KORE Group Q4 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

Quartr
Provided by Quartr
April 30, 2025

There are 6 speakers on the call.

Operator

Greetings, and welcome to the Core Group Holdings Fourth Quarter twenty twenty four Earnings Call. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce you to your host, Vic V. Jiria, Vice President of Investor Relations. Thank you, Vic.

Operator

You may begin.

Speaker 1

Thank you, operator. On today's call, we will refer to the fourth quarter and full year twenty twenty four earnings presentation, which will be helpful to follow along with as well as the press release filed this afternoon that details the company's fourth quarter and full year twenty twenty four results. Both of these can be found on our Investor Relations page at ir.corewireless.com. Finally, a recording of the call will be available in the Investors section of the company's website later today. The company encourages you to review the Safe Harbor statements, risk factors and other disclaimers contained on the slides in today's press release as well as in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which identify specific risk factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those described in our forward looking statements.

Speaker 1

The company does not undertake to publicly update or revise any forward looking statements after this webcast. The company also notes that it will be discussing non GAAP financial information on this call. The company is providing that information as a supplement to information prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in The United States or US GAAP. You can find a reconciliation of these metrics in the company's reported GAAP results in the reconciliation tables provided in today's earnings release and presentation. I'll now turn the call over to Ron Totten, the company's President and Chief Executive Officer.

Speaker 1

Thank you, Vic, and

Speaker 2

good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us for our fourth quarter and full year twenty twenty four earnings call. With me today is Paul Holtz, Core's Chief Financial Officer. On today's call, I will provide an update on the company's business highlights for the fourth quarter and the full year, and then we'll turn over the call to Paul to go through the financial results. After which, I will share our financial guidance for 2025 before turning the call over to the operator for Q and A.

Speaker 2

As we look back on 2024, we have greatly improved the fundamentals of the business, which have had a positive impact on our financial performance. We have transformed the company and returned to growth in connections, revenue, EBITDA and free cash flow, while putting customer intimacy in the center of our operating model. Everyone at Core should feel proud of what we have done together. Our Q4 results show that we continue to execute on what we said we would do. We generated $1,600,000 in free cash flow and also closed the year on a strong note.

Speaker 2

Total connections at the end of the fourth quarter were $19,700,000 an increase of $1,200,000 year over year. This connection growth was driven by wins with new and existing customers, demonstrating our focus on customer intimacy and expanding our connectivity portfolio is paying off. A key driver of our success has been our strategic focus on profitable growth and recurring connectivity revenue, which ended the year up $24,500,000 or 12%. We also drove a significant improvement in the non GAAP margin of IoT solutions by increasing it by 900 basis points to 40%. These efforts are strengthening our financial position and setting us up for long term sustainable growth.

Speaker 2

As previously communicated, one of our key priorities is operational excellence. And in the second half of twenty twenty four, we have been swift to launch several projects using AI tools across the organization to drive efficiency and support profitable growth. We have implemented Now Assist, an AI offering from ServiceNow as part of our focus customer intimacy. Product engineering are using Codecist, a leading AI tool by GitHub, which improves the speed and quality of software engineering output, and launched Microsoft Copilot for sales to drive performance improvement within the CRO organization. In 2025, we will invest more energy in this area based on the results we are realizing.

Speaker 2

On Slide seven, as we look at the headlines, our 2024 revenue was CAD286 million and our adjusted EBITDA was CAD53.1 million. We invested heavily in the business prioritizing our connectivity offering, which realized 12% revenue growth in 2024. We did this while driving a $23,100,000 improvement in free cash flow from 2023. Our fourth quarter revenue increased by approximately $1,000,000 to $73,300,000 and adjusted EBITDA improved $200,000 to $14,000,000 representing 19% of revenue flat from the same period last year. As highlighted earlier, we generated $1,600,000 of free cash flow in the fourth quarter of twenty twenty four, a significant improvement from the negative $15,500,000 last year.

Speaker 2

Cash flow generation remains a key priority for me and the rest of the leadership team. Moving to Slide eight, let's dive into highlights for the fourth quarter of twenty twenty four. Our IoT connections number is approaching $20,000,000 as in an ARPU of approximately $1 this represents a solid foundation of recurring earnings power. IoT revenue grew 12% for the full year, which now includes a full year revenue from the Twilio IoT acquisition. For the fourth quarter, connections were $19,700,000 up $1,200,000 from $18,500,000 for the same period in the prior year.

Speaker 2

On Slide nine, let's move on to our sales momentum in the fourth quarter, which is largely occurring in IoT connectivity. We closed $29,000,000 in TCV in Q4 twenty twenty four with 68% related to IoT connectivity. This quarter's performance builds on the prior quarters showing year to date closed TCV of $158,000,000 up from $115,000,000 in the same period in the prior year with $111,000,000 of that coming from IoT connectivity. Starting next quarter, we are revising our sales metrics to better align our recurring revenue business model. We will be shifting from total contract value or TCV to estimated annual recurring revenue or EARR.

Speaker 2

EARR better illustrates our recurring revenue business model because it shows steady recurring revenue unlike TCV that can overemphasize one time income streams such as hardware sales. This change is part of our ongoing effort to simplify and improve our reporting metrics. We are confident EARR will be more effective for predicting future earnings and demonstrating steady free cash flow. IoT Solutions revenue will continue to be reported as it is today. Going to Slide 10, as we've done in previous calls, I want to highlight key wins that continue to demonstrate the strength of our solutions and the value we bring to customers.

Speaker 2

First, in the healthcare space, we secured a significant win powering decentralized clinical trials with seamless global connectivity. By ensuring secure and reliable cellular access remote patient monitoring and real time data collection, we're helping improve trial efficiency, compliance, and ultimately patient outcomes. In the electronics manufacturing sector, we helped optimize data usage for a major customer by enabling multi carrier pooled connectivity plans. Through intelligent rules and proactive triggers in Connectivity Pro, we're reducing costs, eliminating overages, and providing better operational control. Physical security is another area where Core is making an impact.

Speaker 2

This client became the first provider to introduce Omnisim in their properties across Puerto Rico, setting up setting a new standard for smart security. With always on connectivity, they're empowering businesses and property owners with reliable alarm systems and uninterrupted protection. Lastly, we expanded our footprint in GPS tracking. A leading GPS tracker brand shows core to support its market expansion with a cost effective tracking solution. With seamless device activation, real time tracking, and global coverage, we're enhancing the user experience and helping accelerate time to market.

Speaker 2

These wins reflect the trust our customers place in core and the strength of our transformation. As we move into 2025, we remain committed to delivering innovative high value solutions that drive growth and success for our customers. We are excited by the growth in the in the IoT connectivity pipeline as we're seeing significant activity in our core use cases such as connected health, lead and logistics, and high value asset monitoring in addition to security and various other use cases involving point of sale type solutions. Not only our customers recognizing the value of core connectivity solutions, but also our offerings are being recognized for innovation and excellence by industry leaders. This slide highlights a few of our recent accolades and recognitions during 2024, which underscore our leadership in the IoT space.

Speaker 2

These awards not only validate our innovative solutions, but also enhance our brand reputation positioning us favorably in a competitive market. As we look at the broader industry landscape, it's clear that the demand for connectivity is accelerating at an unprecedented pace. Let's take a closer look at some of the key market trends shaping the future of IoT and the opportunities they present. The IoT market continues to expand rapidly with the number of connected devices expected to surpass 96,000,000,000 by 02/1930, growing at a CAGR of over 20%. Cellular IoT is a key driver of this growth projected to increase from 3,800,000,000 connections today to 6,600,000,000 by 02/1930, fueled by advancements in cellular technology.

Speaker 2

ESIM adoption is also accelerating with the market set to grow from three sixty eight million units in 2024 to 1,600,000,000 by 02/1930. In IoT specifically, eSIM's market share is expected to more than double reaching 24% by the end of the decade. Building on this momentum, the GSMA's new SGP. '32 eSIM standard introduces the eSIM IoT Remote Manager or EIM, a powerful cloud based solution enabling enterprises to remotely activate, change, or optimize operator profiles across their entire device fleet without the need for physical interaction. This advances the evolution and maturation of cellular connectivity standards by drastically reducing the cost of manual change previously constraining customer flexibility.

Speaker 2

SGP dot 32 empowers enterprises to dramatically adapt their connectivity strategies based on fault tolerance requirements, cost efficiency, coverage quality, and regulatory compliance. Core is actively working with our carrier partners and major eSIM service providers to deliver a fully integrated SGP dot 32 solution operated by CORE that can be seamlessly integrated into customer and third party environments. This also fully enables our customers to access the full CORE catalog of local and global compliance SIM profiles. Our SGP. Thirty two support is expanding upon the foundation of our connectivity management platform expertise and current EUICC portfolio, and we're positioned to lead customer deployments.

Speaker 2

These advancements reinforce the growing demand for scalable, flexible and intelligent connectivity solutions, an opportunity we are strongly positioned to capitalize on as we continue executing our growth strategy. And now let me turn the call over to Paul to go through our financial performance in more detail.

Speaker 3

Thanks, Ron, and thanks for those joining us this evening for our fourth quarter and full year results. Looking at these results on Slide 14, total revenue for the fourth quarter increased CAD0.8 million or 1% year over year to CAD73.3 million. Breaking that down by business lines, IoT connectivity revenue of $56,500,000 increased 2% year over year and represented 77% of fourth quarter revenue, up from 76% in the prior year. IoT Solutions revenue declined 2% year over year to CAD16.8 million or 23% of fourth quarter revenue. Overall non GAAP margin in Q4 twenty twenty four was 56.8%, an increase of five eighty basis points compared to the fourth quarter in the prior year.

Speaker 3

By business line, non GAAP IoT connectivity margin was up 300 basis points year over year to 59.3%. Non GAAP IoT Solutions margin was up 1,500 basis points year over year to 48.1%. This increase was primarily attributable to the increase of more profitable IoT Solutions revenue. Turning to our full year results on Slide 14, total revenue for the year increased CAD9.5 million or 3% to CAD286.1 million. Breaking this down by business lines, IoT connectivity revenue of CAD226.9 million, which included a full year of the Twilio IoT acquisition, increased 12% year over year and represented 79% of total revenue, up from 70% in the prior year.

Speaker 3

IoT Solutions revenue declined 20% year over year to CAD59.2 million or 21% of total revenue. The IoT Solutions revenue decline was primarily attributable to management's decision to forego lower margin hardware sales and to focus on more profitable IoT Solutions revenue. Overall non GAAP margin for 2024 was 56.3%, an increase of two seventy five basis points compared to 2023. By business line, non GAAP IoT connectivity margin for 2024 declined 130 basis points compared to the prior year. This decline was anticipated as the IoT connectivity revenue from the Twilio IoT acquisition came with slightly lower margins that improved during 2024 but had a full year impact when compared to the prior year.

Speaker 3

Non GAAP IoT Solutions margins on the other hand was up nine twenty basis points for the year to 40.2. As mentioned, the increase was due to management's focus on more profitable sales. Total connections at the end of the fourth quarter were $19,700,000 an increase of $1,200,000 year over year, but more importantly increased $800,000 from the last quarter. Average revenue per user per month or ARPU for the current quarter was $0.97 compared to $0.99 in Q4 twenty twenty three. The decrease in ARPU year over year was driven by the higher percentage of the recent growth in connections coming from lower ARPU use cases.

Speaker 3

DBNAR for the twelve months ended 12/31/2024 was 95% compared with 96% in the prior year. As a reminder, DBNAR is similar to same store sales as it measures the growth of existing customers in the trailing twelve months compared to the same customer cohort in the year ago period. Our current DBNAR calculation continues to be impacted by declines in revenue from some of our IoT solutions customers over the past twelve months. Turning to Slide 15, operating expenses in the fourth quarter were CAD54.4 million, an increase of CAD4.8 million or 9.7% compared to Q4 twenty twenty three. The primary reason for the increase in operating expenses year over year was due to unrealized foreign exchange losses of approximately $5,000,000 due to the weakening of The U.

Speaker 3

S. Dollar in Q4 twenty twenty four. This compared to the U. S. Dollar strengthening in Q4 twenty twenty three.

Speaker 3

This non cash increase in operating expense in Q4 twenty twenty four was offset by declines in professional service fees and less salaries and benefit costs from the restructuring activities taken by the company in Q3 twenty twenty four. Fourth quarter interest expense, including amortization of deferred financing fees, increased year over year to $13,300,000 versus $12,100,000 in the fourth quarter of twenty twenty three. This increase is due to higher borrowing costs on our refinanced debt and preferred stock placement completed in Q4 twenty twenty three. Net loss in the fourth quarter was $25,400,000 compared to $33,600,000 in the prior year. The decrease in our net loss of $8,100,000 year over year is primarily attributable to benefits from the following expenses: change in the fair value of warrant liabilities to affiliates income tax benefit no loss on the extinguishment of debt in the current comparative quarter and less depreciation and amortization.

Speaker 3

Adjusted EBITDA in the fourth quarter was CAD14 million, an increase of CAD0.2 million or approximately 1.1% compared to the prior year. Adjusted EBITDA was basically flat year over year as OpEx savings from the previous quarter's restructuring were offset by less capitalization of internal development costs. For the full year, operating expenses were $262,700,000 a decline of $4,100,000 compared to the prior year. Decreases in non cash items like goodwill impairment and depreciation and amortization were offset by increases in variable compensation, severance costs, channel partner commissions due to increased revenue from this channel and less capitalization of internal development costs. Interest expense including amortization of deferred financing fees increased CAD9.3 million year over year to CAD52.5 million.

Speaker 3

The reason for this increase, same as it was for Q4, was due to the higher borrowing costs on our refinanced debt and preferred stock placement completed in Q4 twenty twenty three. Net loss for the full year was $146,100,000 a $20,900,000 improvement compared to the net loss in 2023. Non cash items including goodwill impairment, fair value of warrant liability adjustments, amortization and depreciation, unrealized foreign exchange expense and stock compensation expense reduced net loss year over year by approximately $25,000,000 Less professional service fees also resulted in savings of approximately $6,500,000 Offsetting these savings was the increase in interest expense of approximately $9,000,000 Adjusted EBITDA for the full year was $53,100,000 a decrease of $2,500,000 when compared to the prior year. The decrease primarily comes from the reduction in the amount of capitalization of internal development costs. It should be noted that this is a trend that we expect to see continue going into 2025.

Speaker 3

The company will have less capitalization of internal development costs under U. S. GAAP, but we'll see adjusted EBITDA grow, but more importantly, EBITDA will have more free cash flow attributable to it. Speaking of cash flows, cash provided by operations in the fourth quarter was approximately $2,800,000 This compared to cash used by operations of $10,900,000 in Q4 twenty twenty three. Cash provided by operations for the twelve months ended 12/31/2024 was approximately $9,900,000 This was a $16,300,000 improvement compared to the $6,400,000 used by operations in the prior year period.

Speaker 3

Free cash flow, measured by cash provided by operations less cash used in investing activities, was positive $1,600,000 in Q4 twenty twenty four compared to negative $15,500,000 in the prior year quarter. This was the first positive free cash flow quarter the company has had since fiscal year twenty twenty two. Free cash flow was negative $3,500,000 for the twelve months ended 12/31/2024, improving approximately $23,000,000 compared to the prior year period. As of 12/31/2024, cash was $19,400,000 compared to $27,100,000 as of 12/31/2023. As Ron mentioned, cash flow management is a key priority for all of us even as we invest in profitable growth.

Speaker 3

Stepping back, I feel very good about the progress we have made in both our operational and financial metrics. More importantly, we are laying the ground for improved recurring revenue margin and cash flow performance going forward. And with that, I'll pass it back to you, Ron.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Paul. On Slide 17, as we wrap up, I want to share our outlook for 2025. Looking ahead, we are entering the year with a strong foundation for long term profitable growth. Our transformation efforts have positioned us to drive meaningful improvements across our business and we remain committed to disciplined execution and a relentless focus on our customers. We have exciting developments in several profitable revenue growth initiatives and we are optimistic about the year ahead.

Speaker 2

For 2025, we expect revenue growth driven by growth in IoT connections and accelerating in both our adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow. While our primary focus is on profitable revenue growth, we will continue prioritizing gross margin expansion and driving efficiency and automation across the business. We are mindful that evolving tariff policies could create uncertainty for our customers, potentially impacting order volumes and investment timing. However, our connectivity business, which is largely based on recurring revenue, provides a meaningful level of insulation against these external pressures. This foundation combined with our continued focus on operational excellence and margin expansion positions us well to navigate potential challenges and deliver strong profitably maximizing the value we create for our shareholders.

Speaker 2

With this disciplined approach, we are providing the following guidance for 2025. Revenue in the range from $288,000,000 to $298,000,000 reflecting 2% year over year growth, which factors in the exit of unprofitable contracts and product lines and positively contribute to overall profitability. Adjusted EBITDA in the range of CAD62 million to CAD67 million representing a 20% increase year over year and free cash flow in the range from CAD10 million to CAD14 million, a significant 443% year over year improvement. These targets reflect our expectation of profitable growth, operational efficiency and disciplined financial management. As we move forward, we remain focused on delivering value for our customers and our shareholders.

Speaker 2

Before we open the call to Q and A, I also want to thank the core team around the globe for their hard work and commitment that they have shown through this year of transition. We have been working hard and it's great to see the engagement and traction we are gaining together. Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.

Operator

Thank you. We'll now be conducting a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone keypad. A confirmation tone will indicate your line is in the question queue. You may press star two if you would like to remove your question from the queue.

Operator

For participants using speaker equipment, it may be necessary to pick up your handset before pressing the star keys. One moment please while we poll for questions. Our first question comes from the line of Lance Vitanza with TD Cowen. Please proceed.

Speaker 4

Thanks. Thanks, guys, for taking the questions. So let's see. So you you beat on, connections, at least relative to my expectations, and yet ARPU was quite a bit lower than we had anticipated, and it was down 5% quarter on quarter or two and a half percent year on year. So I was wondering if you could spend a few minutes on what were the drivers of each of those, the connections and the ARPU?

Speaker 4

And what should we model for the first quarter, which, of course, is now a month behind us? And then how should we think about the rest of the year? And then I've I've got some other questions as well, but just to start there.

Speaker 3

Hey. Hey, Lance. Thanks. It's, Paul. So, yeah, we had a a big a big jump in connections that came, as we mentioned there, from low ARPU cases at the end of the year, and they weren't here for the full quarter.

Speaker 3

So when you look at the number for q four, obviously, we're reporting a number at the very end, but those happened more so in the in the last two months of the quarter, if not, a lot in the last month. So you have the the big increase in connections, but hardly any revenue coming from them. So that's what drove down the ARPU. But in saying that, as I mentioned, a lot of these came from lower use cases lower use cases so that the ARPU on these were were under 50¢, so well under our our dollar average that we've had before.

Speaker 4

Thank you. I understand. And so is that sort of indicative of how you see the market developing and where the incremental demand is? Or was this just sort of a one off?

Speaker 2

Yeah. Thanks. Thanks, Lance. It's Ron here. I I it'd be hard to say it's a one off.

Speaker 2

I wouldn't say it's really where the the only growth is coming from. You know, those are typically kind of like fleet and logistics use cases. We are seeing growth coming from other areas as I kinda highlighted in terms of some of our priority verticals, connected health, you know, anything that sort of retail looking, like point of sale systems, like EV chargers and vending machines and other types of use cases. So I wouldn't say that it is it's what we're expecting into the future. You know?

Speaker 2

That being said, you know, I draw your attention to to our margin. So, you know, just because it's a maybe a lower ARPU use case doesn't mean that it doesn't contribute positively, positively to growth.

Speaker 4

Sure. And then I guess maybe the one way to think about it for me is, you know, I think you mentioned, Ron, that the that the demand for connectivity is very brisk. And yet, you know, the guidance for for core for revenues is is not terribly, exciting at 2% year on year. So is that because there are just still a lot of, impediments that are keeping, you know, keeping enterprise customers in general from being able to implement these systems despite the demand that you're sort of sensing? Or or or is it the case that this is indicative perhaps of sort of a a lower kind of pricing dynamic going forward where you have perhaps a huge increase in volume, but maybe it's coming in at at very low price.

Speaker 4

I'm just trying to guess I'm just trying to reconcile the full year revenue guide with the sort of the brisk, you know, amount of demand that we're that we're perceiving.

Speaker 2

Yeah. Sure. Let me let me try to, get there's a lot in there, but let me try to to get there. One is, I think I've made the statement that, and I've, again, consistent from prior calls, you know, with this focus on profitable growth, and we also talked about rationalization. So part of what's factored into that revenue number is that we have, and we'll continue to look at unprofitable or low profit, you know, customers or product lines, if you will.

Speaker 2

And so, again, if, know, I draw your attention, you know, you you your question was on revenue, but I'd I'd encourage you to look at our guidance on adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow as well. So one, that drives, the the revenue. Right? Where so if you're walking away from a customer that's lower margin or a product line that's just not delivering relative to what others are where you could invest and get a better return, you're gonna see that impact in revenue. Secondly, I would say is, you know, the the low ARPU use cases, I mean, we're talking about a kind of cohort of sort of 10 to 20 in terms of customers.

Speaker 2

So, and we service thousands of customers. So I wouldn't wouldn't wanna say that you you should model in, you know, based on on on sort of the assumptions that you were referring to. So I'll pause there. I don't know. Did I get all the Paul, do have anything to add?

Operator

Yeah. I know. I just

Speaker 3

so the there those 10 to 12 low ARPU customers, they they do have a lot of volume. And when they add, they add them in chunks. So, again, you have that's what we saw here in in 2024, but we're we're by no means seeing that everything's going to the bottom of the barrel here from a a price perspective. We still have our existing customer base that that is growing, and they're they're using more data. So you'll it would like you said, it'll be depending on what happens in any particular one order from a large deployment of the of any of these low ARPU.

Speaker 3

Yeah.

Speaker 2

Just lastly on that one, Lance, and again, appreciate the question is, again, inside of that, low ARPU cohort we were talking about, actually, ARPUs in the top 50 customers, if anything, are trending slightly up and well north of the dollar. So, again, it's it's hard for us to predict, exactly which customers and use cases are are going to grow. You know, I think then the other thing I would add around, you know, the revenue guidance is, you know, we don't see direct impact of of tariffs, but, of course, in talking to customers, you know, demand, maybe delays, etcetera. So we've, you know, we've we've we've been, I would say, somewhat conservative, kind of as we we look ahead. And, you know, we also wanna make sure that we're able to, you know, put guidance out there that we can, you know, stand behind, feel very strong about.

Speaker 4

That's great. No. I appreciate that. Maybe just sort of, on the more on the technical side, the, you know, the delay in the 10 k filing, and so forth, what would could you discuss what the genesis or the cause of that was and whether or not that's been remedied? Should we expect the company to be get back on to more of a, you know, timely disclosures going forward from here on out, or is there more work that needs to be done?

Speaker 4

Can you talk about that at all?

Speaker 3

Yeah. No. I know. So we're we're planning on, for q one coming up to to be on time. This was more just a specific year end couple of audit items that came up that needed further documentations for our auditors to get through, and and they have to have everything signed off in their file before we can press the button and file the k.

Speaker 3

And we obviously, we're we're waiting for that to happen, and and we when we got there. So going forward, we're not anticipating any further delays.

Speaker 4

Okay. And then my last question is just on the balance sheet. I do take the point that the company is, you know, is generating free cash flow. It has some runway. And so from that standpoint, there isn't necessarily any pressing need to do anything today, especially if we think that the business is going to look a lot better, you know, one, two, three years from now.

Speaker 4

That being said, just the sheer magnitude of the debt plus the preferred relative to the equity market cap, yeah, it does have to suggest that a balance sheet sort of restructuring, you know, could could occur. Are you open to conversations with various stakeholders that could potentially engender such a transaction, or are you firm and steadfast in the idea that, no. We're we're gonna just sort of let this continue to let the business continue to grow, and then we'll see what we look like, you know, two, three years from now.

Speaker 2

Yeah. No. Thanks, Lance. I mean, here's what I'd say. Right?

Speaker 2

Is I mean, no one has a crystal ball, but, like, we're really focused on making the business better every day. Like, that's that's our our primary focus, and it's hard not to see the improvement in the results that we've shared in the comparison from the prior year. But, you know, to sort of use an analogy as a a coach maybe on a sports team, you know, you always look at ways to make your team better. So, you know, we wouldn't be doing our job if we weren't open to, I you know, ideas that would make sense for all shareholders. You know, that being said, you know, we're just really focused on, you know, and continuing to we've built some nice momentum here.

Speaker 2

And, you know, my job also is to keep the team focused. So, you know, never say never and but at the same time, you know, we also wanna make sure we're focused. So, you know, short answer is, you know, we're open. But but, you know, we've put in a lot of hard work here the last eight months, and we've we've got something going. We really wanna make sure we don't take our eye off the ball there.

Speaker 4

Great. Thanks for taking my questions. Appreciate it.

Speaker 2

Great. Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Scott Searle with ROTH Capital. Please proceed with your question.

Speaker 5

Good afternoon. Hi, Ron. Hi, Paul. Thanks for taking the questions. Hey, Ron.

Speaker 5

Hey, Scott. So Ron, maybe just to dive in on guidance. I'm wondering if you could clarify for us on 2025, how much you're attributing to hardware within that guidance number? I'm also wondering IoT Solutions, it looks like they had a nice non GAAP gross margin number. Is that the normal to be modeling going forward?

Speaker 5

And Paul, from an OpEx standpoint, I know there are lot moving parts and you guys have been taking costs out, but could you help us understand on a quarterly basis what the normalized OpEx is gonna look like? And then I have a couple of follow ups.

Speaker 3

Okay. From a IoT solutions perspective, in our in our number, we're not expecting any significant growth or decline in there. So it's pretty pretty flat year over year within the number. Again, we'll we could have some lumpiness within the quarters and so forth as we always see, but we're not anticipating a major growth or spurt or or anything there. More so just to your point on the hardware side of things, we are looking away any any of those lower lower margin deals, which is improving that gross margin.

Speaker 3

We do see that continuing above the 40% mark that we ended the year at the year into 2025 throughout, all quarters of 2025. From a from an OpEx perspective, yes, to your point, we did do the restructuring activity at the end of, q three. So we did see some benefit from that in q four. But we are also looking to reinvest in the business in the more profitable areas. So from a from an OpEx perspective next year, from a a net perspective, you you're gonna see around a 27 to 30,000,000.

Speaker 3

Like, again, it will it will go up and down depending on variable commissions and and all that sort of stuff. But that that'd be the range I'd be looking at, Scott.

Speaker 5

Okay. Very, very helpful. Thanks. And and, Ron, it sounds like you guys are moving away from, TCV to ARR or EARR. I'm wondering if you could calibrate us in terms of what ARR actually looked like then in '24 and '23.

Speaker 5

And then kind of projecting that going forward, there you know, the market is starting to grow at a pretty good clip in terms of IoT connection starting to reaccelerate on that front. What type of connectivity device unit growth should we expect for you guys in 2025? It looks like at a first cut, it's probably, you know, north of 10%, so you're starting to get back up in that market growth kinda range. But I'm I'm wondering if you could kinda calibrate us in terms of how you're thinking about the market in terms of connections in 2025.

Speaker 3

So from a connectivity perspective, again, we we look at the the the customers, and, obviously, the connections part of it will depend on which which of those customers are are growing. So, again, those low ARPU may cause the connection number to jump up, but the revenue associated with those are not very large. But from a connectivity perspective, there are going to be some give and takes in there. So we're talking mid to low single digits within that within our guidance, and, hopefully, we'll be in the other the back end of that. But that that's what we're seeing.

Speaker 3

We're in we're, like you said, slowly getting up to the the market trend of of 10%. But there's just so much uncertainty out there right now from from our customers that we're hearing that it it it's hard to to put a pin on on how much we'll grow because I think there will be some delays in deployments just from the tariff issues, and and they may have started to buy and and build some inventory up now and and so forth. But if the tariffs come into play, I I think we have built in some conservative in there that demand will be impacted. Good.

Speaker 5

Paul, maybe just to quickly follow-up on that deployment commentary. So are you actually seeing customers slow down at the current time? And just in terms of your modeling, right, in the guidance, what how did you approach that in terms of your assumptions around deployment timelines, macroeconomic headwinds?

Speaker 2

Yeah. So I I'll take that. Maybe we'll tag team that one. So we're not I would say as of yet, we're seeing any change in customer demand. And and and keep in mind that the tariff situation is is pretty fluid.

Speaker 2

And, you know, I think on our side, we're just, you know, looking ahead and, you know, being being a little bit cautious. You know, certainly, are customers, like, if you think in the connected health, area, it it's hard to see when you think of the use cases, you know, the the tariffs slowing down that demand because the overall solution they're offering, I think the, you know, the hardware and the connectivity is is meaningful, but it's not a significant portion of their overall cost. So, you know, we haven't seen, you know, slowdown, if you will. We we we do, though, speak to all of our existing customers and some new ones that we're acquiring and in discussions with. And, yeah, what we hear is just uncertainty.

Speaker 2

And so I guess that's what I would say. I wouldn't say that we've seen any customers slow down. We haven't seen, you know, customers come back and say, you know, we overbought and we you know you know, any kind of conversations like that. Demand still feels, I mean, relatively strong, I mean, as per my comments in the pipeline and the growth of the pipeline. Maybe, Paul, you wanna take this?

Speaker 2

No.

Speaker 3

Yeah. It was it was more like, remember, Scott, most of our customers don't buy hardware from us and so forth. So, like, we we don't know exactly what they bought and what's out there, but, it it's to Ron's point, we're just being cautious that, again, the second half of the year, who who knows what what's gonna happen with the tariffs and so forth. So we've built in a more cautious outlook in our numbers. Yeah.

Speaker 3

Fair enough. And and two more if I could, and

Speaker 5

then I'll get back in the queue. In in terms of the process evolution, it seems like eSIM is becoming very prominent right now. But I'm wondering where, AI feature sets kinda fit in for the customer base. I know historically, that's sort of been on the longer term horizon for the company's road map. I'm just kinda wondering where that factors into the product evolution and platform evolution and what customers are expecting from you.

Speaker 5

And lastly, going back to the balance sheet again, I'm wondering if you could just help us out in terms of debt coverage targets, you know, where you guys would like to be and and kinda like over what timeline. Thanks.

Speaker 2

Yeah. Sure. I'll take the product one, and then maybe Paul can take the balance sheet one. I'm happy to as well. Yeah.

Speaker 2

I think the the eSIM growth is, you know, the research is telling us. And when we're talking to customers, it's telling us that, you know, between now and 2030, they'll definitely be be be you know, there'll be growth. I think also we're seeing is, you know, growth with either multi carrier or certainly backup, you know, driving some connectivity. I think the use cases are you know, they you know, first, many of our customers are what I call mission critical or fundamental to their business. But then there's those that maybe where that wasn't the case that's now increasingly becoming the case.

Speaker 2

And and so I think that, you know, you know, multi carrier or backup or, you know you know, different types of of solutions. I think all of those drives demand for us, which are which are which are, you know, good good problems to have or opportunities to have. In terms of AI feature sets, I mean, yeah, there's we're having active conversations with customers around using AI specifically with the data that's being collected. We also have some really interesting customers that are looking at, I would say, quite drastically, you know, expanding their use case and leveraging AI. So taking that information and, you know, putting that into, you know, an AI engine and and, you know, drawing out more intelligence, driving decision making.

Speaker 2

In some cases, you know, new revenue streams or, you know, more dynamic pricing in a few particular use cases that I'm thinking of. And, yes. So that's factoring into our product direction and, you know, as we kind of, you know, look ahead. Also, just draw your attention to us using, you know, AI tools ourselves and, you know, building up that expertise and building up that, you know, kind of culture inside the organization. So I I see, you know, the the AI and and I've been pretty cautious with with using the AI in prior calls.

Speaker 2

You know, for us, we're we're really kinda just focused with the customers. As I said, using the data and and taking, you know, AI engines and helping them, you know, make better decisions or driving their business further. And then I'll pass the balance sheet question over to Paul.

Speaker 3

Yeah. Yeah. Scott, from a debt coverage perspective, we don't have a a specific target. Think for for 2025, again, we're we're focused on the on the current business. And with the improved cash flows, we're gonna see we start to have that choice or decision.

Speaker 3

Are we gonna do any type of acquisitions, or are we just gonna pay down the the debt? We have no no plan or expectation to take on anymore. So, again, it's more now that we we're seeing the significant cash flow improvements year over year. It's just using depending on what's happening in in the time period. But the plan would be to obviously start to pay down the debt as as quick as possible.

Speaker 2

Yeah. If I could, Scott, maybe just to add on add on to that one, like this maybe some prior questions around, you know, strategic options. I mean, our credit profile has changed, much more for the better. And so, you know, Paul and I will explore conversations, you know, to, you know, see and we also have within our agreements, you know, based on performance, you know, bringing down our our costs. So as our profile improves, as we continue continue to deliver the kind of results we're talking about, you know, naturally in those debt agreements, we meet certain thresholds, we're able to drive that price down and or, you know, explore other options.

Speaker 2

But, yeah, I mean, a big focus for us would be, you know, paying down that debt to whatever extent we could with, of course, the free cash flow we're generating. And if, you know, more favorable, you know, credit, you know, credit scoring and and and different options become available, we'll we'll explore those. But, again, we haven't modeled those in, as a you know, maybe just to reiterate whether it's, you know, revenue, or adjusted EBITDA and cash flow, we've been somewhat conservative based on what we see today in the business and more of a run rate. There isn't a massive growth factored into that guidance we've given you.

Speaker 5

Okay, great. Thanks so much guys.

Operator

Thank you. There are no further questions at this time. I'd like to pass the call back over to Ron for closing remarks.

Speaker 2

Thanks again for the questions, and thank you, everyone, for joining us on today's earnings call. We look forward to updating you very soon on our progress for the first quarter twenty twenty five, and have a great evening. Thank you. Thank

Operator

you. This concludes today's teleconference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.

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Key Takeaways

  • The company delivered improved fundamentals in FY2024, with total revenue of CAD 286 million (+3% YoY), adjusted EBITDA of CAD 53.1 million and a CAD 23.1 million improvement in free cash flow, including its first positive FCF quarter since FY2022.
  • Connectivity momentum continued as IoT connections grew to 19.7 million (up 1.2 million YoY), IoT connectivity revenue rose 12% to CAD 226.9 million and non-GAAP connectivity margins reached 59.3% in Q4.
  • Operational excellence initiatives—including ServiceNow Now Assist, GitHub Copilot and Microsoft Copilot—drove a 900 basis-point improvement in IoT Solutions margin to 40%.
  • Core positioned itself for future growth by aligning with the GSMA’s SGP.32 eSIM standard for remote SIM management and reporting a strong pipeline in connected health, fleet & logistics and asset monitoring.
  • For 2025, Core expects 2% revenue growth to CAD 288–298 million, a 20% increase in adjusted EBITDA to CAD 62–67 million, and a 443% jump in free cash flow to CAD 10–14 million, prioritizing profitable growth and margin expansion.
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Earnings Conference Call
KORE Group Q4 2024
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