The Meet Group Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2018 Financial Results

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Announces Acquisition of Growlr, a Leading Same-Sex Social Application

The Meet Group, Inc. MEET, a public market leader in the mobile meeting space, today reported financial results for its fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2018 and announced it has acquired Growlr, a leading same-sex social mobile application.

Fourth Quarter 2018 Financial Highlights

  • Total revenue of $52.5 million, up 31% year over year.
  • GAAP net income of $4.3 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, compared to a GAAP net loss of $68.1 million, or a loss of $0.95 per diluted share, in the prior year quarter.
  • Adjusted EBITDA of $10.6 million, compared to Adjusted EBITDA of $10.5 million in the prior year quarter.
  • Non-GAAP net income of $9.4 million, or $0.12 per diluted share, compared to $9.5 million, or $0.12 per diluted share, in the prior year quarter.

Full Year 2018 Financial Highlights

  • Total revenue of $178.6 million, up 44% year over year.
  • GAAP net income of $1.1 million, or $0.02 per diluted share, compared to a GAAP net loss of $64.6 million, or a loss of $0.94 per diluted share, in the prior year.
  • Adjusted EBITDA of $32.0 million, compared to Adjusted EBITDA of $31.6 million in the prior year.
  • Non-GAAP net income of $27.5 million, or $0.36 per diluted share, compared to $28.5 million, or $0.39 per diluted share, in the prior year.

Growlr Acquisition Highlights

  • Expected pro forma revenue and Adjusted EBITDA for 2019 of approximately $5.3 million and $3.1 million, respectively.
  • 200,000+ global daily active users.
  • Acquisition expected to be immediately accretive to Adjusted EBITDA.
  • Acquired for approximately 4.5 times anticipated pro forma 2019 Adjusted EBITDA, assuming full earnout is achieved.

(See the important discussion about the presentation of non-GAAP financial measures, and reconciliation to the most direct comparable GAAP financial measures, below.)

"In addition to reporting a strong quarter, I'm excited to announce the acquisition of Growlr, which provides a meaningful step into the large same-sex dating market and expands the base of users to whom we can deliver our live video product," said Geoff Cook, Chief Executive Officer of The Meet Group.

"Video transformed our business in 2018," continued Cook. "Our goal is to build the best place to meet new people through video, and in the fourth quarter, we grew both the number of viewers and the number of broadcasters on our video platform from the third quarter of 2018. We also increased the average monetization per daily active video user to 18 cents, up from 14 cents in the third quarter 2018. This strong progress contributed to growing our annualized video run rate revenue to $71 million for the month of December. Our strong progress continues into 2019 as we've grown the annualized video run rate for the month of February to more than $82 million.

"Advertising results in the fourth quarter of 2018 were solid. In the seasonally high fourth quarter, we grew ad revenue 20% from the third quarter, the highest sequential gain of the year. Though advertising revenue in the fourth quarter 2018 declined from a year ago, we are continuing to see signs of stabilization in the advertising market, and we expect to see a return to traditional seasonal advertising trends in 2019.

"We believe we are still in the early days of the video opportunity. In 2019, we expect to video-enable nearly every aspect of our apps while broadening our suite of video products and attracting new audiences. Guided by our commitment to create meaningful connections for our users, we expect to continue to drive strong growth in video engagement and monetization throughout the year and into the future."

Fourth Quarter and Full Year Financial Results

For the fourth quarter of 2018, the Company reported revenue of $52.5 million, an increase of 31% from $40.1 million in the prior year quarter. GAAP net income in the fourth quarter of 2018 was $4.3 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, compared to a GAAP net loss of $68.1 million, or $0.95 per diluted share, in the prior year quarter, which included a non-cash asset impairment charge and deferred tax charge of $56.4 million and $7.7 million, respectively. Adjusted EBITDA in the fourth quarter of 2018 was $10.6 million, compared to $10.5 million in the prior year quarter.

For the full year 2018, the Company reported revenue of $178.6 million, an increase from $123.8 million in 2017. GAAP net income for the full year 2018 was $1.1 million, or $0.02 per diluted share, compared to a GAAP net loss of $64.6 million, or $0.94 per diluted share, in the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA for the full year 2018 was $32.0 million, compared to $31.6 million in 2017. Non-GAAP net income for the full year 2018 was $27.5 million, or $0.36 per diluted share, compared to $28.5 million, or $0.39 per diluted share, in the prior year.

The Company ended the year with $28.4 million in cash and cash equivalents.

Growlr

The Meet Group today also announced that on March 5, 2019, it acquired Initech, LLC, the privately held company that owns and operates the leading same-sex social application Growlr (referred to herein as Growlr). The Company acquired Growlr for $11.8 million, using $4.8 million in cash on hand and $7.0 million from its existing line of credit, plus an earnout of $2.0 million to be paid in annual $1.0 million installments over the next two years if certain revenue metrics are achieved in each year.

The Growlr app has more than 200,000 global daily active users, who exchange millions of messages each day. Consistent with its previous acquisitions, the Company expects purchase accounting adjustments to reduce Growlr's 2019 GAAP revenue and Adjusted EBITDA to account for revenue recognition adjustments on subscriptions purchased prior to the closing. The Company does not expect Growlr's 2019 booked revenue and cash flow to be impacted by these GAAP adjustments.

"We are thrilled to add Growlr to The Meet Group portfolio," said Cook. "Similar to what we have done with our other acquired properties, we plan to be aggressive in bringing our video model to Growlr. We expect to begin rolling out live video on Growlr in the fourth quarter of 2019. We also see opportunities to grow advertising revenue on the app, and we plan to further invest in user acquisition to expand brand awareness and reach."

Company Outlook

The Company is providing the following outlook for the first quarter and full year of 2019, which includes video growth expectations:

First quarter 2019:

  • Revenue in the range of $47.5 million to $48.0 million.
  • Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $7.0 million to $7.5 million.

Full year 2019:

  • Revenue in the range of $210.0 million to $215.0 million.
  • Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $39.0 million to $42.0 million.
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THE MEET GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(UNAUDITED)
 

December 31,
2018

December 31,
2017
ASSETS
CURRENT ASSETS:
Cash and cash equivalents $ 28,365,725 $ 24,158,444
Accounts receivable, net of allowance of $383,579 and $527,958 at December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively 27,148,484 26,443,675
Prepaid expenses and other current assets 4,911,057   3,245,174  
Total current assets 60,425,266 53,847,293
Restricted cash 894,551
Goodwill 148,132,873 150,694,135
Property and equipment, net 4,633,764 4,524,118
Intangible assets, net 36,558,439 48,719,428
Deferred taxes 15,648,572 15,521,214
Other assets 2,453,255   1,144,032  
Total assets $ 267,852,169   $ 275,344,771  
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
CURRENT LIABILITIES:
Accounts payable $ 9,071,193 $ 6,277,846
Accrued liabilities 19,112,303 19,866,438
Current portion of long-term debt 18,566,584 15,000,000
Current portion of capital lease obligations 134,067 254,399
Deferred revenue 4,620,690   4,433,450  
Total current liabilities 51,504,837 45,832,133
Long-term capital lease obligations, less current portion, net 58,683 192,137
Long-term debt, less current portion, net 18,087,956 40,637,106
Long-term derivative liability 940,216 2,995,657
Other liabilities 39,651   147,178  
Total liabilities 70,631,343   89,804,211  
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY:
Preferred stock, $.001 par value; authorized - 5,000,000 shares; no shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017
Common stock, $.001 par value; authorized - 100,000,000 shares; 74,697,526 and 71,915,018 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively 74,700 71,918
Additional paid-in capital 419,455,818 408,029,068
Accumulated deficit (220,276,025 ) (221,435,888 )
Accumulated other comprehensive loss (2,033,667 ) (1,124,538 )
Total stockholders' equity 197,220,826   185,540,560  
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $ 267,852,169   $ 275,344,771  
 
   
THE MEET GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(UNAUDITED)
 

Three Months Ended
December 31,

Year Ended December 31,
2018   2017 2018   2017
Revenues $ 52,457,904   $ 40,119,076   $ 178,613,495   $ 123,753,813  
Operating costs and expenses:
Sales and marketing 8,530,877 6,050,466 32,085,512 20,355,964
Product development and content 30,109,925 19,698,097 102,757,432 60,704,473
General and administrative 5,531,709 6,504,840 21,093,834 19,549,805
Depreciation and amortization 3,217,169 3,954,243 13,775,881 11,573,827
Acquisition and restructuring 235,560 3,502,800 5,038,254 12,151,492
Goodwill impairment   56,428,861     56,428,861  
Total operating costs and expenses 47,625,240   96,139,307   174,750,913   180,764,422  
Income (loss) from operations 4,832,664   (56,020,231 ) 3,862,582   (57,010,609 )
Other income (expense):
Interest income 10,644 387 24,417 5,731
Interest expense (483,823 ) (438,445 ) (2,322,148 ) (860,392 )
Loss on disposal of assets (95,315 ) (95,315 )
Gain (loss) on foreign currency transactions (3,497 ) (30,416 ) 97,533 (32,488 )
Other 15,621   9,631   43,775   9,631  
Total other expense (556,370 ) (458,843 ) (2,251,738 ) (877,518 )
Income (loss) before income tax benefit (expense) 4,276,294 (56,479,074 ) 1,610,844 (57,888,127 )
Income tax benefit (expense) 17,096   (11,637,816 ) (467,456 ) (6,703,600 )
Net income (loss) $ 4,293,390   $ (68,116,890 ) $ 1,143,388   $ (64,591,727 )
 
Basic and diluted net income (loss) per common stockholder:
Basic net income (loss) per common stockholder $ 0.06   $ (0.95 ) $ 0.02   $ (0.94 )
Diluted net income (loss) per common stockholder $ 0.06   $ (0.95 ) $ 0.02   $ (0.94 )
 
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic 74,217,118   71,808,179   73,085,542   68,743,956  
Diluted 76,863,201   71,808,179   75,616,439   68,743,956  
 
 
THE MEET GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(UNAUDITED)
 
Year Ended December 31,
2018   2017
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income (loss) $ 1,143,388 $ (64,591,727 )
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization 13,775,881 11,573,827
Goodwill impairment 56,428,861
Stock-based compensation expense 9,285,850 8,467,278
Deferred taxes (129,970 ) 6,927,513
Loss on disposal of assets 95,315
(Gain) loss on foreign currency transactions (97,533 ) 2,413
Bad debt expense 598,127 262,848
Amortization of loan origination costs 327,276 192,825
Change in derivatives 27,448
Change in contingent consideration obligations 102,734
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable (1,518,924 ) 3,737,383
Prepaid expenses, other current assets and other assets (2,772,856 ) 4,734,521
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities 7,494,772 1,880,304
Deferred revenue 367,450   1,551,886  
Net cash provided by operating activities 28,596,224   31,270,666  
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchase of property and equipment (2,507,779 ) (1,798,051 )
Acquisition of business, net of cash and restricted cash acquired   (126,205,859 )
Net cash used in investing activities (2,507,779 ) (128,003,910 )
Cash flows from financing activities:
Proceeds from exercise of stock options 2,562,951 2,816,735
Proceeds from issuance of common stock 42,995,371
Proceeds from exercise of warrants 2,396,250
Payments of capital leases (240,595 ) (323,512 )
Proceeds from long-term debt 75,000,000
Payments for restricted stock awards withheld for taxes (419,269 ) (507,398 )
Loan origination costs (805,719 )
Payments of contingent consideration (5,000,000 ) (2,897,266 )
Payments on long-term debt (19,309,842 ) (18,750,000 )
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities (22,406,755 ) 99,924,461  
Change in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash prior to effects of foreign currency exchange rate 3,681,690 3,191,217
Effect of foreign currency exchange rate (translation) (368,960 ) (384,237 )
Net increase in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash 3,312,730   2,806,980  
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at beginning of period 25,052,995   22,246,015  
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at end of period $ 28,365,725   $ 25,052,995  
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:
Cash paid for interest $ 1,970,841   $ 645,372  
 
   
THE MEET GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
RECONCILIATION OF TOTAL REVENUE
(UNAUDITED)
 
Three Months Ended December 31, Year Ended December 31,
2018   2017(1) 2018   2017(1)
$   % $   % $   % $   %
User pay revenue $ 31,295,210 59.7 % $ 15,448,727 38.5 % $ 107,330,136 60.1 % $ 33,791,592 27.3 %
Advertising 21,162,694   40.3 % 24,670,349   61.5 % 71,283,359   39.9 % 89,962,221   72.7 %
Total revenue $ 52,457,904   100.0 % $ 40,119,076   100.0 % $ 178,613,495   100.0 % $ 123,753,813   100.0 %
(1)   Prior period amounts have not been adjusted under the modified retrospective adoption method.
 
   
THE MEET GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
RECONCILIATION OF GAAP NET INCOME TO ADJUSTED EBITDA
(UNAUDITED)
 

Three Months Ended
December 31,

Year Ended December 31,
2018   2017 2018   2017
Net income (loss) $ 4,293,390 $ (68,116,890 ) $ 1,143,388 $ (64,591,727 )
 
Interest expense 483,823 438,445 2,322,148 860,392
Income tax (benefit) expense (17,096 ) 11,637,816 467,456 6,703,600
Depreciation and amortization 3,217,169 3,954,243 13,775,881 11,573,827
Stock-based compensation expense 2,258,859 2,665,232 9,285,850 8,467,278
Goodwill impairment 56,428,861 56,428,861
Acquisition and restructuring 235,560 3,502,800 5,038,254 12,151,492
Loss on disposal of assets 95,315 95,315
(Gain) loss on foreign currency transactions 3,497   30,416   (97,533 ) 32,488  
Adjusted EBITDA $ 10,570,517   $ 10,540,923   $ 32,030,759   $ 31,626,211  
 
GAAP basic net income (loss) per common stockholder $ 0.06   $ (0.95 ) $ 0.02   $ (0.94 )
GAAP diluted net income (loss) per common stockholder $ 0.06   $ (0.95 ) $ 0.02   $ (0.94 )
Basic adjusted EBITDA per common stockholder $ 0.14   $ 0.15   $ 0.44   $ 0.46  
Diluted adjusted EBITDA per common stockholder $ 0.14   $ 0.14   $ 0.42   $ 0.43  
 
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic 74,217,118   71,808,179   73,085,542   68,743,956  
Diluted 76,863,201   75,965,208   75,616,439   73,198,544  
 
   
THE MEET GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
RECONCILIATION OF GAAP NET INCOME TO NON-GAAP NET INCOME
(UNAUDITED)
 

Three Months Ended
December 31,

Year Ended December 31,
2018   2017 2018   2017
GAAP Net income (loss) $ 4,293,390 $ (68,116,890 ) $ 1,143,388 $ (64,591,727 )
 
Stock-based compensation expense 2,258,859 2,665,232 9,285,850 8,467,278
Amortization of intangibles 2,604,653 3,370,712 11,519,867 9,353,171
Income tax (benefit) expense (17,096 ) 11,637,816 467,456 6,703,600
Goodwill impairment 56,428,861 56,428,861
Acquisition and restructuring 235,560   3,502,800   5,038,254   12,151,492  
Non-GAAP net income $ 9,375,366   $ 9,488,531   $ 27,454,815   $ 28,512,675  
 
GAAP basic net income (loss) per common stockholder $ 0.06   $ (0.95 ) $ 0.02   $ (0.94 )
GAAP diluted net income (loss) per common stockholder $ 0.06   $ (0.95 ) $ 0.02   $ (0.94 )
Basic Non-GAAP net income per common stockholder $ 0.13   $ 0.13   $ 0.38   $ 0.41  
Diluted Non-GAAP net income per common stockholder $ 0.12   $ 0.12   $ 0.36   $ 0.39  
 
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic 74,217,118   71,808,179   73,085,542   68,743,956  
Diluted 76,863,201   75,965,208   75,616,439   73,198,544  
 

Webcast and Conference Call Details

Management will host a webcast and conference call to discuss fourth quarter and year end 2018 financial results today, March 6, 2019 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time. To access the call dial 866-572-9351 (US and Canada) or 703-736-7482 (International) and when prompted provide the participant passcode 1586529 to the operator. An audio replay will be available at 855-859-2056 domestically or 404-537-3406 internationally, using passcode 1586529 through March 13, 2019. In addition, a webcast of the conference call will be available live on the Investor Relations section of the Company's website at www.themeetgroup.com and a replay of the webcast will be available for 90 days.

About The Meet Group

The Meet Group MEET is a portfolio of mobile social entertainment apps designed to meet the universal need for human connection. We leverage a powerful live-streaming video platform, empowering our global community to forge meaningful connections. Our primary apps, MeetMe©, LOVOO©, Skout©, and Tagged©, keep millions of mobile daily active users entertained and engaged and originate untold numbers of casual chats, friendships, dates, and marriages. Our apps, available on iPhone, iPad, and Android in multiple languages, use innovative products and sophisticated data science to let our users stream live video, send gifts, chat, and share photos. The Meet Group has a diversified revenue mix consisting of in-app purchases, subscription, and advertising, and we have offices in New Hope, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Dresden, and Berlin. For more information, visit themeetgroup.com, and follow us on FacebookTwitter or LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including whether first quarter 2019 and full year 2019 revenue and Adjusted EBITDA will be in the projected outlook range, whether momentum will continue as expected, whether we have set the stage for sustainable long-term revenue growth as expected, whether our investment in livestreaming video will continue to yield strong results, whether we will see a return to seasonal trends in advertising, whether there is an opportunity to grow ad revenue in the fourth quarter, whether will video-enable nearly every aspect of our apps and broaden the suite of video products, whether we will continue to attract new audiences, whether and when we will roll out live video on Growlr, whether we will grow advertising on Growlr, whether and to what extent we will further invest in Growlr user acquisition and expand brand awareness, and whether the opportunity to continue to grow video engagement and revenue is significant. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained herein are forward-looking statements. The words "believe," "may," "estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "should," "plan," "could," "target," "potential," "project," "outlook," "is likely," "expect" and similar expressions, as they relate to us, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from those in the forward-looking statements include the risk that our applications will not function easily or otherwise as anticipated, the risk that we will not launch additional features and upgrades as anticipated, the risk that unanticipated events affect the functionality of our applications with popular mobile operating systems, any changes in such operating systems that degrade our mobile applications' functionality and other unexpected issues which could adversely affect usage on mobile devices. Further information on our risk factors is contained in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including the Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 filed with the SEC on March 16, 2018 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2018, June 30, 2018 and September 30, 2018 filed with the SEC on May 7, 2018, August 2, 2018 and November 8, 2018, respectively. Any forward-looking statement made by us herein speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

Regulation G – Non-GAAP Measures

The Company defines mobile traffic and engagement metrics (including MAU, DAU, chats per day, and new users per day) to include mobile app traffic for all properties and mobile web traffic for MeetMe, Skout and LOVOO. The Company defines Video Daily Active User (vDAU) as a registered user of one of our platforms who has logged in and visited the Live feature, either as a broadcaster or viewer, on the day of measurement. The Company defines Average Video Revenue per Daily Active User (vARPDAU) as the average daily revenue per vDAU. The Company uses these user metrics for financial and operational decision-making and as a means to evaluate period-to-period comparisons. The Company presents user metrics because it believes them to be an important supplemental measure of performance that is commonly used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties in the evaluation of companies in its industry and because it believes that these metrics provide useful information to investors regarding the Company's financial condition and results of operations. There is no directly comparable U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) measure to vARPDAU provided in the Company's financial statements and therefore no reconciliation is provided.

The Company uses Adjusted EBITDA and Non-GAAP Net Income, which are not calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, in evaluating its financial and operational decision making and as a means to evaluate period-to period comparison. The Company uses these non-GAAP financial measures for financial and operational decision-making and as a means to evaluate period-to-period comparisons. The Company presents these non-GAAP financial measures because it believes them to be an important supplemental measure of performance that is commonly used by securities analysts, investors and other interested parties in the evaluation of companies in our industry. We refer you to the reconciliations below for these historical non-GAAP financial measures to their directly comparable GAAP financial measures. Information reconciling forward-looking Adjusted EBITDA to GAAP financial measures is unavailable to the Company without unreasonable effort. The Company is not able to provide reconciliations of Adjusted EBITDA to GAAP financial measures because certain items required for such reconciliations are outside of the Company's control and/or cannot be reasonably predicted, such as the provision for income taxes. Preparation of such reconciliations would require a forward-looking balance sheet, statement of income and statement of cash flow, prepared in accordance with GAAP, and such forward-looking financial statements are unavailable to the Company without unreasonable effort. The Company provides a range for its adjusted EBITDA outlook that it believes will be achieved, however it cannot accurately predict all the components of the Adjusted EBITDA calculation.

The Company defines Adjusted EBITDA as earnings (or loss) from operations before interest expense, benefit or provision for income taxes, depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation, changes in warrant obligations, nonrecurring acquisition, restructuring or other expenses, gain or loss on disposal of assets, gain or loss on foreign currency adjustment, and goodwill and long-lived asset impairment charges, if any. The Company excludes stock-based compensation because it is non-cash in nature. The Company defines Non-GAAP Net Income as earnings (or loss) before benefit or provision for income taxes, amortization on intangibles, non-recurring acquisition and restructuring costs, goodwill and long-lived asset impairment charges and non-cash stock-based compensation.

Non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered as an alternative to net income, operating income, cash flow from operating activities, as a measure of liquidity or any other financial measure. They may not be indicative of the historical operating results of the Company nor is it intended to be predictive of potential future results. Investors should not consider non-GAAP financial measures in isolation or as a substitute for performance measures calculated in accordance with GAAP.

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