited)
December 31, 2020 December 31, 2019 ASSETS: Cash and cash equivalents $ 21,087 $ 18,679 Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $368 and $1,967 , respectively 62,669 60,915 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 2,435 1,921 Total current assets 86,191 81,515 Restricted cash 1,480 1,480 Property and equipment, net 2,201 2,863 Operating lease right-of-use assets 8,284 9,865 Intangible assets, net 45,417 55,603 Goodwill 165,088 164,774 Other non-current assets 1,559 993 Total assets $ 310,220 $ 317,093 LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY: Accounts payable $ 7,692 $ 21,574 Accrued expenses and other current liabilities 31,568 20,358 Deferred revenue 1,373 1,140 Current portion of long-term debt 7,293 6,873 Current portion of operating lease liability 2,291 2,282 Total current liabilities 50,217 52,227 Long-term debt, net 33,283 44,098 Operating lease liability, net 7,290 9,056 Other non-current liabilities 2,545 775 Total liabilities 93,335 106,156 Contingencies Shareholders' equity: Preferred stock — $0.00 01 par value, 10,000,000 Shares authorized; Shares outstanding — 0 shares for both periods — — Common stock — $0.00 05 par value, 200,000,000 Shares authorized; Shares issued — 80,295,141 and 78,642,078, respectively; and Shares outstanding — 76,349,274 and 75,873,679, respectively 40 39 Treasury stock, at cost — 3,945,867 and 2,768,399 shares, respectively (9,999 ) (8,184 ) Additional paid-in capital 411,753 406,198 Accumulated deficit (184,909 ) (187,116 ) Total shareholders’ equity 216,885 210,937 Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity $ 310,220 $ 317,093
FLUENT, INC. CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (Amounts in thousands, except share and per share data) (unaudited)
Three Months Ended December 31, Year Ended December 31, 2020 2019 2020 2019 Revenue $ 81,996 $ 80,011 $ 310,719 $ 281,684 Costs and expenses: Cost of revenue (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) 56,733 55,905 215,135 194,435 Sales and marketing (1) 3,040 2,336 11,683 11,545 Product development (1) 3,403 1,570 12,604 8,055 General and administrative (1) 12,906 13,687 46,798 48,065 Depreciation and amortization
FLNT Rankings
#4946 Ranked by Stock Gains
FLNT Stock Data
Industry
Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services
Sector
Information
Tags
Miscellaneous, Technology Services, Data Processing Services, Information, Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services
Country
China (Mainland)
City
Shanghai
About FLNT
fluent (nasdaq:flnt) is the trusted acquisition partner for both established and growing brands. leveraging our proprietary first party data asset, fluent creates marketing programs that deliver better digital advertising experiences for consumers and measurable results for advertisers. founded in 2010, the company is headquartered in new york city. for more information, visit www.fluentco.com.
