TUCOWS INC /PA/ (TCX)
SIC breadcrumb: Services > Business Services > SIC 7374 Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation
SEC company page: https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=909494. Latest filing source: 0001437749-26-008009.
Informational only - descriptive public-record data, not investment advice.
Business
Read TCX's verbatim Item 1 Business section from its latest 10-K: Business.
Risk Factors
Read TCX's verbatim Item 1A Risk Factors from its latest 10-K: Risk Factors.
Selected Fundamentals
| Metric | Value | Unit | FY | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 390,300,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-03-12 |
| Net income | -75,819,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-03-12 |
| Assets | 730,909,000 | USD | 2025 | 2026-03-12 |
Financials
Annual standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-03-12. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0000909494.json. Derived margins, ratios, and free cash flow are computed from the extracted annual SEC facts.
| Metric | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 189,819,000 | 329,421,000 | 346,013,000 | 337,145,000 | 311,202,000 | 304,337,000 | 321,142,000 | 339,337,000 | 362,275,000 | 390,300,000 |
| Net income | 16,067,000 | 22,327,000 | 17,135,000 | 15,398,000 | 5,775,000 | 3,364,000 | -27,571,000 | -96,197,000 | -109,860,000 | -75,819,000 |
| Operating income | 25,047,000 | 27,082,000 | 29,324,000 | 29,340,000 | 6,917,000 | -7,773,000 | -31,662,000 | -63,652,000 | -65,013,000 | -23,483,000 |
| Gross profit | 63,054,000 | 84,521,000 | 96,770,000 | 100,777,000 | 85,485,000 | 78,293,000 | 78,248,000 | 66,667,000 | 83,029,000 | 93,954,000 |
| Operating cash flow | 22,509,000 | 31,896,000 | 37,209,000 | 40,381,000 | 36,081,000 | 29,637,000 | 19,876,000 | -4,771,000 | -19,745,000 | -5,758,000 |
| Capital expenditures | 7,918,000 | 12,935,000 | 27,919,000 | 44,070,000 | 44,437,000 | 73,175,000 | 136,710,000 | 92,055,000 | 56,460,000 | 17,114,000 |
| Assets | 154,413,372 | 350,650,000 | 339,575,000 | 425,918,000 | 451,903,000 | 539,596,000 | 664,747,000 | 798,426,000 | 758,796,000 | 730,909,000 |
| Stockholders' equity | 37,818,000 | 60,211,000 | 79,776,000 | 94,194,000 | 104,698,000 | 115,092,000 | 96,657,000 | 9,875,000 | -95,300,000 | -164,200,000 |
| Cash and cash equivalents | 15,105,000 | 18,049,000 | 12,637,000 | 20,393,000 | 8,311,000 | 9,105,000 | 23,496,000 | 92,687,000 | 56,903,000 | 46,759,000 |
| Free cash flow | 14,591,000 | 18,961,000 | 9,290,000 | -3,689,000 | -8,356,000 | -43,538,000 | -116,834,000 | -96,826,000 | -76,205,000 | -22,872,000 |
Ratios
| Metric | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net margin | 8.46% | 6.78% | 4.95% | 4.57% | 1.86% | 1.11% | -8.59% | -28.35% | -30.33% | -19.43% |
| Operating margin | 13.20% | 8.22% | 8.47% | 8.70% | 2.22% | -2.55% | -9.86% | -18.76% | -17.95% | -6.02% |
| Return on assets | 10.41% | 6.37% | 5.05% | 3.62% | 1.28% | 0.62% | -4.15% | -12.05% | -14.48% | -10.37% |
| Current ratio | 0.99 | 0.86 | 0.80 | 0.93 | 0.87 | 0.85 | 0.90 | 1.21 | 1.03 | 0.61 |
Industry Peer Context
Net margin peer context
Operating margin peer context
ROA peer context
Financial Bridges
Income statement bridge from reported figures
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts FY 2025. Revenue: accession 0001437749-26-008009; concept RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax; source concepts us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax | Gross profit: accession 0001437749-26-008009; concept GrossProfit; source concepts us-gaap:GrossProfit | Operating income: accession 0001437749-26-008009; concept OperatingIncomeLoss; source concepts us-gaap:OperatingIncomeLoss | Net income: accession 0001437749-26-008009; concept NetIncomeLoss; source concepts us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss
Free cash flow = operating cash flow - capital expenditures
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts FY 2025. Operating cash flow: accession 0001437749-26-008009; concept NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities; source concepts us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities | Capital expenditures: accession 0001437749-26-008009; concept PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment; source concepts us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment | Free cash flow: accession 0001437749-26-008009; concept NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities - PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment; source concepts us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities; us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment
Financial Charts
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001437749-26-008009; filed 2026-03-12. Concept: RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax. Source concepts: us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001437749-26-008009; filed 2026-03-12. Concept: NetIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001437749-26-008009; filed 2026-03-12. Concept: OperatingIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:OperatingIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001437749-26-008009; filed 2026-03-12. Concept: GrossProfit. Source concepts: us-gaap:GrossProfit.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001437749-26-008009; filed 2026-03-12. Concept: NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001437749-26-008009; filed 2026-03-12. Concept: PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment. Source concepts: us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001437749-26-008009; filed 2026-03-12. Concept: Assets. Source concepts: us-gaap:Assets.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001437749-26-008009; filed 2026-03-12. Concept: StockholdersEquity. Source concepts: us-gaap:StockholdersEquity.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001437749-26-008009; filed 2026-03-12. Concept: CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue. Source concepts: us-gaap:CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2025 ended 2025-12-31; accession 0001437749-26-008009; filed 2026-03-12. Concept: NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities - PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities; us-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment.
Quarterly
Quarterly standardized facts from SEC companyfacts as of latest extracted filing date 2026-05-07. Source: https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK0000909494.json.
| Quarter | End Date | Revenue | Net Income | Diluted EPS | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-Q2 | 2019-06-30 | 0.24 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2019-Q3 | 2019-09-30 | 0.39 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2020-Q1 | 2020-03-31 | 0.26 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2020-Q2 | 2020-06-30 | 0.01 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2020-Q3 | 2020-09-30 | 0.07 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2021-Q1 | 2021-03-31 | 0.20 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2021-Q2 | 2021-06-30 | 0.17 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2021-Q3 | 2021-09-30 | 0.13 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2022-Q1 | 2022-03-31 | -0.28 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2022-Q2 | 2022-06-30 | -0.29 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2022-Q3 | 2022-09-30 | -0.74 | reported discrete quarter | ||
| 2023-Q1 | 2023-03-31 | 80,430,000 | -1.77 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2023-Q2 | 2023-06-30 | 84,978,000 | -30,968,000 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2023-Q3 | 2023-09-30 | 86,971,000 | -22,772,000 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2023-Q4 | 2023-12-31 | 86,958,000 | -23,374,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2024-Q1 | 2024-03-31 | 87,457,000 | -26,484,000 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2024-Q2 | 2024-06-30 | 89,423,000 | -18,604,000 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2024-Q3 | 2024-09-30 | 92,297,000 | -22,297,000 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2024-Q4 | 2024-12-31 | -42,475,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | ||
| 2025-Q1 | 2025-03-31 | 94,609,000 | -15,133,000 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2025-Q2 | 2025-06-30 | 98,463,000 | -15,637,000 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2025-Q3 | 2025-09-30 | 98,558,000 | -23,019,000 | reported discrete quarter | |
| 2025-Q4 | 2025-12-31 | 98,670,000 | -22,030,000 | derived Q4 = FY annual - nine-month YTD | |
| 2026-Q1 | 2026-03-31 | 96,657,000 | -18,107,000 | reported discrete quarter |
Quarterly Charts
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-03-31; accession 0001437749-26-015656; filed 2026-05-07. Concept: RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax. Source concepts: us-gaap:RevenueFromContractWithCustomerIncludingAssessedTax.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2026 ended 2026-03-31; accession 0001437749-26-015656; filed 2026-05-07. Concept: NetIncomeLoss. Source concepts: us-gaap:NetIncomeLoss.
Figure provenance: SEC companyfacts. Latest point: FY 2023 ended 2023-03-31; accession 0001437749-23-013053; filed 2023-05-08. Concept: EarningsPerShareDiluted. Source concepts: us-gaap:EarningsPerShareDiluted.
Macro Cross-References
- CPIAUCSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items in U.S. City Average
- UNRATE - Unemployment Rate
- FEDFUNDS - Federal Funds Effective Rate
- CES0500000003 - Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees, Total Private
- DFEDTARU - Federal Funds Target Range - Upper Limit
- DFEDTARL - Federal Funds Target Range - Lower Limit
- DGS3MO - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 3-Month Constant Maturity
- DGS2 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 2-Year Constant Maturity
- DGS10 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 10-Year Constant Maturity
- DGS30 - Market Yield on U.S. Treasury Securities at 30-Year Constant Maturity
- T10Y2Y - 10-Year Treasury Constant Maturity Minus 2-Year Treasury Constant Maturity
- CPILFESL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items Less Food and Energy
- CPIUFDSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Food
- CPIENGSL - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Energy
- CUSR0000SAH1 - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Shelter
- PCEPI - Personal Consumption Expenditures: Chain-type Price Index
- PCEPILFE - Personal Consumption Expenditures Excluding Food and Energy: Chain-type Price Index
- PPIACO - Producer Price Index by Commodity: All Commodities
- T10YIE - 10-Year Breakeven Inflation Rate
- U6RATE - Total Unemployed, Plus All Marginally Attached Workers Plus Total Employed Part Time for Economic Reasons
- PAYEMS - All Employees, Total Nonfarm
- CIVPART - Labor Force Participation Rate
- EMRATIO - Employment-Population Ratio
- UNEMPLOY - Unemployed
- CE16OV - Employment Level
- ICSA - Initial Claims
- JTSJOL - Job Openings: Total Nonfarm
- JTSQUR - Quits: Total Nonfarm
- GDPC1 - Real Gross Domestic Product
- A191RL1Q225SBEA - Real Gross Domestic Product: Percent Change from Preceding Period
- INDPRO - Industrial Production: Total Index
- TCU - Capacity Utilization: Total Index
- HOUST - New Privately-Owned Housing Units Started: Total Units
- PERMIT - New Privately-Owned Housing Units Authorized in Permit-Issuing Places: Total Units
- RSAFS - Advance Retail Sales: Retail Trade
- PCE - Personal Consumption Expenditures
- DSPIC96 - Real Disposable Personal Income
- PSAVERT - Personal Saving Rate
- M2SL - M2
- BOPGSTB - U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services: Balance
- MSPUS - Median Sales Price of Houses Sold for the United States
- HSN1F - New One Family Houses Sold: United States
- RHORUSQ156N - Homeownership Rate in the United States
- TTLCONS - Total Construction Spending: Total Construction in the United States
- RRVRUSQ156N - Rental Vacancy Rate in the United States
- TOTALSL - Total Consumer Credit Owned and Securitized
- REVOLSL - Revolving Consumer Credit Owned and Securitized
- DRCCLACBS - Delinquency Rate on Credit Card Loans, All Commercial Banks
- GDP - Gross Domestic Product
- GPDI - Gross Private Domestic Investment
- GCE - Government Consumption Expenditures and Gross Investment
- PCEC - Personal Consumption Expenditures
- NETEXP - Net Exports of Goods and Services
- GFDEBTN - Federal Debt: Total Public Debt
- GFDEGDQ188S - Federal Debt: Total Public Debt as Percent of Gross Domestic Product
- FYFSD - Federal Surplus or Deficit
- FGRECPT - Federal Government Current Receipts
- FGEXPND - Federal Government: Current Expenditures
- MANEMP - All Employees, Manufacturing
- USCONS - All Employees, Construction
- USTRADE - All Employees, Retail Trade
- USFIRE - All Employees, Financial Activities
- USGOVT - All Employees, Government
- AWHAETP - Average Weekly Hours of All Employees, Total Private
- DGORDER - Manufacturers' New Orders: Durable Goods
- NEWORDER - Manufacturers' New Orders: Nondefense Capital Goods Excluding Aircraft
- BUSINV - Total Business Inventories
- EXPGS - Exports of Goods and Services
- IMPGS - Imports of Goods and Services
- IR - Import Price Index (End Use): All Commodities
- PPIFIS - Producer Price Index by Commodity: Final Demand
Latest quarter (10-Q)
Latest 10-Q source: 0001437749-26-015656.
ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains, in addition to historical information, forward-looking statements by us with regard to our expectations as to financial results and other aspects of our business that involve risks and uncertainties and may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “may,” “should,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “plan,” “estimate,” “expect,” and “intend,” and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this report include statements regarding, among other things, the competition we expect to encounter as our business develops and competes in a broader range of Internet services, the Company's foreign currency requirements, specifically for the Canadian dollar, Euro and Indian Rupee; Wavelo, and Ting subscriber growth and retention rates; the number of new, renewed and transferred-in domain names we register as our business develops and competes; the effect of a potential generic top level domain (“gTLD”) expansion by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (“ICANN”) on the number of domains we register and the impact it may have on related revenues; our belief regarding the underlying platform for our domain services; our expectation regarding the trend of sales of domain names; our belief that, by increasing the number of services we offer, we will be able to generate higher revenues; our expectation regarding litigation; the potential impact of current and pending claims on our business; our valuations of certain deferred tax assets; our expectation to collect our outstanding receivables, net of our credit losses; our expectation regarding fluctuations in certain expense and cost categories; our expectations regarding liquidity and capital requirements of the Ting internet business as well as the outcome of any process to access strategic alternatives for this business; our expectations regarding the evaluation of our strategic alternatives for Ting; our expectations regarding our unrecognized tax; our expectations regarding cash from operations to fund our business; the impact of cancellations of or amendments to market development fund programs under which we receive funds; our expectation regarding our ability to manage realized gains/losses from foreign currency contracts; our partnership arrangement with an affiliate of Generate (as defined below); and general business conditions and economic uncertainty. These statements are based on management’s current expectations and are subject to a number of uncertainties and risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Many factors affect our ability to achieve our objectives and to successfully develop and commercialize our services including:
| • | Our ability to continue to generate sufficient working capital to meet our operating requirements; | |
|---|---|---|
| • | Our ability to service our debt commitments and preferred unit commitments; | |
| • | Our ability to maintain a good working relationship with our vendors and customers; |
| • | The ability of vendors to continue to supply our needs; | |
|---|---|---|
| • | Actions by our competitors; | |
| • | Our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel in our business and address operational efficiencies; | |
| • | Our ability to effectively manage our business; | |
| • | The effects of any material impairment of our goodwill or other indefinite-lived intangible assets; | |
| • | Our ability to obtain and maintain approvals from regulatory authorities on regulatory issues; | |
| • | Our ability to invest in the build-out of fiber networks into selected towns and cities to provide Internet access services to residential and commercial customers while maintaining the development and sales of our established services; | |
| • | Adverse tax consequences such as those related to changes in tax laws or tax rates or their interpretations, including with respect to the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ("OECD") model global minimum tax rules; | |
| • | Our ability to effectively respond or comply with new data protection regulations and any conflicts that may arise between such regulations and our ICANN contractual requirements; | |
| • | The application of business judgment in determining our global provision for income taxes, deferred tax assets or liabilities or other tax liabilities given that the ultimate tax determination is uncertain; | |
| • | Our ability to effectively integrate acquisitions; | |
| • | Our ability to monitor, assess and respond to changing geopolitical and economic environments including rising inflation and interest rates, tariffs and trade disputes, and geopolitical conflict; | |
| • | Our ability to collect anticipated payments from EchoStar in connection with the 10-year payment stream that is a function of the margin generated by the transferred subscribers over a 10-year period pursuant to the terms of the Asset Purchase Agreement dated August 1, 2020 between the Company and DISH Wireless LLC ("EchoStar", DISH's post-merger parent) (the “EchoStar Purchase Agreement”); |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| • | Our ability to maintain compliance with the operational and financial covenants of the 2023 and 2024 Notes as defined in "Note 8. Notes Payable" of the Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part I, of this Quarterly Report, which provides the Company with financing to invest in the expansion of fiber networks; |
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Table of Contents
| • | Our ability to maintain the safety and security of our systems and data; | |
|---|---|---|
| • | Our ability to successfully identify and implement any potential strategic alternatives for Ting; | |
| • | Pending or new litigation; and | |
| • | Factors set forth under the caption “Item 1A Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 filed with the SEC on March 12, 2026 (the “2025 Annual Report”) and in "Item 1A Risk Factors" in Part II of this Quarterly Report. |
This list of factors that may affect our future performance and financial and competitive position and the accuracy of forward-looking statements is illustrative, but it is by no means exhaustive. Accordingly, all forward-looking statements should be evaluated with the understanding of their inherent uncertainty. All forward-looking statements included in this document are based on information available to us as of the date of this document, and we assume no obligation to update these cautionary statements or any forward-looking statements, except as required by law. These statements are not guarantees of future performance.
We qualify all the forward-looking statements contained in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q by the foregoing cautionary statements.
OVERVIEW
Our mission is to provide simple useful services that help people unlock the power of the Internet.
We accomplish this by reducing the complexity of our customers’ experience as they access the Internet (at home or on the go) and while using Internet services such as domain name registration, email and other Internet related services. We are organized into three operating and reporting segments - Ting, Wavelo, and Tucows Domains. Each segment is differentiated primarily by their services, the markets they serve and the regulatory environments in which they operate. The Ting segment contains the operating results of our retail high speed Internet access operations, including its wholly owned subsidiaries - Cedar and Simply Bits. The Wavelo segment includes our platform and professional services offerings, as well as the billing solutions to Internet services providers ("ISPs"). Tucows Domains includes wholesale and retail domain name registration services, as well as value added services derived through our OpenSRS, ENom, Ascio, EPAG and Hover brands.
Our Chief Executive Officer ("CEO"), who is also our chief operating decision maker, regularly reviews the operating results of Ting, Wavelo and Tucows Domains as three distinct segments in order to make key operating decisions as well as evaluate segment performance. Certain revenues and expenses disclosed under the Corporate category are excluded from segment adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization ("Segment Adjusted EBITDA") results as they are centrally managed and not monitored by or reported to our CEO by segment, including mobile retail services, eliminations of intercompany transactions, portions of Finance and Human Resources that are centrally managed, Legal and Corporate Information Technology ("IT") shared services.
For the three months ended March 31, 2026 and March 31, 2025, we reported net revenue of $96.7 million and $94.6 million, respectively.
Ting
Ting and its wholly owned subsidiaries - Cedar and Simply Bits, includes the provision of high-speed Internet access services to select towns throughout the United States, with operations focused on serving existing markets. Our primary sales channel is through the Ting website. The primary focus of this segment is to provide reliable Gigabit Fiber and Fixed Internet services to consumer and business customers. Revenues from Ting Internet are all generated in the U.S. and are billed on a monthly basis and have no fixed contract terms, aside from certain bespoke contracts with business customers.
As of March 31, 2026, Ting Internet had access to 126,000 owned infrastructure serviceable addresses, 123,000 partner infrastructure serviceable addresses and 57,000 active subscribers under its management; compared to having access to 133,000 owned infrastructure serviceable addresses, 54,000 partner infrastructure serviceable addresses and 52,000 active subscribers under its management as of March 31, 2025. These figures exclude any changes in serviceable addresses and accounts attributable to Simply Bits.
Wavelo
Wavelo includes the provision of full-service platforms and professional services providing a variety of solutions that support Communication Services providers ("CSPs"), including subscription and billing management, network orchestration and provisioning, and individual developer tools. Wavelo's focus is to provide accessible telecom software to CSPs globally, minimizing network and technical barriers and improving Internet access worldwide. Wavelo's suite of flexible, cloud-based software simplifies the management of mobile and Internet network access, enabling CSPs to better utilize their existing infrastructure, focus on customer experience and scale their businesses faster. Wavelo launched as a proven asset for CSPs, with EchoStar using Wavelo’s Mobile Network Operating System ("MONOS") software to drive additional value within its Digital Operator Platform, and Ting integrating Wavelo’s Internet Service Operating System ("ISOS") and Subscriber Management ("SM") software to enable faster subscriber growth and footprint expansion. The Wavelo segment also includes the Platypus brand and platform, our legacy billing solution for ISPs. The revenues from Wavelo's MONOS, ISOS, SM and professional services are all generated in the U.S. and our customer agreements have set contract lengths with the underlying CSP. Similarly, Wavelo's revenues from Platypus are largely generated in
[Excerpt truncated for page length; source filing is linked above.]
Latest 10-K MD&A
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
OVERVIEW
Our mission is to provide simple useful services that help people unlock the power of the Internet.
25
We accomplish this by reducing the complexity of our customers’ experience as they access the Internet (at home or on the go) and while using Internet services such as domain name registration, email and other Internet related services. We are organized into three operating and reporting segments - Ting, Wavelo, and Tucows Domains. Each segment is differentiated primarily by their services, the markets they serve and the regulatory environments in which they operate. The Ting segment contains the operating results of our retail high speed Internet access operations, including its wholly owned subsidiaries - Cedar and Simply Bits. The Wavelo segment includes our platform and professional services offerings, as well as billing solutions to ISPs. Tucows Domains includes wholesale and retail domain name registration services, as well as value-added services derived through our OpenSRS, Enom, Ascio, EPAG, and Hover brands.
Our CEO, who is also our chief operating decision maker, reviews the operating results of Ting, Wavelo and Tucows Domains as three distinct segments in order to make key decisions and evaluate segment performance. Certain revenues and expenses disclosed under the Corporate category are excluded from segment results as they are centrally managed and not monitored by or reported to our CEO by segment. The exclusions include: retail mobile services, the 10-year payment stream on transferred legacy Mobile subscribers, eliminations of intercompany transactions, portions of Finance and Human Resources, Legal and Corporate IT shared services.
For the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, we reported revenue of $390 million, $362 million and $339 million, respectively.
Ting
Ting and its wholly owned subsidiaries, Cedar and Simply Bits, includes the provision of high-speed Internet access services to select towns throughout the United States, with operations focused on serving existing markets. Our primary sales channel is through the Ting website. The primary focus of this segment is to provide reliable Gigabit Fiber and Fixed Wireless Internet services to consumer and business customers. Revenues from Ting Internet are all generated in the U.S. and are billed on a monthly basis. Generally, Ting internet services have no fixed contract terms, aside from certain non-standard bespoke with business customers.
As of December 31, 2025, Ting Internet had access to 126,000 owned infrastructure serviceable addresses, 109,000 partner infrastructure serviceable addresses and 54,000 active accounts under its management; compared to having access to 134,000 owned infrastructure serviceable addresses, 45,000 partner infrastructure serviceable addresses and 51,000 active accounts under its management as of December 31, 2024. These figures exclude any changes in serviceable addresses and accounts attributable to the Simply Bits acquisition
On February 7, 2024 Ting committed to a workforce reduction (the "February 2024 Workforce Reduction"), as defined in "Note 21. Restructuring Costs" to the Consolidated Financial Statements, which aimed to realign the Company's operational structure within the Ting operating segment and reduce Ting's workforce by 13%, or 7% of the Company’s total workforce, to better support strategic objectives. The February 2024 Workforce Reduction was designed to streamline operations and reduce operating expenses within the Ting operating segment. Substantially all of the employees impacted by the workforce reduction were notified on February 7, 2024 and have since exited the Company. The Company incurred non-recurring charges of approximately $3.2 million in the first quarter of Fiscal 2024, in connection with the workforce reduction, primarily consisting of severance payments, notice pay, employee benefits contributions, and outplacement costs.
On October 30, 2024, Ting undertook the 2024 Capital Efficiency Plan, as defined in "Note 21. Restructuring Costs" to the Consolidated Financial Statements, to reflect the ongoing operational and financial prioritization of the Ting business and to lower the Company's year-over-year operating expenses and capital outlays, which impacted approximately 42% of Ting's workforce, or 17% of the Company's total workforce. The Company incurred non-recurring charges of approximately $7.7 million in the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2024 in connection with the 2024 Capital Efficiency Plan, primarily consisting of severance payments, notice pay, employee benefits contributions, and outplacement costs.
The February 2024 Workforce Reduction and 2024 Capital Efficiency Plan realized personnel and related expense (net of capitalization) savings with the majority of the savings in sales and marketing, including related network support functions, followed by smaller impacts in technical operations and development, direct cost of revenues, network, general and administrative, and other costs. In Fiscal 2024, the realized savings were partially offset by costs associated with both plans. These costs referenced above are classified as transitional and were excluded in our Adjusted EBITDA, which is a non-United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP") financial measure. Please see discussion of Adjusted EBITDA as well as the Adjusted EBITDA reconciliation to net income in the Results of Operations section below. The 2024 Capital Efficiency Plan has also translated into reduced capital expenditures related to growth and expansion of new markets, as Ting shifted to focus on completing builds in existing markets.
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The Company announced on November 6, 2025 that it commenced a process to review strategic alternatives for the Ting business, to address its ongoing liquidity requirements. The process is ongoing and the outcome and timing of this process are uncertain and may materially affect future revenues, operating costs and capital expenditures. If the strategic process does not result in a successful transaction, or if it is delayed or abandoned, Ting would be required to implement significant operational changes to preserve liquidity and continue as a going concern, which could include more substantial reductions in operating expenses, changes in market expansion plans, asset sales, or other restructuring actions. As a result, Ting’s future revenue growth, cost structure and overall financial performance may differ materially from current results and expectations.
Wavelo
Wavelo includes the provision of full-service platforms and professional services providing a variety of solutions that support CSPs, including subscription and billing management, network orchestration and provisioning, and individual developer tools. Wavelo's focus is to provide accessible telecom software to CSPs globally, minimizing network and technical barriers and improving internet access worldwide. Wavelo's suite of flexible, cloud-based software simplifies the management of mobile and internet network access, enabling CSPs to better utilize their existing infrastructure, focus on customer experience and scale their businesses faster. Wavelo launched as a proven asset for CSPs, with EchoStar using Wavelo’s MONOS software to drive additional value within its Digital Operator Platform and Ting integrating Wavelo’s ISOS and SM software to enable faster subscriber growth and footprint expansion. The Wavelo segment also includes the Platypus brand and platform, our legacy billing solution for ISPs. The revenues from Wavelo's platforms and professional services are all generated in the U.S. and our customer agreements have set contract lengths with the underlying CSP. Similarly, Wavelo's revenues from Platypus are largely generated in the U.S., with a small portion earned in Canada and other countries.
Tucows Domains
Tucows Domains includes wholesale and retail domain name registration services, as well as value-added services derived through our OpenSRS, Enom, Ascio, EPAG and Hover brands. Tucows Domains generates revenues primarily from the registration fees charged to resellers in connection with new, renewed and transferred domain name registrations. In addition, we earn revenues from the sale of retail domain name registration and email services to individuals and small businesses. Tucows Domains revenues are attributed to the country in which the contract originates, which is primarily in Canada and the U.S for OpenSRS and Enom brands whereas it is primarily in European nations for Ascio and EPAG.
Our primary distribution channel is a global network of more than 32,000 resellers that operate in approximately 200 countries and who typically provide their customers, the end-users of Internet-based services, with solutions for establishing and maintaining an online presence. Our primary focus is serving the needs of this network of resellers by providing the broadest portfolio of gTLD and country code top-level domain options and related services, a white-label platform that facilitates the provisioning and management of domain names, a powerful Application Program Interface, easy-to-use interfaces, comprehensive management and reporting tools, and proactive and attentive customer service. Our services are integral to the solutions that our resellers deliver to their customers. We provide “second tier” support to our resellers by email, chat and phone in the event resellers experience issues or problems with our services. In addition, our Network Operating Center proactively monitors all services and network infrastructure to address deficiencies before customer services are impacted.
We believe that the underlying platforms for our services are among the most mature, reliable and functional reseller-oriented provisioning and management platforms in our industry, and we continue to refine, evolve and improve these services for both resellers and end-users. Our business model is characterized primarily by non-refundable, up-front payments, which lead to recurring revenue from renewals and positive operating cash flow.
Wholesale, primarily branded as OpenSRS, Enom, EPAG and Ascio, derives revenue from its domain name registration service. Together the OpenSRS, Enom, EPAG and Ascio Domain Services manage 21.5 million domain names under the Tucows, Enom, EPAG and Ascio ICANN registrar accreditations and for other registrars under their own accreditations. Domains under management have decreased by 3.0 million, or 12%, since December 31, 2024.
Value-Added Services include hosted email which provides email delivery and webmail access to millions of mailboxes, Internet security services, WHOIS privacy other value-added services. All of these services are made available to end-users through a network of web hosts, ISPs, and other resellers around the world. In addition, we also derive revenue by monetizing domain names which are near the end of their lifecycle through expiry auction sale.
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Retail, primarily Hover, derives revenues from the sale of domain name registration and email services to individuals and small businesses. Our retail domain services also include our Personal Names Service – based on over 34,000 surname domains – that allows roughly two-thirds of Americans to purchase an email address based on their last name. The retail segment now includes the sale of the rights to its portfolio of surname domains used in connection with our RealNames email service and our Exact Hosting Service, that provides Linux hosting services for individual and small business websites.
KEY BUSINESS METRICS AND NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
We regularly review a number of business metrics, including the following key metrics and non-GAAP financial measure, to assist us in evaluating our business, measure the performance of our business model, identify trends impacting our business, determine resource allocations, formulate financial projections and make strategic business decisions. The following tables set forth the key business metrics which we believe are the primary indicators of our performance for the periods presented:
| Ting Internet | For the year ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||
| (in '000's) | |||||||||||
| Ting Internet accounts under management | 54 | 51 | 43 | ||||||||
| Ting Internet owned infrastructure serviceable addresses (1) | 126 | 134 | 121 | ||||||||
| Ting Internet partner infrastructure serviceable addresses (1) | 109 | 45 | 29 |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| (1) | Defined as premises to which Ting has the capability to provide a customer connection in a service area. |
| Tucows Domains | As of December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||
| (in '000's) | |||||||||||
| Total new, renewed and transferred-in domain name registrations provisioned(1) | 20,119 | 21,765 | 22,031 | ||||||||
| Domain names under management | 21,483 | 24,500 | 24,560 |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| (1) | For a discussion of these period-to-period changes in the domains provisioned and domains under management and how they impacted our financial results see the Net Revenues discussion below. |
Tucows reports all financial information in accordance with GAAP. Along with this information, to assist financial statement users in an assessment of our historical performance, we typically disclose and discuss a non-GAAP financial measure, Adjusted EBITDA, on investor conference calls and related events that excludes certain non-cash and other charges, as we believe that the non-GAAP information enhances investors’ overall understanding of our financial performance, but should not be considered in isolation from or as a replacement for the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures. Please see discussion of Adjusted EBITDA as well as the Adjusted EBITDA reconciliation to net income in the Results of Operations section below.
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OPPORTUNITIES, CHALLENGES AND RISKS
Our revenue is primarily realized in U.S. dollars and a major portion of our operating expenses are paid in Canadian dollars. Fluctuations in the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Canadian dollar may have a material effect on our business, financial condition and results from operations. In particular, we may be adversely affected by a significant weakening of the U.S. dollar against the Canadian dollar on a quarterly and an annual basis. Our policy with respect to foreign currency exposure is to manage our financial exposure to certain foreign exchange fluctuations with the objective of neutralizing some or all of the impact of foreign currency exchange movements by entering into foreign exchange forward contracts to mitigate the exchange risk on a portion of our Canadian dollar exposure. We may not always enter into such forward contracts and such contracts may not always be available and economical for us. Additionally, the forward rates established by the contracts may be less advantageous than the market rate upon settlement.
Ting
As an ISP, we have invested and expect to continue to invest in selective fiber to the home (“FTTH”) deployments in select markets in the United States. The investments are a reflection of our ongoing efforts to build FTTH network via strategic partnerships in communities we identify as having strong, unmet demand for FTTH services. Given the significant upfront build and operational investments for these FTTH deployments, there is risk that we may not fully recover these investments as a result of future technological and regulatory changes, competitive responses from incumbent local providers, and slower than expected market penetration or otherwise.
Wavelo
Wavelo launched as a proven asset for CSPs, with EchoStar using Wavelo’s MONOS software to drive additional value within its Digital Operator Platform. More recently, Ting Internet has also integrated Wavelo’s ISOS and SM software to enable faster subscriber growth and footprint expansion. With our external platform and professional services revenues concentrated to one customer in EchoStar, we are exposed to significant risk if we are unable to maintain this customer relationship or establish new relationships for any of our Platforms in the future. Additionally, our revenues as a platform provider are directly tied to the subscriber volumes of EchoStar's MVNO or MNO networks, and our profitability is contingent on the ability of EchoStar to continue to add subscribers, either from organic growth or from migration off legacy systems, onto our platforms.
Domain Services
The increased competition in the market for Internet services in recent years, which we expect will continue to intensify in the short and long term, poses a material risk for us. As new registrars are introduced, existing competitors expand service offerings and competitors offer price discounts to gain market share, we face pricing pressure, which can adversely impact our revenues and profitability. To address these risks, we have focused on leveraging the scalability of our infrastructure and our ability to provide proactive and attentive customer service to aggressively compete to attract new customers and to maintain existing customers.
Substantially all of our Tucows Domains revenue is derived from domain name registrations and related value-added services from wholesale and retail customers using our provisioning and management platforms. The market for wholesale registrar services is both price sensitive and competitive and is evolving with the introduction of new gTLDs, particularly for large volume customers, such as large web hosting companies and owners of large portfolios of domain names. We have a relatively limited ability to increase the pricing of domain name registrations without negatively impacting our ability to maintain or grow our customer base. Growth in our Tucows Domains revenue is dependent upon our ability to continue to attract and retain customers by maintaining consistent domain name registration, retaining high margin customers, value-added service renewal rates and upselling, and to grow our customer relationships through refining, evolving and improving our provisioning platforms and customer service for both resellers and end-users. In addition, Tucows Domains also generates revenues through the sale of names from our portfolio of domain names and through the OpenSRS, Enom, and Ascio Domain Expiry Streams. Our domains under management and transactions saw a moderate decrease in Fiscal 2025, largely as a result of select, low margin customers taking their business in-house. These fluctuations occur occasionally in our business, and with broad, diverse and global nature of our reseller base ensures that margin remains healthy, and will be augmented by the strategies discussed above to continue to grow our revenue base.
From time-to-time, certain vendors provide us with market development funds to expand or maintain the market position for their services. Any decision by these vendors to cancel or amend these programs for any reason may result in expenses in future periods not being commensurate with what we have achieved during past periods.
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Other opportunities, challenges and risks
The Company is entitled to a long-term payment stream that is a function of the margin generated by the transferred subscribers over the 10-year term of the EchoStar Purchase Agreement executed in the Fiscal 2020. This consideration structure may not prove to be successful or profitable in the long-term to us if the existing subscriber base churns at an above average rate. Additionally, given EchoStar controls the revenues and costs incurred associated with the acquired subscribers, there could arise a situation where profitability for the subscriber base is diminished either by lower price points or cost inflation. Additionally, as part of the EchoStar Purchase Agreement, the Company retained a small number of customer accounts associated with one MNO agreement that was not reassigned to EchoStar at time of sale. We continue to be subject to the minimum revenue commitments previously agreed to with this excluded MNO agreement. The Company is able to continue adding customers under the excluded MNO network in order to meet the commitment. However, with no direct ability to change customer pricing and limited ability to renegotiate contract costs or significant terms, the Company may be unable to meet the minimum commitments with this MNO partner and could incur significant and recurring penalties until such a time that the contract is complete. These penalties would negatively impact our operational performance and financial results if enforced by the MNO. As of December 31, 2025, the Company accrue
d $3.9 million of penalties associated with the minimum commitment shortfall. The Company expects to incur penalties through January 2026, at which point the initial term of the contract is complete.
The contract will automatically continue month-to-month thereafter, with no expected penalties in the month-to-month arrangement. Should we continue to be bound by any minimum purchase commitments in excess of our customer-based usage, our cost of revenue may increase, negatively impacting financial results.
As discussed above, the Company announced on November 6, 2025 that it commenced a process to review strategic alternatives for the Ting business, to address its ongoing liquidity requirements. The outcome and timing of this process are uncertain and may materially affect future revenues, operating costs and capital expenditures. As a result, Ting’s future revenue growth, cost structure and overall financial performance may differ materially from current results and expectations.
An in-depth assessment of the risk factors impacting our businesses has been discussed at length above in Part I under the caption "Item 1A Risk Factors" in this Annual Report.
Critical Accounting Estimates
The following is a discussion of our critical accounting estimates. Critical accounting estimates are defined as those that are both important to the portrayal of our financial condition and results of operations and are reflective of significant judgments and uncertainties made by management that may result in materially different results under different assumptions and conditions. “Note 2. Significant Accounting Policies” to the Consolidated Financial Statements for Fiscal 2025, includes further information on the significant accounting policies and methods used in the preparation of our Consolidated Financial Statements.
The preparation of the Consolidated Financial Statements in accordance with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. Management bases its estimates on historical experience, available market information as applicable, and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances at the time they are made. Under different assumptions or conditions, the actual results will differ, potentially materially, from those previously estimated. Many of the conditions impacting these assumptions and estimates are outside of the Company’s control. Management evaluates its estimates on an ongoing basis.
Acquired customer relationships
For acquired customer relationships, the Company estimates the fair value based on the income approach. The income approach is a valuation technique that calculates the fair value of an intangible asset based on the present value of future cash flows expected to be generated over the remaining useful life of the asset. This valuation involves significant subjectivity and estimation uncertainty, including assumptions related to future revenues attributable to acquired customer relationships, attrition rates and discount rates.
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Loss contingencies
We are sometimes subject to claims, suits, regulatory and government investigations, and other proceedings involving competition, intellectual property, privacy, tax and related compliance, labor and employment, commercial disputes, and other matters. Certain of these matters include speculative claims for substantial or indeterminate amounts of damages. We record a liability when we believe that it is probable that a loss has been incurred and the amount can be reasonably estimated.
We evaluate, on a regular basis, developments in our legal matters that could affect the amount of liability that has been previously accrued, and the matters and related reasonably possible losses disclosed, and make adjustments and changes to our disclosures as appropriate. Significant judgment is required to determine both the likelihood and the estimated amount of a loss related to such matters. Until the final resolution of such matters, there may be an exposure to loss in excess of the amount recorded, and such amounts could be material.
Impairment of goodwill
Goodwill is tested at least annually for impairment at an operating segment level, which the Company has assessed to be our reporting units. At December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, we had $130.4 million in goodwill, of which $107.7 million (83%) related to Tucows Domains and $22.7 million (17%) related to Ting.
We first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more-likely-than-not that goodwill is impaired, and if so, we perform the quantitative goodwill impairment test.
When performing a qualitative analysis, we evaluate factors such as macro-economic, industry and market conditions including the capital markets, the competitive environment, in addition to other internal factors including changes to our market capitalization, cash inflows, obligations and access to capital of our segments. Any changes to these factors could change our assessment of whether it is more-likely-than-not that goodwill is impaired and necessitate the quantitative analysis outlined below, and hence, result in a potential impairment charge. In addition, changes in our organizational structure or how our management allocates resources and assesses performance, could result in a change in our operating segments, requiring a reallocation of goodwill and an updated impairment analysis.
If a quantitative impairment test is required, we compare the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount, including goodwill. If the carrying amount of the reporting unit exceeded its fair value, we would recognize an impairment loss in an amount equal to that excess, limited to the total amount of goodwill. For the year ended December 31, 2025, a quantitative impairment test was required for Ting, but this did not result in the recognition of any goodwill impairment.
In performing the quantitative impairment test for Ting, we primarily used the income approach to determine fair value, in which future expected cash flows at the operating segment level are converted to present value using factors that consider the timing and risk of the future cash flows. Key assumptions in the income approach included the timing and amount of future cash flows, terminal value growth rates, terminal value margin rates, market participant assumptions, benchmarks and discount rates. Changes to any of these assumptions could result in a different fair value estimate, and hence result in an impairment.
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Impairment of long-lived assets
We review the carrying values of long-lived assets, such as property and equipment, finite-life intangible assets and right of use lease assets, for potential impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Impairment testing is performed at the asset group level, unless an asset generates independent cash flows or if the Company has determined the asset will be disposed of by abandonment in which case the impairment analysis is performed at the asset level. Our asset groups are equivalent to our operating segments, Tucows Domains, Ting and Wavelo.
We first perform a qualitative assessment to determine whether events or circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the asset or asset group may not be recoverable. This assessment evaluates market prices, changes in the use or physical condition of the asset, changes in legal factors or the business climate, financial performance and costs incurred, forecasts and any expectation of disposals of the asset or asset group. Any changes to these factors could change our assessment of whether the carrying amount is recoverable, and necessitate the quantitative analysis outlined below, and hence, result in a potential impairment charge.
If events or circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the asset or asset group may not be not recoverable, the Company compares the carrying amount of the asset group to the undiscounted cash flows expected to be generated over its remaining useful life. If the carrying amount exceeds the undiscounted future cash flows, the relevant asset group is considered to be impaired, and an impairment loss is recognized in the amount by which the carrying value of the asset group exceeds fair value. For the year ended December 31, 2025, this recoverability test was required for Ting, but this test did not result in the recognition of any long-lived asset impairment.
Assumptions used in estimating the undiscounted cash flows of Ting include the timing and amount of future cash flows and the useful lives of the property and equipment. Any changes to these factors could change our assessment of the recoverability of the Ting long-lived assets, and hence result in an additional potential impairment charge.
Further, the Company determined certain long-lived assets would be disposed of by abandonment. Management estimated the salvage value and recorded an impairment loss representing the difference between the carrying amount and salvage value of the assets. During the year ended December 31,2025, the Company recorded an impairment loss of $10.7 million primarily related to abandoned materials and supplies held for capital projects, as well as impairment of right-of-use operating lease assets. During the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company recorded an impairment loss of $17.7 million related to assets under construction and materials and supplies held for capital projects. The salvage value was estimated based on management’s judgment regarding realizability in secondary markets. Management based its estimates on historical experience, available market information as applicable, third party analysis and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances at the time they are made. Changes to any of these assumptions could result in a different fair value estimate, and hence result in further impairment losses.
Accounting for Income Taxes
We operate in various tax jurisdictions, and accordingly, our income is subject to varying tax rates. Losses incurred in one jurisdiction cannot be used to offset taxable income in another jurisdiction. Our ability to use income tax loss carryforwards and future income tax deductions is dependent upon our operations in the tax jurisdictions in which such losses or deductions arise. Significant judgment is required in determining our provision for income taxes and evaluating our uncertain tax positions.
We account for income taxes under the asset and liability method, which recognizes the deferred tax assets or liabilities for the anticipated future tax effects of temporary differences between the financial statement basis and the tax basis of our assets and liabilities. Valuation allowances are established to reduce deferred tax assets when it is more likely than not that the tax benefit from the deferred tax assets will not be realized. In assessing the need for valuation allowances, historical and future levels of income, expectations and risks associated with estimates of future taxable income and tax planning strategies are considered. As of December 31, 2025, the valuation allowance of $68.1 million was recorded, for those deferred tax assets where it is more likely than not that the tax benefit will not be realized.
We apply a two-step approach to recognizing and measuring uncertain tax positions. The first step is to evaluate the tax position for recognition by determining if, on the weight of available evidence, it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained upon audit, including resolution of related appeals or litigation processes, if any. The second step is to measure the tax benefit that is more than 50% likely to be realized upon settlement. As of December 31, 2025, we recognized uncertain tax provisions of $0.1 million within the provision for income taxes.
See "Note 9. Income Taxes" to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further information regarding income taxes.
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Changes in estimates
There were no material changes to our critical accounting estimates during Fiscal 2025.
Recently Issued Accounting Standards
See “Note 2. Significant Accounting Policies” of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for information regarding recently issued accounting standards.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2025 AS COMPARED TO THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2024
For additional information on our financial condition as of December 31, 2024 and results of operations, liquidity and capital resources for the year ended December 31, 2024 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2023, refer to Part II, “Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Annual Report on 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 which was filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on March 13, 2025.
NET REVENUES
Ting
Ting and its subsidiaries, Cedar, and Simply Bits, includes the provision of high-speed Internet access services to select towns throughout the United States. Our primary sales channel is through the Ting website. The primary focus of this segment is to provide reliable Gigabit Fiber and Fixed Wireless Internet services to consumer and business customers. Generally, Ting Internet services have no fixed contract terms, aside from certain bespoke contracts with business customers.
The Company's billing cycle for all Ting Internet customers is computed based on the customer's activation date. Since consideration is collected before the service period, revenue is initially deferred and recognized as the Company performs its obligation to provide Internet access within each reporting period. Incentive marketing credits given to customers are recorded as a reduction of revenue.
Our construction services are earned to revenue earned from the design, construction and installation of a fiber optic network for a specific customer contract. Control of the network infrastructure transfers to the customer as it is constructed.
Revenue from network construction is recognized over time, as Ting’s performance creates or enhances an asset that the customer controls as it is being constructed. Progress toward completion is measured using an output method, based primarily on network build milestones such as served addresses completed and accepted by the customer. Amounts billed in advance of revenue recognition are recorded as contract liabilities, while amounts recognized in excess of billings are recorded as contract assets. Where services require installation, revenue is not recognized until a customer's service is activated.
The Company records a reduction of revenues that reflects expected refunds, rebates and credit card charge-backs at the time of the sale based on historical experiences and current expectations.
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Wavelo
Platform Services
Tucows' Platform Services include the following full-service platforms from Wavelo, including MONOS, ISOS, SM and our legacy Platypus ISP Billing software. Under each of these platforms there are a variety of solutions that support CSPs, including subscription and billing management, network orchestration and provisioning, and individual developer tools. Wavelo launched as a proven asset for CSPs, with EchoStar using Wavelo’s MONOS software to drive additional value within its Digital Operator Platform. More recently, Ting Internet has also integrated Wavelo’s ISOS and SM software to enable faster subscriber growth and footprint expansion. Wavelo's customers are billed monthly, on a postpaid basis. The monthly fees are variable, based on the volume of our customers' subscribers utilizing the platform during a given month, to which minimums may apply. Customers may also be billed fixed platform fees and granted fixed credits as part of the consideration for long-term contracts. Consideration received is allocated to platform services and bundled professional services and recognized as each service obligation is fulfilled. Any fixed fees for Wavelo are recognized into revenue evenly over the service period, while variable usage fees are recognized each month as they are consumed. Professional services revenue is recognized as the hours of professional services granted to the customer are used or expire. When consideration for these platform services is received before the service is delivered, the revenue is initially deferred and recognized only as the Company performs its obligation to provide services. Likewise, if platform services are delivered before the Company has the unconditional right to invoice the customer, revenue is recognized as a Contract Asset.
Other Professional Services
This revenue stream includes any other professional services earned in connection with the Wavelo business from the provision of standalone technology services development work. These are billed based on separate Statement of Work arrangements for bespoke feature development. The Company recognizes revenue at the point-in-time when the final acceptance criteria have been met.
Tucows Domains
Wholesale - Domain Services
Domain registration contracts, which can be purchased for terms of one to ten years, provide our resellers and retail registrant customers with the exclusive right to a personalized internet address from which to build an online presence. The Company enters into domain registration contracts in connection with each new, renewed and transferred-in domain registration. At the inception of the contract, the Company charges and collects the registration fee for the entire registration period. Although fees are collected upfront, revenue from domain registrations is recognized ratably over the registration period as the Company provides the customer with a domain registration service, which represents a distinct performance obligation satisfied over time. The registration period begins once the Company has confirmed that the requested domain name has been appropriately recorded in the registry under contractual performance standards.
Historically, our wholesale domain service has constituted the largest portion of our business and encompasses all of our services as an accredited registrar related to the registration, renewal, transfer and management of domain names. In addition, this service fuels other revenue categories as it often is the initial service for which a reseller will engage us, enabling us to follow on with other services and allowing us to add to our portfolio by purchasing names registered through us upon their expiration. We expect Domain services will continue to be the largest portion of our business and will continue to enable us to sell add-on services.
The Company is an ICANN accredited registrar. Thus, the Company is the primary obligor with our reseller and retail registrant customers and is responsible for the fulfillment of our registrar services to those parties. As a result, the Company reports revenue in the amount of the fees we receive directly from our reseller and retail registrant customers. Our reseller customers maintain the primary obligor relationship with their retail customers, establish pricing and retain credit risk to those customers. Accordingly, the Company does not recognize any revenue related to transactions between our reseller customers and their ultimate retail customers.
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Wholesale – Value-Added Services
We derive revenue from domain related value-added services like digital certifications, WHOIS privacy and hosted email and by providing our resellers and retail registrant customers with tools and additional functionality to be used in conjunction with domain registrations. All domain-related value-added services are considered distinct performance obligations which transfer the promised service to the customer over the contracted term. Fees charged to customers for domain-related value-added services are collected at the inception of the contract, and revenue is recognized on a straight-line basis over the contracted term, consistent with the satisfaction of the performance obligations.
We also derive revenue from other value-added services, which primarily consists of proceeds from storefront and domain expiry streams.
Retail
We derive revenues mainly from Hover's retail properties through the sale of retail domain name registration and email services to individuals and small businesses. The retail segment includes the sale of the rights to its portfolio of surname domains used in connection with our RealNames email service and Linux hosting services for websites through our Exact Hosting brand.
Corporate and all other - Mobile services and eliminations
Although we still provide mobile telephony services to a small subset of customers retained through the Ting Mobile brand as part of the EchoStar Purchase Agreement executed in Fiscal 2020, this revenue stream no longer represents the Company's strategic focus going forward. Instead we have transitioned towards being a platform provider for CSPs globally via Wavelo. Retail telephony and transition services are not part of our reportable segments under ASC 280 Segment Reporting "ASC 280") and their results are presented as part of the All Other category.
Ting Mobile wireless usage contracts grant customers access to standard talk, text and data mobile services. Ting Mobile contracts are billed based on the customer's selected rate plan, which can either be usage-based or an unlimited plan. All rate plan options are charged to customers on a postpaid, monthly basis at the end of their billing cycle. All future revenues associated with the retail mobile services stream will only be for this subset of customers retained by the Company, as mentioned above. Ting Mobile services are primarily contracted through the Ting website, for one month at a time and contain no commitment to renew the contract following each customer's monthly billing cycle. The Company's billing cycle for all Ting Mobile customers is computed based on the customer's activation date. In order to recognize revenue as the Company satisfies its obligations, we compute the amount of revenues earned but not billed from the end of each billing cycle to the end of each reporting period. In addition, revenues associated with the sale of wireless devices and accessories are recognized when title and risk of loss is transferred to the customer and shipment has occurred. Incentive marketing credits given to customers are recorded as a reduction of revenue.
These mobile services revenue streams also include transitional services provided to EchoStar. These are billed monthly at set and established rates for services provided in period and include the provision of sales, marketing, order fulfillment, and data analytics related to the legacy customer base sold to EchoStar. The Company recognizes revenue as the Company satisfies its obligations to provide transitional services.
As a form of consideration for the sale of the customer relationships, the Company receives a payout on the margin associated with the legacy customer base sold to EchoStar, over a period of 10 years. This has been classified as Other Income and not considered revenue in Fiscal 2024 or 2025.
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The following table presents our net revenues, by revenue source:
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | ||||||
| Ting: | |||||||
| Fiber Internet Services | $ | 66,178 | $ | 59,732 | |||
| Construction services | 2,044 | - | |||||
| Total Ting | 68,222 | 59,732 | |||||
| Wavelo: | |||||||
| Platform Services | 47,623 | 39,824 | |||||
| Other professional services | - | 37 | |||||
| Total Wavelo | 47,623 | 39,861 | |||||
| Tucows Domains: | |||||||
| Wholesale | |||||||
| Domain Services | 204,150 | 197,113 | |||||
| Value-Added Services | 24,047 | 19,882 | |||||
| Total Wholesale | 228,197 | 216,995 | |||||
| Retail | 38,902 | 37,644 | |||||
| Total Tucows Domains | 267,099 | 254,639 | |||||
| Corporate and all other*: | |||||||
| Mobile Services and eliminations | 7,356 | 8,043 | |||||
| $ | 390,300 | $ | 362,275 | ||||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 28,025 | |||||
| Increase - percentage | 8 | % |
*Corporate and all other includes revenues from Ting Mobile, corporate overhead functions, and other activities that do not meet the criteria for separate reportable segment disclosure under ASC 280. Ting Mobile is not managed as a separate reportable segment and is included within Corporate and all other for purposes of segment reporting. Intersegment revenues and expenses are eliminated in consolidation.
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The following table presents our net revenues, by revenue source, as a percentage of total net revenues:
| Year ended December 31, | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||
| Ting: | ||||||||
| Fiber Internet Services | 17 | % | 16 | % | ||||
| Construction services | 1 | % | - | |||||
| Total Ting | 18 | % | 16 | % | ||||
| Wavelo: | ||||||||
| Platform Services | 12 | % | 11 | % | ||||
| Other Professional Services | 0 | % | 0 | % | ||||
| Total Wavelo | 12 | % | 11 | % | ||||
| Tucows Domains: | ||||||||
| Wholesale | ||||||||
| Domain Services | 52 | % | 55 | % | ||||
| Value-Added Services | 6 | % | 5 | % | ||||
| Total Wholesale | 58 | % | 60 | % | ||||
| Retail | 10 | % | 10 | % | ||||
| Total Tucows Domains | 68 | % | 70 | % | ||||
| Corporate and all other*: | ||||||||
| Mobile services and eliminations | 2 | % | 3 | % | ||||
| 100 | % | 100 | % |
*Corporate and all other includes revenues from Ting Mobile, corporate overhead functions, and other activities that do not meet the criteria for separate reportable segment disclosure under ASC 280. Ting Mobile is not managed as a separate reportable segment and is included within Corporate and all other for purposes of segment reporting. Intersegment revenues and expenses are eliminated in consolidation.
Total net revenues for Fiscal 2025 increased by $28.0 million, or 8%, to $390.3 million compared to Fiscal 2024. The increase in net revenue was driven by revenues from Tucows Domains, Ting, and Wavelo; partially offset by a decline in revenues from Mobile Services and eliminations. The Tucows Domains segment increased $12.5 million in the current period primarily driven by passthrough pricing increases and strong expiry auction revenue performance. The Ting segment increased $8.5 million in the current period as a result of subscriber growth on our Fiber network across the United States. The Wavelo segment increased $7.8 million in the current period primarily driven by rate increases and subscriber growth. Mobile Services and eliminations decreased by $0.7 million attributable to increased intersegment revenues.
Contract liabilities at December 31, 2025 decreased by $3.9 million to $152.9 million from $156.8 million at December 31, 2024. The decrease was driven primarily by lower billings in Tucows Domains due to a decrease in domain names under management, and furthered by a small decrease in Wavelo as bundled professional services available in select customer contracts expired and were recognized into revenue. This was partially offset by an increase in Ting Internet with new construction in Laguna Woods Village, California, United States.
A customer, EchoStar, within our Wavelo segment accounted for 11.7% of total net revenue during the year ended December 31, 2025 and 10.7% of total net revenue during the year ended December 31, 2024. EchoStar accounted for 44% of total accounts receivable at December 31, 2025 and 56% of total accounts receivable at December 31, 2024. Though a significant portion of the Company’s domain services revenues are prepaid by our customers, where the Company does collect receivables, management judgment is required at the time revenue is recorded to assess whether the collection of the resulting receivables is reasonably assured. On an ongoing basis, we assess the ability of our customers to make required payments. Our expected credit losses were $1.3 million and $0.9 million as of December 31, 2025 and at December 31, 2024, respectively. Based on this assessment, we expect the carrying amount of our outstanding receivables, net of expected credit losses, to be fully collected.
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Ting
Ting generated $68.2 million in net revenue during Fiscal 2025, which increased by $8.5 million or 14% compared to Fiscal 2024. This growth is driven by continued subscriber growth across our Fiber network and small increases in average revenue per user ("ARPU") relative to Fiscal 2024, the continued growth of available serviceable addresses in Ting towns throughout the United States, and new construction in the Laguna Woods Village, California, United States.
As of December 31, 2025, Ting Internet had access to 126,000 owned infrastructure serviceable addresses, 109,000 partner infrastructure serviceable addresses and 54,000 active accounts under its management; compared to having access to 134,000 owned infrastructure serviceable addresses, 45,000 partner infrastructure serviceable addresses and 51,000 active accounts under its management as of December 31, 2024. These figures exclude any changes in serviceable addresses and accounts attributable to Simply Bits.
Wavelo
Platform Services
Wavelo's Platform services generated $47.6 million in net revenue during Fiscal 2025, which increased by $7.8 million or 19.6% compared to Fiscal 2024. The increase in Fiscal 2025 net revenue is driven primarily by incremental revenues from existing customers, EchoStar following contract renewal, Ting subscriber growth, as well as new customers. Wavelo revenues continue to benefit from our customers' own subscriber growth. Intersegment revenues earned by Wavelo for provision of services on the Wavelo platforms for Ting and Mobile Services are included in Wavelo's segment revenues for purposes of segment analysis, but are ultimately eliminated upon consolidation. The elimination impact is presented below in Corporate and all other - Mobile services and eliminations.
Other Professional Services
Wavelo's Other Professional Services net revenue decreased from less than $0.1 million in Fiscal 2024 to NIL million in Fiscal 2025. These revenues related to the provision of standalone technology services development for our CSP customers and are non-recurring and often one-time in nature, and accordingly can fluctuate period over period. These revenues depend on the volume (if any) and scope of standalone technology services development work our customers engage us to perform. In the current period, we performed no standalone professional services for our customers.
Tucows Domains
Wholesale - Domain Services
Wholesale Tucows Domains generated $204.2 million in net revenue during Fiscal 2025, which increased by $7.0 million or 4% compared to Fiscal 2024. Increases from Wholesale domain registrations were driven by various passthrough price increases from select registry cost increases since Fiscal 2024, as well as increased recognition of revenue previously deferred, offsetting the lower billings from the decrease in domain names under management.
Together, the OpenSRS, Enom, EPAG and Ascio Domain Services manage 21.5 million domain names under the Tucows, Enom, EPAG and Ascio ICANN registrar accreditations and for other registrars under their own accreditations. Domains under management has decreased by 3.0 million domain names, or 12%, since December 31, 2024, driven by some resellers migrating management of their domains in-house.
Wholesale - Value-Added Services
Wholesale value-added services generated $24.0 million in net revenue during Fiscal 2025, which increased by $4.2 million or 21% compared to Fiscal 2024. The increase in value-added service revenue was driven by strong expiry auction sales, slightly offset by a small decrease in certificates sales.
Retail
Retail domain services generated $38.9 million in net revenue during Fiscal 2025, which increased by $1.3 million or 3% compared to Fiscal 2024. The increase in retail revenue was primarily driven by passthrough price increases across domain name registrations and RealNames products in Fiscal 2025.
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Corporate and all other - Mobile services and eliminations
Mobile Services and eliminations generated $7.4 million in net revenue during Fiscal 2025, which decreased by $0.7 million or 9% compared to Fiscal 2024. The decrease was driven by an increase in intersegment corporate eliminations of $0.6 million, primarily as a result of increased revenues associated with platform billing between Wavelo and Ting as well as Wavelo and Mobile Services. This was furthered by a decrease of less than $0.1 million associated with the mobile telephony services and device revenues from the small group of customers retained by the Company as part of the EchoStar Purchase Agreement. This decrease was primarily a result of the limited subscriber growth and plan mix shifting towards lower price point rate plans compared to Fiscal 2024.
COST OF REVENUES
Ting
Cost of revenues primarily includes the costs for provisioning high speed Internet access for Ting and its subsidiaries, Cedar and Simply Bits, which is comprised of network access fees paid to third-parties to use their network, leased circuit costs to directly support enterprise customers, the personnel and related expenses (excluding costs eligible for capitalization) for the physical planning, design, construction and build out of the physical Fiber network, as well as personnel and related expenses (excluding costs eligible for capitalization) for the installation, activation, repair, maintenance and overall field service delivery of the Ting business. Other costs include field vehicle expenses, and small sundry equipment and supplies consumed in building the Fiber network.
Cost of revenues for construction services relate to costs for the design, construction and installation of a fiber optic network for a specific customer contract. Control of the network infrastructure transfers to the customer as it is constructed.
Wavelo
Platform Services
Cost of revenues to provide the MONOS, ISOS and SM platforms, as well as our legacy Platypus ISP Billing software services including network access, provisioning and billing services for CSPs. This includes the amortization of any capitalized contract fulfillment costs over the period consistent with the pattern of transferring network access, provisioning and billing services to which the cost relates. Additionally, this includes any costs paid to third-party public cloud hosting or other service providers for customer specific platform deployment or delivery costs.
Other Professional Services
Cost of revenues to provide standalone technology services development work to our CSP customers to help support their businesses. This includes any personnel and contractor fees for any client service resources retained by the Company. Only a subset of the Company's employee base provides professional services to our customers. This cost reflects that group of resources.
Tucows Domains
Wholesale - Domain Services
Cost of revenues for domain registrations represents the amortization of registry and accreditation fees on a basis consistent with the recognition of revenues from our customers, namely ratably over the term of provision of the service. Registry fees, the primary component of cost of revenues, are paid in full when the domain is registered, and are initially recorded as prepaid domain registry fees. This accounting treatment reasonably approximates a recognition pattern that corresponds with the provision of the services during the period. Market development fund rebates, provided by registries as incentives for certain top-level domains, are reflected as a reduction to cost of goods sold in the month they are received.
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Wholesale - Value-Added Services
Costs of revenues for value-added services include licensing and royalty costs related to the provisioning of certain components for hosted email and fees paid to third-party hosting services. Fees payable for trust certificates are amortized on a basis consistent with the provision of service, generally one year, while email hosting fees and monthly printing fees are included in cost of revenues in the month they are incurred.
Retail
Costs of revenues for our provision and management of Internet services through our retail site, Hover.com, include the amortization of registry fees on a basis consistent with the recognition of revenues from our customers, namely ratably over the term of provision of the service. Registry fees, the primary component of cost of revenues, are paid in full when the domain is registered, and are recorded as prepaid domain registry fees and are expensed ratably over the renewal term. Costs of revenues for our surname portfolio represent the amortization of registry fees for domains in our portfolio over the renewal period, which is generally one year, the value attributed under intangible assets to any domain name sold and any impairment charges that may arise from our assessment of our domain name intangible assets.
Corporate and all other - Mobile services and eliminations
Cost of revenues for retail mobile services includes the costs of provisioning mobile services, which is primarily our customers' voice, messaging, data usage provided by our MNO partner, and the costs of providing mobile phone hardware, which is the cost of mobile phone devices and SIM cards sold to our customers, order fulfillment related expenses, and inventory write-downs. Included in the costs of provisioning mobile services are any penalties associated with the minimum commitments with our MNO partner.
These mobile services costs also include the personnel and related costs of transitional services provided to EchoStar. These are billed monthly at set and established rates for services provided in period and include the provision of sales, marketing, customer support, order fulfillment, and data analytics related to the legacy customer base sold to EchoStar. The Company recognizes costs as the Company satisfies its obligations to provide professional services.
Network expenses
Network expenses include personnel and expenses related to platform and network site reliability engineering, network operations centers, IT infrastructure and supply chain teams that support our various business segments. It also includes the depreciation and any impairment charges of property and equipment related to our networks and platforms, amortization of any intangible assets related to our networks and platforms, communication and productivity tool costs, and equipment maintenance costs. Communication and productivity tool costs include collaboration, customer support, bandwidth, co-location and provisioning costs we incur to support the supply of all our services, across our segments.
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The following table presents our cost of revenues, by revenue source:
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | ||||||
| Ting: | |||||||
| Fiber Internet Services | $ | 27,306 | $ | 18,754 | |||
| Construction services | 1,016 | - | |||||
| Total Ting | 28,322 | 18,754 | |||||
| Wavelo: | |||||||
| Platform Services | 1,111 | 1,248 | |||||
| Other Professional Services | - | 25 | |||||
| Total Wavelo | 1,111 | 1,273 | |||||
| Tucows Domains: | |||||||
| Wholesale | |||||||
| Domain Services | 163,951 | 158,383 | |||||
| Value-Added Services | 1,828 | 2,075 | |||||
| Total Wholesale | 165,779 | 160,458 | |||||
| Retail | 17,205 | 16,625 | |||||
| Total Tucows Domains | 182,984 | 177,083 | |||||
| Corporate and all other*: | |||||||
| Mobile services and eliminations | 18,176 | 12,637 | |||||
| Network Expenses: | |||||||
| Network, other costs | 23,032 | 28,164 | |||||
| Network, depreciation and amortization costs | 42,721 | 41,335 | |||||
| 65,753 | 69,499 | ||||||
| $ | 296,346 | $ | 279,246 | ||||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 17,100 | |||||
| Increase - percentage | 6 | % |
*Corporate and all other includes cost of revenues from Ting Mobile, corporate overhead functions, and other activities that do not meet the criteria for separate reportable segment disclosure under ASC 280. Ting Mobile is not managed as a separate reportable segment and is included within Corporate and all other for purposes of segment reporting. Intersegment revenues and expenses are eliminated in consolidation.
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The following table presents our cost of revenues, as a percentage of total cost of revenues for the periods presented:
| Year ended December 31, | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||
| Ting: | ||||||||
| Fiber Internet Services | 9 | % | 7 | % | ||||
| Construction services | - | - | ||||||
| Total Ting | 9 | % | 7 | % | ||||
| Wavelo: | ||||||||
| Platform Services | - | - | ||||||
| Other Professional Services | - | - | ||||||
| Total Wavelo | - | - | ||||||
| Tucows Domains: | ||||||||
| Wholesale | ||||||||
| Domain Services | 56 | % | 55 | % | ||||
| Value-Added Services | 1 | % | 1 | % | ||||
| Total Wholesale | 57 | % | 56 | % | ||||
| Retail | 6 | % | 6 | % | ||||
| Total Tucows Domains | 63 | % | 62 | % | ||||
| Corporate and all other*: | ||||||||
| Mobile services and eliminations | 6 | % | 5 | % | ||||
| Network Expenses: | ||||||||
| Network, other costs | 8 | % | 11 | % | ||||
| Network, depreciation and amortization costs | 14 | % | 15 | % | ||||
| 22 | % | 26 | % | |||||
| 100 | % | 100 | % |
*Corporate and all other includes cost of revenues from Ting Mobile, corporate overhead functions, and other activities that do not meet the criteria for separate reportable segment disclosure under ASC 280. Ting Mobile is not managed as a separate reportable segment and is included within Corporate and all other for purposes of segment reporting. Intersegment revenues and expenses are eliminated in consolidation.
Total cost of revenues for Fiscal 2025 increased by $17.1 million, or 6%, to $296.3 million, from $279.2 million in Fiscal 2024. The increase in cost of revenues was driven by increases across Ting, Tucows Domains, and Mobile Services and eliminations by $9.6 million, $5.9 million, and $5.5 million, respectively. The increase in Ting of $9.6 million was largely driven by a $3.0 million one-time Ting lease accounting adjustment, as well as lease accounting impacts of the Memphis network lease and construction contract costs in Laguna Woods Village, both of which are new in Fiscal 2025, and cost of revenues associated with growth in active subscribers. The increase in Tucows Domains of $5.9 million was primarily a result of cost increases from select registries through the current period. The increase in Mobile Services and eliminations of $5.5 million was primarily a result of escalating MNO minimums and plan mix changes in the current period. These increases were partially offset by decreases across Network Expenses and Wavelo of $3.7 million and $0.2 million, respectively. The decrease in Network Expenses of $3.7 million was primarily driven by decreased people costs following the February 2024 Workforce Reduction and 2024 Capital Efficiency Plan and other restructuring efforts, as well as a decrease in colocation fees following the closure of one colocation data center; partially offset by an increase in depreciation costs. The slight decrease in Wavelo of $0.2 million was primarily driven by the savings in customer-specific public cloud hosting costs; partially offset by recognition of labor costs to deliver bundled professional services with EchoStar.
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Deferred costs of fulfillment as of December 31, 2025 decreased by $4.0 million, or 3%, to $113.0 million from $117.0 million at December 31, 2024. This decrease was driven by Tucows Domains with a decrease of $5.2 million from the decrease in current period billings as a result of a decrease in domain names under management, consistent with the decrease in contract liabilities discussed above. This decrease was partially offset by an increase in Ting of $1.2 million related to Laguna Woods Village, California, United States construction contract costs.
Ting
In Fiscal 2025, costs related to provisioning high speed Internet access for customers of Ting and its subsidiaries, Cedar and Simply Bits, increased by $9.6 million, or 51%, to $28.3 million as compared to $18.8 million during Fiscal 2024. This increase was primarily driven by a $3.0 million one-time lease accounting adjustments to true up lease expense for three partner network leases, lease accounting impacts of the Memphis network lease, and the Laguna Woods Village construction contract costs, with the remaining variance driven by the subscriber and serviceable address growth across our Fiber network, consistent with the discussion in the Net Revenue section above.
Wavelo
Platform Services
Cost of revenues from Wavelo Platform Services for Fiscal 2025 decreased by $0.1 million, or 11%, to $1.1 million from $1.2 million in Fiscal 2024. This decrease was driven by savings in customer specific public cloud hosting costs, and partially offset by recognition of labor costs to deliver bundled professional services with EchoStar.
Other Professional Services
Cost of revenues from Other Professional Services for Fiscal 2025 decreased from less than $0.1 million in Fiscal 2024 to NIL million in the current period. Cost of revenues to provide other professional services change depending on the nature and scope of work we are engaged to perform for our customers for select statements of work. These cost of revenues depend on the volume (if any) and scope of standalone technology services development work our customers engage us to perform. In the current period, we performed no standalone professional services for our customers. The decrease is aligned to the decrease in Net Revenues from other professional services discussed above.
Domain Services
Wholesale - Domain Services
Costs for Wholesale domain services for Fiscal 2025 increased by $5.6 million, or 4%, to $164.0 million as compared to $158.4 million in Fiscal 2024. Increases from Wholesale domain services were primarily driven by various registry gTLD cost increases since Fiscal 2024, as well as increased recognition of costs previously deferred, driven by lower billings due to a decrease in domain names under management. The increase is aligned to the increase in Net Revenues discussed above.
Wholesale - Value-Added Services
Costs for wholesale value-added services for Fiscal 2025 decreased by $0.2 million, or 12%, to $1.8 million as compared to $2.1 million in Fiscal 2024. This decrease was driven by the slight decrease in certificates sales, aligned to the discussion in Net Revenues above.
Retail
Costs for retail domain services for Fiscal 2025 increased by $0.6 million, or 3%, to $17.2 million as compared to $16.6 million in Fiscal 2024. Increases were driven by various registry gTLD cost increases.
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Corporate and all other - Mobile services and eliminations
Cost of revenues from Mobile Services and Eliminations for Fiscal 2025 increased by $5.5 million, or 44%, to $18.2 million as compared to $12.6 million in Fiscal 2024. The increase is primarily driven by increased costs associated with mobile telephony services from the small group of customers retained by the Company as part of the EchoStar Purchase Agreement due to escalating MNO minimum commitments, and to a lesser extent changes in usage patterns. The Company incurred $4.5 million of penalties associated with the MNO minimum commitment shortfall in Fiscal 2025, as compared to $1.8 million in Fiscal 2024. The Company expects to incur penalties through January 2026, at which point the initial term of the contract is complete. The contract will automatically continue month-to-month thereafter, with no expected penalties in the month-to-month arrangement. This was partially offset by a decrease in transitional services costs provided to EchoStar in connection with the legacy Ting Mobile customer base, consistent with the above discussion around Net Revenues.
Network Expenses
Network costs for Fiscal 2025 decreased by $3.7 million, or 5% to $65.8 million as compared to $69.5 million in Fiscal 2024. The current period decrease was primarily driven by $4.5 million in personnel related cost savings resulting from the 2024 February Workforce Reduction and the 2024 Capital Efficiency Plan, executed in October 2024, as well as other restructuring efforts. This was furthered by a $0.9 million decrease in colocation fees following the closure of one colocation data center, and a $0.6 million decrease in impairment (for a total of $0.8 million of impairment in Fiscal 2025, related to obsolete and damaged materials and supplies held for capital projects). These decreases were offset by an increase in network depreciation of $1.4 million.
SALES AND MARKETING
Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of personnel costs. These costs include commissions and related expenses of our sales, product management, public relations, call center, support and marketing personnel. Other sales and marketing expenses include customer acquisition costs, advertising and other promotional costs.
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||
| Sales and marketing | $ | 48,381 | $ | 59,382 | ||||
| Decrease over prior period | $ | (11,001 | ) | |||||
| Decrease - percentage | (19 | )% | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 12 | % | 16 | % |
Sales and marketing expenses for Fiscal 2025 decreased by $11.0 million, or 19%, to $48.4 million as compared to Fiscal 2024. The decrease was primarily driven by reduced personnel costs following the 2024 February Workforce Reduction and the 2024 Capital Efficiency Plan, as well as Ting's reduced marketing and customer acquisition spend as the segment looks to measure and optimize channel spending. This decrease was also furthered by reduced Ting facilities expenses (reclassified to General & Administrative in Fiscal 2025 on a prospective basis).
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Excluding movements in exchange rates and the unknown outcome of the process to review strategic alternatives for the Ting business, we expect sales and marketing expenses for Fiscal 2026, for the Tucows businesses excluding Ting to increase in absolute dollars, as we adjust our marketing programs to facilitate the continued expansion of our operations. If the Ting strategic process does not result in a successful transaction, or if it is delayed or abandoned, Ting would be required to implement significant operational changes to preserve liquidity which could include substantial reductions in operating expenses, including further reduction to sales and marketing expenses.
TECHNICAL OPERATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT
Technical operations and development expenses consist primarily of personnel costs and related expenses required to support the development of new or enhanced service offerings and the maintenance and upgrading of existing infrastructure. This includes expenses incurred in the research, design and development of technology that we use to register domain names, provide Wavelo's platform services, provide Ting's Internet Services, email, retail, domain portfolio and other Internet services. All technical operations and development costs are expensed as incurred, unless eligible for capitalization as internal use software.
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||
| Technical operations and development | $ | 17,813 | $ | 18,627 | ||||
| Decrease over prior period | $ | (814 | ) | |||||
| Decrease - percentage | (4 | )% | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 5 | % | 5 | % |
Technical operations and development expenses for Fiscal 2025 decreased by $0.8 million, or 4%, to $17.8 million as compared to Fiscal 2024. The decrease was primarily driven by reduced personnel costs following the 2024 Capital Efficiency Plan, as well as reduced contracted services spending for tools, systems, and labor to support the technical operations and development of our systems and platforms.
Excluding movements in exchange rates and the unknown outcome of the process to review strategic alternatives for the Ting business, we expect technical operations and development expenses for Fiscal 2026 for the Tucows businesses excluding Ting to increase in absolute dollars, as we adjust our technical programs to facilitate the continued expansion of our operations. If the Ting strategic process does not result in a successful transaction, or if it is delayed or abandoned, Ting would be required to implement significant operational changes to preserve liquidity which could include substantial reductions in operating expenses, including further reduction to technical operations and development expenses.
GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of compensation and related costs for managerial and administrative personnel, fees for professional services, public listing expenses, rent, foreign exchange and other general corporate expenses.
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||
| General and administrative | $ | 42,875 | $ | 37,068 | ||||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 5,807 | ||||||
| Increase - percentage | 16 | % | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 11 | % | 10 | % |
General and administrative expenses for Fiscal 2025 increased by $5.8 million, or 16%, to $42.9 million as compared to Fiscal 2024. The increase was primarily driven by Ting facilities expenses (reclassified from Sales and Marketing in Fiscal 2025 on a prospective basis), leadership severance costs, and increased miscellaneous costs to support general and administrative functions. These increases were partially offset by some personnel savings relating to the 2024 February Workforce Reduction and the 2024 Capital Efficiency Plan and lower professional services fees incurred in the current period.
45
Excluding movements in exchange rates and the unknown outcome of the process to review strategic alternatives for the Ting business to address its ongoing liquidity requirements, we expect general and administrative expenses for Fiscal 2026 for the Tucows businesses excluding Ting to increase in absolute dollars, as we adjust our general & administrative spending to facilitate the continued expansion of our operations. If the Ting strategic process does not result in a successful transaction, or if it is delayed or abandoned, Ting would be required to implement significant operational changes to preserve liquidity which could include substantial reductions in operating expenses, including further reduction to general and administrative expenses.
IMPAIRMENT AND RESTRUCTURING
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | For the Year Ended | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||
| Impairment of property and equipment | $ | 10,724 | $ | 17,726 | ||||
| Restructuring charges | - | 10,954 | ||||||
| Decrease over prior period | (17,956 | ) | ||||||
| Decrease - percentage | 63 | % | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 3 | % | 8 | % |
Impairment and restructuring decreased by $18.0 million, or 63%, to $10.7 million as compared to Fiscal 2024.
During Fiscal 2025, the Company recorded an impairment loss of $10.7 million primarily related to abandoned materials and supplies held for capital projects, as well as impairment of right-of-use operating lease assets. This is down from Fiscal 2024, where the Company recorded an impairment loss of $17.7 million related to assets under construction and materials and supplies held for capital projects. These assets were deemed no longer necessary for future operations following the implementation of the 2024 Capital Efficiency Plan, which included the decision to cease new market expansions in select Ting markets.
During the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company also incurred $11.0 million in one-time costs related to both the February 2024 Workforce Reduction and the 2024 Capital Efficiency Plan restructurings, which were both accounted for under
ASC 420 - Exit or Disposal Cost Obligations. These costs associated with the February 2024 Workforce Reduction and 2024 Capital Efficiency Plan predominantly consisted of termination benefits for the terminated employees associated with the restructuring, continuation of benefits, outplacement costs, and professional services. No such restructuring charges or events were incurred in Fiscal 2025.
DEPRECIATION OF PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||
| Depreciation of property and equipment | $ | 321 | $ | 451 | ||||
| Decrease over prior period | $ | (130 | ) | |||||
| Decrease - percentage | (29 | )% | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | - | % | - | % |
Depreciation costs for Fiscal 2025 decreased by $0.1 million to $0.3 million as compared to Fiscal 2024. The slight decrease was due to lower additions to property and equipment in Fiscal 2025 while additions from prior years became fully depreciated.
AMORTIZATION OF INTANGIBLE ASSETS
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | $ | 3,205 | $ | 3,834 | ||||
| Decrease over prior period | $ | (629 | ) | |||||
| Decrease - percentage | (16 | )% | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 1 | % | 1 | % |
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Amortization of intangible assets for Fiscal 2025 decreased by $0.6 million, or 16%, to $3.2 million as compared to Fiscal 2024. This decrease was driven by the completed amortization of Tucows Delaware brand assets acquired in Fiscal 2005, which was completed in March 2025. The decrease was furthered by the completed amortization of customer relationships associated with the Company's Fiscal 2017 acquisition of Enom, which was completed in January 2024, as well as disposition of select customer relationship assets in Cedar Networks, acquired in Fiscal 2020.
Network rights, brand and customer relationships acquired in connection with the following acquisitions are amortized on a straight-line basis over a range of two to seven years: Enom in January 2017, Ascio in March 2019, Cedar in January 2020 and Simply Bits in November 2021.
GAIN ON DISPOSITION OF PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||
| Gain on disposition of property and equipment | $ | (5,882 | ) | $ | - | |||
| Decrease over prior period | $ | (5,882 | ) | |||||
| Decrease - percentage | N/A | % | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | (2 | )% | - | % |
During Fiscal 2025, the Company recorded gains on disposition of property and equipment of $5.9 million. This was primarily driven by a $5.1 million gain related to the sale of Ting assets under construction and materials and supplies held for capital projects, and furthered by a $0.4 million gain on Ting vehicle sales. There were no such dispositions in Fiscal 2024.
OTHER INCOME (EXPENSES)
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||
| Other income (expense), net | $ | (43,827 | ) | $ | (36,861 | ) | ||
| Increase over prior period | $ | (6,966 | ) | |||||
| Increase - percentage | (19 | )% | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 11 | % | 10 | % |
Other income (expense) decreased by $7.0 million when compared to Fiscal 2024. The decrease in income was primarily driven by higher net interest expense, lower income earned on sale of Transferred Assets to EchoStar (as defined in "Note 17. Other Income (Expenses)" to the Consolidated Financial Statements), and lower other income. Net interest expense increased by $4.0 million, driven by the inclusion of $2.6 million interest expense associated with the 2023 and 2024 Term Notes, a $1.9 million increase due to lower interest expense capitalization associated with Fiber network assets under construction, a $1.2 million increase due to reduced money market fund interest income from falling interest rates, and a $1.0 million increase in interest expense associated with the Unit Purchase Agreement with Generate; partially offset by a $2.8 million decrease in interest expense related to the Credit Facility for the Tucows businesses excluding Ting due to the reduction in outstanding principal balance. Other Income decreased by $2.3 million due to a decrease in income earned on the sale of transferred assets to EchoStar as a result of normal churn, as expected. Other income also decreased by $0.6 million driven by the share of the current period impact in the Orange Domains equity-method investment.
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Table of Contents
INCOME TAXES
The following table presents our provision for income taxes for the periods presented:
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |||||||
| Provision for income taxes | $ | 8,509 | $ | 7,986 | ||||
| Increase in provision over prior period | $ | (523 | ) | |||||
| Increase - percentage | 7 | % | ||||||
| Effective tax rate | (13 | )% | (8 | )% |
Income taxes increased by $0.5 million and the effective tax rate, expressed as a percentage of the loss before provision for income taxes, changed from (8%) for the year ended December 31, 2024 to (13%) for the year ended December 31, 2025.
For the year ended December 31, 2025, we recorded an income tax expense of $8.5 million (2024 - $8.0 million). Our effective tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2025 of (13%) differs from the federal statutory income tax rate of 21%, primarily due to a net increase in the valuation allowances related to deferred taxes and tax owing on foreign earnings.
A reconciliation of the federal statutory income tax rate to our effective tax rate is set forth in “Note 9. Income Taxes” to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
ADJUSTED EBITDA
We believe that the provision of this non-GAAP measure allows investors to evaluate the operational and financial performance of our core business using similar evaluation measures to those used by management. We use Adjusted EBITDA to measure our performance and prepare our budgets. Since Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial performance measure, our calculation of Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies; and should not be considered in isolation, as a substitute for, or superior to measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. Because Adjusted EBITDA is calculated before recurring cash charges, including interest expense and taxes, and is not adjusted for capital expenditures or other recurring cash requirements of the business, it should not be considered as a liquidity measure. For liquidity measures, see the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows and the "Liquidity and Capital Resources" section below. Non-GAAP financial measures do not reflect a comprehensive system of accounting and may differ from non-GAAP financial measures with the same or similar captions that are used by other companies and/or analysts and may differ from period to period. We endeavor to compensate for these limitations by providing the relevant disclosure of the items excluded in the calculation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income based on GAAP, which should be considered when evaluating the Company's results. Tucows strongly encourages investors to review its financial information in its entirety and not to rely on a single financial measure.
Our Adjusted EBITDA definition excludes provision for income tax, depreciation, amortization of intangible assets, asset impairment, interest expense (net), loss on debt extinguishment, accretion of contingent liabilities, stock-based compensation, gains and losses from unrealized foreign currency transactions, and costs that are one-time in nature and not indicative of ongoing performance (profitability), including acquisition and transition costs. Gains and losses from unrealized foreign currency transactions removes the unrealized effect of the change in the mark-to-market values on outstanding foreign currency contracts not designated in accounting hedges, as well as the unrealized effect from the translation of monetary accounts denominated in non-U.S. dollars to U.S. dollars.
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The following table reconciles net income to Adjusted EBITDA:
| Reconciliation of Net Loss to Adjusted EBITDA | Twelve months ended December 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In Thousands of U.S. Dollars) | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | |||||||||
| Net Loss for the period | $ | (75,819 | ) | $ | (109,860 | ) | $ | (96,197 | ) | |||
| Less: | ||||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | 8,509 | 7,986 | (6,873 | ) | ||||||||
| Depreciation of property and equipment | 41,580 | 40,323 | 36,431 | |||||||||
| Impairment of property and equipment | 11,533 | 19,167 | 4,822 | |||||||||
| Loss (gain) on disposition of property and equipment | (5,882 | ) | - | |||||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | 4,667 | 5,297 | 10,829 | |||||||||
| Interest expense, net | 55,274 | 51,275 | 41,771 | |||||||||
| Loss on debt extinguishment | - | - | 14,680 | |||||||||
| Accretion of contingent liability | - | - | - | |||||||||
| Stock-based compensation | 7,139 | 7,021 | 8,134 | |||||||||
| Unrealized loss (gain) on change in fair value of foreign currency forward contracts | - | - | - | |||||||||
| Unrealized loss (gain) on foreign exchange revaluation of foreign denominated monetary assets and liabilities | (391 | ) | (168 | ) | (62 | ) | ||||||
| Acquisition and other costs1 | 3,988 | 13,876 | 1,916 | |||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 50,598 | $ | 34,917 | $ | 15,451 |
1 Acquisition and other costs represent transaction-related expenses and transitional expenses. Expenses include severance or transitional costs associated with department, operational or overall company restructuring efforts, including geographic alignments.
Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2025 increased by $15.7 million, or 45% to $50.6 million when compared to the year ended December 31, 2024. The increase in Adjusted EBITDA was primarily driven by the Ting, Tucows Domains, and Wavelo segments. Adjusted EBITDA attributable to the Ting segment, which excludes the restructuring impacts of the February 2024 Workforce Reduction and 2024 Capital Efficiency Plan, improved by $16.3 million, primarily driven by subscriber growth across the markets we serve, recognition of previously deferred contract liabilities for new construction, the reduction in spend across sales and marketing activities, and reduced personnel costs due to the savings realized from the execution of the 2024 Capital Efficiency Plan, and to a lesser extent, the February 2024 Workforce Reduction. Adjusted EBITDA attributable to the Tucows Domains segment increased by $4.3 million from strong expiry and wholesale results through the current period. Adjusted EBITDA attributable to the Wavelo segment increased $3.7 million, primarily driven by the recognition of incremental revenues from both existing and new customers. These increases in Adjusted EBITDA were partially offset by a decrease in Mobile Services and eliminations contribution of $8.6 million, primarily from increasing MNO minimum purchase obligation related penalties and a decrease in income earned on sale of Transferred Assets to EchoStar; partially offset by reduced personnel costs with the execution of the 2024 Capital Efficiency Plan.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
As of December 31, 2025, our cash and cash equivalents balance decreased $10.1 million, restricted cash included in funds held by trustee increased by $0.7 million, and our secured notes reserve funds balance increased by $0.5 million, respectively, when compared to December 31, 2024. The decrease in our cash balance was primarily driven by $5.8 million from cash used in operating activities, $5.0 million related to the repayment of the 2023 Credit Facility, $0.4 million in financing costs related to the extension of the 2023 Credit Facility, $17.1 million for additions to property and equipment, and $0.2 million related to the acquisition of intangible assets. These uses of cash were partially offset by $19.5 million proceeds on disposal of property and equipment.
As of December 31, 2025, our total current liabilities increased by $130.6 million to $330.4 million when compared to December 31, 2024.
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This was primarily the result of the reclassification of the redeemable preferred units of $137.0M to current liabilities following the Return Breach and Trigger Event asserted by Generate in December 2025 as outlined in "Note 13. Redeemable Preferred Units" to the Consolidated Financial Statements. This reclassification reflects the possibility that Generate could make a Redemption Request; however, as of the date of this report, no such request has been submitted. Ting operates as a bankruptcy-remote subsidiary, and its indebtedness has no recourse to Tucows Inc. or its other subsidiaries.
Contract liabilities, current portion, decreased $4.1 million to $131.6 million. Contract liabilities represent amounts billed to customers in advance for domain registrations and other services that will be recognized as revenue over future service periods. Associated deferred costs of fulfillment, current portion are presented in current assets and similarly decreased by $4.3 million to $97.2 million.
Excluding these amounts, total current liabilities decreased by $2.3 million to $61.9 million, driven by a $1.2 million decrease in our foreign currency derivative liability associated with our foreign currency hedge, and other working capital movements.
2024 Ting Securitized Financing Facility
On August 20, 2024, the Company through its wholly owned subsidiaries, including Ting, entered into a definitive agreement relating to a securitized financing facility related to a privately placed securitized transaction. On the closing date, Ting issued (i) $55,000,000 of its 5.63% Secured Fiber Revenue Notes, Series 2024-1, Class A-2 (the “2024 Class A-2 Notes”), (ii) $8,000,000 of its 6.85% Secured Fiber Revenue Notes, Series 2024-1, Class B (the “2024 Class B Notes”) and (iii) $16,000,000 initial principal amount of 9.15% Secured Fiber Revenue Notes, Series 2024-1, Class C (the “2024 Class C Notes” and together with the 2024 Class A-2 Notes and the 2024 Class B Notes, the “2024 Term Notes”).
The offering was exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). Subject to certain limitations, the 2024 Notes are secured by certain of the Company’s revenue-generating assets, consisting principally of the Securitized Assets, that are owned by certain other limited-purpose, bankruptcy-remote, wholly owned indirect subsidiaries of the Company (collectively, the “Securitization Entities”) that act as guarantors under the Base Indenture.
The 2024 Term Notes were issued under the Base Indenture, dated as of May 4, 2023 (as supplemented by the Base Indenture Supplement No. 1, dated as of November 10, 2023), by and between the Issuer, the asset parties party thereto and Citibank, N.A., as trustee (in such capacity, the “Indenture Trustee”) and securities intermediary and a series supplement to the Base Indenture dated as of the Closing Date (the “Series 2024-1 Supplement”), by and among the Issuer, the asset parties party thereto and the Indenture Trustee. The Base Indenture and the Series 2024-1 Supplement will allow the Issuer to issue additional series of notes in the future, subject to certain conditions set forth therein.
Interest payments on the 2024 Term Notes are payable on a monthly basis. The legal final maturity date of the 2024 Term Notes is in August of 2054, but, unless earlier prepaid to the extent permitted under the Indenture, the anticipated repayment date of the 2024 Term Notes will be in August 2029. If the Issuer has not repaid or refinanced the 2024 Term Notes prior to the anticipated repayment date, additional interest will accrue on the 2024 Term Notes in an amount equal to the greater of (A) 5.00% per annum and (B) a per annum interest rate equal to the excess, if any, by which the sum of the following exceeds the original interest rate of such 2024 Term Note (i) the yield to maturity (adjusted to a “mortgage equivalent basis” pursuant to the standards and practices of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association) on such anticipated repayment date of the United States Treasury Security having a term closest to 10 years, plus (ii) 5.00%, plus (iii) for the 2024 Class A-2 Notes, 2.00% ,for the 2024 Class B Notes, 3.25%, for the 2024 Class C Notes, 7.00%. Please see the discussion in the Material Cash Requirements section below.
2023 Credit Facility
On September 22, 2023, the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries, Tucows.com Co., Ting Inc., Tucows (Delaware) Inc., Wavelo, Inc. and Tucows (Emerald), LLC (each, a “Borrower” and together, the “Borrowers”) and certain other subsidiaries of the Company, as guarantors, entered into the 2023 Credit Agreement (the “2023 Credit Facility”) with Bank of Montreal, as administrative agent (“BMO” or the “Agent”), and the lenders party thereto, to, among other things, provide the Borrowers with the 2023 Credit Facility in an aggregate amount not to exceed $240 million. The Borrowers may request an increase to the 2023 Credit Facility through new commitments of up to $60M if the Total Funded Debt to Adjusted EBITDA Ratio (as defined in the 2023 Credit Agreement) is less than 3.75:1.00. The Credit Facility was originally due to expire on September 22, 2026.
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On September 8, 2025, the Borrowers entered into a one-year Extension Agreement (the "Extension Agreement"). The Extension Agreement extends the term of the 2023 Credit Agreement through September 22, 2027. The material terms of the 2023 Credit Agreement remain unchanged; however, the Extension Agreement amends certain definitions relating to the treatment of specified expenses in the calculation of Adjusted EBITDA for purposes of the Total Funded Debt to Adjusted EBITDA Ratio financial covenant. In connection with the Extension Agreement, the Company incurred $0.4 million of fees paid to the Lenders. These fees have been reflected as reduction to the carrying amount of the loan payable and will be amortized over the extended term to September 2027.
The 2023 Credit Agreement contains customary representations and warranties, affirmative and negative covenants, and events of default. The 2023 Credit Agreement requires that the Company comply with certain customary non-financial covenants and restrictions. In addition, the Company has agreed to comply with the following financial covenants: (1) a leverage ratio by maintaining at all times a Total Funded Debt to Adjusted EBITDA Ratio of not more than 3.75:1:00; and (2) an interest coverage ratio by maintaining as of the end of each rolling four financial quarter period, an Interest Coverage Ratio (as defined in the 2023 Credit Agreement) of not less than 3.00:1.00. As of December 31, 2025, the Company's leverage ratio was 3.12:1.00 and Interest Coverage Ratio was 4.17:1.00.
During Fiscal 2025, the Company made net repayments of $5.0 million towards the 2023 Credit Facility. The Company ended December 31, 2025 with a remaining principal balance of $190.4 million, for which the required repayment is due in 2027.
As of December 31, 2025, the Company held contracts in the amount of $27.2 million with BMO to trade U.S. dollars in exchange for Canadian dollars under an uncommitted treasury risk management facility which assists the Company with hedging Canadian dollar exposures. Please see the discussion in the Material Cash Requirements section below.
Cash Flow from Operating Activities
Year ended December 31, 2025
Net cash outflows from operating activities during Fiscal 2025 totaled $5.8 million, compared to net cash outflows of $19.7 million in the prior year, reflecting a 71% decrease. Net loss was $75.8 million, and included non-cash charges and recoveries of $77.9 million including depreciation and amortization, accretion of redeemable preferred units, impairment of property and equipment, stock-based compensation, loss (gain) on disposal of assets, amortization of debt discount and issuance costs, and deferred income taxes (recovery). This was offset by changes in our working capital, which resulted in a net cash outflow of $15.3 million from cash utilization of $19.2 million driven by prepaid expenses and deposits, accounts payable and accrued liabilities, contract liabilities and accounts receivable; partially offset by positive contributions of $3.9 million from movements in deferred costs of fulfillment. This impact was partially offset by changes from other operating assets and liabilities of $7.5 million, including changes in contract assets, inventory, income taxes recoverable, customer deposits and accreditation fees payable.
Cash Flow from Financing Activities
Year ended December 31, 2025
Net cash
outflows
from financing activities during Fiscal
2025
totaled
$5.4
million, compared to net cash inflows of $44.5 million in the prior year, reflecting a $49.9 million year-over-year change
. Total cash outflows were driven by $5.0 million related to the repayment of the syndicate revolver and $0.4 million related to the syndicate revolver issued. These were partially offset cash inflows of
less than $0.1 million from proceeds received on exercise of stock options.
Cash Flow from Investing Activities
Year ended December 31, 2025
Net cash inflows from investing activities during the Fiscal 2025 totaled $2.2 million, compared to net cash outflows of $56.5 million in the prior year, reflecting a $58.7 million year-over-year change. Total cash inflows were driven by $19.5 million of proceeds on disposal of property and equipment. These were offset by $17.1 million cash outflows related to the investment in property and equipment, primarily to support the continued expansion of our Ting Internet Fiber network footprints in Colorado, North Carolina, and California, as well as $0.2 million for the acquisition of other intangible assets.
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Material Cash Requirements
At December 31, 2025, the Company's cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash and secured notes reserve funds balances totaled $64.2 million, of which $41.3 million belonged to Ting and $22.9 million belonged to the other Tucows businesses. Of the $41.3 million which belonged to Ting, $5.3 million is restricted cash and $12.2 million is restricted cash in secured notes reserve funds.
In our 2024 Annual Report, we disclosed our material cash requirements of both the Ting segment as well as the other segments excluding Ting. As of December 31, 2025, other than the items mentioned below, there have been no other material changes to our material cash requirements outside the ordinary course of business.
Ting
As of December 31, 2025, the balance owing on the Unit Purchase Agreement was $137.0 million ("Note 13. Redeemable Preferred Units" to the Consolidated Financial Statements). On May 4, 2023, Tucows, through its indirect and wholly owned subsidiaries, including Ting Fiber, LLC entered into a definitive agreement relating to a securitized financing facility where Ting Issuer LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, issued the 2023 Term Notes for a total value of $238.5 million and 2024 Term Notes for a total value of $63.0 million ("Note 8. Notes Payable" to the Consolidated Financial Statements).
As of December 31, 2025, Ting had not paid the preferred return due under the Unit Purchase Agreement to Generate for three consecutive quarters amounting to $14.7 million in the aggregate. The unpaid interest for these quarters has been treated as payment-in-kind ("PIK") and added to the outstanding balance of the redeemable preferred units. On December 1, 2025, Ting received written notice from Generate asserting that a Return Breach and a Trigger Event had occurred as a result of Ting's failure to pay quarterly preferred return for two consecutive quarters, and Generate reserved its rights to pursue certain remedies as described in "Note 13. Redeemable preferred units" to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
Ting undertook workforce reductions on February 7, 2024 and October 30, 2024, which aimed to reduce Ting’s workforce by 13% and 42%, respectively. Both plans were designed to lower year-over-year operating expenses by streamlining operations, reducing capital activities and reducing operating expenses within the Ting operating segment.
Ting incurred a net loss of $89.8 million and $121.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 and the year ended December 31, 2024, respectively. At December 31, 2025, Ting had $23.8 million in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, $3.6 million in accounts receivable, $1.2 million in accounts payable and $8.7 million in accrued liabilities. At December 31, 2025, Ting’s long-term liabilities included $291.6 million payable on the 2023 and 2024 Term Notes. Ting's current liabilities included $137.0 million payable on the Redeemable Preferred Units. Ting incurred an operating cash flow deficit of $32.2 million and $49.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 and the year ended December 31, 2024, respectively. Ting has scheduled interest payments of $20.1 million in the twelve months following December 31, 2025.
Given the ongoing capital needs of Ting, the Company commenced a process to review strategic alternatives for the Ting business during 2025. Ting may not be able to meet its financial obligations over the twelve months following the issuance of this Annual Report without additional financing. Ting has historically relied on the proceeds from its Redeemable Preferred Units as well as its 2023 and 2024 Term Notes to fund its operations and the expansion of the Ting Fiber Internet footprint. Ting currently has limited capacity to expand its borrowings under the Base Indenture. Ting's ability to obtain additional financing if required will be subject to a number of factors, including market conditions, our operating performance and investor sentiment. If we are unable to raise additional capital when required or on acceptable terms or complete a sale transaction, we may have to consider other alternatives to raise capital or significantly restrict our operations or obtain funds by entering into agreements on unattractive terms, which would likely have a material adverse effect on our business, stock price and our relationships with third parties with whom we have business relationships, at least until additional funding is obtained, and which could result in additional dilution to our stockholders. If we do not have sufficient funds to continue operations, Ting could be required to seek bankruptcy protection or other alternatives that would likely result in our stockholders losing some or all of their investment in us. Any such bankruptcy of Ting would not trigger cross-defaults under the 2023 Credit Facility. Ting operates as a bankruptcy-remote entity and its debt has no recourse to the Company. Accordingly, the Company's direct financial exposure to Ting is limited to certain employee severance and termination benefits, contractual guarantees, termination or exit costs, and professional service and advisory fees associated with services provided at the corporate level, as disclosed in "Note 19. Commitments and Contingencies" to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
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Tucows Businesses Excluding Ting
Tucows businesses excluding Ting, acquisitions and capital investments have been funded by the Company's operating income and the Company's existing 2023 Credit Agreement. As of December 31, 2025, the Company’s 2023 Credit Facility had an outstanding balance of $190.4 million. Tucows businesses excluding Ting make principal repayments from time to time.
For Fiscal 2026, the Company plans to fund the cash requirements of Tucows businesses excluding Ting solely through operating income, while making discretionary loan repayments to create greater operating flexibility and access to additional financing.
In the long-term, Tucows businesses excluding Ting may seek additional financing to accelerate the growth of our Tucows Domains or Wavelo businesses, repurchase shares or future acquisitions. The Company's 2023 Credit Facility, which was renewed in 2025, expires on September 22, 2027 and the Company will be required to refinance the 2023 Credit Facility once it becomes due.
MD&A history
Prior-year 10-K MD&A spans are extracted from SEC filings with the same bounded parser used for the latest filing. The latest 10-K appears above; prior years are below.
FY 2024 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001437749-25-007558.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
OVERVIEW
Our mission is to provide simple useful services that help people unlock the power of the Internet.
We accomplish this by reducing the complexity of our customers’ experience as they access the Internet (at home or on the go) and while using Internet services such as domain name registration, email and other Internet related services. We are organized into three operating and reporting segments - Ting, Wavelo, and Tucows Domains. Each segment is differentiated primarily by their services, the markets they serve and the regulatory environments in which they operate. The Ting segment contains the operating results of our retail high speed Internet access operations, including its wholly owned subsidiaries - Cedar and Simply Bits. The Wavelo segment includes our platform and professional services offerings, as well as the billing solutions to Internet services providers ("ISPs") (branded as Platypus). Tucows Domains includes wholesale and retail domain name registration services, as well as value added services derived through our OpenSRS, eNom, Ascio, EPAG and Hover brands.
Our Chief Executive Officer ("CEO"), who is also our chief operating decision maker, reviews the operating results of Ting, Wavelo and Tucows Domains as three distinct segments in order to make key decisions and evaluate segment performance. Certain revenues and expenses disclosed under the Corporate category are excluded from segment earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA") results as they are centrally managed and not monitored by or reported to our CEO by segment. The exclusions include: retail mobile services, the 10-year payment stream on transferred legacy Mobile subscribers, eliminations of intercompany transactions, portions of Finance and Human Resources, Legal and Corporate Information Technology ("IT") shared services.
For the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023 and 2022, we reported revenue of $362 million, $339 million and $321 million, respectively.
Ting
Ting and its wholly owned subsidiaries, Cedar and Simply Bits, includes the provision of high-speed Internet access services to select towns throughout the United States, with operations focused on serving existing markets. Our primary sales channel is through the Ting website. The primary focus of this segment is to provide reliable Gigabit Fiber and Fixed Wireless Internet services to consumer and business customers. Revenues from Ting Internet are all generated in the U.S. and are billed on a monthly basis. Ting Internet services have no fixed contract terms.
As of December 31, 2024, Ting Internet had access to 134,000 owned infrastructure serviceable addresses, 45,000 partner infrastructure serviceable addresses and 51,000 active accounts under its management; compared to having access to 121,000 owned infrastructure serviceable addresses, 29,000 partner infrastructure serviceable addresses and 43,000 active accounts under its management as of December 31, 2023. These figures exclude the increase in serviceable addresses and accounts attributable to the Simply Bits acquisition.
On February 7, 2024 Ting committed to the February 2024 workforce reduction, which aimed to realign the Company's operational structure within the Ting operating segment and reduce Ting's workforce by 13%, or 7% of the Company’s total workforce, to better support strategic objectives. The February 2024 workforce reduction was designed to streamline operations and reduce operating expenses within the Ting operating segment. Substantially all of the employees impacted by the workforce reduction were notified on February 7, 2024 and have since exited the Company. The Company incurred non-recurring charges of approximately $3.2 million in connection with the workforce reduction, primarily consisting of severance payments, notice pay, employee benefits contributions and outplacement costs.
On October 30, 2024, Ting undertook a capital efficiency plan (the “Capital Efficiency Plan”) to reflect the ongoing operational and financial prioritization of the Ting business and to lower the Company's year-over-year operating expenses and capital outlays, which impacted approximately 42% of Ting's workforce or 17% of the Company's total workforce. The Company incurred non-recurring charges of approximately $7.7 million in connection with the Capital Efficiency Plan, primarily consisting of severance payments, notice pay, employee benefits contributions and outplacement costs.
The Company expects that both the 2024 workforce reductions and Capital Efficiency Plan will realize personnel and related expense (net of capitalization) savings with the majority of the savings in sales and marketing, including related network support functions, followed by smaller impacts in technical operations and development, direct cost of revenues, network, general and administrative, and other costs. In Fiscal 2024 the realized savings will be partially offset by costs associated with both plans. These costs referenced above are classified as transitional and are excluded in our Adjusted EBITDA, which is a non-GAAP financial measure. Please see discussion of Adjusted EBITDA as well as the Adjusted EBITDA reconciliation to net income in the Results of Operations section below.
Wavelo
Wavelo includes the provision of full-service platforms and professional services providing a variety of solutions that support Communication Services providers ("CSPs"), including subscription and billing management, network orchestration and provisioning, and individual developer tools. Wavelo's focus is to provide accessible telecom software to CSPs globally, minimizing network and technical barriers and improving internet access worldwide. Wavelo's suite of flexible, cloud-based software simplifies the management of mobile and internet network access, enabling CSPs to better utilize their existing infrastructure, focus on customer experience and scale their businesses faster. Wavelo launched as a proven asset for CSPs, with EchoStar using Wavelo’s Mobile Network Operating System ("MONOS") software to drive additional value within its Digital Operator Platform and Ting integrating Wavelo’s Internet Service Operating System ("ISOS") and Subscriber Management ("SM") software to enable faster subscriber growth and footprint expansion. The Wavelo segment also includes the Platypus brand and platform, our legacy billing solution for ISPs. The revenues from Wavelo's MONOS, ISOS, SM and professional services are all generated in the U.S. and our customer agreements have set contract lengths with the underlying CSP. Similarly, Wavelo's revenues from Platypus are largely generated in the U.S., with a small portion earned in Canada and other countries.
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Table of Contents
Tucows Domains
Tucows Domains includes wholesale and retail domain name registration services, as well as value added services derived through our OpenSRS, eNom, Ascio, EPAG and Hover brands. Tucows Domains revenues primarily from the registration fees charged to resellers in connection with new, renewed and transferred domain name registrations. In addition, we earn revenues from the sale of retail domain name registration and email services to individuals and small businesses. Tucows Domains revenues are attributed to the country in which the contract originates, which is primarily in Canada and the U.S for OpenSRS and eNom brands whereas it is primarily in European nations for Ascio and EPAG.
Our primary distribution channel is a global network of more than34,000 resellers that operate in 200 countries and who typically provide their customers, the end-users of Internet-based services, with solutions for establishing and maintaining an online presence. Our primary focus is serving the needs of this network of resellers by providing the broadest portfolio of gTLD and the country code top-level domain options and related services, a white-label platform that facilitates the provisioning and management of domain names, a powerful Application Program Interface, easy-to-use interfaces, comprehensive management and reporting tools, and proactive and attentive customer service. Our services are integral to the solutions that our resellers deliver to their customers. We provide “second tier” support to our resellers by email, chat and phone in the event resellers experience issues or problems with our services. In addition, our Network Operating Center proactively monitors all services and network infrastructure to address deficiencies before customer services are impacted.
We believe that the underlying platforms for our services are among the most mature, reliable and functional reseller-oriented provisioning and management platforms in our industry, and we continue to refine, evolve and improve these services for both resellers and end-users. Our business model is characterized primarily by non-refundable, up-front payments, which lead to recurring revenue from renewals and positive operating cash flow.
Wholesale, primarily branded as OpenSRS, eNom, EPAG and Ascio, derives revenue from its domain name registration service. Together the OpenSRS, eNom, EPAG and Ascio Domain Services manage 24.5 million domain names under the Tucows, eNom, EPAG and Ascio ICANN registrar accreditations and for other registrars under their own accreditations. Domains under management has decreased by 0.1 million, or less than 1%, since December 31, 2023.
Value-Added Services include hosted email which provides email delivery and webmail access to millions of mailboxes, Internet security services, WHOIS privacy, publishing tools and other value-added services. All of these services are made available to end-users through a network of web hosts, ISPs, and other resellers around the world. In addition, we also derive revenue by monetizing domain names which are near the end of their lifecycle through expiry auction sale.
Retail, primarily the Hover and eNom portfolio of websites, including eNom, and eNom Central, derive revenues from the sale of domain name registration and email services to individuals and small businesses. Our retail domain services also include our Personal Names Service – based on over 34,000surname domains – that allows roughly two-thirds of Americans to purchase an email address based on their last name. The retail segment now includes the sale of the rights to its portfolio of surname domains used in connection with our RealNames email service and our Exact Hosting Service, that provides Linux hosting services for individual and small business websites.
KEY BUSINESS METRICS AND NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
We regularly review a number of business metrics, including the following key metrics and non-GAAP financial measure, to assist us in evaluating our business, measure the performance of our business model, identify trends impacting our business, determine resource allocations, formulate financial projections and make strategic business decisions. The following tables set forth the key business metrics which we believe are the primary indicators of our performance for the periods presented:
| Ting Internet | For the year ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||
| (in '000's) | |||||||||||
| Ting Internet accounts under management | 51 | 43 | 35 | ||||||||
| Ting Internet owned infrastructure serviceable addresses (1) | 134 | 121 | 96 | ||||||||
| Ting Internet partner infrastructure serviceable addresses (1) | 45 | 29 | 19 |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| (1) | Defined as premises to which Ting has the capability to provide a customer connection in a service area. |
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| Tucows Domains | As of December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||
| (in '000's) | |||||||||||
| Total new, renewed and transferred-in domain name registrations provisioned(1) | 21,765 | 22,031 | 21,774 | ||||||||
| Domains under management: | |||||||||||
| Registered using Registrar Accreditation belonging to the Tucows Group | 17,537 | 17,565 | 17,921 | ||||||||
| Registered using Registrar Accreditation belonging to Resellers | 6,963 | 6,995 | 6,469 | ||||||||
| Total domain names under management | 24,500 | 24,560 | 24,390 |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| (1) | For a discussion of these period-to-period changes in the domains provisioned and domains under management and how they impacted our financial results see the Net Revenues discussion below. |
Tucows reports all financial information in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). Along with this information, to assist financial statement users in an assessment of our historical performance, we typically disclose and discuss a non-GAAP financial measure, Adjusted EBITDA, on investor conference calls and related events that excludes certain non-cash and other charges as we believe that the non-GAAP information enhances investors’ overall understanding of our financial performance. Please see discussion of Adjusted EBITDA as well as the Adjusted EBITDA reconciliation to net income in the Results of Operations section below.
OPPORTUNITIES, CHALLENGES AND RISKS
Our revenue is primarily realized in U.S. dollars and a major portion of our operating expenses are paid in Canadian dollars. Fluctuations in the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Canadian dollar may have a material effect on our business, financial condition and results from operations. In particular, we may be adversely affected by a significant weakening of the U.S. dollar against the Canadian dollar on a quarterly and an annual basis. Our policy with respect to foreign currency exposure is to manage our financial exposure to certain foreign exchange fluctuations with the objective of neutralizing some or all of the impact of foreign currency exchange movements by entering into foreign exchange forward contracts to mitigate the exchange risk on a portion of our Canadian dollar exposure. We may not always enter into such forward contracts and such contracts may not always be available and economical for us. Additionally, the forward rates established by the contracts may be less advantageous than the market rate upon settlement.
Ting
As an ISP, we have invested and expect to continue to invest in new fiber to the home (“FTTH”) deployments in select markets in the United States. The investments are a reflection of our ongoing efforts to build FTTH network via public-private partnerships in communities we identify as having strong, unmet demand for FTTH services. Given the significant upfront build and operational investments for these FTTH deployments, there is risk that future technological and regulatory changes as well as competitive responses from incumbent local providers, may result in us not fully recovering these investments.
Wavelo
Wavelo launched as a proven asset for CSPs, with EchoStar using Wavelo’s MONOS software to drive additional value within its Digital Operator Platform. More recently, Ting Internet has also integrated Wavelo’s ISOS and SM software to enable faster subscriber growth and footprint expansion. With our external platform and professional services revenues concentrated to one customer in EchoStar, we are exposed to significant risk if we are unable to maintain this customer relationship or establish new relationships for any of our Platforms in the future. Additionally, our revenues as a platform provider are directly tied to the subscriber volumes of EchoStar's MVNO or MNO networks, and our profitability is contingent on the ability of EchoStar to continue to add subscribers, either from organic growth or from migration off legacy systems, onto our platforms.
Domain Services
The increased competition in the market for Internet services in recent years, which we expect will continue to intensify in the short and long term, poses a material risk for us. As new registrars are introduced, existing competitors expand service offerings and competitors offer price discounts to gain market share, we face pricing pressure, which can adversely impact our revenues and profitability. To address these risks, we have focused on leveraging the scalability of our infrastructure and our ability to provide proactive and attentive customer service to aggressively compete to attract new customers and to maintain existing customers.
Substantially all of our Tucows Domains revenue is derived from domain name registrations and related value-added services from wholesale and retail customers using our provisioning and management platforms. The market for wholesale registrar services is both price sensitive and competitive and is evolving with the introduction of new gTLDs, particularly for large volume customers, such as large web hosting companies and owners of large portfolios of domain names. We have a relatively limited ability to increase the pricing of domain name registrations without negatively impacting our ability to maintain or grow our customer base. Growth in our Tucows Domains revenue is dependent upon our ability to continue to attract and retain customers by maintaining consistent domain name registration and value-added service renewal rates and to grow our customer relationships through refining, evolving and improving our provisioning platforms and customer service for both resellers and end-users. In addition, Tucows Domains also generate revenues through the sale of names from our portfolio of domain names and through the OpenSRS, eNom, and Ascio Domain Expiry Streams.
From time-to-time certain of our vendors provide us with market development funds to expand or maintain the market position for their services. Any decision by these vendors to cancel or amend these programs for any reason may result in payments in future periods not being commensurate with what we have achieved during past periods.
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Other opportunities, challenges and risks
The Company is entitled to a long-term payment stream that is a function of the margin generated by the transferred subscribers over the 10-year term of the EchoStar Purchase Agreement executed in Fiscal 2020. This consideration structure may not prove to be successful or profitable in the long-term to us if the existing subscriber base churns at an above average rate. Additionally, given EchoStar controls the revenues and costs incurred associated with the acquired subscribers, there could arise a situation where profitability for the subscriber base is diminished either by lower price points or cost inflation. Additionally, as part of the EchoStar Purchase Agreement, the Company retained a small number of customer accounts associated with one MNO agreement that was not reassigned to EchoStar at time of sale. We continue to be subject to the minimum revenue commitments previously agreed to with this excluded MNO agreement. The Company is able to continue adding customers under the excluded MNO network in order to meet the commitment. However, with no direct ability to change customer pricing and limited ability to renegotiate contract costs or significant terms, the Company may be unable to meet the minimum commitments with this MNO partner and could incur significant and recurring penalties until such a time that the contract is complete. These penalties would negatively impact our operational performance and financial results if enforced by the MNO. During the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, the Company has accrue
d $1.3 million of penalties associated with the minimum commitment shortfall. The Company expects to incur penalties throughout 2025 and thereafter until the contract is complete.
An in-depth assessment of the risk factors impacting our businesses has been discussed at length above in Part I under the caption "Item 1A Risk Factors" in this Annual Report.
Critical Accounting Estimates
The following is a discussion of our critical accounting estimates. Critical accounting estimates are defined as those that are both important to the portrayal of our financial condition and results of operations and are reflective of significant judgments and uncertainties made by management that may result in materially different results under different assumptions and conditions. “Note 2 – Significant Accounting Policies” in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for Fiscal 2024 included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report, includes further information on the significant accounting policies and methods used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements.
The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in accordance with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. Management bases its estimates on historical experience, available market information as applicable, and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances at the time they are made. Under different assumptions or conditions, the actual results will differ, potentially materially, from those previously estimated. Many of the conditions impacting these assumptions and estimates are outside of the Company’s control. Management evaluates its estimates on an on-going basis.
Acquired customer relationships
For acquired customer relationships, the Company estimates the fair value based on the income approach. The income approach is a valuation technique that calculates the fair value of an intangible asset based on the present value of future cash flows expected to be generated over the remaining useful life of the asset. This valuation involves significant subjectivity and estimation uncertainty, including assumptions related to future revenues attributable to acquired customer relationships, attrition rates and discount rates.
Loss contingencies
We are sometimes subject to claims, suits, regulatory and government investigations, and other proceedings involving competition, intellectual property, privacy, tax and related compliance, labor and employment, commercial disputes, and other matters. Certain of these matters include speculative claims for substantial or indeterminate amounts of damages. We record a liability when we believe that it is probable that a loss has been incurred and the amount can be reasonably estimated.
We evaluate, on a regular basis, developments in our legal matters that could affect the amount of liability that has been previously accrued, and the matters and related reasonably possible losses disclosed, and make adjustments and changes to our disclosures as appropriate. Significant judgment is required to determine both the likelihood and the estimated amount of a loss related to such matters. Until the final resolution of such matters, there may be an exposure to loss in excess of the amount recorded, and such amounts could be material.
Impairment of Goodwill and intangibles
Any changes to our key assumptions about our businesses and our prospects, or changes in market conditions, could cause the fair value of our operating segments to fall below their carrying values, resulting in a potential impairment charge. In addition, changes in our organizational structure or how our management allocates resources and assesses performance, could result in a change in our operating segments, requiring a reallocation and updated impairment analysis of goodwill and indefinite life intangible assets.
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We evaluate factors such as macro-economic, industry and market conditions including the capital markets, the competitive environment, in addition to other internal factors including changes to our market capitalization, cash inflows, obligations and access to capital of our segments.
Impairment of Property and equipment
The Company assesses its property and equipment for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset group may not be recoverable. When such indicators exist, management estimates the recoverability of the asset group based on the undiscounted future cash flows expected to be generated. If the carrying amount exceeds the estimated recoverable amount, an impairment loss is recognized for the excess of the carrying amount over the fair value of the asset group. We concluded that there were indications of impairment under the qualitative approach during Fiscal 2024 as a result of the decisions resulting from the Capital Efficiency Plan from October 2024. This resulted in an impairment charge of $17.7 million in Fiscal 2024 for both Ting assets under construction and computer equipment.
Management’s estimates are based on historical experience, available market information as applicable, third-party analysis, and various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances at the time they are made. Given the subjectivity involved, changes in assumptions or market conditions could result in materially different outcomes.
Changes in estimates
There were no material changes to our critical accounting estimates during Fiscal 2024.
SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Revenue Recognition Policy
The Company’s revenues are derived from (a) the provisioning of retail fiber Internet services in our Ting segment, (b) the provisioning of CSP focused platform and professional services in our Wavelo segment; and from (c) domain name registration contracts, other domain related value-added services, domain sale contracts, and other advertising revenue in our Tucows Domains segment. Amounts received in advance of meeting the revenue recognition criteria described below are recorded as contract liabilities. All products are generally sold without the right of return or refund.
Revenue is measured based on consideration specified in a contract with a customer and excludes any sales incentives and amounts collected on behalf of third parties. The Company recognizes revenue when it satisfies a performance obligation by transferring control over a product or service to a customer.
Nature of goods and services
The following is a description of principal activities – separated by reportable segments – from which the Company generates its revenue. For more detailed information about reportable segments. See “Note 20 – Segment Reporting” of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this report for more information.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Ting |
Ting and its subsidiaries, Cedar, and Simply Bits, includes the provision of high-speed Internet access services to select towns throughout the United States, with operations focused on serving existing markets. Our primary sales channel is through the Ting website. The primary focus of this segment is to provide reliable Gigabit Fiber and Fixed Wireless Internet services to consumer and business customers. Revenues are all generated in the U.S., have no fixed contract terms and are billed on a monthly basis, with unlimited bandwidth based on a fixed price.
The Company’s billing cycle for all Ting Internet customers is computed based on the customer’s activation date. Since consideration is collected before the service period, revenue is initially deferred and recognized as the Company performs its obligation to provide Internet access within each reporting period. In addition, revenues associated with the sale of Internet hardware to subscribers are recognized when title and risk of loss is transferred to the subscriber and shipment has occurred. Incentive marketing credits given to customers are recorded as a reduction of revenue.
In those cases, where payment is not received at the time of sale, as is the case for service requiring installation, then revenue is not recognized until a customer's service is activated. The Company records costs that reflect expected refunds, rebates and credit card charge-backs as a reduction of revenues at the time of the sale based on historical experiences and current expectations.
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| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| (b) | Wavelo |
Platform Services
Tucows' Platform Services include the following full-service platforms from Wavelo, including MONOS, ISOS, SM and our legacy Platypus ISP Billing software. Under each of these platforms there are a variety of solutions that support CSPs, including subscription and billing management, network orchestration and provisioning, and individual developer tools. Wavelo's customers are billed monthly, on a postpaid basis. The monthly fees are variable, based on the volume of their subscribers utilizing the platform during a given month, to which minimums may apply. Customers may also be billed fixed platform fees and granted fixed credits as part of the consideration for long-term contracts. Consideration received is allocated to platform services and bundled professional services and recognized as each service obligation is fulfilled. Any fixed fees for Wavelo are recognized into revenue evenly over the service period, while variable usage fees are recognized each month as they are consumed. Professional services revenue is recognized as the hours of professional services granted to the customer are used or expire. When consideration for these platform services is received before the service is delivered, the revenue is initially deferred and recognized only as the Company performs its obligation to provide services. Likewise, if platform services are delivered before the Company has the unconditional right to invoice the customer, revenue is recognized as a Contract Asset.
Other Professional Services
This revenue stream includes any other professional services earned from Wavelo's performance of standalone technology services development work. These are billed to our customers monthly at established rates for services provided in period. The Company recognizes professional services revenue as the Company satisfies its obligations to provide professional services.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| (c) | Tucows Domains |
Wholesale - Domain Services
Domain registration contracts, which can be purchased for terms of one to ten years, provide our resellers and retail registrant customers with the exclusive right to a personalized internet address from which to build an online presence. The Company enters into domain registration contracts in connection with each new, renewed and transferred-in domain registration. At the inception of the contract, the Company charges and collects the registration fee for the entire registration period. Though fees are collected upfront, revenue from domain registrations are recognized ratably over the registration period as domain registration contracts contain a ‘right to access’ license of IP, which is a distinct performance obligation measured over time. The registration period begins once the Company has confirmed that the requested domain name has been appropriately recorded in the registry under contractual performance standards.
Historically, our wholesale domain service has constituted the largest portion of our business and encompasses all of our services as an accredited registrar related to the registration, renewal, transfer and management of domain names. In addition, this service fuels other revenue categories as it often is the initial service for which a reseller will engage us, enabling us to follow on with other services and allowing us to add to our portfolio by purchasing names registered through us upon their expiration. Tucows Domains will continue to be the largest portion of our business and will further fuel our ability to sell add-on services.
The Company is an ICANN accredited registrar. Thus, the Company is the primary obligor with our reseller and retail registrant customers and is responsible for the fulfillment of our registrar services to those parties. As a result, the Company reports revenue in the amount of the fees we receive directly from our reseller and retail registrant customers. Our reseller customers maintain the primary obligor relationship with their retail customers, establish pricing and retain credit risk to those customers. Accordingly, the Company does not recognize any revenue related to transactions between our reseller customers and their ultimate retail customers.
Wholesale – Value-Added Services
We derive revenue from domain related value-added services like digital certifications, WHOIS privacy and hosted email and by providing our resellers and retail registrant customers with tools and additional functionality to be used in conjunction with domain registrations. All domain related value-added services are considered distinct performance obligations which transfer the promised service to the customer over the contracted term. Fees charged to customers for domain related value-added services are collected at the inception of the contract, and revenue is recognized on a straight-line basis over the contracted term, consistent with the satisfaction of the performance obligations.
We also derive revenue from other value-added services, which primarily consists of proceeds from the OpenSRS, eNom and Ascio domain expiry streams.
Retail
We derive revenues mainly from Hover and eNom’s retail properties through the sale of retail domain name registration and email services to individuals and small businesses. The retail segment now includes the sale of the rights to its portfolio of surname domains used in connection with our RealNames email and Linux hosting services for websites through our Exact Hosting brand.
For information about geographic areas, see “Note 20 – Segment Reporting” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report.
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| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| (d) | Corporate and all other - Mobile services and eliminations |
Although we still provide mobile telephony services to a small subset of customers retained through the Ting Mobile brand as part of the EchoStar Purchase Agreement executed in Fiscal 2020; this revenue stream no longer represents the Company's strategic focus going forward. Instead we have transitioned towards being a platform provider for CSPs globally via our Wavelo segment. Effective January 1, 2022 we decided to exclude retail telephony services and transition services revenues from segment Adjusted EBITDA results as they are no longer centrally managed and not monitored by or reported to our CEO by segment.
Ting Mobile wireless usage contracts grant customers access to standard talk, text and data mobile services. Ting Mobile contracts are billed based on the customer's selected rate plan, which can either be usage based or an unlimited plan. All rate plan options are charged to customers on a postpaid, monthly basis at the end of their billing cycle. All future revenues associated with retail mobile services stream will only be for this subset of customers retained by the Company, as mentioned above. Ting Mobile services are primarily contracted through the Ting website, for one month at a time and contain no commitment to renew the contract following each customer's monthly billing cycle. The Company's billing cycle for all Ting Mobile customers is computed based on the customer's activation date. In order to recognize revenue as the Company satisfies its obligations, we compute the amount of revenues earned but not billed from the end of each billing cycle to the end of each reporting period. In addition, revenues associated with the sale of wireless devices and accessories are recognized when title and risk of loss is transferred to the customer and shipment has occurred. Incentive marketing credits given to customers are recorded as a reduction of revenue.
These mobile services revenue streams also includes transitional services provided to EchoStar. These are billed monthly at established rates for services provided in period, including: the provision of sales, marketing, order fulfillment, and data analytics related to the legacy customer base sold to EchoStar. The Company recognizes revenue as the Company satisfies its obligations to provide transitional services.
As a form of consideration for the sale of the customer relationships, the Company receives a payout on the margin associated with the legacy customer base sold to EchoStar, over a period of 10 years. This has been classified as Other Income and not considered revenue in the current period.
Valuation of Goodwill, Intangible Assets and Long-Lived Assets
The excess of the purchase price over the fair values of the identifiable assets and liabilities from our acquisitions is recorded as goodwill. At December 31, 2024, we had $130.4 million in goodwill related to our acquisitions and $24.8 million in intangible assets comprised of $12.3 million of indefinite life intangibles and $12.5 million of finite life intangible assets. At December 31, 2023, we had $130.4 million in goodwill related to our acquisitions and $29.5 million in intangible assets comprised of $12.3 million of indefinite life intangibles and $17.2 million of finite life intangible assets. As described above, we report our financial results as three operating segments, Ting, Wavelo and Tucows Domains. The goodwill balance is built up of $107.7 million (83%) related to Tucows Domains and $22.7 million (17%) related to Ting. Of our goodwill balance, $90.3 million is not deductible for tax purposes. The intangible asset balance is built up of $17.4 million (70%) related to Tucows Domains and $7.4 million (30%) related to Ting.
We account for goodwill and indefinite life intangible assets in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”)'s authoritative guidance, which requires that goodwill and indefinite life intangible assets are not amortized, but are subject to an annual impairment test. We complete our impairment test on an annual basis, during the fourth quarter of our fiscal year, or more frequently, if changes in facts and circumstances indicate that impairment indicators are present.
Our indefinite life intangible assets consist of surname domain names and direct navigation domain names. In order to maintain our rights to these domain names, we pay annual renewal fees to the applicable domain name registries. Over the course of time, we sometimes decide not to renew certain under-performing domain names and incur an impairment charge associated with such non-renewal. There was no impairment recorded on indefinite-life intangible assets during 2024, 2023 and 2022.
With regard to long-lived assets comprised of property and equipment and finite life intangible assets, we continually evaluate whether events or circumstances have occurred that indicate the remaining estimated useful lives of our definite-life intangible assets may warrant revision or whether the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable and exceed their fair value. We use an estimate of the related undiscounted cash flows over the remaining life of the asset in measuring whether the asset is recoverable. During Fiscal 2024, 2023 and 2022, property and equipment with net book values of $19.1 million, $4.8 million, and $0.1 million, respectively, were written off and included in impairment of property and equipment in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income (loss). $17.7 million of the impairment losses incurred in 2024 related to the announced Capital Efficiency Plan, both specific assets under construction projects no longer planned to be completed and the capital inventory to be used in those projects were assessed as an impairment loss. The full cost of the identified assets under construction impacted was recorded as an impairment loss as well as the difference between carrying value and liquidation value of capital inventory. The remaining $1.4 million impairment charges relate to specific network assets that were identified through routine inspections as being damaged and no longer in use. During Fiscal 2024, 2023 and 2022 there was no impairment recorded on definite-life intangible assets.
We performed a qualitative assessment to determine whether there were events or circumstances which would lead to a determination, whether it is more likely than not, that goodwill and indefinite life intangible assets have been impaired. In performing the qualitative testing, we made an evaluation of the impact of various factors to the expected future cash flows attributable to our reporting units and to the assumed discount rate which would be used to present value those cash flows. Consideration was given to factors such as macro-economic, industry and market conditions including the capital markets, the competitive environment, in addition to other internal factors including changes to our market capitalization, cash inflows, obligations and access to capital of our segments. We concluded that there were no indications of impairment under the qualitative approach. The analysis was consistent with the approach we utilized in prior years.
In connection with business acquisitions that we have completed, we identify and estimate the fair value of net assets acquired, including certain identifiable intangible assets (other than goodwill) and liabilities assumed. The determination of acquisition date fair values requires us to make significant estimates and assumptions regarding projected revenues, costs, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, attrition rates and discount rates. Changes to these assumptions may result in material differences depending on the size of the acquisition completed.
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Any changes to our key assumptions about our businesses and our prospects, or changes in market conditions, could cause the fair value of our operating segments to fall below its carrying value, resulting in a potential impairment charge. In addition, changes in our organizational structure or how our management allocates resources and assesses performance, could result in a change in our operating segments, requiring a reallocation and updated impairment analysis of goodwill and indefinite life intangible assets. A goodwill or intangible asset impairment charge could have a material effect on our consolidated financial statements because of the significance of goodwill and intangible assets to our consolidated balance sheet. There was no impairment of goodwill or intangible assets, both definite and indefinite life, as a result of the annual impairment tests completed during the fourth quarters of
2024,
2023 or
2022.
Accounting for Income Taxes
We operate in various tax jurisdictions, and accordingly, our income is subject to varying tax rates. Losses incurred in one jurisdiction cannot be used to offset taxable income in another jurisdiction. Our ability to use income tax loss carryforwards and future income tax deductions is dependent upon our operations in the tax jurisdictions in which such losses or deductions arise. Significant judgment is required in determining our provision for income taxes and evaluating our uncertain tax positions.
We account for income taxes under the asset and liability method, which recognizes the deferred tax assets or liabilities for the anticipated future tax effects of temporary differences between the financial statement basis and the tax basis of our assets and liabilities. Valuation allowances are established to reduce deferred tax assets when it is more likely than not that the benefit from the deferred tax assets will not be realized. In assessing the need for valuation allowance, historical and future levels of income, expectations and risks associated with estimates of future taxable income and tax planning strategies are considered. As of December 31, 2024, the valuation allowance of $51.7 million was recorded, which we are not expected to realize on a more than likely than not basis.
We apply a two-step approach to recognizing and measuring uncertain tax positions. The first step is to evaluate the tax position for recognition by determining if on the weight of available evidence, it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained on audit, including resolution of related appeals or litigation processes, if any. The second step is to measure the tax benefit that is more than 50% likely to be realized upon settlement. As of December 31, 2024, we did not recognize any uncertain tax provisions within the provision for income taxes.
See "Note 9 – Income Taxes" to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further information regarding income taxes included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report.
Recently Issued Accounting Standards
See “Note 2 – Significant Accounting Policies” of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for information regarding recently issued accounting standards.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2024 AS COMPARED TO THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2023
For additional information on our financial condition as of December 31, 2023 and results of operations, liquidity and capital resources for the year ended December 31, 2023 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2022, refer to Part II, “Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Annual Report on 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 which was filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on April 1, 2024.
NET REVENUES
Ting
Ting and its subsidiaries, Cedar, and Simply Bits, includes the provision of high-speed Internet access services to select towns throughout the United States, with further expansion underway to both new and existing markets. Our primary sales channel is through the Ting website. The primary focus of this segment is to provide reliable Gigabit Fiber and Fixed Wireless Internet services to consumer and business customers. Revenues are all generated in the U.S., have no fixed contract terms and are billed on a monthly basis, with unlimited bandwidth based on a fixed price.
The Company's billing cycle for all Ting Internet customers is computed based on the customer's activation date. Since consideration is collected before the service period, revenue is initially deferred and recognized as the Company performs its obligation to provide Internet access within each reporting period. In addition, revenues associated with the sale of Internet hardware to subscribers are recognized when title and risk of loss is transferred to the subscriber and shipment has occurred. Incentive marketing credits given to customers are recorded as a reduction of revenue.
In those cases, where payment is not received at the time of sale, as is the case for service requiring installation, then revenue is not recognized until a customer's service is activated. The Company records costs that reflect expected refunds, rebates and credit card charge-backs as a reduction of revenues at the time of the sale based on historical experiences and current expectations.
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Wavelo
Platform Services
Tucows' Platform Services include the following full-service platforms from Wavelo, including MONOS, ISOS, SM and our legacy Platypus ISP Billing software. Under each of these platforms there are a variety of solutions that support CSPs, including subscription and billing management, network orchestration and provisioning, and individual developer tools. Wavelo launched as a proven asset for CSPs, with EchoStar using Wavelo’s MONOS software to drive additional value within its Digital Operator Platform. More recently, Ting Internet has also integrated Wavelo’s ISOS and SM software to enable faster subscriber growth and footprint expansion. Wavelo's customers are billed monthly, on a postpaid basis. The monthly fees are variable, based on the volume of their subscribers utilizing the platform during a given month, to which minimums may apply. Customers may also be billed fixed platform fees and granted fixed credits as part of the consideration for long-term contracts. Consideration received is allocated to platform services and bundled professional services and recognized as each service obligation is fulfilled. Any fixed fees for Wavelo are recognized into revenue evenly over the service period, while variable usage fees are recognized each month as they are consumed. Professional services revenue is recognized as the hours of professional services granted to the customer are used or expire. When consideration for these platform services is received before the service is delivered, the revenue is initially deferred and recognized only as the Company performs its obligation to provide services. Likewise, if platform services are delivered before the Company has the unconditional right to invoice the customer, revenue is recognized as a Contract Asset.
Other Professional Services
This revenue stream includes any other professional services earned in connection with the Wavelo business from the provision of standalone technology services development work. These are billed to our customers monthly at set and established rates for services provided in period. The Company recognizes revenue as the Company satisfies its obligations to provide professional services.
Tucows Domains
Wholesale - Domain Services
Domain registration contracts, which can be purchased for terms of one to ten years, provide our resellers and retail registrant customers with the exclusive right to a personalized internet address from which to build an online presence. The Company enters into domain registration contracts in connection with each new, renewed and transferred-in domain registration. At the inception of the contract, the Company charges and collects the registration fee for the entire registration period. Though fees are collected upfront, revenue from domain registrations are recognized ratably over the registration period as domain registration contracts contain a ‘right to access’ license of IP, which is a distinct performance obligation measured over time. The registration period begins once the Company has confirmed that the requested domain name has been appropriately recorded in the registry under contractual performance standards.
Historically, our wholesale domain service has constituted the largest portion of our business and encompasses all of our services as an accredited registrar related to the registration, renewal, transfer and management of domain names. In addition, this service fuels other revenue categories as it often is the initial service for which a reseller will engage us, enabling us to follow on with other services and allowing us to add to our portfolio by purchasing names registered through us upon their expiration. We expect Domain services will continue to be the largest portion of our business and will continue to enable us to sell add-on services.
The Company is an ICANN accredited registrar. Thus, the Company is the primary obligor with our reseller and retail registrant customers and is responsible for the fulfillment of our registrar services to those parties. As a result, the Company reports revenue in the amount of the fees we receive directly from our reseller and retail registrant customers. Our reseller customers maintain the primary obligor relationship with their retail customers, establish pricing and retain credit risk to those customers. Accordingly, the Company does not recognize any revenue related to transactions between our reseller customers and their ultimate retail customers.
Wholesale – Value-Added Services
We derive revenue from domain related value-added services like digital certifications, WHOIS privacy and hosted email and by providing our resellers and retail registrant customers with tools and additional functionality to be used in conjunction with domain registrations. All domain related value-added services are considered distinct performance obligations which transfer the promised service to the customer over the contracted term. Fees charged to customers for domain related value-added services are collected at the inception of the contract, and revenue is recognized on a straight-line basis over the contracted term, consistent with the satisfaction of the performance obligations.
We also derive revenue from other value-added services, which primarily consists of proceeds from the OpenSRS, eNom and Ascio domain expiry streams.
Retail
We derive revenues mainly from Hover and eNom’s retail properties through the sale of retail domain name registration and email services to individuals and small businesses. The retail segment now includes the sale of the rights to its portfolio of surname domains used in connection with our RealNames email service and Linux hosting services for websites through our Exact Hosting brand.
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Corporate and all other - Mobile services and eliminations
Although we still provide mobile telephony services to a small subset of customers retained through the Ting Mobile brand as part of the EchoStar Purchase Agreement executed in Fiscal 2020; this revenue stream no longer represents the Company's strategic focus going forward. Instead we have transitioned towards being a Wavelo provider for CSPs globally.
Ting Mobile wireless usage contracts grant customers access to standard talk, text and data mobile services. Ting Mobile contracts are billed based on the customer's selected rate plan, which can either be usage based or an unlimited plan. All rate plan options are charged to customers on a postpaid, monthly basis at the end of their billing cycle. All future revenues associated with retail mobile services stream will only be for this subset of customers retained by the Company, as mentioned above. Ting Mobile services are primarily contracted through the Ting website, for one month at a time and contain no commitment to renew the contract following each customer's monthly billing cycle. The Company's billing cycle for all Ting Mobile customers is computed based on the customer's activation date. In order to recognize revenue as the Company satisfies its obligations, we compute the amount of revenues earned but not billed from the end of each billing cycle to the end of each reporting period. In addition, revenues associated with the sale of wireless devices and accessories are recognized when title and risk of loss is transferred to the customer and shipment has occurred. Incentive marketing credits given to customers are recorded as a reduction of revenue.
These mobile services revenue streams also includes transitional services provided to EchoStar. These are billed monthly at set and established rates for services provided in period and include the provision of sales, marketing, order fulfillment, and data analytics related to the legacy customer base sold to EchoStar. The Company recognizes revenue as the Company satisfies its obligations to provide transitional services.
As a form of consideration for the sale of the customer relationships, the Company receives a payout on the margin associated with the legacy customer base sold to EchoStar, over a period of 10 years. This has been classified as Other Income and not considered revenue in Fiscal 2023 or 2024.
The following table presents our net revenues, by revenue source:
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||||
| Ting: | |||||||
| Fiber Internet Services | $ | 59,732 | $ | 50,937 | |||
| Wavelo: | |||||||
| Platform Services | 39,824 | 37,082 | |||||
| Other professional services | 37 | 1,588 | |||||
| Total Wavelo | 39,861 | 38,670 | |||||
| Tucows Domains: | |||||||
| Wholesale | |||||||
| Domain Services | 197,113 | 189,013 | |||||
| Value Added Services | 19,882 | 17,712 | |||||
| Total Wholesale | 216,995 | 206,725 | |||||
| Retail | 37,644 | 35,372 | |||||
| Total Tucows Domains | 254,639 | 242,097 | |||||
| Corporate and all other: | |||||||
| Mobile Services and eliminations | 8,043 | 7,633 | |||||
| $ | 362,275 | $ | 339,337 | ||||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 22,938 | |||||
| Increase - percentage | 7 | % |
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The following table presents our net revenues, by revenue source, as a percentage of total net revenues:
| Year ended December 31, | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||||
| Ting: | ||||||||
| Fiber Internet Services | 16 | % | 15 | % | ||||
| Wavelo: | ||||||||
| Platform Services | 11 | % | 11 | % | ||||
| Other Professional Services | 0 | % | 0 | % | ||||
| Total Wavelo | 11 | % | 11 | % | ||||
| Tucows Domains: | ||||||||
| Wholesale | ||||||||
| Domain Services | 55 | % | 56 | % | ||||
| Value Added Services | 5 | % | 5 | % | ||||
| Total Wholesale | 60 | % | 61 | % | ||||
| Retail | 10 | % | 10 | % | ||||
| Total Tucows Domains | 70 | % | 71 | % | ||||
| Corporate and all other: | ||||||||
| Mobile services and eliminations | 3 | % | 3 | % | ||||
| 100 | % | 100 | % |
Total net revenues for Fiscal 2024 increased by $23.0 million, or 7%, to $362.3 million compared the year ended December 31, 2023 ("Fiscal 2023"). The increase in net revenue was driven by higher revenues across all operations. The Domains segment increased $12.5 million in the current period primarily driven by pricing increases through the current period and strong performance in the Expiry stream. The Ting segment increased $8.8 million in the current period as a result of subscriber growth from the continued buildout of our Fiber network across the United States. The Wavelo segment increased $1.2 million in the current period as a result of the complete Boost Mobile subscriber base migration onto our platform, compared to the prior period where subscriber migrations were only complete at the end of June 30, 2023; offset by a decrease in other professional services revenues. Mobile Services and eliminations increased by $0.4 million attributable to decreased intercompany revenues partially offset by decreased Mobile services revenues.
Contract liabilities at December 31, 2024 increased by $8.7 million to $156.8 million from $148.1 million at December 31, 2023. The increase was driven primarily by Tucows Domains, which accounted for $7.4 million of the increase as a result of the increase in pricing and domain name transactions through the current period. This was furthered by a smaller $1.2 million increase from Wavelo as a result of the contract liability associated with select customer contracts.
A customer, EchoStar, within our Wavelo segment accounted for 10.7% of total net revenue during the year ended December 31, 2024 and 10.7% of total net revenue during the year ended December 31, 2023. EchoStar accounted for 56% of total accounts receivable at December 31, 2024 and 59% of total accounts receivable at December 31, 2023. Though a significant portion of the Company’s domain services revenues are prepaid by our customers, where the Company does collect receivables, management judgment is required at the time revenue is recorded to assess whether the collection of the resulting receivables is reasonably assured. On an ongoing basis, we assess the ability of our customers to make required payments. Our expected credit losses were $0.9 million and $0.5 million as at December 31, 2024 and at December 31, 2023, respectively. Based on this assessment, we expect the carrying amount of our outstanding receivables, net of expected credit losses, to be fully collected.
Ting
Ting generated $59.7 million in net revenue during Fiscal 2024, which increased by $8.8 million or 17% compared to Fiscal 2023. This growth is driven by continued subscriber growth across the markets we serve, as well as the continued expansion of our Ting Internet footprint to new Ting towns throughout the United States.
As of December 31, 2024, Ting Internet had access to 134,000 owned infrastructure serviceable addresses, 45,000 partner infrastructure serviceable addresses and 51,000 active accounts under its management; compared to having access to 121,000 owned infrastructure serviceable addresses, 29,000 partner infrastructure serviceable addresses and 43,000 active accounts under its management as of December 31, 2023. These figures exclude the increase in serviceable addresses and accounts attributable to the Simply Bits acquisition.
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Wavelo
Platform Services
Wavelo's Platform services generated $39.8 million in net revenue during Fiscal 2024, which increased by $2.7 million or 7% compared to Fiscal 2023. The increase in Fiscal 2024 net revenue is driven primarily by increased platform revenues earned from a full twelve months of fully loaded revenues from the completed migration of EchoStar's Boost Mobile subscriber base at the end of June 30, 2023. The increased platform fees from EchoStar in the current period are partially offset by a reduction of revenues from Ting flat fee platform fees. Intercompany revenues earned for provision of services on the ISOS and SM platforms between Wavelo and Ting are included in Wavelo's segment revenues for purposes of segment analysis, but are ultimately eliminated upon consolidation. The elimination impact is presented below in Corporate and all other - Mobile services and eliminations.
Other Professional Services
During Fiscal 2024, Wavelo's Other Professional Services net revenue decreased by $1.6 million or 100% compared to Fiscal 2023, to less than $0.1 million. These revenues are related to the provision of standalone technology services development for our CSP customers and are non-recurring in nature, and expectantly can fluctuate period over period. These revenues depend on the volume (if any) and scope of standalone technology services development work our customers engage us to perform. In the current period, we performed limited standalone professional services for our customers.
Tucows Domains
Wholesale - Domain Services
Wholesale Tucows Domains generated $197.1 million in net revenue during Fiscal 2024, which increased by $8.1 million or 4% compared to Fiscal 2023. The increase from Wholesale domain services was driven primarily by increased domain name transactions and various price increases since Fiscal 2023.
Together the OpenSRS, eNom, EPAG and Ascio Domain Services manage 24.5 million domain names under the Tucows, eNom, EPAG and Ascio ICANN registrar accreditations and for other registrars under their own accreditations. Domains under management has decreased by 0.1 million domain names, or less than 1%, since December 31, 2023.
Wholesale - Value Added Services
Wholesale value-added services generated $19.9 million in net revenue during Fiscal 2024, which increased by $2.2 million or 12% compared to Fiscal 2023. The increase in value-added service revenue was driven by strong expiry sales and the inclusion of our storefront operations through the current period, partially offset by lower Digital Certificate revenues.
Retail
Retail domain services generated $37.6 million in net revenue during Fiscal 2024, which increased by $2.2 million or 6% compared to Fiscal 2023. The increase in retail revenue was driven by a large transition of domain names from wholesale to retail, price increases across domain name registrations, strong domain name portfolio sales, and strong Exact Hosting revenues in the current period.
Corporate and all other - Mobile services and eliminations
Mobile Services and eliminations generated $8.0 million in net revenue during Fiscal 2024, which increased by $0.4 million or 5% compared to Fiscal 2023. The increase was driven primarily by lower intercompany corporate eliminations of $1.8 million, primarily as a result of decreased revenues associated with inter segment billing between Wavelo and Ting. This was partially offset by decreased revenues of $0.9 million associated with the mobile services and device revenues from the small group of customers retained by the Company as part of the EchoStar Purchase Agreement. This decrease was primarily a result of the organic subscriber churn and plan mix shifting towards lower price point rate plans compared to Fiscal 2023. This was also furthered by decreased transitional services of $0.5 million from a decreased level of dedicated support services provided to EchoStar in connection with the legacy Ting Mobile customer base.
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COST OF REVENUES
Ting
Cost of revenues primarily includes the costs for provisioning high speed Internet access for Ting and its subsidiaries, Cedar and Simply Bits, which is comprised of network access fees paid to third-parties to use their network, leased circuit costs to directly support enterprise customers, the personnel and related expenses (net of capitalization) for the physical planning, design, construction and build out of the physical Fiber network, and as well as personnel and related expenses (net of capitalization) for the installation, activation, repair, maintenance and overall field service delivery of the Ting business. Hardware costs include the cost of equipment sold to end customers, including routers, ONTs, and IPTV products, and any adjustments on this inventory. Other costs include field vehicle expenses, and small sundry equipment and supplies consumed in building the Fiber network.
Wavelo
Platform Services
Cost of revenues to provide the new MONOS, ISOS and SM platforms, as well as our legacy Platypus ISP Billing software services including network access, provisioning and billing services for CSPs. This includes the amortization of any capitalized contract fulfillment costs over the period consistent with the pattern of transferring network access, provisioning and billing services to which the cost relates. Additionally, this includes any fees paid to third-party service providers primarily for printing services in connection with the Platypus ISP Billing software.
Other Professional Services
Cost of revenues to provide standalone technology services development work to our CSP customers to help support their businesses. This includes any personnel and contractor fees for any client service resources retained by the Company. Only a subset of the Company's employee base provides professional services to our customers. This cost reflects that group of resources.
Tucows Domains
Wholesale - Domain Services
Cost of revenues for domain registrations represents the amortization of registry and accreditation fees on a basis consistent with the recognition of revenues from our customers, namely ratably over the term of provision of the service. Registry fees, the primary component of cost of revenues, are paid in full when the domain is registered, and are initially recorded as prepaid domain registry fees. This accounting treatment reasonably approximates a recognition pattern that corresponds with the provision of the services during the period. Market development funds that do not represent a payment for distinct goods or services provided by the Company, and thus do not meet the criteria for revenue recognition under ASU 2014-09, are reflected as cost of goods sold and are recognized as earned.
Wholesale - Value-Added Services
Costs of revenues for value-added services include licensing and royalty costs related to the provisioning of certain components for hosted email and fees paid to third-party hosting services. Fees payable for trust certificates are amortized on a basis consistent with the provision of service, generally one year, while email hosting fees and monthly printing fees are included in cost of revenues in the month they are incurred.
Retail
Costs of revenues for our provision and management of Internet services through our retail sites, Hover.com and the eNom branded sites, include the amortization of registry fees on a basis consistent with the recognition of revenues from our customers, namely ratably over the term of provision of the service. Registry fees, the primary component of cost of revenues, are paid in full when the domain is registered, and are recorded as prepaid domain registry fees and are expensed ratably over the renewal term. Costs of revenues for our surname portfolio represent the amortization of registry fees for domains added to our portfolio over the renewal period, which is generally one year, the value attributed under intangible assets to any domain name sold and any impairment charges that may arise from our assessment of our domain name intangible assets.
Corporate and all other - Mobile services and eliminations
Cost of revenues for retail mobile services includes the costs of provisioning mobile services, which is primarily our customers' voice, messaging, data usage provided by our MNO partner, and the costs of providing mobile phone hardware, which is the cost of mobile phone devices and SIM cards sold to our customers, order fulfillment related expenses, and inventory write-downs. Included in the costs of provisioning mobile services are any penalties associated with the minimum commitments with our MNO partner.
These mobile services costs also include the personnel and related costs of transitional services provided to EchoStar. These are billed monthly at set and established rates for services provided in period and include the provision of sales, marketing, customer support, order fulfillment, and data analytics related to the legacy customer base sold to EchoStar. The Company recognizes costs as the Company satisfies its obligations to provide professional services.
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Network expenses
Network expenses include personnel and related expenses related to platform and network site reliability engineering, network operations centers, IT infrastructure and supply chain teams that support our various business segments. It also includes the depreciation and any impairment charges of property and equipment related to our networks and platforms, amortization of any intangible assets related to our networks and platforms, communication and productivity tool costs, and equipment maintenance costs. Communication and productivity tool costs include collaboration, customer support, bandwidth, co-location and provisioning costs we incur to support the supply of all our services, across our segments.
The following table presents our cost of revenues, by revenue source:
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | ||||||
| Ting: | |||||||
| Fiber Internet Services | $ | 18,754 | $ | 20,151 | |||
| Wavelo: | |||||||
| Platform Services | 1,248 | 1,337 | |||||
| Other Professional Services | 25 | 1,289 | |||||
| Total Wavelo | 1,273 | 2,626 | |||||
| Tucows Domains: | |||||||
| Wholesale | |||||||
| Domain Services | 158,383 | 150,664 | |||||
| Value Added Services | 2,075 | 2,249 | |||||
| Total Wholesale | 160,458 | 152,913 | |||||
| Retail | 16,625 | 16,501 | |||||
| Total Tucows Domains | 177,083 | 169,414 | |||||
| Corporate and all other: | |||||||
| Mobile services and eliminations | 12,637 | 10,065 | |||||
| Network Expenses: | |||||||
| Network, other costs | 26,723 | 28,222 | |||||
| Network, depreciation and amortization costs | 41,335 | 37,370 | |||||
| Network, impairment | 1,441 | 4,822 | |||||
| 69,499 | 70,414 | ||||||
| $ | 279,246 | $ | 272,670 | ||||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 6,576 | |||||
| Increase - percentage | 2 | % |
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The following table presents our cost of revenues, as a percentage of total cost of revenues for the periods presented:
| Year ended December 31, | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||||
| Ting: | ||||||||
| Fiber Internet Services | 7 | % | 7 | % | ||||
| Wavelo: | ||||||||
| Platform Services | 0 | % | 1 | % | ||||
| Other Professional Services | 0 | % | 0 | % | ||||
| Total Wavelo | 0 | % | 1 | % | ||||
| Tucows Domains: | ||||||||
| Wholesale | ||||||||
| Domain Services | 55 | % | 54 | % | ||||
| Value Added Services | 1 | % | 1 | % | ||||
| Total Wholesale | 56 | % | 55 | % | ||||
| Retail | 6 | % | 6 | % | ||||
| Total Tucows Domains | 62 | % | 61 | % | ||||
| Corporate and all other: | ||||||||
| Mobile services and eliminations | 5 | % | 4 | % | ||||
| Network Expenses: | ||||||||
| Network, other costs | 10 | % | 11 | % | ||||
| Network, depreciation and amortization costs | 15 | % | 14 | % | ||||
| Network, impairment | 1 | % | 2 | % | ||||
| 26 | % | 27 | % | |||||
| 100 | % | 100 | % |
Total cost of revenues for Fiscal 2024 increased by $6.5 million, or 2%, to $279.2 million, from $272.7 million in Fiscal 2023. The increase in cost of revenues was driven by increases across Tucows Domains and mobile service and eliminations by $7.7 million and $2.6 million, respectively. The increase in Tucows Domains of $7.7 million was a result of an increase in domain name transactions and registry side cost increases through the current period. The increase in mobile services and eliminations of $2.6 million was primarily a result of higher mobile telephony services costs due to MNO minimum purchase commitments and plan mix changes in the current period. These increases were partially offset by decreases across Ting, Wavelo, and Network Expenses of $1.4 million, $1.4 million, and $0.9 million, respectively. The decrease in Ting of $1.4 million was primarily a result of decreased costs and savings from the Capital Efficiency Plan executed in October 2024. The decrease in Wavelo of $1.4 million was primarily driven by Other Professional Services, consistent with limited standalone technology development work and revenues in the current period. The decrease in Network Expenses of $0.9 million was primarily due to a decrease in impairment charges within the Ting segment compared to Fiscal 2023, as well as decreased costs and savings from the Capital Efficiency Plan; partially offset by an increase in depreciation costs.
Deferred costs of fulfillment as of December 31, 2024 increased by $5.9 million, or 5%, to $117.0 million from $111.1 million at December 31, 2023. This increase was driven by Tucows Domains with an increase of $6.5 million as a result of increased domain name transactions and registry cost increases through the current period, consistent with the increase in contract liabilities discussed above. This increase was partially offset by Wavelo, with a decrease of $0.6 million related to the prior year which included Other Professional Services where the deferred costs to fulfill those services were amortized into costs of revenues.
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Ting
In Fiscal 2024, costs related to provisioning high speed Internet access for Ting and its subsidiaries, Cedar and Simply Bits, decreased by $1.4 million, or 7%, to $18.8 million as compared to $20.2 million during Fiscal 2023. The decrease is primarily driven by decreased personnel costs and savings from the Capital Efficiency Plan executed in October 2024.
Wavelo
Platform Services
Cost of revenues from Wavelo Platform Services for Fiscal 2024 decreased by $0.1 million, or 8%, to $1.2 million from $1.3 million in Fiscal 2023. This was driven by the complete amortization of previously capitalized costs incurred to fulfill the EchoStar Master Services Agreement ("MSA") over the initial term of the agreement, which ended in July 2024.
Other Professional Services
Cost of revenues from Other Professional Services for Fiscal 2024 decreased by $1.3 million, or 100%, to less than $0.1 million as compared to $1.3 million in Fiscal 2023. Cost of revenues to provide other professional services change depending on the nature and scope of work we are engaged to perform for our customers for select statements of work. The cost of revenues depend on the volume (if any) and scope of standalone technology services development work our customers engage us to perform. In the current period, we performed limited standalone professional services for our customers. The decrease is aligned to the decrease in Net Revenues discussed above.
Domain Services
Wholesale - Domain Services
Costs for Wholesale domain services for Fiscal 2024 increased by $7.7 million, or 5%, to $158.4 million as compared to $150.7 million in Fiscal 2023. Increases from Wholesale domain services were primarily driven by increased domain name transactions and various registry gTLD cost increases since Fiscal 2023. The increase is aligned to the increase in Net Revenues discussed above.
Wholesale - Value Added Services
Costs for wholesale value-added services for Fiscal 2024 decreased by $0.1 million, or 5%, to $2.1 million as compared to $2.2 million in Fiscal 2023. The decrease was driven by decreased costs related to the Digital Certificate revenue stream, and was partially offset by the inclusion of our storefront operations, consistent with the Net Revenues discussion above.
Retail
Costs for retail domain services for Fiscal 2024 increased by $0.1 million, or less than 1%, to $16.6 million as compared to $16.5 million in Fiscal 2023.
Corporate and all other - Mobile services and eliminations
Cost of revenues from Mobile Services and Eliminations for Fiscal 2024 increased by $2.5 million, or 26%, to $12.6 million as compared to $10.1 million in Fiscal 2023. The increase is driven by increased costs associated with mobile services from the small group of customers retained by the Company as part of the EchoStar Purchase Agreement due to MNO minimum purchase commitments and plan mix changes towards unlimited plans. The Company accrued $1.3 million in penalties associated with the MNO minimum commitment shortfall in Fiscal 2024, as compared to $0.3 million in Fiscal 2023. The company expects to continue to incur penalties in Fiscal 2025 and thereafter should limited subscriber growth persist. This was partially offset by a decrease in transitional services costs provided to EchoStar in connection with the legacy Ting Mobile customer base, consistent with the above discussion around net revenues.
Network Expenses
Network costs for Fiscal 2024 decreased by $0.9 million, or 1% to $69.5 million as compared to $70.4 million in Fiscal 2023. The current period decrease was primarily driven by decreased normal course network impairment charges of $3.4 million for Ting cable plant, asset under construction and capital inventory compared to Fiscal 2023. The current period decrease was furthered by a decrease in network costs of $1.5 million driven by savings related to the Capital Efficiency Plan, executed in October 2024. This was offset by increased network depreciation of $4.0 million, consisting of $3.1 million in incremental depreciation from Ting's expansion of our Ting Internet footprint to new Ting towns throughout the United States, $0.8 million in incremental depreciation of Wavelo's platform assets, and $0.1 million in incremental depreciation related to Tucows Domains and Corporate.
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SALES AND MARKETING
Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of personnel costs. These costs include commissions and related expenses of our sales, product management, public relations, call center, support and marketing personnel. Other sales and marketing expenses include customer acquisition costs, advertising and other promotional costs.
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||||
| Sales and marketing | $ | 59,382 | $ | 67,806 | ||||
| Decrease over prior period | $ | (8,424 | ) | |||||
| Decrease - percentage | (12 | )% | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 16 | % | 20 | % |
Sales and marketing expenses for Fiscal 2024 decreased by $8.4 million, or 12%, to $59.4 million as compared to Fiscal 2023. The decrease was primarily driven by reduced marketing and customer acquisition related spend from Ting, as the segment looked to measure and optimize channel spending. These savings were furthered by reduced personnel costs following the Capital Efficiency Plan.
Excluding movements in exchange rates, we expect sales and marketing expenses for Fiscal 2025 to decrease in absolute dollars, with lower personnel costs through the year due to lower headcount and as we adjust our marketing programs to optimize channel spending.
TECHNICAL OPERATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT
Technical operations and development expenses consist primarily of personnel costs and related expenses required to support the development of new or enhanced service offerings and the maintenance and upgrading of existing infrastructure. This includes expenses incurred in the research, design and development of technology that we use to register domain names, provide Wavelo's platform services, provide Ting's Internet Services, email, retail, domain portfolio and other Internet services. All technical operations and development costs are expensed as incurred.
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||||
| Technical operations and development | $ | 18,627 | $ | 19,217 | ||||
| Decrease over prior period | $ | (590 | ) | |||||
| Decrease - percentage | (3 | )% | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 5 | % | 6 | % |
Technical operations and development expenses for Fiscal 2024 decreased by $0.6 million, or 3%, to $18.6 million as compared to Fiscal 2023. The decrease was primarily driven by reduced contracted services spending for tools, systems, and labor to support the technical operations and development of our systems and platforms, lower network connectivity and co-location costs. These decreases were partially offset by savings in personnel costs following the Capital Efficiency Plan.
Excluding movements in exchange rates, we expect technical operations and development expenses for Fiscal 2025, in absolute dollars, to increase when compared to Fiscal 2024 to support the ongoing growth in our operations.
GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of compensation and related costs for managerial and administrative personnel, fees for professional services, public listing expenses, rent, foreign exchange and other general corporate expenses.
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||||
| General and administrative | $ | 37,068 | $ | 33,406 | ||||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 3,662 | ||||||
| Increase - percentage | 11 | % | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 10 | % | 10 | % |
General and administrative expenses for Fiscal 2024 increased by $3.7 million, or 11%, to $37.1 million as compared to Fiscal 2023. The increase was primarily driven by increased professional fees incurred in the current period and increased spending on tooling and software to support general and administrative functions. The increase was furthered by slight increases in credit card processing fees and bad debt expense as teams re-assess provisions against collectability. These increases were partially offset by some savings relating to the Capital Efficiency Plan.
Excluding movements in exchange rates, we expect general and administrative expenses for Fiscal 2025, in absolute dollars, to increase when compared to Fiscal 2024 largely to support the growth of our business.
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IMPAIRMENT AND RESTRUCTURING
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | For the Year Ended | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||||
| Impairment of property and equipment | $ | 17,726 | $ | - | ||||
| Restructuring charges | 10,954 | - | ||||||
| Increase over prior period | 28,680 | |||||||
| Increase - percentage | N/A | % | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 8%% | - | % |
During the year ended December 31, 2024, as part of the October 2024 Capital Efficiency Plan, the Company recorded an impairment loss of $17.7 million related to Assets Under Construction and Capital Inventory. These assets were deemed no longer necessary for future operations following the implementation of the Capital Efficiency Plan, which included the decision to cease new market expansions in select Ting markets. This impairment loss was accounted for under ASC 420 - Exit or Disposal Cost Obligations.
During the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company also incurred $11.0 million in one-time costs related to both the February 2024 Workforce Reduction and October 2024 Capital Efficiency Plan restructurings, which were both accounted for under
ASC 420 - Exit or Disposal Cost Obligations. These costs associated with the Workforce Reduction and Capital Efficiency Plan predominantly consisted of termination benefits for the terminated employees associated with the restructuring, continuation of benefits, outplacement costs, and professional services.
DEPRECIATION OF PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||||
| Depreciation of property and equipment | $ | 451 | $ | 567 | ||||
| Decrease over prior period | $ | (116 | ) | |||||
| Decrease - percentage | (20 | )% | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | - | % | - | % |
Depreciation costs for Fiscal 2024 decreased by less than $0.1 million to $0.5 million as compared to Fiscal 2023. The slight decrease was due to lower additions to property and equipment in Fiscal 2024 while additions from prior years became fully depreciated.
AMORTIZATION OF INTANGIBLE ASSETS
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | $ | 3,834 | $ | 9,323 | ||||
| Decrease over prior period | $ | (5,489 | ) | |||||
| Decrease - percentage | (59 | )% | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 1 | % | 3 | % |
Amortization of intangible assets for Fiscal 2024 decreased by $5.5 million, or 59%, to $3.8 million as compared to Fiscal 2023. This decrease in amortization was a driven by the completed amortization of customer relationships associated with the Company's Fiscal 2017 acquisition of eNom. The amortization of the related assets was completed in January 2024.
Network rights, brand and customer relationships acquired in connection with the following acquisitions are amortized on a straight-line basis over a range of two to seven years: eNom in January 2017, Ascio in March of 2019, Cedar in January 2020 and Simply Bits in November 2021.
OTHER INCOME (EXPENSES)
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||||
| Other income (expense), net | $ | (36,861 | ) | $ | (39,418 | ) | ||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 2,557 | ||||||
| Increase - percentage | 6 | % | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 10 | % | 12 | % |
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Other income (expense) increased by $2.6 million when compared to Fiscal 2023. The increase was primarily driven by the absence of loss on debt extinguishment, related to the make-whole premium paid to Generate following the redemption of Series A Preferred Units in the three months ended September 30, 2023. The increase was furthered by a slight increase in other income due to the inclusion of Orange Domains joint venture and sublease rental income received in the current period. The increase was partially offset by higher net interest expense as a result of the inclusion of interest associated with the 2023 and 2024 Term Notes, an increase due to the absence of interest rate swap contracts in the current period, and lower interest expense capitalization associated with Fiber network assets under construction; partially offset by reduction in interest related to the Credit Facility for the Tucows businesses excluding Ting and the inclusion of interest income following the execution of Ting's 2023 and 2024 Term Notes. Income earned on sale of Transferred Assets to EchoStar decreased as a result of legacy customers naturally churning, as expected.
INCOME TAXES
The following table presents our provision for income taxes for the periods presented:
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||||
| Provision for income taxes | $ | 7,986 | $ | (6,873 | ) | |||
| Increase in provision over prior period | $ | 14,859 | ||||||
| Increase - percentage | (216 | )% | ||||||
| Effective tax rate | (8 | )% | 7 | % |
Income taxes increased by $14.8 million and the effective tax rate decreased from 7% to (8%) when compared to the year ended December 31, 2023. The change in effective tax rate is primarily due an increase in valuation allowance on net operating losses, which exceeded the impact of existing reversible temporary differences when compared to the same period in the prior year.
A reconciliation of the federal statutory income tax rate to our effective tax rate is set forth in “Note 9 – Income Taxes” of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report.
ADJUSTED EBITDA
We believe that the provision of this supplemental non-GAAP financial measure allows investors to evaluate the operational and financial performance of our core business using similar evaluation measures to those used by management. We use Adjusted EBITDA to measure our performance and prepare our budgets. Since Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure, our calculation of Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies; and should not be considered in isolation, as a substitute for, or superior to measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. Because Adjusted EBITDA is calculated before recurring cash charges, including interest expense and taxes, and is not adjusted for capital expenditures or other recurring cash requirements of the business, it should not be considered as a liquidity measure. For liquidity measures, see the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report. Non-GAAP financial measures do not reflect a comprehensive system of accounting and may differ from non-GAAP financial measures with the same or similar captions that are used by other companies and/or analysts and may differ from period to period. We endeavor to compensate for these limitations by providing the relevant disclosure of the items excluded in the calculation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income based on GAAP, which should be considered when evaluating the Company's results. Tucows strongly encourages investors to review its financial information in its entirety and not to rely on a single financial measure.
Our Adjusted EBITDA definition excludes provision for income tax, depreciation, amortization of intangible assets, asset impairment, interest expense (net), loss on debt extinguishment, accretion of contingent liabilities, stock-based compensation, gains and losses from unrealized foreign currency transactions and costs that are one-time in nature and not indicative of on-going performance (profitability), including acquisition and transition costs. Gains and losses from unrealized foreign currency transactions removes the unrealized effect of the change in the mark-to-market values on outstanding foreign currency contracts not designated in accounting hedges, as well as the unrealized effect from the translation of monetary accounts denominated in non-U.S. dollars to U.S. dollars.
The following table reconciles net income to Adjusted EBITDA:
| Reconciliation of Income before Provision for Income Taxes to Adjusted EBITDA | Twelve months ended December 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In Thousands of US Dollars) | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||
| Net Income (Loss) for the period | $ | (109,860 | ) | $ | (96,197 | ) | $ | (27,571 | ) | |||
| Less: | ||||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | 7,986 | (6,873 | ) | (217 | ) | |||||||
| Depreciation of property and equipment | 40,323 | 36,431 | 28,187 | |||||||||
| Impairment and loss on disposition of property and equipment | 19,167 | 4,822 | 553 | |||||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | 5,297 | 10,829 | 11,394 | |||||||||
| Interest expense, net | 51,275 | 41,771 | 14,456 | |||||||||
| Loss on debt extinguishment | - | 14,680 | - | |||||||||
| Accretion of contingent liability | - | - | 248 | |||||||||
| Stock-based compensation | 7,021 | 8,134 | 7,599 | |||||||||
| Unrealized loss (gain) on change in fair value of foreign currency forward contracts | - | - | - | |||||||||
| Unrealized loss (gain) on foreign exchange revaluation of foreign denominated monetary assets and liabilities | (168 | ) | (62 | ) | 281 | |||||||
| Acquisition and other costs1 | 13,876 | 1,916 | 2,660 | |||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 34,917 | $ | 15,451 | $ | 37,590 |
1 Acquisition and other costs represent transaction-related expenses, transitional expenses, such as redundant post-acquisition expenses. Expenses include severance or transitional costs associated with department, operational or overall company restructuring efforts, including geographic alignments.
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Segment Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2024 increased by $19.4 million, or 125% to $34.9 million when compared to the year ended December 31, 2023. The increase in segment Adjusted EBITDA from period-to-period was primarily driven by increases in Ting, Wavelo, and Tucows Domains. Ting contribution, which excludes the restructuring impact of the February 2024 workforce reduction and 2024 Capital Efficiency Plan, increased $21.6 million, primarily driven by subscriber growth across the markets we serve as well, the reduction in spend across sales and marketing activities, and reduced personnel costs due to the execution of the Capital Efficiency Plan. The Wavelo contribution increased $3.2 million primarily driven by increased platform revenues earned from the increased level of EchoStar subscribers on the platform throughout Fiscal 2024, compared to prior year where migrations of EchoStar subscribers were still occurring. Tucows Domains contributions increased by $1.8 million from strong wholesale, expiry, and portfolio sales through the current period, as well as the inclusion of Orange Domains joint venture. These increases in segment Adjusted EBITDA were partially offset by decreases across Mobile Services and eliminations. Mobile Services and eliminations contributions decreased $7.2 million primarily from the decrease in income earned on sale of Transferred Assets to EchoStar, increasing MNO minimum purchase obligations, as well as increased professional services fees; partially offset by reduced personnel costs due to the execution of the Capital Efficiency Plan.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
As of December 31, 2024, our cash and cash equivalents balance decreased $35.8 million, our funds held by trustee balance increased by $1.0 million, and our secured notes reserve funds balance increased by $3.1 million, respectively, when compared to December 31, 2023. The decrease in our cash balance was primarily driven by $56.5 million for the continued investment in property and equipment primarily driven by Ting Internet expansion and both Wavelo and Domains platforms, $19.7 million from cash used in operating activities, $16.5 million related to the repayment of the 2023 Credit Facility, $2.0 million related to deferred notes payable financing costs, and $0.6 million related to the acquisition of intangible assets. These uses of cash were partially offset by $63.0 million proceeds from the issuance of additional notes payable for Ting Internet (as defined in "Note 8 - Notes Payable") and $0.5 million from proceeds on disposal of property and equipment.
2024 Ting Securitized Financing Facility
On August 20, 2024, the Company through its wholly owned subsidiaries, including Ting, entered into a definitive agreement relating to a securitized financing facility related to a privately placed securitized transaction. On the closing date, Ting issued (i) $55,000,000 of its 5.63% Secured Fiber Revenue Notes, Series 2024-1, Class A-2 (the “2024 Class A-2 Notes”), (ii) $8,000,000 of its 6.85% Secured Fiber Revenue Notes, Series 2024-1, Class B (the “2024 Class B Notes”) and (iii) $16,000,000 initial principal amount of 9.15% Secured Fiber Revenue Notes, Series 2024-1, Class C (the “2024 Class C Notes” and together with the 2024 Class A-2 Notes and the 2024 Class B Notes, the “2024 Term Notes”).
The offering was exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). Subject to certain limitations, the 2024 Notes are secured by certain of the Company’s revenue-generating assets, consisting principally of the Securitized Assets, that are owned by certain other limited-purpose, bankruptcy-remote, wholly owned indirect subsidiaries of the Company (collectively, the “Securitization Entities”) that act as guarantors under the Base Indenture.
The 2024 Term Notes were issued under the Base Indenture, dated as of May 4, 2023 (as supplemented by the Base Indenture Supplement No. 1, dated as of November 10, 2023), by and between the Issuer, the asset parties party thereto and Citibank, N.A., as trustee (in such capacity, the “Indenture Trustee”) and securities intermediary and a series supplement to the Base Indenture dated as of the Closing Date (the “Series 2024-1 Supplement”), by and among the Issuer, the asset parties party thereto and the Indenture Trustee. The Base Indenture and the Series 2024-1 Supplement will allow the Issuer to issue additional series of notes in the future, subject to certain conditions set forth therein.
Interest payments on the 2024 Term Notes are payable on a monthly basis. The legal final maturity date of the 2024 Term Notes is in August of 2054, but, unless earlier prepaid to the extent permitted under the Indenture, the anticipated repayment date of the 2024 Term Notes will be in August 2029. If the Issuer has not repaid or refinanced the 2024 Term Notes prior to the anticipated repayment date, additional interest will accrue on the 2024 Term Notes in an amount equal to the greater of (A) 5.00% per annum and (B) a per annum interest rate equal to the excess, if any, by which the sum of the following exceeds the original interest rate of such 2024 Term Note (i) the yield to maturity (adjusted to a “mortgage equivalent basis” pursuant to the standards and practices of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association) on such anticipated repayment date of the United States Treasury Security having a term closest to 10 years, plus (ii) 5.00%, plus (iii) (x) for the 2024 Class A-2 Notes, 2.00%, (y) for the 2024 Class B Notes, 3.25% and (z) for the 2024 Class C Notes, 7.00%. Please see the discussion in the Material Cash Requirements section below.
2023 Credit Facility
On September 22, 2023, the Borrowers and certain other subsidiaries of the Company, as guarantors, entered into the 2023 Credit Agreement with Bank of Montreal, as administrative agent (“BMO” or the “Agent”), and the lenders party thereto, to, among other things, provide the Borrowers with the 2023 Credit Facility in an aggregate amount not to exceed $240 million. The Borrowers may request an increase to the 2023 Credit Facility through new commitments of up to $60M if the Total Funded Debt to Adjusted EBITDA Ratio (as defined in the 2023 Credit Agreement) is less than 3.75:1.00. The Credit Facility expires on September 22, 2026, which is the third anniversary of the effective date of the 2023 Credit Facility.
The 2023 Credit Agreement contains customary representations and warranties, affirmative and negative covenants, and events of default. The 2023 Credit Agreement requires that the Company comply with certain customary non-financial covenants and restrictions. In addition, the Company has agreed to comply with the following financial covenants: (1) a leverage ratio by maintaining at all times a Total Funded Debt to Adjusted EBITDA Ratio of not more than (i) 4.50:1:00 at any time from and after the Closing Date to and including December 30, 2023; (ii) 4.25:1:00 from December 31, 2023 to and including March 30, 2024; (iii) 4.00:1.00 from March 31, 2024 to and including June 29, 2024; and (iv) 3.75:1.00 thereafter; and (2) an interest coverage ratio by maintaining as of the end of each rolling four financial quarter period, an Interest Coverage Ratio (as defined in the 2023 Credit Agreement) of not less than 3.00:1.00. As at December 31, 2024, the Company's leverage ratio was 3.26:1.00 and Interest Coverage Ratio was 3.50:1.00.
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Third Amended 2019 Credit Facility
In connection with entering into the 2023 Credit Agreement, on September 22, 2023, the Company paid off the principal balance, including accrued interest thereon, of the revolving loans outstanding under the Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement (the “RBC Credit Agreement”), dated as of August 8, 2022, as amended, by and among the Company, certain subsidiaries of the Company as borrowers, certain other subsidiaries of the Company as guarantors, Royal Bank of Canada, as administrative agent (“RBC”), and the lenders party thereto, pursuant to which Tucows’ prior credit facility that provided the Borrowers with a $240 million revolving credit facility (the "2019 Credit Facility"). The RBC Credit Agreement automatically terminated upon the receipt by RBC of certain backstop letters of credit to be delivered by BMO.
During Fiscal 2024, the Company made net repayments of $16.5 million towards the 2023 Credit Facility and the previous facility. The Company ended December 31, 2024 with a remaining principal balance of $195.4 million, for which the required repayment is due in 2026.
As of December 31, 2024, the Company held contracts in the amount of $29.4 million with BMO to trade U.S. dollars in exchange for Canadian dollars under an uncommitted treasury risk management facility which assists the Company with hedging Canadian dollar exposures. Please see the discussion in the Material Cash Requirements section below.
Cash Flow from Operating Activities
Year ended December 31, 2024
Net cash inflows (outflows) from operating activities were ($19.7) million, a decrease of (310%) when compared to the prior year. After adjusting for non-cash charges, the Company reported a net loss of ($23.7) million during Fiscal 2024, a decrease of (38%) when compared to the prior year. Net income included non-cash charges and recoveries of $86.1 million including depreciation, impairment of property and equipment, accretion of redeemable preferred units, stock-based compensation, amortization of intangible assets, amortization of debt discount and issuance costs, deferred income taxes (recovery), loss (gain) on disposal of assets, net amortization of contract costs, loss on disposal of domain names, undistributed earnings of equity method investee, and net right of use operating asset or liability. In addition, changes in our working capital contributed to a net cash inflow of $4.0 million. Positive contributions of $16.4 million from movements in contract liabilities, inventory, accrued liabilities, contract asset, accounts receivable, prepaid expenses and deposits, and accreditation fees payable, were partially offset by utilized cash of $12.5 million from the changes in deferred costs of fulfillment, accounts payable, customer deposits, and income taxes recoverable.
Cash Flow from Financing Activities
Year ended December 31, 2024
Net cash
inflows
from financing activities during Fiscal
2024
totaled
$44.5
million as compared to cash
inflows
of
$178.8
million during Fiscal
2023
. Total cash inflows were driven by $63.0 million of proceeds from the issuance of notes payable
and less than $0.1 million from proceeds received on exercise of stock options. These cash inflows were partially offset by $16.5 million related to the repayment of the syndicate revolver, $2.0 million from deferred notes payable financing costs, and less than $0.1 million related to the syndicate revolver issued.
Cash Flow from Investing Activities
Year ended December 31, 2024
Investing activities during the Fiscal 2024 used net cash of $56.5 million as compared to using $92.6 million during Fiscal 2023. Total cash outflows were driven by $56.5 million related to the investment in property and equipment, primarily to support the continued expansion of our Ting Internet Fiber network footprints in Colorado, North Carolina, California, and Virginia as we seek to extend both our current network and expand to new markets, as well as $0.6 million for the acquisition of other intangible assets. These cash outflows were partially offset by $0.5 million of proceeds on disposal of property and equipment.
Material Cash Requirements
At December 31, 2024, the Company's cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash and secured notes reserve funds balances totaled $73.2 million, of which $61.7 million belonged to Ting and $11.5 million belonged to the other Tucows businesses.
In our 2023 Annual Report, we disclosed our material cash requirements of both the Ting segment and Tucows businesses excluding Ting. As of December 31, 2024, aside from the items mentioned below, there have been no other material changes to our material cash requirements outside the ordinary course of business.
Ting
As of December 31, 2024, the balance owing on the Unit Purchase Agreement was $122.2 million ("Note 13 - Redeemable preferred units" of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part I, of this report). On May 4, 2023, Tucows, through its indirect and wholly owned subsidiaries, including Ting Fiber, LLC entered into a definitive agreement relating to a securitized financing facility where Ting Issuer LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, issued the 2023 Term Notes for a total value of $238.5 million and 2024 Term Notes for a total value of $63.0 million ("Note 7 - Notes Payable" of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part I, of this report). The combination of these agreements is expected to fund Ting operations through Fiscal 2025.
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Ting committed to workforce reductions on February 7, 2024 and October 30, 2024, which aimed to reduce Ting’s workforce by 13% and 42%, respectively. Both plans were designed to lower year-over-year operating expenses by streamlining operations, reducing capital activities and reducing operating expenses within the Ting operating segment.
Ting incurred a net loss of $121.7 million and $120.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 and the year ended December 31, 2023, respectively. At December 31, 2024, Ting had $45.4 million in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, $1.2 million in accounts receivable, $1.2 million in accounts payable and $15.8 million in accrued liabilities. At December 31, 2024, Ting’s long-term liabilities included $287.6 million payable on the 2023 and 2024 Term Notes, as well as $122.2 million on the Redeemable Preferred Units. Ting incurred an operating cash flow deficit of $49.9 million and $41.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2024 and the year ended December 31, 2023, respectively. Ting has scheduled interest payments of $39.2 million in the twelve months following December 31, 2024.
Ting may not be able to meet its financial obligations over the twelve months following December 31, 2024 without additional financing. Ting has historically relied on the proceeds from its Redeemable Preferred Units as well as its 2023 and 2024 Term Notes to fund its operations and the expansion of the Ting Fiber Internet footprint. Ting currently has limited capacity to expand its borrowings under the Base Indenture and it is uncertain whether Ting will be able to access additional Milestone Funding under the Redeemable Preferred Unit facility. Our ability to obtain additional financing if required will be subject to a number of factors, including market conditions, our operating performance and investor sentiment. If we are unable to raise additional capital when required or on acceptable terms, we may have to significantly restrict our operations or obtain funds by entering into agreements on unattractive terms, which would likely have a material adverse effect on our business, stock price and our relationships with third parties with whom we have business relationships, at least until additional funding is obtained, and which could result in additional dilution to our stockholders. If we do not have sufficient funds to continue operations, Ting could be required to seek bankruptcy protection or other alternatives that would likely result in our stockholders losing some or all of their investment in us.
Tucows Businesses Excluding Ting
Tucows businesses excluding Ting, acquisitions and capital investments have been funded by the Company's operating income and the Company's existing 2023 Credit Agreement. As of December 31, 2024, the Company’s 2023 Credit Facility had an outstanding balance of $195.4 million. Tucows businesses excluding Ting make principal repayments from time to time.
For Fiscal 2025, the Company plans to fund the cash requirements of Tucows businesses excluding Ting solely through operating income, while making discretionary loan repayments to create greater operating flexibility and access to additional financing.
In the long-term, Tucows businesses excluding Ting may seek additional financing to accelerate the growth of our Wavelo business, repurchase shares or future acquisitions. The Company's 2023 Credit Facility expires on September 30, 2026 and the Company will be required to refinance the 2023 Credit Facility once it becomes due.
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FY 2023 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001437749-24-010358.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
OVERVIEW
Our mission is to provide simple useful services that help people unlock the power of the Internet.
We accomplish this by reducing the complexity of our customers’ experience as they access the Internet (at home or on the go) and while using Internet services such as domain name registration, email and other Internet related services. We are organized into three operating and reporting segments - Ting, Wavelo, and Tucows Domains. Each segment is differentiated primarily by their services, the markets they serve and the regulatory environments in which they operate. The Ting segment contains the operating results of our retail high speed Internet access operations, including its wholly owned subsidiaries - Cedar and Simply Bits. The Wavelo segment includes our platform and professional services offerings, as well as the billing solutions to Internet services providers ("ISPs") (branded as Platypus). Tucows Domains includes wholesale and retail domain name registration services, as well as value added services derived through our OpenSRS, eNom, Ascio, EPAG and Hover brands.
Our Chief Executive Officer (CEO), who is also our chief operating decision maker, reviews the operating results of Ting, Wavelo and Tucows Domains as three distinct segments in order to make key decisions and evaluate segment performance. Certain revenues and expenses disclosed under the Corporate category are excluded from segment earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA") results as they are centrally managed and not monitored by or reported to our CEO by segment. The exclusions include: retail mobile services, the 10-year payment stream on transferred legacy Mobile subscribers, eliminations of intercompany transactions, portions of Finance and Human Resources, Legal and Corporate Information Technology (IT) shared services.
For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, we reported revenue of $339 million, $321 million and $304 million, respectively.
On September 22, 2023, the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries, Tucows.com Co., Ting Inc., Tucows (Delaware) Inc., Wavelo, Inc. and Tucows (Emerald), LLC (each, a “Borrower” and together, the “Borrowers,” collectively with the Company) and certain other subsidiaries of the Company, as guarantors, entered into the 2023 Credit Agreement with Bank of Montreal, as administrative agent (“BMO” or the “Agent”), and the lenders party thereto, to, among other things, provide the Borrowers with a revolving credit facility in an aggregate amount not to exceed $240 million (the “2023 Credit Facility”). The Borrowers may request an increase to the 2023 Credit Facility through new commitments of up to $60M if the Total Funded Debt to Adjusted EBITDA Ratio (as defined in the 2023 Credit Agreement) is less than 3.75:1.00. The 2023 Credit Facility expires on September 22, 2026, which is the third anniversary of the effective date of the 2023 Credit Facility. The 2023 Credit Agreement contains customary representations and warranties, affirmative and negative covenants, and events of default. The 2023 Credit Agreement requires that the Company comply with certain customary non-financial covenants and restrictions. In addition, the Company has agreed to comply with the following financial covenants: (1) a leverage ratio by maintaining at all times a Total Funded Debt to Adjusted EBITDA Ratio of not more than (i) 4.50:1:00 at any time from and after the Closing Date to and including December 30, 2023; (ii) 4.25:1:00 from December 31, 2023 to and including March 30, 2024; (iii) 4.00:1.00 from March 31, 2024 to and including June 29, 2024; and (iv) 3.75:1.00 thereafter; and (2) an interest coverage ratio by maintaining as of the end of each rolling four financial quarter period, an Interest Coverage Ratio (as defined in the 2023 Credit Agreement) of not less than 3.00:1.00.
During Fiscal 2023, the Company made repayments of $27.8 million towards 2023 Credit Facility and the 2019 Credit Facility (as defined in "Note 8 - Syndicate Revolver of in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for Fiscal 2023 included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report). The Company ended December 31, 2023 with a remaining principal balance of $211.9 million, for which the required repayment is due in 2026.
Ting
Ting and its wholly owned subsidiaries, Cedar and Simply Bits includes the provision of high-speed Internet access services to select towns throughout the United States, with further expansion underway to both new and existing markets. Our primary sales channel is through the Ting website. The primary focus of this segment is to provide reliable Gigabit Fiber and Fixed Wireless Internet services to consumer and business customers. Revenues from Ting Internet are all generated in the U.S. and are billed on a monthly basis. Ting Internet services have no fixed contract terms.
As of December 31, 2023, Ting Internet had access to 121,000 owned infrastructure serviceable addresses, 29,000 partner infrastructure serviceable addresses and 43,000 active accounts under its management; compared to having access to 96,000 owned infrastructure serviceable addresses, 19,000 partner infrastructure serviceable addresses and 35,000 active accounts under its management as of December 31, 2022. These figures exclude the increase in serviceable addresses and accounts attributable to the Simply Bits acquisition.
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Wavelo
Wavelo includes the provision of full-service platforms and professional services providing a variety of solutions that support Communication Services providers ("CSPs"), including subscription and billing management, network orchestration and provisioning, and individual developer tools. Wavelo's focus is to provide accessible telecom software to CSPs globally, minimizing network and technical barriers and improving internet access worldwide. Wavelo's suite of flexible, cloud-based software simplifies the management of mobile and internet network access, enabling CSPs to better utilize their existing infrastructure, focus on customer experience and scale their businesses faster. Wavelo launched as a proven asset for CSPs, with DISH using Wavelo’s Mobile Network Operating System ("MONOS") software to drive additional value within its Digital Operator Platform and Ting integrating Wavelo’s Internet Service Operating System ("ISOS") and Subscriber Management ("SM") software to enable faster subscriber growth and footprint expansion. The Wavelo segment also includes the Platypus brand and platform, our legacy billing solution for ISPs. The revenues from Wavelo's MONOS, ISOS, SM and professional services are all generated in the U.S. and our customer agreements have set contract lengths with the underlying CSP. Similarly, Wavelo's revenues from Platypus are largely generated in the U.S., with a small portion earned in Canada and other countries.
Domain Services
Tucows Domains includes wholesale and retail domain name registration services, as well as value added services derived through our OpenSRS, eNom, Ascio, EPAG and Hover brands. Tucows Domains revenues primarily from the registration fees charged to resellers in connection with new, renewed and transferred domain name registrations. In addition, we earn revenues from the sale of retail domain name registration and email services to individuals and small businesses. Tucows Domains revenues are attributed to the country in which the contract originates, which is primarily in Canada and the U.S for OpenSRS and eNom brands whereas it is primarily in European nations for Ascio and EPAG.
Our primary distribution channel is a global network of more than 35,000 resellers that operate in almost 200 countries and who typically provide their customers, the end-users of Internet-based services, with solutions for establishing and maintaining an online presence. Our primary focus is serving the needs of this network of resellers by providing the broadest portfolio of gTLD and the country code top-level domain options and related services, a white-label platform that facilitates the provisioning and management of domain names, a powerful Application Program Interface, easy-to-use interfaces, comprehensive management and reporting tools, and proactive and attentive customer service. Our services are integral to the solutions that our resellers deliver to their customers. We provide “second tier” support to our resellers by email, chat and phone in the event resellers experience issues or problems with our services. In addition, our Network Operating Center proactively monitors all services and network infrastructure to address deficiencies before customer services are impacted.
We believe that the underlying platforms for our services are among the most mature, reliable and functional reseller-oriented provisioning and management platforms in our industry, and we continue to refine, evolve and improve these services for both resellers and end-users. Our business model is characterized primarily by non-refundable, up-front payments, which lead to recurring revenue from renewals and positive operating cash flow.
Wholesale, primarily branded as OpenSRS, eNom, EPAG and Ascio, derives revenue from its domain name registration service. Together the OpenSRS, eNom, EPAG and Ascio Domain Services manage 24.6 million domain names under the Tucows, eNom, EPAG and Ascio ICANN registrar accreditations and for other registrars under their own accreditations. Domains under management has increased by 0.2 million, or less than 1%, since December 31, 2022.
Value-Added Services include hosted email which provides email delivery and webmail access to millions of mailboxes, Internet security services, WHOIS privacy, publishing tools and other value-added services. All of these services are made available to end-users through a network of web hosts, ISPs, and other resellers around the world. In addition, we also derive revenue by monetizing domain names which are near the end of their lifecycle through expiry auction sale.
Retail, primarily the Hover and eNom portfolio of websites, including eNom, and eNom Central, derive revenues from the sale of domain name registration and email services to individuals and small businesses. Our retail domain services also include our Personal Names Service – based on over 36,000 surname domains – that allows roughly two-thirds of Americans to purchase an email address based on their last name. The retail segment now includes the sale of the rights to its portfolio of surname domains used in connection with our RealNames email service and our Exact Hosting Service, that provides Linux hosting services for individual and small business websites.
KEY BUSINESS METRICS AND NON-GAAP MEASURES
We regularly review a number of business metrics, including the following key metrics and non-GAAP measure, to assist us in evaluating our business, measure the performance of our business model, identify trends impacting our business, determine resource allocations, formulate financial projections and make strategic business decisions. The following tables set forth the key business metrics which we believe are the primary indicators of our performance for the periods presented:
| Ting Internet | For the year ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||||
| (in '000's) | |||||||||||
| Ting Internet accounts under management | 43 | 35 | 26 | ||||||||
| Ting Internet owned infrastructure serviceable addresses (1) | 121 | 96 | 76 | ||||||||
| Ting Internet partner infrastructure serviceable addresses (1) | 29 | 19 | 15 |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| (1) | Defined as premises to which Ting has the capability to provide a customer connection in a service area. |
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| Tucows Domains | As of December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||||
| Total new, renewed and transferred-in domain name registrations provisioned(1) | 22,031 | 21,774 | 22,530 | ||||||||
| Domains under management: | |||||||||||
| Registered using Registrar Accreditation belonging to the Tucows Group | 17,565 | 17,921 | 18,909 | ||||||||
| Registered using Registrar Accreditation belonging to Resellers | 6,995 | 6,469 | 6,254 | ||||||||
| Total domain names under management | 24,560 | 24,390 | 25,163 |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| (1) | For a discussion of these period-to-period changes in the domains provisioned and domains under management and how they impacted our financial results see the Net Revenues discussion below. |
Tucows reports all financial information in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). Along with this information, to assist financial statement users in an assessment of our historical performance, we typically disclose and discuss a non-GAAP financial measure, Adjusted EBITDA, on investor conference calls and related events that excludes certain non-cash and other charges as we believe that the non-GAAP information enhances investors’ overall understanding of our financial performance. Please see discussion of Adjusted EBITDA as well as the Adjusted EBITDA reconciliation to net income in the Results of Operations section below.
OPPORTUNITIES, CHALLENGES AND RISKS
Our revenue is primarily realized in U.S. dollars and a major portion of our operating expenses are paid in Canadian dollars. Fluctuations in the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Canadian dollar may have a material effect on our business, financial condition and results from operations. In particular, we may be adversely affected by a significant weakening of the U.S. dollar against the Canadian dollar on a quarterly and an annual basis. Our policy with respect to foreign currency exposure is to manage our financial exposure to certain foreign exchange fluctuations with the objective of neutralizing some or all of the impact of foreign currency exchange movements by entering into foreign exchange forward contracts to mitigate the exchange risk on a portion of our Canadian dollar exposure. We may not always enter into such forward contracts and such contracts may not always be available and economical for us. Additionally, the forward rates established by the contracts may be less advantageous than the market rate upon settlement.
Ting
As an ISP, we have invested and expect to continue to invest in new fiber to the home (“FTTH”) deployments in select markets in the United States. The investments are a reflection of our ongoing efforts to build FTTH network via public-private partnerships in communities we identify as having strong, unmet demand for FTTH services. Given the significant upfront build and operational investments for these FTTH deployments, there is risk that future technological and regulatory changes as well as competitive responses from incumbent local providers, may result in us not fully recovering these investments.
The communications industry continues to compete on the basis of network reach and performance, types of services and devices offered, and price.
Wavelo
Wavelo launched as a proven asset for CSPs, with DISH using Wavelo’s MONOS software to drive additional value within its Digital Operator Platform. More recently, Ting Internet has also integrated Wavelo’s ISOS and SM software to enable faster subscriber growth and footprint expansion. With our external platform and professional services revenues concentrated to one customer in DISH, we are exposed to significant risk if we are unable to maintain this customer relationship or establish new relationships for any of our Platforms in the future. Additionally, our revenues as a platform provider are directly tied to the subscriber volumes of DISH's MVNO or Mobile Network Operator ("MNO") networks, and our profitability is contingent on the ability of DISH to continue to add subscribers, either from organic growth or from migration off legacy systems, onto our platforms
Domain Services
The increased competition in the market for Internet services in recent years, which we expect will continue to intensify in the short and long term, poses a material risk for us. As new registrars are introduced, existing competitors expand service offerings and competitors offer price discounts to gain market share, we face pricing pressure, which can adversely impact our revenues and profitability. To address these risks, we have focused on leveraging the scalability of our infrastructure and our ability to provide proactive and attentive customer service to aggressively compete to attract new customers and to maintain existing customers.
Substantially all of our Tucows Domains revenue is derived from domain name registrations and related value-added services from wholesale and retail customers using our provisioning and management platforms. The market for wholesale registrar services is both price sensitive and competitive and is evolving with the introduction of new gTLDs, particularly for large volume customers, such as large web hosting companies and owners of large portfolios of domain names. We have a relatively limited ability to increase the pricing of domain name registrations without negatively impacting our ability to maintain or grow our customer base. Growth in our Tucows Domains revenue is dependent upon our ability to continue to attract and retain customers by maintaining consistent domain name registration and value-added service renewal rates and to grow our customer relationships through refining, evolving and improving our provisioning platforms and customer service for both resellers and end-users. In addition, Tucows Domains also generate revenues through the sale of names from our portfolio of domain names and through the OpenSRS, eNom, and Ascio Domain Expiry Streams.
From time-to-time certain of our vendors provide us with market development funds to expand or maintain the market position for their services. Any decision by these vendors to cancel or amend these programs for any reason may result in payments in future periods not being commensurate with what we have achieved during past periods.
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Other opportunities, challenges and risks
The Company is entitled to a long-term payment stream that is a function of the margin generated by the transferred subscribers over the 10-year term of the DISH Purchase Agreement executed in Fiscal 2020. This consideration structure may not prove to be successful or profitable in the long-term to us if the existing subscriber base churns at an above average rate. Additionally, given DISH controls the revenues and costs incurred associated with the acquired subscribers, there could arise a situation where profitability for the subscriber base is diminished either by lower price points or cost inflation. Additionally, as part of the DISH Purchase Agreement, the Company retained a small number of customer accounts associated with one MNO agreement that was not reassigned to DISH at time of sale. We continue to be subject to the minimum revenue commitments previously agreed to with this excluded MNO agreement. The Company is able to continue adding customers under the excluded MNO network in order to meet the commitment. However, with no direct ability to change customer pricing and limited ability to renegotiate contract costs or significant terms, the Company may be unable to meet the minimum commitments with this MNO partner and could incur significant and recurring penalties until such a time that the contract is complete. These penalties would negatively impact our operational performance and financial results if enforced by the MNO. During the twelve months ended December 31, 2023, the Company has accrue
d $0.3 million of penalties associated with the minimum commitment shortfall. The Company expects to incur penalties throughout 2024 and thereafter until the contract is complete.
An in-depth assessment of the risk factors impacting our businesses has been discussed at length above in Part I under the caption "Item 1A Risk Factors" in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Critical Accounting Estimates
The following is a discussion of our critical accounting estimates. Critical accounting estimates are defined as those that are both important to the portrayal of our financial condition and results of operations and are reflective of significant judgments and uncertainties made by management that may result in materially different results under different assumptions and conditions. “Note 2 – Significant Accounting Policies” in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for Fiscal 2023 included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report, includes further information on the significant accounting policies and methods used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements.
The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in accordance with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. Management bases its estimates on historical experience, available market information as applicable, and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances at the time they are made. Under different assumptions or conditions, the actual results will differ, potentially materially, from those previously estimated. Many of the conditions impacting these assumptions and estimates are outside of the Company’s control. Management evaluates its estimates on an on-going basis.
Acquired customer relationships
For acquired customer relationships, the Company estimates the fair value based on the income approach. The income approach is a valuation technique that calculates the fair value of an intangible asset based on the present value of future cash flows expected to be generated over the remaining useful life of the asset. This valuation involves significant subjectivity and estimation uncertainty, including assumptions related to future revenues attributable to acquired customer relationships, attrition rates and discount rates.
Loss contingencies
We are sometimes subject to claims, suits, regulatory and government investigations, and other proceedings involving competition, intellectual property, privacy, tax and related compliance, labor and employment, commercial disputes, and other matters. Certain of these matters include speculative claims for substantial or indeterminate amounts of damages. We record a liability when we believe that it is probable that a loss has been incurred and the amount can be reasonably estimated.
We evaluate, on a regular basis, developments in our legal matters that could affect the amount of liability that has been previously accrued, and the matters and related reasonably possible losses disclosed, and make adjustments and changes to our disclosures as appropriate. Significant judgment is required to determine both the likelihood and the estimated amount of a loss related to such matters. Until the final resolution of such matters, there may be an exposure to loss in excess of the amount recorded, and such amounts could be material.
Impairment of Goodwill and intangibles
Any changes to our key assumptions about our businesses and our prospects, or changes in market conditions, could cause the fair value of our operating segments to fall below its carrying value, resulting in a potential impairment charge. In addition, changes in our organizational structure or how our management allocates resources and assesses performance, could result in a change in our operating segments, requiring a reallocation and updated impairment analysis of goodwill and indefinite life intangible assets.
We evaluate factors such as macro-economic, industry and market conditions including the capital markets, the competitive environment, in addition to other internal factors including changes to our market capitalization, cash inflows, obligations and access to capital of our segments. We concluded that there were no indications of impairment under the qualitative approach during Fiscal 2023. The analysis was consistent with the approach we utilized in prior years.
Changes in estimates
There were no material changes to our critical accounting estimates during Fiscal 2023.
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SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Revenue Recognition Policy
The Company’s revenues are derived from (a) the provisioning of retail fiber Internet services in our Ting segment, (b) the provisioning of CSP focused platform and professional services in our Wavelo segment; and from (c) domain name registration contracts, other domain related value-added services, domain sale contracts, and other advertising revenue in our Tucows Domains segment. Amounts received in advance of meeting the revenue recognition criteria described below are recorded as deferred revenue. All products are generally sold without the right of return or refund.
Revenue is measured based on consideration specified in a contract with a customer and excludes any sales incentives and amounts collected on behalf of third parties. The Company recognizes revenue when it satisfies a performance obligation by transferring control over a product or service to a customer.
Nature of goods and services
The following is a description of principal activities – separated by reportable segments – from which the Company generates its revenue. For more detailed information about reportable segments. See “Note 21 – Segment Reporting” of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this report for more information.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Ting |
Ting and its subsidiaries - Cedar, and Simply Bits, includes the provision of high-speed Internet access services to select towns throughout the United States, with further expansion underway to both new and existing markets. Our primary sales channel is through the Ting website. The primary focus of this segment is to provide reliable Gigabit Fiber and Fixed Wireless Internet services to consumer and business customers. Revenues are all generated in the U.S., have no fixed contract terms and are billed on a monthly basis, with unlimited bandwidth based on a fixed price.
The Company’s billing cycle for all Ting Internet customers is computed based on the customer’s activation date. Since consideration is collected before the service period, revenue is initially deferred and recognized as the Company performs its obligation to provide Internet access within each reporting period. In addition, revenues associated with the sale of Internet hardware to subscribers are recognized when title and risk of loss is transferred to the subscriber and shipment has occurred. Incentive marketing credits given to customers are recorded as a reduction of revenue.
In those cases, where payment is not received at the time of sale, as is the case for service requiring installation, then revenue is not recognized until a customer's service is activated. The Company records costs that reflect expected refunds, rebates and credit card charge-backs as a reduction of revenues at the time of the sale based on historical experiences and current expectations.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| (b) | Wavelo |
Platform Services
Tucows' Platform Services include the following full-service platforms from Wavelo, including MONOS, ISOS, SM and our legacy Platypus ISP Billing software. Under each of these platforms there are a variety of solutions that support CSPs, including subscription and billing management, network orchestration and provisioning, and individual developer tools. Wavelo's customers are billed monthly, on a postpaid basis. The monthly fees are variable, based on the volume of their subscribers utilizing the platform during a given month, to which minimums may apply. Customers may also be billed fixed platform fees and granted fixed credits as part of the consideration for long-term contracts. Consideration received is allocated to platform services and bundled professional services and recognized as each service obligation is fulfilled. Any fixed fees for Wavelo are recognized into revenue evenly over the service period, while variable usage fees are recognized each month as they are consumed. Professional services revenue is recognized as the hours of professional services granted to the customer are used or expire. When consideration for these platform services is received before the service is delivered, the revenue is initially deferred and recognized only as the Company performs its obligation to provide services. Likewise, if platform services are delivered before the Company has the unconditional right to invoice the customer, revenue is recognized as a Contract Asset.
Other Professional Services
This revenue stream includes any other professional services earned from Wavelo's performance of standalone technology services development work. These are billed to our customers monthly at established rates for services provided in period. The Company recognizes professional services revenue as the Company satisfies its obligations to provide professional services.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| (c) | Tucows Domains |
Wholesale - Domain Services
Domain registration contracts, which can be purchased for terms of one to ten years, provide our resellers and retail registrant customers with the exclusive right to a personalized internet address from which to build an online presence. The Company enters into domain registration contracts in connection with each new, renewed and transferred-in domain registration. At the inception of the contract, the Company charges and collects the registration fee for the entire registration period. Though fees are collected upfront, revenue from domain registrations are recognized ratably over the registration period as domain registration contracts contain a ‘right to access’ license of IP, which is a distinct performance obligation measured over time. The registration period begins once the Company has confirmed that the requested domain name has been appropriately recorded in the registry under contractual performance standards.
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Historically, our wholesale domain service has constituted the largest portion of our business and encompasses all of our services as an accredited registrar related to the registration, renewal, transfer and management of domain names. In addition, this service fuels other revenue categories as it often is the initial service for which a reseller will engage us, enabling us to follow on with other services and allowing us to add to our portfolio by purchasing names registered through us upon their expiration. Tucows Domains will continue to be the largest portion of our business and will further fuel our ability to sell add-on services.
The Company is an ICANN accredited registrar. Thus, the Company is the primary obligor with our reseller and retail registrant customers and is responsible for the fulfillment of our registrar services to those parties. As a result, the Company reports revenue in the amount of the fees we receive directly from our reseller and retail registrant customers. Our reseller customers maintain the primary obligor relationship with their retail customers, establish pricing and retain credit risk to those customers. Accordingly, the Company does not recognize any revenue related to transactions between our reseller customers and their ultimate retail customers.
Wholesale – Value-Added Services
We derive revenue from domain related value-added services like digital certifications, WHOIS privacy and hosted email and by providing our resellers and retail registrant customers with tools and additional functionality to be used in conjunction with domain registrations. All domain related value-added services are considered distinct performance obligations which transfer the promised service to the customer over the contracted term. Fees charged to customers for domain related value-added services are collected at the inception of the contract, and revenue is recognized on a straight-line basis over the contracted term, consistent with the satisfaction of the performance obligations.
We also derive revenue from other value-added services, which primarily consists of proceeds from the OpenSRS, eNom and Ascio domain expiry streams.
Retail
We derive revenues mainly from Hover and eNom’s retail properties through the sale of retail domain name registration and email services to individuals and small businesses. The retail segment now includes the sale of the rights to its portfolio of surname domains used in connection with our RealNames email and Linux hosting services for websites through our Exact Hosting brand.
For information about geographic areas, see “Note 21 – Segment Reporting” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| (d) | Tucows Corporate - Mobile Services and Eliminations |
Although we still provide mobile telephony services to a small subset of customers retained through the Ting Mobile brand as part of the DISH Purchase Agreement executed in Fiscal 2020; this revenue stream no longer represents the Company's strategic focus going forward. Instead we have transitioned towards being a platform provider for CSPs globally via our Wavelo segment. Effective January 1, 2022 we decided to exclude retail telephony services and transition services revenues from segment Adjusted EBITDA results as they are no longer centrally managed and not monitored by or reported to our CEO by segment.
Ting Mobile wireless usage contracts grant customers access to standard talk, text and data mobile services. Ting Mobile contracts are billed based on the customer's selected rate plan, which can either be usage based or an unlimited plan. All rate plan options are charged to customers on a postpaid, monthly basis at the end of their billing cycle. All future revenues associated with retail mobile services stream will only be for this subset of customers retained by the Company, as mentioned above. Ting Mobile services are primarily contracted through the Ting website, for one month at a time and contain no commitment to renew the contract following each customer's monthly billing cycle. The Company's billing cycle for all Ting Mobile customers is computed based on the customer's activation date. In order to recognize revenue as the Company satisfies its obligations, we compute the amount of revenues earned but not billed from the end of each billing cycle to the end of each reporting period. In addition, revenues associated with the sale of wireless devices and accessories are recognized when title and risk of loss is transferred to the customer and shipment has occurred. Incentive marketing credits given to customers are recorded as a reduction of revenue.
These mobile services revenue streams also includes transitional services provided to DISH. These are billed monthly at established rates for services provided in period, including: the provision of sales, marketing, order fulfillment, and data analytics related to the legacy customer base sold to DISH. The Company recognizes revenue as the Company satisfies its obligations to provide transitional services.
As a form of consideration for the sale of the customer relationships, the Company receives a payout on the margin associated with the legacy customer base sold to DISH, over a period of 10 years. This has been classified as Other Income and not considered revenue in the current period.
Valuation of Goodwill, Intangible Assets and Long-Lived Assets
The excess of the purchase price over the fair values of the identifiable assets and liabilities from our acquisitions is recorded as goodwill. At December 31, 2023, we had $130.4 million in goodwill related to our acquisitions and $29.5 million in intangible assets comprised of $12.3 million of indefinite life intangibles and $17.2 million of finite life intangible assets. At December 31, 2022, we had $130.4 million in goodwill related to our acquisitions and $39.8 million in intangible assets comprised of $12.3 million of indefinite life intangibles and $27.5 million of finite life intangible assets. As described above, we report our financial results as three operating segments, Ting, Wavelo and Tucows Domains. The goodwill balance is built up of $107.7 million (83%) related to Tucows Domains and $22.7 million (17%) related to Ting. Of our goodwill balance, $90.3 million is not deductible for tax purposes. The intangible asset balance is built up of $20.0 million (68%) related to Tucows Domains and $9.5 million (32%) related to Ting.
We account for goodwill and indefinite life intangible assets in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”)'s authoritative guidance, which requires that goodwill and indefinite life intangible assets are not amortized, but are subject to an annual impairment test. We complete our impairment test on an annual basis, during the fourth quarter of our fiscal year, or more frequently, if changes in facts and circumstances indicate that impairment indicators are present.
Our indefinite life intangible assets consist of surname domain names and direct navigation domain names. In order to maintain our rights to these domain names, we pay annual renewal fees to the applicable domain name registries. Over the course of time, we sometimes decide not to renew certain under-performing domain names and incur an impairment charge associated with such non-renewal. There was no impairment recorded on indefinite-life intangible assets during 2023, 2022 and 2021.
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With regard to long-lived assets comprised of property and equipment and finite life intangible assets, we continually evaluate whether events or circumstances have occurred that indicate the remaining estimated useful lives of our definite-life intangible assets may warrant revision or whether the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable and exceed their fair value. We use an estimate of the related undiscounted cash flows over the remaining life of the asset in measuring whether the asset is recoverable. During Fiscal 2023, 2022 and 2021, property, plant, and equipment with net book values of $4.8 million, $0.1 million, and $0.2 million, respectively, were written off and included in impairment of property and equipment in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income. The impairment losses incurred in 2023 related to specific network assets that were identified as being damaged and no longer in use. The full cost of the identified assets was recorded as an impairment loss. During Fiscal 2023, 2022 and 2021 there was no impairment recorded on definite-life intangible assets.
We performed a qualitative assessment to determine whether there were events or circumstances which would lead to a determination, whether it is more likely than not, that goodwill and indefinite life intangible assets have been impaired. In performing the qualitative testing, we made an evaluation of the impact of various factors to the expected future cash flows attributable to our operating segments and to the assumed discount rate which would be used to present value those cash flows. Consideration was given to factors such as macro-economic, industry and market conditions including the capital markets, the competitive environment, in addition to other internal factors including changes to our market capitalization, cash inflows, obligations and access to capital of our segments. We concluded that there were no indications of impairment under the qualitative approach. The analysis was consistent with the approach we utilized in prior years.
In connection with business acquisitions that we have completed, we identify and estimate the fair value of net assets acquired, including certain identifiable intangible assets (other than goodwill) and liabilities assumed. The determination of acquisition date fair values requires us to make significant estimates and assumptions regarding projected revenues, costs, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, attrition rates and discount rates. Changes to these assumptions may result in material differences depending on the size of the acquisition completed.
Any changes to our key assumptions about our businesses and our prospects, or changes in market conditions, could cause the fair value of our operating segments to fall below its carrying value, resulting in a potential impairment charge. In addition, changes in our organizational structure or how our management allocates resources and assesses performance, could result in a change in our operating segments, requiring a reallocation and updated impairment analysis of goodwill and indefinite life intangible assets. A goodwill or intangible asset impairment charge could have a material effect on our consolidated financial statements because of the significance of goodwill and intangible assets to our consolidated balance sheet. There was no impairment of goodwill or intangible assets, both definite and indefinite life, as a result of the annual impairment tests completed during the fourth quarters of
2023,
2022 or
2021.
Accounting for Income Taxes
We operate in various tax jurisdictions, and accordingly, our income is subject to varying rates of tax. Losses incurred in one jurisdiction cannot be used to offset taxable income in another jurisdiction. Our ability to use income tax loss carry forwards and future income tax deductions is dependent upon our operations in the tax jurisdictions in which such losses or deductions arise. Significant judgment is required in determining our provision for income taxes and evaluating our uncertain tax positions.
We account for income taxes under the asset and liability method, which recognizes the deferred tax assets or liabilities for the anticipated future tax effects of temporary differences between the financial statement basis and the tax basis of our assets and liabilities. Valuation allowances are established to reduce deferred tax assets when it is more likely than not that the benefit from the deferred tax assets will not be realized. In assessing the need for valuation allowance, historical and future levels of income, expectations and risks associated with estimates of future taxable income and tax planning strategies are considered. As at December 31, 2023, the valuation allowance of $28.8 million was recorded, which we are not expected to realize on a more than likely than not basis.
We apply a two-step approach to recognizing and measuring uncertain tax positions. The first step is to evaluate the tax position for recognition by determining if on the weight of available evidence, it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained on audit, including resolution of related appeals or litigation processes, if any. The second step is to measure the tax benefit that is more than 50% likely to be realized upon settlement. As at December 31, 2023, we did not recognize any uncertain tax provisions within the provision for income taxes.
See "Note 10 - Income Taxes" to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further information regarding income taxes included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report.
Recently Issued Accounting Standards
See “Note 2 – Significant Accounting Policies” of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for information regarding recently issued accounting standards.
Inflation, rising interest rates and expected impacts
The Company continues to operate in a challenging macro environment as inflation and interest rates continue to rise globally. The impact of these issues on our business will vary by geographic market and operating segment. We continue to monitor economic conditions closely, as well as segment revenues, cash position, cash flow from operations, interest rates and other factors. Across our three operating segments - Ting, Wavelo and Tucows Domains, personnel costs continue to be impacted by sustained wage inflation incurred in the prior periods. These increases were necessary in order to remain competitive to attract and retain the best talent. The Company continues to monitor and assess wage inflation and is managing it against offsets in hiring plans and contractor mix. Outside of wage inflation, the operating segment most impacted by inflation overall is Ting, as sustained levels of inflation increase our Fiber Network build costs across both materials and contracted labor. We continue to assess ways to reduce build costs through more efficient management of our build design, build efficiency and real-time tracking of build costs to more effectively manage total cost estimates against actual spends. We are also managing our significant vendor relationships closely to mitigate supply chain disruptions and ensure optimal pricing. However, there can be no assurance as to the effectiveness of our efforts to mitigate any impact of the current and future adverse economic conditions, and other unknown developments.
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RESULTS OF OPERATIONS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2023 AS COMPARED TO THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022
For additional information on our financial condition as of December 31, 2022 and results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2022 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2021, refer to Part II, Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in our Annual Report on 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 2022 which was filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on June 6, 2023.
NET REVENUES
Ting
Ting and its subsidiaries - Cedar, and Simply Bits includes the provision of high-speed Internet access services to select towns throughout the United States, with further expansion underway to both new and existing markets. Our primary sales channel is through the Ting website. The primary focus of this segment is to provide reliable Gigabit Fiber and Fixed Wireless Internet services to consumer and business customers. Revenues are all generated in the U.S., have no fixed contract terms and are billed on a monthly basis, with unlimited bandwidth based on a fixed price.
The Company's billing cycle for all Ting Internet customers is computed based on the customer's activation date. Since consideration is collected before the service period, revenue is initially deferred and recognized as the Company performs its obligation to provide Internet access within each reporting period. In addition, revenues associated with the sale of Internet hardware to subscribers are recognized when title and risk of loss is transferred to the subscriber and shipment has occurred. Incentive marketing credits given to customers are recorded as a reduction of revenue.
In those cases, where payment is not received at the time of sale, as is the case for service requiring installation, then revenue is not recognized until a customer's service is activated. The Company records costs that reflect expected refunds, rebates and credit card charge-backs as a reduction of revenues at the time of the sale based on historical experiences and current expectations.
Wavelo
Platform Services
Tucows' Platform Services include the following full-service platforms from Wavelo, including MONOS, ISOS, SM and our legacy Platypus ISP Billing software. Under each of these platforms there are a variety of solutions that support CSPs, including subscription and billing management, network orchestration and provisioning, and individual developer tools. Wavelo launched as a proven asset for CSPs, with DISH using Wavelo’s MONOS software to drive additional value within its Digital Operator Platform. More recently, Ting Internet has also integrated Wavelo’s ISOS and SM software to enable faster subscriber growth and footprint expansion. Wavelo's customers are billed monthly, on a postpaid basis. The monthly fees are variable, based on the volume of their subscribers utilizing the platform during a given month, to which minimums may apply. Customers may also be billed fixed platform fees and granted fixed credits as part of the consideration for long-term contracts. Consideration received is allocated to platform services and bundled professional services and recognized as each service obligation is fulfilled. Any fixed fees for Wavelo are recognized into revenue evenly over the service period, while variable usage fees are recognized each month as they are consumed. Professional services revenue is recognized as the hours of professional services granted to the customer are used or expire. When consideration for these platform services is received before the service is delivered, the revenue is initially deferred and recognized only as the Company performs its obligation to provide services. Likewise, if platform services are delivered before the Company has the unconditional right to invoice the customer, revenue is recognized as a Contract Asset.
Other Professional Services
This revenue stream includes any other professional services earned in connection with the Wavelo business from the provision of standalone technology services development work. These are billed to our customers monthly at set and established rates for services provided in period. The Company recognizes revenue as the Company satisfies its obligations to provide professional services.
Tucows Domains
Wholesale - Domain Services
Domain registration contracts, which can be purchased for terms of one to ten years, provide our resellers and retail registrant customers with the exclusive right to a personalized internet address from which to build an online presence. The Company enters into domain registration contracts in connection with each new, renewed and transferred-in domain registration. At the inception of the contract, the Company charges and collects the registration fee for the entire registration period. Though fees are collected upfront, revenue from domain registrations are recognized ratably over the registration period as domain registration contracts contain a ‘right to access’ license of IP, which is a distinct performance obligation measured over time. The registration period begins once the Company has confirmed that the requested domain name has been appropriately recorded in the registry under contractual performance standards.
Historically, our wholesale domain service has constituted the largest portion of our business and encompasses all of our services as an accredited registrar related to the registration, renewal, transfer and management of domain names. In addition, this service fuels other revenue categories as it often is the initial service for which a reseller will engage us, enabling us to follow on with other services and allowing us to add to our portfolio by purchasing names registered through us upon their expiration. We expect Domain services will continue to be the largest portion of our business and will continue to enable us to sell add-on services.
The Company is an ICANN accredited registrar. Thus, the Company is the primary obligor with our reseller and retail registrant customers and is responsible for the fulfillment of our registrar services to those parties. As a result, the Company reports revenue in the amount of the fees we receive directly from our reseller and retail registrant customers. Our reseller customers maintain the primary obligor relationship with their retail customers, establish pricing and retain credit risk to those customers. Accordingly, the Company does not recognize any revenue related to transactions between our reseller customers and their ultimate retail customers.
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Wholesale – Value-Added Services
We derive revenue from domain related value-added services like digital certifications, WHOIS privacy and hosted email and by providing our resellers and retail registrant customers with tools and additional functionality to be used in conjunction with domain registrations. All domain related value-added services are considered distinct performance obligations which transfer the promised service to the customer over the contracted term. Fees charged to customers for domain related value-added services are collected at the inception of the contract, and revenue is recognized on a straight-line basis over the contracted term, consistent with the satisfaction of the performance obligations.
We also derive revenue from other value-added services, which primarily consists of proceeds from the OpenSRS, eNom and Ascio domain expiry streams.
Retail
We derive revenues mainly from Hover and eNom’s retail properties through the sale of retail domain name registration and email services to individuals and small businesses. The retail segment now includes the sale of the rights to its portfolio of surname domains used in connection with our RealNames email service and Linux hosting services for websites through our Exact Hosting brand.
Tucows Corporate - Mobile Services and Eliminations
Although we still provide mobile telephony services to a small subset of customers retained through the Ting Mobile brand as part of the DISH Purchase Agreement executed in Fiscal 2020; this revenue stream no longer represents the Company's strategic focus going forward. Instead we have transitioned towards being a Wavelo provider for CSPs globally. Where these retail mobile services revenues were previously disclosed as part of a Mobile Services segment in the prior year, effective January 1, 2022 we have decided to exclude retail telephony services and transition services revenues from segment Adjusted EBITDA results as they are no longer centrally managed and not monitored by or reported to our CEO by segment.
Ting Mobile wireless usage contracts grant customers access to standard talk, text and data mobile services. Ting Mobile contracts are billed based on the customer's selected rate plan, which can either be usage based or an unlimited plan. All rate plan options are charged to customers on a postpaid, monthly basis at the end of their billing cycle. All future revenues associated with retail mobile services stream will only be for this subset of customers retained by the Company, as mentioned above. Ting Mobile services are primarily contracted through the Ting website, for one month at a time and contain no commitment to renew the contract following each customer's monthly billing cycle. The Company's billing cycle for all Ting Mobile customers is computed based on the customer's activation date. In order to recognize revenue as the Company satisfies its obligations, we compute the amount of revenues earned but not billed from the end of each billing cycle to the end of each reporting period. In addition, revenues associated with the sale of wireless devices and accessories are recognized when title and risk of loss is transferred to the customer and shipment has occurred. Incentive marketing credits given to customers are recorded as a reduction of revenue.
These mobile services revenue streams also includes transitional services provided to DISH. These are billed monthly at set and established rates for services provided in period and include the provision of sales, marketing, order fulfillment, and data analytics related to the legacy customer base sold to DISH. The Company recognizes revenue as the Company satisfies its obligations to provide transitional services.
As a form of consideration for the sale of the customer relationships, the Company receives a payout on the margin associated with the legacy customer base sold to DISH, over a period of 10 years. This has been classified as Other Income and not considered revenue in Fiscal 2022 or 2023.
The following table presents our net revenues, by revenue source:
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | ||||||
| Ting: | |||||||
| Fiber Internet Services | $ | 50,937 | $ | 42,425 | |||
| Wavelo: | |||||||
| Platform Services | 37,082 | 22,594 | |||||
| Other professional services | 1,588 | 1,750 | |||||
| Total Wavelo | 38,670 | 24,344 | |||||
| Tucows Domains: | |||||||
| Wholesale | |||||||
| Domain Services | 189,013 | 187,542 | |||||
| Value Added Services | 17,712 | 20,712 | |||||
| Total Wholesale | 206,725 | 208,254 | |||||
| Retail | 35,372 | 34,904 | |||||
| Total Tucows Domains | 242,097 | 243,158 | |||||
| Tucows Corporate: | |||||||
| Mobile Services and eliminations | 7,633 | 11,215 | |||||
| $ | 339,337 | $ | 321,142 | ||||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 18,195 | |||||
| Increase - percentage | 6 | % |
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The following table presents our net revenues, by revenue source, as a percentage of total net revenues:
| Year ended December 31, | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||||
| Ting: | ||||||||
| Fiber Internet Services | 15 | % | 13 | % | ||||
| Wavelo: | ||||||||
| Platform Services | 11 | % | 7 | % | ||||
| Other Professional Services | 0 | % | 1 | % | ||||
| Total Wavelo | 11 | % | 8 | % | ||||
| Tucows Domains: | ||||||||
| Wholesale | ||||||||
| Domain Services | 56 | % | 58 | % | ||||
| Value Added Services | 5 | % | 6 | % | ||||
| Total Wholesale | 61 | % | 64 | % | ||||
| Retail | 10 | % | 11 | % | ||||
| Total Tucows Domains | 71 | % | 75 | % | ||||
| Tucows Corporate: | ||||||||
| Mobile services and eliminations | 3 | % | 4 | % | ||||
| 100 | % | 100 | % |
Total net revenues for Fiscal 2023 increased by $18.2 million, or 6%, to $339.3 million compared the year ended December 31, 2022 ("Fiscal 2022"). The increase in net revenue was driven by our Wavelo and Ting segments. The Wavelo segment increased $14.3 million in the current period primarily from the complete migration of DISH's Boost Mobile subscriber base onto our platform. The Ting segment increased $8.5 million in the current period as a result of subscriber growth from the continued buildout of our Fiber network across the United States. These increases were partially offset by decreased revenues from both mobile services and eliminations as well as the Tucows Domains segment. Mobile services and eliminations decreased $3.6 million attributable to increased intercompany revenues, decreased transitional services, and decreased telephony services revenues. Tucows Domains decreased $1.1 million in the current period, driven primarily by reduced expiry revenues, consistent with industry trends.
Deferred revenue at December 31, 2023 increased by $3.0 million to $148.1 million from $145.1 million at December 31, 2022. The increase was driven primarily by Tucows Domains, which accounted for $3.2 million of the increase as a result of strong Fiscal 2023 billings for domain name registrations and service renewals. Tucows Domains also increased prices as a result of increased costs from gTLD registries, which is also a factor in increased deferred revenues in the current period. Additionally, Ting saw a small increase of $0.4 million, reflective of the continued growth in customer base and billings relative to December 31, 2022. These increases were partially offset by a decrease from Wavelo of $0.6 million, specifically related to Other Professional Services revenues for standalone technology services development work for DISH, which we defer until we have satisfied our obligations to provide the professional services. These other professional services were completed in the current period and thus recognized from previously deferred revenues.
As a result of significant subscriber migration onto the Wavelo MONOS platform in the current period, DISH now accounts for 10.7% of total net revenue in Fiscal 2023. No customer accounted for more than 10% of revenue during Fiscal 2022. DISH accounted for 59% of total accounts receivable at December 31, 2023 and 46% of total accounts receivable at December 31, 2022. Though a significant portion of the Company’s domain services revenues are prepaid by our customers, where the Company does collect receivables, management judgment is required at the time revenue is recorded to assess whether the collection of the resulting receivables is reasonably assured. On an ongoing basis, we assess the ability of our customers to make required payments. Our allowance for doubtful accounts was $0.5 million and $0.7 million as at December 31, 2023 and at December 31, 2022, respectively. Based on this assessment, we expect the carrying amount of our outstanding receivables, net of allowance for doubtful accounts, to be fully collected.
Ting
Ting generated $50.9 million in revenue during Fiscal 2023, which increased by $8.5 million or 20% compared to Fiscal 2022. This growth is driven by continued subscriber growth across the markets we serve, as well as the continued expansion of our Ting Internet footprint to new Ting towns throughout the United States.
As of December 31, 2023, Ting Internet had access to 121,000 owned infrastructure serviceable addresses, 29,000 partner infrastructure serviceable addresses and 43,000 active accounts under its management; compared to having access to 96,000 owned infrastructure serviceable addresses, 19,000 partner infrastructure serviceable addresses and 35,000 active accounts under its management as of December 31, 2022. These figures exclude the increase in serviceable addresses and accounts attributable to the Simply Bits acquisition.
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Wavelo
Platform Services
Wavelo's Platform services generated $37.1 million in revenue during Fiscal 2023, which increased by $14.5 million or 64% compared to Fiscal 2022. The increase in Fiscal 2023 revenue is driven primarily by the complete migration of DISH's Boost Mobile subscriber base onto our MONOS platform, as well as organic subscriber growth from our anchor customers DISH and Ting as they expand product offerings and expand their network footprints. The increased platform fees are partially offset by a reduction of revenues related to the amortization of the related contract asset with DISH. The Company expects the contract asset to continue to amortize against revenue through the remainder of the contract as we continue to fulfill the performance obligations. Our full-service platforms support CSPs with subscription and billing management, network orchestration and provisioning, and individual developer tools. Any intercompany ISOS or SM revenues earned from Ting, by Wavelo are eliminated upon consolidation.
Other Professional Services
Wavelo's Other Professional Services for the Fiscal 2023, decreased by $0.2 million compared to Fiscal 2022, to $1.6 million. These revenues are related to the provision of standalone technology services development for our CSP customers and are non-recurring in nature, and expectantly can fluctuate period over period. These revenues depend on the volume (if any) and scope of standalone technology services development work our customers engage us to perform. In the current period, we performed less standalone professional services for our customers.
Tucows Domains
Wholesale - Domain Services
During Fiscal 2023, Wholesale Tucows Domains revenue increased by $1.5 million or 1% to $189.0 million. The increase from Wholesale domain services was driven primarily by strong domains transactions through the period.
Together the OpenSRS, eNom, EPAG and Ascio Domain Services manage 24.6 million domain names under the Tucows, eNom, EPAG and Ascio ICANN registrar accreditations and for other registrars under their own accreditations. Domains under management has increased by 0.2 million domain names, or less than 1%, since December 31, 2022.
Wholesale - Value Added Services
Net revenues from value-added services decreased by $3.0 million to $17.7 million compared to Fiscal 2022. The decrease in value-added service revenue was driven by lower expiry, digital certifications, and email service proceeds across our brands in the current period. The prior period continued to benefit from the normalization of renewal rates and domains under management from COVID-19 which saw a significant volume of expired domain names registered in prior years being available for our expiry streams, which returned favorable proceeds at auction and drove revenue generation for value added services. The value and volume of domain names sold at auction has since declined relative to the prior period.
Retail
Net revenues from retail increased by $0.5 million to $35.4 million compared to Fiscal 2022. The increase in revenue was driven primarily by higher Exact Hosting revenues driven by small acquisitions and a higher volume of domain name portfolio sales compared to the prior period.
Tucows Corporate - Mobile Services and Eliminations
Net revenues from mobile services and eliminations for the Fiscal 2023, decreased by $3.6 million compared to Fiscal 2022, to $7.6 million. The decrease was driven primarily by incremental intercompany corporate eliminations of $2.2 million as a result of increased revenues generated by Wavelo from Ting, associated with Ting's integration of Wavelo's ISOS and SM platforms. Incremental to this, mobile services decreased as a result of less transitional services of $0.7 million notably from a decreased level of dedicated support services provided to DISH in connection with the legacy Ting Mobile customer base, and $0.7 million associated with the mobile telephony services and device revenues from the small group of customers retained by the Company as part of the DISH Purchase Agreement as a result of the organic subscriber churn experienced through Fiscal 2023.
COST OF REVENUES
Ting
Cost of revenues primarily includes the costs for provisioning high speed Internet access for Ting and its subsidiaries - Cedar, and Simply Bits, which is comprised of network access fees paid to third-parties to use their network, leased circuit costs to directly support enterprise customers, the personnel and related expenses (net of capitalization) for the physical planning, design, construction and build out of the physical Fiber network, and as well as personnel and related expenses (net of capitalization) for the installation, activation, repair, maintenance and overall field service delivery of the Ting business. Hardware costs include the cost of equipment sold to end customers, including routers, ONTs, and IPTV products, and any adjustments on this inventory. Other costs include field vehicle expenses, and small sundry equipment and supplies consumed in building the Fiber network.
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Wavelo
Platform Services
Cost of revenues to provide the new MONOS, ISOS and SM platforms, as well as our legacy Platypus ISP Billing software services including network access, provisioning and billing services for CSPs. This includes the amortization of any capitalized contract fulfillment costs over the period consistent with the pattern of transferring network access, provisioning and billing services to which the cost relates. Additionally, this includes any fees paid to third-party service providers primarily for printing services in connection with the Platypus ISP Billing software.
Other Professional Services
Cost of revenues to provide standalone technology services development work to our CSP customers to help support their businesses. This includes any personnel and contractor fees for any client service resources retained by the Company. Only a subset of the Company's employee base provides professional services to our customers. This cost reflects that group of resources.
Tucows Domains
Wholesale - Domain Services
Cost of revenues for domain registrations represents the amortization of registry and accreditation fees on a basis consistent with the recognition of revenues from our customers, namely ratably over the term of provision of the service. Registry fees, the primary component of cost of revenues, are paid in full when the domain is registered, and are initially recorded as prepaid domain registry fees. This accounting treatment reasonably approximates a recognition pattern that corresponds with the provision of the services during the period. Market development funds that do not represent a payment for distinct goods or services provided by the Company, and thus do not meet the criteria for revenue recognition under ASU 2014-09, are reflected as cost of goods sold and are recognized as earned.
Wholesale - Value-Added Services
Costs of revenues for value-added services include licensing and royalty costs related to the provisioning of certain components for hosted email and fees paid to third-party hosting services. Fees payable for trust certificates are amortized on a basis consistent with the provision of service, generally one year, while email hosting fees and monthly printing fees are included in cost of revenues in the month they are incurred.
Retail
Costs of revenues for our provision and management of Internet services through our retail sites, Hover.com and the eNom branded sites, include the amortization of registry fees on a basis consistent with the recognition of revenues from our customers, namely ratably over the term of provision of the service. Registry fees, the primary component of cost of revenues, are paid in full when the domain is registered, and are recorded as prepaid domain registry fees and are expensed ratably over the renewal term. Costs of revenues for our surname portfolio represent the amortization of registry fees for domains added to our portfolio over the renewal period, which is generally one year, the value attributed under intangible assets to any domain name sold and any impairment charges that may arise from our assessment of our domain name intangible assets.
Tucows Corporate - Mobile Services and Eliminations
Cost of revenues for retail mobile services includes the costs of provisioning mobile services, which is primarily our customers' voice, messaging, data usage provided by our MNO partner, and the costs of providing mobile phone hardware, which is the cost of mobile phone devices and SIM cards sold to our customers, order fulfillment related expenses, and inventory write-downs. Included in the costs of provisioning mobile services are any penalties associated with the minimum commitments with our MNO partner.
These mobile services costs also include the personnel and related costs of transitional services provided to DISH. These are billed monthly at established rates for services provided in period and include the provision of sales, marketing, customer support, order fulfillment, and data analytics related to the legacy customer base sold to DISH. The Company recognizes costs as the Company satisfies its obligations to provide professional services.
Network expenses
Network expenses include personnel and related expenses related to platform and network site reliability engineering, network operations centers, IT infrastructure and supply chain teams that support our various business segments. It also includes the depreciation and any impairment charges of property and equipment related to our networks and platforms, amortization of any intangible assets related to our networks and platforms, communication and productivity tool costs, and equipment maintenance costs. Communication and productivity tool costs include collaboration, customer support, bandwidth, co-location and provisioning costs we incur to support the supply of all our services, across our segments.
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The following table presents our cost of revenues, by revenue source:
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | ||||||
| Ting: | |||||||
| Fiber Internet Services | $ | 20,151 | $ | 17,004 | |||
| Wavelo: | |||||||
| Platform Services | 1,337 | 1,294 | |||||
| Other Professional Services | 1,289 | 1,632 | |||||
| Total Wavelo | 2,626 | 2,926 | |||||
| Tucows Domains: | |||||||
| Wholesale | |||||||
| Domain Services | 150,664 | 147,894 | |||||
| Value Added Services | 2,249 | 2,514 | |||||
| Total Wholesale | 152,913 | 150,408 | |||||
| Retail | 16,501 | 16,482 | |||||
| Total Tucows Domains | 169,414 | 166,890 | |||||
| Tucows Corporate: | |||||||
| Mobile services and eliminations | 10,065 | 9,448 | |||||
| Network Expenses: | |||||||
| Network, other costs | 28,222 | 17,433 | |||||
| Network, depreciation and amortization costs | 37,370 | 29,101 | |||||
| Network, impairment | 4,822 | 92 | |||||
| 70,414 | 46,626 | ||||||
| $ | 272,670 | $ | 242,894 | ||||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 29,776 | |||||
| Increase - percentage | 12 | % |
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The following table presents our cost of revenues, as a percentage of total cost of revenues for the periods presented:
| Year ended December 31, | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||||
| Ting: | ||||||||
| Fiber Internet Services | 7 | % | 7 | % | ||||
| Wavelo: | ||||||||
| Platform Services | 1 | % | 1 | % | ||||
| Other Professional Services | 0 | % | 1 | % | ||||
| Total Wavelo | 1 | % | 2 | % | ||||
| Tucows Domains: | ||||||||
| Wholesale | ||||||||
| Domain Services | 54 | % | 60 | % | ||||
| Value Added Services | 1 | % | 1 | % | ||||
| Total Wholesale | 55 | % | 61 | % | ||||
| Retail | 6 | % | 7 | % | ||||
| Total Tucows Domains | 61 | % | 68 | % | ||||
| Tucows Corporate: | ||||||||
| Mobile services and eliminations | 4 | % | 4 | % | ||||
| Network Expenses: | ||||||||
| Network, other costs | 11 | % | 7 | % | ||||
| Network, depreciation and amortization costs | 14 | % | 12 | % | ||||
| Network, impairment | 2 | % | - | |||||
| 27 | % | 19 | % | |||||
| 100 | % | 100 | % |
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Total cost of revenues for Fiscal 2023 increased by $29.8 million, or 12% to $272.7 million, from $243 million in Fiscal 2022. The increase in cost of revenues was driven by increases across Network Expenses, Ting, Tucows Domains, and mobile service and eliminations by $23.8 million, $3.2 million, $2.5 million, and $0.6 million respectively. Network Expenses increase of $23.8 million is primarily a result of the Company’s increased network infrastructure associated with the continuing expansion of the Ting Internet network footprint, the ramp up of Wavelo's platforms, increased communication and productivity tools costs across our operating segments, and impairment of assets within the Ting segment. The increase in Ting of $3.2 million was driven in part by the costs of revenues associated with growth in active subscribers. The increase in Tucows Domains of $2.5 million was a result of increased registry related costs from the registration of domain names. Lastly, the increase in mobile services and eliminations of $0.6 million was the result of higher penalties associated with the MNO minimum commitment shortfall through Fiscal 2023. These increases were partially offset by a decrease of $0.3 million in Wavelo as a result of the lower standalone technology services development revenues and similarly costs, in Fiscal 2023.
Deferred costs of fulfillment as of December 31, 2023 increased by $0.4 million, to $111.1 million from $110.7 million at December 31, 2022. This increase was driven by Tucows Domains with an increase of $2.2 million as a result of strong Fiscal 2023 billings for domain name registrations and service renewals, consistent with the increase in deferred revenues discussed above. This increase was partially offset by Wavelo, with a decrease of $1.8 million related to the continued amortization of capitalized contract fulfillment costs related to DISH over the remaining term of that agreement as well as the completion of Other Professional Services discussed above for standalone technology services development work. As these professional services were completed in the current period, the deferred costs to fulfill those services were amortized into costs of revenues.
Ting
In Fiscal 2023, costs related to provisioning high speed Internet access for Ting and its subsidiaries - Cedar, and Simply Bits, increased $3.2 million, or 19%, to $20.2 million as compared to $17.0 million during Fiscal 2022. Consistent with the discussion above, the subscriber growth across our Fiber network drove an increase in network connectivity, dark fiber, bandwidth, colocation and personnel costs in support of the continued expansion of the Ting Internet network footprint.
Wavelo
Platform Services
Cost of revenues from Wavelo Platform Services for remained flat at $1.3 million for both Fiscal 2023 and Fiscal 2022. Cost incurred are driven by the amortization of previously capitalized costs incurred to fulfill the DISH Master Services Agreement ("MSA") over the term of the agreement. No additional costs additional costs to fulfill the contract were incurred in the period.
Other Professional Services
Cost of revenues from Other Professional Services for Fiscal 2023 decreased by $0.3 million to $1.3 million, when compared to Fiscal 2022. Costs incurred represent the personnel and related expenses of employees and contractors providing professional services to DISH. These costs depend on the volume (if any) and scope of standalone technology services development work our customers engage us to perform. In the current period, we performed less standalone professional services for our customers.
Domain Services
Wholesale - Domain Services
Costs for wholesale domain services for Fiscal 2023 increased by $2.8 million to $150.7 million, when compared to Fiscal 2022. The increase is driven primarily by registration growth and escalating registry costs for gTLDs, consistent with the Net Revenues discussion above.
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Wholesale - Value Added Services
Costs for wholesale value-added services for Fiscal 2023 decreased by $0.3 million to $2.2 million, when compared to Fiscal 2022. The decrease is driven by lower expiry, digital certifications, and email services rendered across our brands in the current period, consistent with the decline in Net Revenues discussed above.
Retail
Costs for retail for Fiscal 2023 remained flat at $16.5 million, when compared to Fiscal 2022.
Tucows Corporate - Mobile Services and Eliminations
Cost of revenues from mobile services and eliminations for Fiscal 2023 increased by $0.6 million when compared to Fiscal 2022. The increase costs of revenues were driven primarily by higher costs to deliver mobile telephony services from the small group of customers retained by the Company as part of the DISH Purchase Agreement due to plan mix changes, the Company also incurred higher penalties associated with the MNO minimum commitment shortfall and expects to continue to incur penalties through the end of Fiscal 2024 and thereafter should limited subscriber growth persist. These factors were partially offset by a decrease in transitional services costs provided to DISH in connection with the legacy Ting Mobile customer base, consistent with the above discussion around net revenues.
Network Expenses
Network costs for Fiscal 2023 increased by $23.8 million to $70.4 million when compared to Fiscal 2022. The current period increase was driven by increased network costs, network depreciation, and network impairment by $10.8 million, $8.3 million, and $4.7 million respectively. Consistent with the discussion above, the current period increase in network costs relates to additional personnel costs associated with wage inflation sustained from prior years, increased spending on colocation costs and contracted services including tools and systems to better monitor and manage our network infrastructure and platforms. The current period increase in network depreciation relates to $6.8 million in incremental depreciation from Ting's expansion of our Ting Internet footprint to new Ting towns throughout the United States, $1.7 million in incremental depreciation of Wavelo's platform assets, partially offset by decreased depreciation of $0.2 million related to Tucows Domains. In addition to network costs and network depreciation, the current period increase in network impairment of $4.7 million was primarily driven by an impairment charge for Ting for cable plant, asset under construction, and capital inventory that occurred in the current period.
SALES AND MARKETING
Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of personnel costs. These costs include commissions and related expenses of our sales, product management, public relations, call center, support and marketing personnel. Other sales and marketing expenses include customer acquisition costs, advertising and other promotional costs.
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||||
| Sales and marketing | $ | 67,806 | $ | 53,937 | ||||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 13,869 | ||||||
| Increase - percentage | 26 | % | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 20 | % | 17 | % |
Sales and marketing expenses for Fiscal 2023 increased by $13.9 million, or 26%, to $67.8 million when compared to Fiscal 2022. The increase in costs relates primarily to the investment in hiring additional personnel for Ting sales, product, marketing, customer support and success teams to drive growth in Ting markets. Outside of additional hiring personnel costs were further impacted by wage inflation sustained from prior years and increased stock-based compensation in order to attract and retain marketing personnel, primarily for Wavelo. There were also increases across marketing, facility, and travel related costs to drive active subscription growth in Ting markets given the increase in serviceable addresses available to Ting and to support our growing workforce in select Ting towns across the United States.
Excluding movements in exchange rates, we expect sales and marketing expenses for Fiscal 2024 to increase in absolute dollars, as we adjust our marketing programs and sales and customer support personnel costs to facilitate the continued expansion of our operations.
TECHNICAL OPERATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT
Technical operations and development expenses consist primarily of personnel costs and related expenses required to support the development of new or enhanced service offerings and the maintenance and upgrading of existing infrastructure. This includes expenses incurred in the research, design and development of technology that we use to register domain names, network access services, email, retail, domain portfolio and other Internet services, as well as to distribute our digital content services. All technical operations and development costs are expensed as incurred.
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||||
| Technical operations and development | $ | 19,217 | $ | 14,187 | ||||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 5,030 | ||||||
| Increase - percentage | 35 | % | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 6 | % | 4 | % |
Technical operations and development expenses for Fiscal 2023 increased by $5.0 million, or 35%, to $19.2 million. The increase was primarily related to the investment in hiring additional personnel for Ting and Wavelo. Outside of additional hiring, personnel costs were further impacted by wage inflation sustained from prior years due to broader economic conditions in order to attract, retain technical operations and development personnel, primarily for Wavelo. In addition to these personnel and related costs, both contracted services for tools, systems and labor to support the technical operations and development of our systems and platforms increased compared to Fiscal 2022.
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Excluding movements in exchange rates, we expect technical operations and development expenses for Fiscal 2024, in absolute dollars, to increase when compared to Fiscal 2023 to support the ongoing growth in our operations.
GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of compensation and related costs for managerial and administrative personnel, fees for professional services, public listing expenses, rent, foreign exchange and other general corporate expenses.
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||||
| General and administrative | $ | 33,406 | $ | 30,845 | ||||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 2,561 | ||||||
| Increase - percentage | 8 | % | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 10 | % | 10 | % |
General and administrative expenses for Fiscal 2023 increased by $2.6 million, or 8%, to $33.4 million as compared to Fiscal 2022. The increase was primarily driven by higher professional fees incurred in the current period, higher property tax and other expenses with the Ting segment consistent with the continued expansion of Ting Internet footprint throughout the United States, and personnel costs driven by continued investment in the administrative teams to better support our segments as well as restructuring costs incurred as part of corporate reorganization.
Excluding movements in exchange rates, we expect general and administrative expenses for Fiscal 2024, in absolute dollars, to increase when compared to Fiscal 2023 largely to support the growth of our business.
DEPRECIATION OF PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||||
| Depreciation of property and equipment | $ | 567 | $ | 598 | ||||
| Decrease over prior period | $ | (31 | ) | |||||
| Decrease - percentage | (5 | )% | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | - | % | - | % |
Depreciation costs for Fiscal 2023 decreased by less than $0.1 million to $0.6 million as compared to Fiscal 2022. The slight decrease was due to lower additions to property and equipment, in particular computer hardware, in Fiscal 2023 while additions from prior years became fully depreciated.
LOSS (GAIN) ON DISPOSAL OF PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||||
| Loss on disposition of property and equipment | $ | - | $ | 461 | ||||
| Decrease over prior period | $ | (461 | ) | |||||
| Decrease - percentage | (100 | )% | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | - | % | - | % |
Loss on disposal of property and equipment decreased by $0.5 million to nil as compared to Fiscal 2022. The decrease was a result of Fiscal 2022 including a disposal of minor internal use software related to Tucows Domains for which the Company no longer expects to realize the initial use and intended benefit that it initially did when those development costs were initially capitalized. No such disposals exist during the current period.
AMORTIZATION OF INTANGIBLE ASSETS
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | $ | 9,323 | $ | 9,882 | ||||
| Decrease over prior period | $ | (559 | ) | |||||
| Decrease - percentage | (6 | )% | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 3 | % | 3 | % |
Amortization of intangible assets decreased by $0.6 million, to $9.3 million as compared to Fiscal 2022. This decrease in amortization was a driven in part by the completed amortization of customer relationships associated with the Company's Fiscal 2016 acquisition of Melbourne IT assets. The amortization of the related customer relationships was completed during the three months ended March 31, 2023.
Network rights, brand and customer relationships acquired in connection with the following acquisitions are amortized on a straight-line basis over a range of two to seven years: eNom in January 2017, Ascio in March of 2019, Cedar in January 2020 and Simply Bits in November 2021.
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OTHER INCOME (EXPENSES)
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||||
| Other income (expense), net | $ | (39,418 | ) | $ | 3,874 | |||
| Increase over prior period | $ | (43,292 | ) | |||||
| Increase - percentage | (1,118 | )% | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 12 | % | 1 | % |
Other income decreased by $43.3 million when compared to Fiscal 2022. This was driven by a $49.7 million increase in expense during Fiscal 2023. The increase in interest expense was driven by a $21.7 million increase in connection with Ting's Generate preferred units and 2023 Term Notes, $14.7 million relating to the make-whole premium payable to Generate, a result of the redemption of Series A Preferred Units held by Generate, and the residual $13.3 million relates primarily to the interest expense on the Credit Facility for the Tucows businesses excluding Ting. In addition to higher interest expense, the Company experienced a $1.5 million decrease in the gain on sale of Ting Customer Assets to DISH in the current period. As described above, the Company receives a payout on the margin associated with the legacy customer base sold to DISH over the 10-year term of the agreement, as form of consideration for the sale of the legacy customer relationships. The Company expects the gain on the sale of Ting Customer Assets to continue to decrease over the term of the payout as legacy customers naturally churn away from Ting Mobile. These decreases to Other Income were partially offset by a $4.4 million increase primarily from the inclusion of interest income following the execution of Ting's 2023 Term Notes as well as $3.4 million increase primarily from the capitalization for interest expense related to the Fiber network assets under construction as part of our Ting segment.
INCOME TAXES
The following table presents our provision for income taxes for the periods presented:
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2022 | |||||||
| Provision for income taxes | $ | (6,873 | ) | $ | (217 | ) | ||
| Decrease in provision over prior period | $ | (6,656 | ) | |||||
| Decrease - percentage | 3,067 | % | ||||||
| Effective tax rate | 7 | % | 1 | % |
Income taxes decreased by $6.6 million and the effective tax rate increased from 1% to 7% when compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase in effective tax rate is primarily due the change in valuation allowance on net operating losses and interest expense limitation and a decrease in state income taxes as a percentage of net income before tax for the year, and it is partially offset by an increase in the impact of foreign earnings.
Our effective tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2023 differs from the U.S. federal statutory rate primarily due to changes in valuation allowance on net operating losses and interest limitation, and the impact of foreign earnings.
A reconciliation of the federal statutory income tax rate to our effective tax rate is set forth in “Note 10 – Income Taxes” of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report.
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ADJUSTED EBITDA
We believe that the provision of this supplemental non-GAAP measure allows investors to evaluate the operational and financial performance of our core business using similar evaluation measures to those used by management. We use Adjusted EBITDA to measure our performance and prepare our budgets. Since Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial performance measure, our calculation of Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies; and should not be considered in isolation, as a substitute for, or superior to measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. Because Adjusted EBITDA is calculated before recurring cash charges, including interest expense and taxes, and is not adjusted for capital expenditures or other recurring cash requirements of the business, it should not be considered as a liquidity measure. For liquidity measures, see the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report. Non-GAAP financial measures do not reflect a comprehensive system of accounting and may differ from non-GAAP financial measures with the same or similar captions that are used by other companies and/or analysts and may differ from period to period. We endeavor to compensate for these limitations by providing the relevant disclosure of the items excluded in the calculation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income based on GAAP, which should be considered when evaluating the Company's results. Tucows strongly encourages investors to review its financial information in its entirety and not to rely on a single financial measure.
Our Adjusted EBITDA definition excludes provision for income tax, depreciation, amortization of intangible assets, asset impairment, interest expense (net), loss on debt extinguishment, accretion of contingent liabilities, stock-based compensation, gains and losses from unrealized foreign currency transactions and costs that are one-time in nature and not indicative of on-going performance (profitability), including acquisition and transition costs. Gains and losses from unrealized foreign currency transactions removes the unrealized effect of the change in the mark-to-market values on outstanding foreign currency contracts not designated in accounting hedges, as well as the unrealized effect from the translation of monetary accounts denominated in non-U.S. dollars to U.S. dollars.
The following table reconciles net income to Adjusted EBITDA:
| Reconciliation of Income before Provision for Income Taxes to Adjusted EBITDA | Twelve months ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In Thousands of US Dollars) | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||
| Net Income (Loss) for the period | $ | (96,197 | ) | $ | (27,571 | ) | $ | 3,364 | |||
| Less: | |||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | (6,873 | ) | (217 | ) | 3,906 | ||||||
| Depreciation of property and equipment | 36,431 | 28,187 | 17,986 | ||||||||
| Impairment and loss on disposition of property and equipment | 4,822 | 553 | 435 | ||||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | 10,829 | 11,394 | 10,007 | ||||||||
| Interest expense, net | 41,771 | 14,456 | 4,617 | ||||||||
| Loss on debt extinguishment | 14,680 | - | - | ||||||||
| Accretion of contingent liability | - | 248 | 383 | ||||||||
| Stock-based compensation | 8,134 | 7,599 | 4,592 | ||||||||
| Unrealized loss (gain) on change in fair value of foreign currency forward contracts | - | - | 606 | ||||||||
| Unrealized loss (gain) on foreign exchange revaluation of foreign denominated monetary assets and liabilities | (62 | ) | 281 | 219 | |||||||
| Acquisition and other costs1 | 1,916 | 2,660 | 2,706 | ||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 15,451 | $ | 37,590 | $ | 48,821 |
1 Acquisition and other costs represent transaction-related expenses, transitional expenses, such as redundant post-acquisition expenses, primarily related to our acquisitions, including Simply Bits in November 2021. Expenses include severance or transitional costs associated with department, operational or overall company restructuring efforts, including geographic alignments.
Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2023 decreased by $22.1 million, or 59% to $15.5 million when compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. The decrease in Adjusted EBITDA from period-to-period was primarily driven by decreased contribution from Ting, mobile services and eliminations, and Tucows Domains. The Ting contribution decreased $22.6 million, from the continued investment in costs required to execute on the Ting Internet network build and expansion plan, partially offset by subscriber growth across the markets we serve. Mobile services and eliminations contribution decreased $4.0 million from lower mobile telephony and transitional service revenues as well as increased penalties associated with the MNO minimum commitment. Tucows Domains contribution decreased $2.2 million from lower value added service proceeds generated across brands partnered with the escalating registry costs for gTLDs. These decreases were partially offset by Wavelo contribution increasing $6.7 million primarily driven increased MONOS platform revenues earned from the completed migration of the DISH Boost subscriber base to the platform, offset partially by investment in network, technical operations and development, and marketing costs in the current period.
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LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
As of December 31, 2023, our cash and cash equivalents balance increased $69.2 million, our secured notes reserve funds balance which is maintained with the Indenture Trustee until the maturity of the 2023 Term Notes increased by $8.7 million, and our restricted cash balance increased by $3.6 million, when compared to December 31, 2022. The increase in our cash balance was driven primarily by $227.3 million in proceeds from the issuance of notes payable, $52.4 million from the proceeds of the syndicate revolver, and $35.0 million in proceeds from redeemable preferred units, and $0.1 million from additional deferred preferred financing costs. These increases were partially offset by $92.1 million for the continued investment in property and equipment primarily driven by Ting Internet expansion, $80.2 million related to the repayment of the syndicated revolver, $45.7 million for the cash payment for the redeemable preferred units redemption, $6.7 million related to deferred notes payable financing costs, $4.8 million from cash used in operating activities, $1.7 million related to the deferred issuance cost of the syndicate revolver, $1.6 million related to the payment of contingent consideration related to the acquisition of Cedar, and $0.5 million related to the acquisition of intangible assets.
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Third Amended 2019 Credit Facility
In connection with entering into the 2023 Credit Agreement, on September 22, 2023, the Company paid off the principal balance, including accrued interest thereon, of the revolving loans outstanding under the Third Amended and Restated Credit Agreement (the “RBC Credit Agreement”), dated as of August 8, 2022, as amended, by and among the Company, certain subsidiaries of the Company as borrowers, certain other subsidiaries of the Company as guarantors, Royal Bank of Canada, as administrative agent (“RBC”), and the lenders party thereto, pursuant to which Tucows’ prior credit facility that provided the Borrowers with a $240 million revolving credit facility (the "2019 Credit Facility"). The RBC Credit Agreement automatically terminated upon the receipt by RBC of certain backstop letters of credit to be delivered by BMO.
2023 Credit Facility
On September 22, 2023, the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries, Tucows.com Co., Ting Inc., Tucows (Delaware) Inc., Wavelo, Inc. and Tucows (Emerald), LLC (each, a “Borrower” and together, the “Borrowers,” collectively with the Company) and certain other subsidiaries of the Company, as guarantors, entered into the 2023 Credit Agreement with Bank of Montreal, as administrative agent (“BMO” or the “Agent”), and the lenders party thereto, to, among other things, provide the Borrowers with a revolving credit facility in an aggregate amount not to exceed $240 million (the “2023 Credit Facility”). The Borrowers may request an increase to the 2023 Credit Facility through new commitments of up to $60M if the Total Funded Debt to Adjusted EBITDA Ratio (as defined in the 2023 Credit Agreement) is less than 3.75:1.00. The Credit Facility expires on September 22, 2026, which is the third anniversary of the effective date of the 2023 Credit Facility.
The 2023 Credit Agreement contains customary representations and warranties, affirmative and negative covenants, and events of default. The 2023 Credit Agreement requires that the Company comply with certain customary non-financial covenants and restrictions. In addition, the Company has agreed to comply with the following financial covenants: (1) a leverage ratio by maintaining at all times a Total Funded Debt to Adjusted EBITDA Ratio of not more than (i) 4.50:1:00 at any time from and after the Closing Date to and including December 30, 2023; (ii) 4.25:1:00 from December 31, 2023 to and including March 30, 2024; (iii) 4.00:1.00 from March 31, 2024 to and including June 29, 2024; and (iv) 3.75:1.00 thereafter; and (2) an interest coverage ratio by maintaining as of the end of each rolling four financial quarter period, an Interest Coverage Ratio (as defined in the 2023 Credit Agreement) of not less than 3.00:1.00.
During Fiscal 2023, the Company made net repayments of $27.8 million towards the 2023 Credit Facility and the previous facility. The Company ended December 31, 2023 with a remaining principal balance of $211.9 million, for which the required repayment is due in 2026.
As of December 31, 2023, the Company held contracts in the amount of $61.4 million with BMO to trade U.S. dollars in exchange for Canadian dollars under an uncommitted treasury risk management facility which assists the Company with hedging Canadian dollar exposures. Please see the discussion in the Material Cash Requirements section below.
Cash Flow from Operating Activities
Year ended December 31, 2023
Net cash inflows (outflows) from operating activities were ($4.8) million, a decrease of 124% when compared to the prior year. After adjusting for non-cash charges, the Company reported a net loss of ($17.2) million during Fiscal 2023, a decrease of 216% when compared to the prior year. Net income included non-cash charges and recoveries of $79.0 million such as depreciation, loss on debt extinguishment, accretion of redeemable preferred units, amortization of intangible assets, stock-based compensation, impairment of property and equipment, amortization of debt discount and issuance costs, loss (gain) on change in fair value of currency forward contracts, write off of debt discount and issuance cost, loss on disposal of domain names, net right of use operating asset or liability, net amortization of contract costs, amortization of discontinued cash flow hedge, and deferred income taxes (recovery). In addition, changes in our working capital contributed to a net cash inflow of $12.5 million. Positive contributions of $22.7 million from movements in accrued liabilities, contract asset, customer deposits, deferred revenue, income taxes recoverable, and inventory, were partially offset by utilized cash of $10.2 million from the changes in accounts payable, accounts receivable, deferred costs of fulfillment, prepaid expenses and deposits, and accreditation fees payable.
Year ended December 31, 2022
Net cash inflows from operating activities were $19.9 million, a decrease of 33% when compared to the prior year. Net income, after adjusting for non-cash charges, during Fiscal 2022 was $14.8 million, a decrease of 53% when compared to the prior year. Net income included non-cash charges and recoveries of $42.4 million such as depreciation, amortization, stock-based compensation, loss (gain) on change in fair value of currency forward contracts, net right of use operating asset or liability, accretion of contingent consideration, amortization of debt discount and issuance costs, impairment of property and equipment, loss on disposal of domain names, net amortization of contract costs, excess tax benefits on stock-based compensation, accretion of redeemable preferred units, and deferred income taxes (recovery). In addition, change in our working capital contributed net cash of $5.0 million. Utilized cash of $18.5 million from the changes in the contract asset from DISH, inventory, accounts receivable, deferred revenue, customer deposits and accreditation fees payable were offset by positive contributions of $23.5 million from movements in accrued liabilities, accounts payable, prepaid expenses and deposits, income taxes recoverable, and deferred costs of fulfillment.
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Year ended December 31, 2021
Net cash inflows from operating activities were $29.6 million, a decrease of 18% when compared to the prior year. Net income, after adjusting for non-cash charges, during Fiscal 2021 was $31.6 million, a decrease of 12% when compared to the prior year. Net income included non-cash charges and recoveries of $28.3 million such as depreciation, amortization, impairment of indefinite life intangible asset, loss on write-off of property and equipment, write-down on disposal of Ting Mobile customer assets and contract costs, excess tax benefits on stock-based compensation, stock-based compensation, the provision for unrealized losses on currency forward contracts and a recovery for deferred tax. This generation of cash from net income was reduced by a working capital change of $2.0 million. We generated $11.1 million from movements in accounts receivable, accounts payable, accrued liabilities, and customer deposits. These positive contributions were offset by cash use of $13.1 million from deferred revenue, prepaid expenses and deposits, deferred costs of fulfillment, income taxes recoverable, contract asset, inventory, and accreditation fees payable.
Cash Flow from Financing Activities
Year ended December 31, 2023
Net cash inflows from financing activities during Fiscal 2023 totaled $178.8 million as compared to cash inflows of $132.0 million during Fiscal 2022.Total cash inflows were driven by $227.3 million of proceeds from the issuance of notes payable, $52.4 million of proceeds from the syndicate revolver, $35.0 million of proceeds from redeemable preferred units issued to Generate, and $0.1 million from additional deferred preferred financing costs. These cash inflows were partially offset by $80.2 million related to the repayment of the syndicate revolver, $45.7 million related to the redemption of preferred units held by Generate, $6.7 million from deferred notes payable financing costs, $1.7 million related to the syndicate revolver issued, and $1.6 million related to the payment of contingent consideration related to the acquisition of Cedar.
Year ended December 31, 2022
Net cash inflows from financing activities during Fiscal 2022 totaled $132.0 million as compared to cash inflows of $73.1 million during Fiscal 2021. Total cash inflows were driven by $87.5 million of proceeds from redeemable preferred units issued to Generate, $48.3 million of proceeds received from drawdown of the Amended Credit Facility, as well as $1.1 million from proceeds received on the exercise of stock options. These cash inflows were partially offset by $3.1 million for contingency consideration related to the acquisition of Cedar and Simply Bits, $1.0 million related to deferred preferred unit financing costs for Ting, and $0.7 million related to the payment of loan payable costs.
Year ended December 31, 2021
Net cash inflows from financing activities during Fiscal 2021 totaled $73.1 million as compared to cash inflows of $5.1 million during Fiscal 2020. Net cash inflows of $69 million resulting from draws on the Second Amended 2019 Credit Facility and $4.8 million from proceeds received on the exercise of stock options. These cash inflows were partially offset by $0.4 million outflow from the net impact of exercise of stock options and $0.3 million of loan costs.
Cash Flow from Investing Activities
Year ended December 31, 2023
Investing activities during the Fiscal 2023 used net cash of $92.6 million as compared to using $137.5 million during Fiscal 2022. Cash outflows of $92.1 million primarily related to the investment in property and equipment, primarily to support the continued expansion of our Ting Internet Fiber network footprints in Colorado, North Carolina, California, and Virginia as we seek to extend both our current network and expand to new markets. In addition to investment in property and equipment, the current period used $0.5 million for the acquisition of other intangible assets.
We may need additional funds or seek other financing arrangements to facilitate more rapid expansion, develop new or enhance existing products or services, respond to competitive pressures or acquire or invest in complementary businesses, technologies, services or products. We may also evaluate potential acquisitions of other businesses, products and technologies. We currently have no commitments or agreements regarding the acquisition of other businesses. If additional financing is required, we may need additional equity or debt financing and any additional financing may be dilutive to existing investors. We may not be able to raise funds on acceptable terms, or at all.
Year ended December 31, 2022
Investing activities during the Fiscal 2022 used net cash of $137.5 million as compared to using $102.0 million during Fiscal 2021. Cash outflows of $136.7 million related to the investment in property, equipment and intangible assets, primarily to support the continued expansion of our Ting Internet Fiber network footprints in California, Colorado, Idaho, North Carolina, and Virginia as we seek to extend both our current network and expand to new markets. We expect our capital expenditures to continue to increase during Fiscal 2023. In addition to investment in property, equipment and intangible assets, the current period used $0.8 million for the acquisition of other intangible assets.
Year ended December 31, 2021
Investing activities during the Fiscal 2021 used net cash of $102.0 million as compared to using $53.3 million during Fiscal 2020. Cash outflows of $73.9 million related to the investment in property, equipment and intangible assets, primarily to support the continued expansion of our fiber footprint. The Company continues to invest in our existing Ting Towns of Centennial, Colorado, Charlottesville, Virginia, Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, Wake Forest, North Carolina, Holly Springs, North Carolina, Sandpoint, Idaho, Rolesville, North Carolina and Culver City, California as we seek to extend both our current network and expand to new markets. In addition to investment in property, equipment and intangible assets, the current period used $24 million in connection with the acquisition of Simply Bits, used $2.5 million in connection with the acquisition of Uniregistry and used $2.0 million for an investment in an unrelated entity. These cash outflows were partially offset by $0.5 million from proceeds on disposal of property and equipment.
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Off Balance Sheet Arrangements
We did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as of December 31, 2023.
Material Cash Requirements
At December 31, 2023, the Company's Cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash and secured notes reserve funds balances totaled $105.0 million, of which $94.7 million belonged to Ting and $10.3 million belonged to the other Tucows businesses.
Ting
Prior to the Company entering into a securitized financing agreement on May 4, 2023, Ting's operating losses, acquisitions, and capital investments were funded by the UPA executed August 8, 2022. The securitized financing agreement provided Ting with capital commitments of $200 million, if the milestones are achieved over the three-year period following the Transaction Close date the milestones are achieved. On May 4, 2023, Ting Fiber, LLC executed the Ting Class C Notes - Redemption Agreement (the "Redemption Agreement") and the Ting Class C Notes – Side Letter (the "Side Letter Agreement") with Generate. The total redemption price was $45.7 million, which included a make-whole payment of $14.7 million. As of December 31, 2023 the balancing owning on the UPA was $111.9 million, with remaining capital commitments of $108.5 million ("Note 14 - Redeemable preferred units" of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report). On May 4, 2023, Tucows Inc. through its indirect and wholly owned subsidiaries, including Ting Fiber, LLC entered into a definitive agreement relating to a securitized financing facility where Ting Issuer LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, issued the 2023 Term Notes for a total value of $238.5 million ("Note 9 - Notes Payable" of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report). The combination of these agreements is expected to fund Ting operations of the next 12 months.
In the next 12 months, Ting has capital purchase commitments of $12.3 million, redeemable preferred unit interest commitments of $7.4 million, lease commitments of $5.8 million and other operating expense commitments of $2.1 million. Ting has no debt repayment commitments due in the next 12 months. We believe that Ting's current cash and cash equivalents as well as the remaining capital commitments will be sufficient to fund Ting's commitments over the next 12 months. Other than the aforementioned $12.3 million in purchase commitments, all other capital expenditures are discretionary in nature.
In the long-term, Ting intends to continue the rapid expansion of its Internet footprint through construction activities, joint ventures and acquisitions. Future expansion of the Ting Internet footprint will continue to require further debt and equity financing. Our future expansion of the Ting Internet footprint and access to additional financing will depend on a range of factors, including economic, competitive and business factors as well as changes in government monetary or fiscal policy. Redemptions under the Unit Purchase Agreement are expected to be funded by growth in future cash flows, equity financing as well as alternative debt financing.
Tucows Businesses Excluding Ting
Tucows businesses excluding Ting, acquisitions and capital investments have been funded by the Company's operating income and the Company's existing 2023 Credit Agreement. As of December 31, 2023, the Company’s 2023 Credit Facility had an outstanding balance of $211.9 million. Tucows businesses excluding Ting make principal repayments from time to time. Future interest payments associated with the 2023 Credit Facility, for the fiscal year ending in 2024, are estimated to total $17.8 million, using estimated interest rates and assuming that no repayments will be made ("Note 8 - Syndicate Revolver" of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report).
In the next 12 months, Tucows businesses excluding Ting have lease commitments of $0.9 million and other operating expense commitments of $17.3 million. Tucows businesses excluding Ting have no capital expenditure commitments. We believe that the current cash and cash equivalents as well as operating cash flow of Tucows businesses excluding Ting will be sufficient to fund their commitments over the next 12 months. For Fiscal 2024, the Company plans to fund the cash requirements of Tucows businesses excluding Ting solely through operating income, while making discretionary loan repayments to create greater operating flexibility and access to additional financing.
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In the long-term, Tucows businesses excluding Ting may seek additional financing to accelerate the growth of our Wavelo business, repurchase shares or future acquisitions. The Company's 2023 Credit Facility expires on September 30, 2026 and the Company will be required to refinance the 2023 Credit Facility once it becomes due.
FY 2022 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001437749-23-006745.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
OVERVIEW
Our mission is to provide simple useful services that help people unlock the power of the Internet.
We accomplish our mission by reducing the complexity of our customers’ experience as they access the Internet (at home or on the go) and while using Internet services such as domain name registration, email and other Internet related services. During the first quarter of 2022, the Company completed a reorganization of its reporting structure into three operating and reportable segments: Ting, Wavelo and Tucows Domains. Previously, we disclosed the three operating and reportable segments: Fiber Internet Services, Mobile Services and Domain Services. The change to our reportable operating segments was the result of a shift in our business and management structures that was initiated in 2021 and completed during the first quarter of 2022. The operations supporting what was previously known as our Mobile Services segment have become increasingly operationally distinct between our mobile retail services and our platform services. Through the reorganization of our reporting structure, the Mobile Services segment was changed to the Wavelo segment, which no longer includes the 10-year payment stream on transferred legacy subscribers earned as part of the DISH Purchase Agreement as well as the retail sale of mobile phones, retail telephony services and transition services, all of which are no longer reviewed separately by our Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO), who is also our chief operating decision maker for the purposes of making resource allocation decisions. The Wavelo segment includes our platform and professional services offerings, as well as the billing solutions to Internet services providers ("ISPs") (branded as Platypus), that was previously reported under the Ting segment. The Ting segment now only contains the operating results of our retail high speed Internet access operations, excluding the billing solutions moved to the new Wavelo segment. The product offerings included in the Tucows Domains segment remains unchanged. The three segments are differentiated primarily by their services, the markets they serve and the regulatory environments in which they operate
Our management regularly reviews our operating results on a consolidated basis, principally to make decisions about how we utilize our resources and to measure our consolidated operating performance. To assist us in forecasting growth and to help us monitor the effectiveness of our operational strategies, our management regularly reviews revenues, operating results and performance for each of our service offerings in order to gain more depth and understanding of the key business metrics driving our business. Commencing in the first quarter of 2022, our Group CEO, who is also our chief operating decision maker, reviews the operating results of Ting, Wavelo and Tucows Domains as three distinct segments in order to make key operating decisions as well as evaluate segment performance. Accordingly, effective January 1, 2022 we report Ting, Wavelo and Tucows Domains revenue separately. The 10-year payment stream on transferred legacy subscribers as well as retail sale of mobile phones, retail telephony services and transition services will be excluded from segment EBITDA results as they are no longer centrally managed and not monitored by or reported to our CEO by segment.
For the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020, we reported revenue of $321 million, $304 million and $311 million, respectively.
On August 8, 2022, the Company entered into the Amended Credit Agreement with its existing syndicate of lenders ("the Lenders"). The Amended Credit Agreement continued to provide the Company with access to an aggregate of $240 million in committed funds ("the Credit Facility"). Under the Amended Credit Agreement, and in connection with the Unit Purchase Agreement the Lenders agreed that Ting Fiber, Inc. (converted to Ting LLC) and its wholly owned subsidiaries shall cease to be Guarantors under the Credit Facility and shall automatically be released from their respective guarantee and security documents, including a release of Lenders' security interests and liens upon the assets of such entities. Additionally, the Amended Credit Agreement extended the maturity of the Credit Facility to June 14, 2024. The Company was subject to the following financial covenants at all times, which are to be calculated on a rolling four quarter basis: (i) maximum Total Funded Debt to Adjusted EBITDA Ratio of 4:00:1:00 until September 29, 2023 and 3.75:1:00 thereafter; and (ii) minimum Interest Coverage Ratio of 3:00:1:00. The financial covenant calculations will exclude the financial results of Ting Fiber Inc. (converted to Ting LLC) and its wholly owned subsidiaries. The Amended Credit Agreement added SOFR Loans as a form of advance available under the Credit Facility to replace LIBOR rate advances, and such SOFR loans may bear interest based on Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR (defined to be the applicable SOFR rate published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York plus 0.10% per annum subject to a floor of zero) or Adjusted Term SOFR (defined to be the applicable SOFR rate published by CME Group Benchmark Administration Limited plus 0.10% for one-month, 0.15% for three months; and 0.25% for six-months per annum).
On March 14, 2023 the Company entered into an Amendment No.2 (the "Credit Agreement Amendment") to the third Amended and Restated Senior Secured Credit Agreement (the "Amended Credit Agreement") with its existing syndicate of lenders. The Amended Credit Agreement continues to provide the Company with access to an aggregate of $240 million in committed funds, however there is a suspension to the $60 million accordion during the relief period (the "Leverage Step Up Period") which is defined as from Closing (March 14, 2023) to the date that the Company delivers a compliance certificate for the period ending on December 31, 2023 demonstrating compliance with financial covenants. Additionally, the Credit Agreement Amendment has extended the maturity of the Credit Facility to September 30, 2024. As a result of the closing of the Credit Agreement Amendment, the Company is subject to the following financial covenants at all times, with monthly testing during the Leverage Step Up Period and reverting to quarterly tests thereafter: (i) maximum Total Funded Debt to Adjusted EBITDA Ratio of 4.50:1.00 from March 14, 2023 up to and including September 29, 2023; 4.00:1.00 from September 30, 2023 up to and including December 30, 2023; and 3.75:1.00 thereafter; and (ii) minimum Interest Coverage Ratio of 3.00:1.00. On March 14, 2023 the Company made a repayment of $2.8 million on the Credit Facility.
Ting
Ting and its wholly owned subsidiaries, Cedar and Simply Bits includes the provision of high-speed Internet access services to select towns throughout the United States, with further expansion underway to both new and existing markets. Our primary sales channel is through the Ting website. The primary focus of this segment is to provide reliable Gigabit Fiber and Fixed Wireless Internet services to consumer and business customers. Revenues from Ting Internet are all generated in the U.S. and are billed on a monthly basis. Ting Internet services have no fixed contract terms.
As of December 31, 2022, Ting Internet had access to 96,000 owned infrastructure serviceable addresses, 20,000 partner infrastructure serviceable addresses and 35,000 active accounts under its management; compared to having access to 76,000 owned infrastructure serviceable addresses, 15,000 partner infrastructure serviceable addresses and 26,000 active accounts under its management as of December 31, 2021. These figures exclude the increase in serviceable addresses and accounts attributable to the Simply Bits acquisition.
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Wavelo
Wavelo includes the provision of full-service platforms and professional services providing a variety of solutions that support CSPs, including subscription and billing management, network orchestration and provisioning, and individual developer tools. Wavelo's focus is to provide accessible telecom software to CSPs globally, minimizing network and technical barriers and improving internet access worldwide. Wavelo's suite of flexible, cloud-based software simplifies the management of mobile and internet network access, enabling CSPs to better utilize their existing infrastructure, focus on customer experience and scale their businesses faster. Wavelo launched as a proven asset for CSPs, with DISH using Wavelo’s MONOS software to drive additional value within its Digital Operator Platform since 2021. More recently, Ting Internet has also integrated Wavelo’s ISOS and SM software to enable faster subscriber growth and footprint expansion. The Wavelo segment also includes the Platypus brand and platform, our legacy billing solution for ISPs, that was previously reported under the Ting segment. Wavelo revenues from MONOS, ISOS, SM and professional services are all generated in the U.S. and our customer agreements have set contract lengths with the underlying CSP. Similarly, Platypus revenues are largely generated in the U.S., with a small portion earned in Canada and other countries.
Domain Services
Tucows Domains includes wholesale and retail domain name registration services, as well as value added services derived through our OpenSRS, eNom, Ascio, EPAG and Hover brands. We earn revenues primarily from the registration fees charged to resellers in connection with new, renewed and transferred domain name registrations. In addition, we earn revenues from the sale of retail domain name registration and email services to individuals and small businesses. Tucows Domains revenues are attributed to the country in which the contract originates, which is primarily in Canada and the U.S for OpenSRS and eNom brands. Ascio domain services contracts and EPAG agreements primarily originate in Europe.
Our primary distribution channel is a global network of approximately 35,000 resellers that operate in over 150 countries and who typically provide their customers, the end-users of Internet-based services, with solutions for establishing and maintaining an online presence. Our primary focus is serving the needs of this network of resellers by providing the broadest portfolio of gTLD and the country code top-level domain options and related services, a white-label platform that facilitates the provisioning and management of domain names, a powerful Application Program Interface, easy-to-use interfaces, comprehensive management and reporting tools, and proactive and attentive customer service. Our services are integral to the solutions that our resellers deliver to their customers. We provide “second tier” support to our resellers by email, chat and phone in the event resellers experience issues or problems with our services. In addition, our Network Operating Center proactively monitors all services and network infrastructure to address deficiencies before customer services are impacted.
Wholesale, primarily branded as OpenSRS, eNom, EPAG and Ascio, derives revenue from its domain name registration service. Together the OpenSRS, eNom, EPAG and Ascio Domain Services manage 24.4 million domain names under the Tucows, eNom, EPAG and Ascio ICANN registrar accreditations and for other registrars under their own accreditations. Domains under management has decreased by 0.8 million domain names since December 31, 2021. The decrease is driven by lower renewal rates from the normalization of registration growth back to pre-pandemic levels, along with the continued erosion of registrations related to non-core customers from our eNom brand.
Value-Added Services include hosted email which provides email delivery and webmail access to millions of mailboxes, Internet security services, WHOIS privacy, publishing tools and other value-added services. All of these services are made available to end-users through a network of 35,000 web hosts, ISPs, and other resellers around the world. In addition, we also derive revenue by monetizing domain names which are near the end of their lifecycle through expiry auction sale.
Retail, primarily the Hover and eNom portfolio of websites, including eNom, and eNom Central, derive revenues from the sale of domain name registration and email services to individuals and small businesses. Our retail domain services also include our Personal Names Service – based on over 36,000 surname domains – that allows roughly two-thirds of Americans to purchase an email address based on their last name. The retail segment now includes the sale of the rights to its portfolio of surname domains used in connection with our RealNames email service and our Exact Hosting Service, that provides Linux hosting services for individual and small business websites.
KEY BUSINESS METRICS AND NON-GAAP MEASURES
We regularly review a number of business metrics, including the following key metrics and non-GAAP measures, to assist us in evaluating our business, measure the performance of our business model, identify trends impacting our business, determine resource allocations, formulate financial projections and make strategic business decisions. Following the sale of substantially all of the Ting Mobile customers as part of the Purchase Agreement, we have ceased reporting Ting Mobile subscribers and accounts under management. The following tables set forth the key business metrics which we believe are the primary indicators of our performance for the periods presented:
Adjusted EBITDA
Tucows reports all financial information in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). Along with this information, to assist financial statement users in an assessment of our historical performance, we typically disclose and discuss a non-GAAP financial measure, adjusted EBITDA, on investor conference calls and related events that excludes certain non-cash and other charges as we believe that the non-GAAP information enhances investors’ overall understanding of our financial performance. Please see discussion of adjusted EBITDA in the Results of Operations section below.
| Ting Internet | For the year ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||
| (in '000's) | |||||||||||
| Ting Internet accounts under management | 35 | 26 | 15 | ||||||||
| Ting Internet owned infrastructure serviceable addresses (1) | 96 | 76 | 49 | ||||||||
| Ting Internet partner infrastructure serviceable addresses (1) | 20 | 15 | 10 |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| (1) | Defined as premises to which Ting has the capability to provide a customer connection in a service area. |
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| Tucows Domains | As of December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||
| Total new, renewed and transferred-in domain name registrations provisioned(1) | 21,774 | 22,530 | 23,032 | ||||||||
| Domains under management: | |||||||||||
| Registered using Registrar Accreditation belonging to the Tucows Group | 17,921 | 18,909 | 19,685 | ||||||||
| Registered using Registrar Accreditation belonging to Resellers | 6,469 | 6,254 | 5,692 | ||||||||
| Total domain names under management | 24,390 | 25,163 | 25,377 |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| (1) | For a discussion of these period-to-period changes in the domains provisioned and domains under management and how they impacted our financial results see the Net Revenues discussion below. |
OPPORTUNITIES, CHALLENGES AND RISKS
Our revenue is primarily realized in U.S. dollars and a major portion of our operating expenses are paid in Canadian dollars. Fluctuations in the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Canadian dollar may have a material effect on our business, financial condition and results from operations. In particular, we may be adversely affected by a significant weakening of the U.S. dollar against the Canadian dollar on a quarterly and an annual basis. Our policy with respect to foreign currency exposure is to manage our financial exposure to certain foreign exchange fluctuations with the objective of neutralizing some or all of the impact of foreign currency exchange movements by entering into foreign exchange forward contracts to mitigate the exchange risk on a portion of our Canadian dollar exposure. We may not always enter into such forward contracts and such contracts may not always be available and economical for us. Additionally, the forward rates established by the contracts may be less advantageous than the market rate upon settlement.
Ting
As an ISP, we have invested and expect to continue to invest in new fiber to the home (“FTTH”) deployments in select markets in the United States. The investments are a reflection of our ongoing efforts to build FTTH network via public-private partnerships in communities we identify as having strong, unmet demand for FTTH services. Given the significant upfront build and operational investments for these FTTH deployments, there is risk that future technological and regulatory changes as well as competitive responses from incumbent local providers, may result in us not fully recovering these investments.
The communications industry continues to compete on the basis of network reach and performance, types of services and devices offered, and price.
Wavelo
Wavelo launched as a proven asset for CSPs, with DISH using Wavelo’s MONOS software to drive additional value within its Digital Operator Platform since 2021. More recently, Ting Internet has also integrated Wavelo’s ISOS software to enable faster subscriber growth and footprint expansion. With our external platform and professional services revenues concentrated to one customer in DISH, we are exposed to significant risk if we are unable to maintain this customer relationship or establish new relationships for any our Platforms in the future. Additionally, our revenues as a platform provider are directly tied to the subscriber volumes of DISH's MVNO or MNO networks, and our profitability is contingent on the ability of DISH to continue to add subscribers, either from organic growth or from migration off legacy systems, onto our platforms.
Domain Services
The increased competition in the market for Internet services in recent years, which we expect will continue to intensify in the short and long term, poses a material risk for us. As new registrars are introduced, existing competitors expand service offerings and competitors offer price discounts to gain market share, we face pricing pressure, which can adversely impact our revenues and profitability. To address these risks, we have focused on leveraging the scalability of our infrastructure and our ability to provide proactive and attentive customer service to aggressively compete to attract new customers and to maintain existing customers.
Substantially all of our Tucows Domains revenue is derived from domain name registrations and related value-added services from wholesale and retail customers using our provisioning and management platforms. The market for wholesale registrar services is both price sensitive and competitive and is evolving with the introduction of new gTLDs, particularly for large volume customers, such as large web hosting companies and owners of large portfolios of domain names. We have a relatively limited ability to increase the pricing of domain name registrations without negatively impacting our ability to maintain or grow our customer base. Growth in our Tucows Domains revenue is dependent upon our ability to continue to attract and retain customers by maintaining consistent domain name registration and value-added service renewal rates and to grow our customer relationships through refining, evolving and improving our provisioning platforms and customer service for both resellers and end-users. In addition, Tucows Domains also generate revenues through the sale of names from our portfolio of domain names and through the OpenSRS, eNom, and Ascio Domain Expiry Stream. The revenue associated with names sales and advertising has recently experienced flat to declining trends due to the uncertainty around the implementation of ICANN’s New gTLD Program, lower traffic and advertising yields in the marketplace, which we expect to continue.
From time-to-time certain of our vendors provide us with market development funds to expand or maintain the market position for their services. Any decision by these vendors to cancel or amend these programs for any reason may result in payments in future periods not being commensurate with what we have achieved during past periods.
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Other opportunities, challenges and risks
The Company is entitled to a long-term payment stream that is a function of the margin generated by the transferred Ting Mobile subscribers over the 10-year term of the DISH Purchase Agreement executed in Fiscal 2020. This consideration structure may not prove to be successful or profitable in the long-term to us if the existing subscriber base churns at an above average rate. Additionally, given DISH controls the revenues and costs incurred associated with the acquired subscribers, there could arise a situation where profitability for the subscriber base is diminished either by lower price points or cost inflation. Additionally, as part of the DISH Purchase agreement, the Company retained a small number of customer accounts associated with one MNO agreement that was not reassigned to DISH at time of sale. We continue to be subject to the minimum revenue commitments previously agreed to with this excluded MNO agreement. The Company is able to continue adding customers under the excluded MNO network. However, with no direct ability to change customer pricing and limited ability to renegotiate contract costs or significant terms, the Company may be unable to meet the minimum commitments with this MNO partner and could incur significant and recurring penalties until such a time that the contract is complete. These penalties would negatively impact our operational performance and financial results if enforced by the MNO. As a result of a successful negotiation with the MNO partner in Fiscal 2022, the Company was able to defer the impact of the penalties into Fiscal 2023 and beyond. The Company expects to incur penalties starting in Fiscal 2023 and thereafter until the contract is complete. The expected penalties in Fiscal 2023 are $0.5 million and the penalties could increase until the end of the contract in 2025.
An in-depth assessment of the risk factors impacting our businesses has been discussed at length above in Part I under the caption "Item 1A Risk Factors" in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Critical Accounting Estimates
The following is a discussion of our critical accounting estimates. Critical accounting estimates are defined as those that are both important to the portrayal of our financial condition and results of operations and are reflective of significant judgments and uncertainties made by management that may result in materially different results under different assumptions and conditions. “Note 2 – Significant Accounting Policies” of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for Fiscal 2022 included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report, includes further information on the significant accounting policies and methods used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements.
The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. Management bases its estimates on historical experience, available market information as applicable, and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances at the time they are made. Under different assumptions or conditions, the actual results will differ, potentially materially, from those previously estimated. Many of the conditions impacting these assumptions and estimates are outside of the Company’s control. Management evaluates its estimates on an on-going basis.
Contracts with multiple performance obligations
Our platform service contract contains multiple performance obligations with DISH. We are required to allocate the transaction price between performance obligations - Platform Services and Professional Services, which impacts the timing of revenue recognition. We determine the stand-alone selling price of Platform Services using the residual method, which requires us to make estimates of future consideration earned during the entire term of the mobile platform service contract as well as the stand-alone selling price of Professional Services. Changes in assumptions could cause an increase or decrease in the amount of revenue that we report in a particular period.
Acquired customer relationships
For acquired customer relationships, the Company estimates the fair value based on the income approach. The income approach is a valuation technique that calculates the fair value of an intangible asset based on the present value of future cash flows expected to be generated over the remaining useful life of the asset. This valuation involves significant subjectivity and estimation uncertainty, including assumptions related to future revenues attributable to acquired customer relationships, attrition rates and discount rates.
Loss contingencies
We are sometimes subject to claims, suits, regulatory and government investigations, and other proceedings involving competition, intellectual property, privacy, tax and related compliance, labor and employment, commercial disputes, and other matters. Certain of these matters include speculative claims for substantial or indeterminate amounts of damages. We record a liability when we believe that it is probable that a loss has been incurred and the amount can be reasonably estimated.
We evaluate, on a regular basis, developments in our legal matters that could affect the amount of liability that has been previously accrued, and the matters and related reasonably possible losses disclosed, and make adjustments and changes to our disclosures as appropriate. Significant judgment is required to determine both the likelihood and the estimated amount of a loss related to such matters. Until the final resolution of such matters, there may be an exposure to loss in excess of the amount recorded, and such amounts could be material.
Impairment of Goodwill and intangibles
We evaluate factors such as macro-economic, industry and market conditions including the capital markets, the competitive environment, in addition to other internal factors including changes to our market capitalization, cash inflows, obligations and access to capital of our segments. We concluded that there were no indications of impairment under the qualitative approach. The analysis was consistent with the approach we utilized in our analysis performed in prior years.
Any changes to our key assumptions about our businesses and our prospects, or changes in market conditions, could cause the fair value of our operating segments to fall below its carrying value, resulting in a potential impairment charge. In addition, changes in our organizational structure or how our management allocates resources and assesses performance, could result in a change in our operating segments, requiring a reallocation and updated impairment analysis of goodwill and indefinite life intangible assets.
Changes in estimates
There were no material changes to our critical accounting estimates during Fiscal 2022.
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Revenue Recognition Policy
The Company’s revenues are derived from (a) the provisioning of retail fiber Internet services in our Ting segment, (b) the provisioning of CSP focused platform services and professional services in our Wavelo segment; and from (c) domain name registration contracts, other domain related value-added services, domain sale contracts, and other advertising revenue in our Tucows Domains segment. Amounts received in advance of meeting the revenue recognition criteria described below are recorded as deferred revenue. All products are generally sold without the right of return or refund.
Revenue is measured based on consideration specified in a contract with a customer and excludes any sales incentives and amounts collected on behalf of third parties. The Company recognizes revenue when it satisfies a performance obligation by transferring control over a product or service to a customer.
Nature of goods and services
The following is a description of principal activities – separated by reportable segments – from which the Company generates its revenue. For more detailed information about reportable segments. See “Note 20 – Segment Reporting” of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this report for more information.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Ting |
Ting and its subsidiaries - Cedar, and Simply Bits includes the provision of high-speed Internet access services to select towns throughout the United States, with further expansion underway to both new and existing markets. Our primary sales channel is through the Ting website. The primary focus of this segment is to provide reliable Gigabit Fiber and Fixed Wireless Internet services to consumer and business customers. Revenues are all generated in the U.S., have no fixed contract terms and are billed on a monthly basis, with unlimited bandwidth based on a fixed price.
The Company’s billing cycle for all Ting Internet customers is computed based on the customer’s activation date. Since consideration is collected before the service period, revenue is initially deferred and recognized as the Company performs its obligation to provide Internet access within each reporting period. In addition, revenues associated with the sale of Internet hardware to subscribers are recognized when title and risk of loss is transferred to the subscriber and shipment has occurred. Incentive marketing credits given to customers are recorded as a reduction of revenue.
In those cases where payment is not received at the time of sale, as is the case for service requiring installation, then revenue is not recognized until a customer's service is activated. The Company records costs that reflect expected refunds, rebates and credit card charge-backs as a reduction of revenues at the time of the sale based on historical experiences and current expectations.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| (b) | Wavelo |
Platform Services
Tucows' Platform Services include the following full-service platforms from Wavelo, including MONOS, ISOS, SM and our legacy Platypus ISP Billing software. Under each of these platforms there are a variety of solutions that support CSPs, including subscription and billing management, network orchestration and provisioning, and individual developer tools. Wavelo launches as a proven asset for CSPs, with DISH using Wavelo’s MONOS software to drive additional value within its Digital Operator Platform since 2021. More recently, Ting has also integrated Wavelo’s ISOS and SM software to enable faster subscriber growth and footprint expansion. Wavelo's customers are billed monthly, on a postpaid basis. The monthly fees are variable, based on the volume of their subscribers utilizing the platform during a given month, to which minimums may apply. Customers may also be billed fixed platform fees and granted fixed credits as part of the consideration for long-term contracts. Consideration received is allocated to platform services and bundled professional services and recognized as each service obligation is fulfilled. Any fixed fees for Wavelo are recognized into revenue evenly over the service period, while variable usage fees are recognized each month as they are consumed. Professional services revenue is recognized as the hours of professional services granted to the customer are used or expire. When consideration for these platform services is received before the service is delivered, the revenue is initially deferred and recognized only as the Company performs its obligation to provide services. Likewise, if platform services are delivered before the Company has the unconditional right to invoice the customer, revenue is recognized as a Contract Asset.
Other Professional Services
This revenue stream includes any other professional services earned in connection with the Wavelo business from the provision of standalone technology services development work. These are billed to our customers monthly at set and established rates for services provided in period. The Company recognizes revenue over this revenue stream as the Company satisfies its obligations to provide professional services.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| (c) | Tucows Domains |
Wholesale - Domain Services
Domain registration contracts, which can be purchased for terms of one to ten years, provide our resellers and retail registrant customers with the exclusive right to a personalized internet address from which to build an online presence. The Company enters into domain registration contracts in connection with each new, renewed and transferred-in domain registration. At the inception of the contract, the Company charges and collects the registration fee for the entire registration period. Though fees are collected upfront, revenue from domain registrations are recognized ratably over the registration period as domain registration contracts contain a ‘right to access’ license of IP, which is a distinct performance obligation measured over time. The registration period begins once the Company has confirmed that the requested domain name has been appropriately recorded in the registry under contractual performance standards.
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Historically, our wholesale domain service has constituted the largest portion of our business and encompasses all of our services as an accredited registrar related to the registration, renewal, transfer and management of domain names. In addition, this service fuels other revenue categories as it often is the initial service for which a reseller will engage us, enabling us to follow on with other services and allowing us to add to our portfolio by purchasing names registered through us upon their expiration. Tucows Domains will continue to be the largest portion of our business and will further fuel our ability to sell add-on services.
The Company is an ICANN accredited registrar. Thus, the Company is the primary obligor with our reseller and retail registrant customers and is responsible for the fulfillment of our registrar services to those parties. As a result, the Company reports revenue in the amount of the fees we receive directly from our reseller and retail registrant customers. Our reseller customers maintain the primary obligor relationship with their retail customers, establish pricing and retain credit risk to those customers. Accordingly, the Company does not recognize any revenue related to transactions between our reseller customers and their ultimate retail customers.
Wholesale – Value-Added Services
We derive revenue from domain related value-added services like digital certifications, WHOIS privacy and hosted email and by providing our resellers and retail registrant customers with tools and additional functionality to be used in conjunction with domain registrations. All domain related value-added services are considered distinct performance obligations which transfer the promised service to the customer over the contracted term. Fees charged to customers for domain related value-added services are collected at the inception of the contract, and revenue is recognized on a straight-line basis over the contracted term, consistent with the satisfaction of the performance obligations.
We also derive revenue from other value-added services, which primarily consists of proceeds from the OpenSRS, eNom and Ascio domain expiry streams.
Retail
We derive revenues mainly from Hover and eNom’s retail properties through the sale of retail domain name registration and email services to individuals and small businesses. The retail segment now includes the sale of the rights to its portfolio of surname domains used in connection with our RealNames email and Linux hosting services for websites through our Exact Hosting brand.
For information about geographic areas, see “Note 20– Segment Reporting” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| (d) | Tucows Corporate - Mobile Services and Eliminations |
Although we still provide mobile telephony services to a small subset of customers retained through the Ting Mobile brand as part of the DISH Purchase Agreement executed in Fiscal 2020; this revenue stream no longer represents the Company's strategic focus going forward. Instead we have transitioned towards being a platform provider for CSPs globally via our Wavelo segment. Where these retail mobile services revenues were previously disclosed as part of a Mobile Services segment in the prior year, effective January 1, 2022 we have decided to exclude retail telephony services and transition services revenues from segment EBITDA results as they are no longer centrally managed and not monitored by or reported to our CEO by segment.
Ting Mobile wireless usage contracts grant customers access to standard talk, text and data mobile services. Ting Mobile contracts are billed based on the customer's selected rate plan, which can either be usage based or an unlimited plan. All rate plan options are charged to customers on a postpaid, monthly basis at the end of their billing cycle. All future revenues associated with Retail Mobile Services stream will only be for this subset of customers retained by the Company, as mentioned above. Ting Mobile services are primarily contracted through the Ting website, for one month at a time and contain no commitment to renew the contract following each customer's monthly billing cycle. The Company's billing cycle for all Ting Mobile customers is computed based on the customer's activation date. In order to recognize revenue as the Company satisfies its obligations, we compute the amount of revenues earned but not billed from the end of each billing cycle to the end of each reporting period. In addition, revenues associated with the sale of wireless devices and accessories are recognized when title and risk of loss is transferred to the customer and shipment has occurred. Incentive marketing credits given to customers are recorded as a reduction of revenue.
These Mobile Services revenue streams also includes transitional services provided to DISH. These are billed monthly at set and established rates for services provided in period and include the provision of sales, marketing, customer support, order fulfillment, and data analytics related to the legacy customer base sold to DISH. The Company recognizes revenue as the Company satisfies its obligations to provide transitional services.
As a form of consideration for the sale of the customer relationships, the Company receives a payout on the margin associated with the legacy customer base sold to DISH, over a period of 10 years. This has been classified as Other Income and not considered revenue in the current period.
Valuation of Goodwill, Intangible Assets and Long-Lived Assets
The excess of the purchase price over the fair values of the identifiable assets and liabilities from our acquisitions is recorded as goodwill. At December 31, 2022, we had $130.4 million in goodwill related to our acquisitions and $39.8 million in intangible assets comprised of indefinite life intangibles of $12.3 million and finite life intangible assets of $27.5 million. At December 31, 2021, we had $130.4 million in goodwill related to our acquisitions and $50.4 million in intangible assets comprised of indefinite life intangibles of $12.3 million and finite life intangible assets of $38.1 million. As described above, we report our financial results as three operating segments, Ting, Wavelo and Tucows Domains. The goodwill balance is built up of $107.7 million (83%) related to Tucows Domains and $22.7 million (17%) related to Ting. Of our goodwill balance, $90.3 million is not deductible for tax purposes. Seventy-one percent of intangible assets relate to our Tucows Domains operating segment and 29% of intangible assets relate to our Ting segment.
We account for goodwill and indefinite life intangible assets in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”)'s authoritative guidance, which requires that goodwill and indefinite life intangible assets are not amortized, but are subject to an annual impairment test. We complete our impairment test on an annual basis, during the fourth quarter of our fiscal year, or more frequently, if changes in facts and circumstances indicate that impairment indicators are present.
Our indefinite life intangible assets consist of surname domain names and direct navigation domain names. In order to maintain our rights to these domain names, we pay annual renewal fees to the applicable domain name registries. Over the course of time, we sometimes decide not to renew certain under-performing domain names and incur an impairment charge associated with such non-renewal. There was no impairment recorded on indefinite-life intangible assets during 2022, 2021 and 2020.
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With regard to long-lived assets comprised of property and equipment and finite life intangible assets, we continually evaluate whether events or circumstances have occurred that indicate the remaining estimated useful lives of our definite-life intangible assets may warrant revision or whether the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable and exceed their fair value. We use an estimate of the related undiscounted cash flows over the remaining life of the asset in measuring whether the asset is recoverable. During Fiscal
2022 and
2021 there was no impairment recorded on definite-life intangible assets and property and equipment. In
2020 there was a $1.4 million impairment recorded on definite-life intangible assets associated with the shutdown of the Roam Mobility brands.
We performed a qualitative assessment to determine whether there were events or circumstances which would lead to a determination, whether it is more likely than not, that goodwill and indefinite life intangible assets have been impaired. In performing the qualitative testing, we made an evaluation of the impact of various factors to the expected future cash flows attributable to our operating segments and to the assumed discount rate which would be used to present value those cash flows. Consideration was given to factors such as macro-economic, industry and market conditions including the capital markets, the competitive environment, in addition to other internal factors including changes to our market capitalization, cash inflows, obligations and access to capital of our segments. We concluded that there were no indications of impairment under the qualitative approach. The analysis was consistent with the approach we utilized in our analysis performed in prior years.
In connection with business acquisitions that we have completed, we identify and estimate the fair value of net assets acquired, including certain identifiable intangible assets (other than goodwill) and liabilities assumed. The determination of acquisition date fair values requires us to make significant estimates and assumptions regarding projected revenues, costs, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, attrition rates and discount rates. Changes to these assumptions may result in material differences depending on the size of the acquisition completed.
Any changes to our key assumptions about our businesses and our prospects, or changes in market conditions, could cause the fair value of our operating segments to fall below its carrying value, resulting in a potential impairment charge. In addition, changes in our organizational structure or how our management allocates resources and assesses performance, could result in a change in our operating segments, requiring a reallocation and updated impairment analysis of goodwill and indefinite life intangible assets. A goodwill or intangible asset impairment charge could have a material effect on our consolidated financial statements because of the significance of goodwill and intangible assets to our consolidated balance sheet. There was no further impairment of goodwill or intangible assets, both definite and indefinite life, as a result of the annual impairment tests completed during the fourth quarters of
2022,
2021 or
2020.
Accounting for Income Taxes
We operate in various tax jurisdictions, and accordingly, our income is subject to varying rates of tax. Losses incurred in one jurisdiction cannot be used to offset income taxes payable in another jurisdiction. Our ability to use income tax loss carry forwards and future income tax deductions is dependent upon our operations in the tax jurisdictions in which such losses or deductions arise. Significant judgment is required in determining our provision for income taxes and evaluating our uncertain tax positions.
We account for income taxes under the asset and liability method, which recognizes the deferred tax assets or liabilities for the anticipated future tax effects of temporary differences between the financial statement basis and the tax basis of our assets and liabilities. Valuation allowances are established to reduce deferred tax assets when it is more likely than not that the benefit from the deferred tax assets will not be realized. In assessing the need for valuation allowance, historical and future levels of income, expectations and risks associated with estimates of future taxable income and tax planning strategies are considered. As at December 31, 2022, the valuation allowance of $17.6 million was related to foreign tax credits that we are not expected to realize.
We apply a two-step approach to recognizing and measuring uncertain tax positions. The first step is to evaluate the tax position for recognition by determining if on the weight of available evidence, it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained on audit, including resolution of related appeals or litigation processes, if any. The second step is to measure the tax benefit that is more than 50% likely to be realized upon settlement. As at December 31, 2022, we did not recognize any uncertain tax provisions within the provision for income taxes.
See Note 9 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further information regarding income taxes included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report.
Recently Issued Accounting Standards
See “Note 2 – Significant Accounting Policies” of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for information regarding recently issued accounting standards.
Current COVID-19 response and expected impacts
The global COVID-19 pandemic continued to persist through Fiscal 2022, however the financial and operational impacts from COVID-19 on our business have been limited. Management continues to assess the impact regularly but expects limited financial and operational impact through the upcoming fiscal year, should the COVID-19 pandemic persist. While the spread of COVID-19 may eventually be contained or mitigated, there is no guarantee that a future outbreak will not occur as evidenced by numerous variants of the virus emerging. As a Company, we have transitioned to defining ourselves as a remote-first organization, and continue to enforce a full vaccination policy for any employees working from a Company office, meeting in person with customers or travel by plane or train for business purposes. We have not experienced any productivity issues, material resource constraints nor do we foresee requiring any material expenditures to continue to implement our business continuity plans described above. Likewise, we have not experienced nor do we foresee any future impacts to our liquidity position, credit risk, internal controls or impacts to our accounting policies as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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RESULTS OF OPERATIONS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2022 AS COMPARED TO THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31 2021
NET REVENUES
Ting
Ting and its subsidiaries - Cedar, and Simply Bits includes the provision of high-speed Internet access services to select towns throughout the United States, with further expansion underway to both new and existing markets. Our primary sales channel is through the Ting website. The primary focus of this segment is to provide reliable Gigabit Fiber and Fixed Wireless Internet services to consumer and business customers. Revenues are all generated in the U.S., have no fixed contract terms and are billed on a monthly basis, with unlimited bandwidth based on a fixed price.
The Company's billing cycle for all Ting Internet customers is computed based on the customer's activation date. Since consideration is collected before the service period, revenue is initially deferred and recognized as the Company performs its obligation to provide Internet access within each reporting period. In addition, revenues associated with the sale of Internet hardware to subscribers are recognized when title and risk of loss is transferred to the subscriber and shipment has occurred. Incentive marketing credits given to customers are recorded as a reduction of revenue.
In those cases where payment is not received at the time of sale, as is the case for service requiring installation, then revenue is not recognized until a customer's service is activated. The Company records costs that reflect expected refunds, rebates and credit card charge-backs as a reduction of revenues at the time of the sale based on historical experiences and current expectations.
Wavelo
Platform Services
Tucows' Platform Services include the following full-service platforms from Wavelo, including MONOS, ISOS, SM and our legacy Platypus ISP Billing software. Under each of these platforms there are a variety of solutions that support CSPs, including subscription and billing management, network orchestration and provisioning, and individual developer tools. Wavelo launches as a proven asset for CSPs, with DISH using Wavelo’s MONOS software to drive additional value within its Digital Operator Platform since 2021. More recently, Ting has also integrated Wavelo’s ISOS and SM software to enable faster subscriber growth and footprint expansion. Wavelo's customers are billed monthly, on a postpaid basis. The monthly fees are variable, based on the volume of their subscribers utilizing the platform during a given month, to which minimums may apply. Customers may also be billed fixed platform fees and granted fixed credits as part of the consideration for long-term contracts. Consideration received is allocated to platform services and bundled professional services and recognized as each service obligation is fulfilled. Any fixed fees for Wavelo are recognized into revenue evenly over the service period, while variable usage fees are recognized each month as they are consumed. Professional services revenue is recognized as the hours of professional services granted to the customer are used or expire. When consideration for these platform services is received before the service is delivered, the revenue is initially deferred and recognized only as the Company performs its obligation to provide services. Likewise, if platform services are delivered before the Company has the unconditional right to invoice the customer, revenue is recognized as a Contract Asset.
Other Professional Services
This revenue stream includes any other professional services earned in connection with the Wavelo business from the provision of standalone technology services development work. These are billed to our customers monthly at set and established rates for services provided in period. The Company recognizes revenue over this new revenue stream as the Company satisfies its obligations to provide professional services.
Tucows Domains
Wholesale - Domain Services
Domain registration contracts, which can be purchased for terms of one to ten years, provide our resellers and retail registrant customers with the exclusive right to a personalized internet address from which to build an online presence. The Company enters into domain registration contracts in connection with each new, renewed and transferred-in domain registration. At the inception of the contract, the Company charges and collects the registration fee for the entire registration period. Though fees are collected upfront, revenue from domain registrations are recognized ratably over the registration period as domain registration contracts contain a ‘right to access’ license of IP, which is a distinct performance obligation measured over time. The registration period begins once the Company has confirmed that the requested domain name has been appropriately recorded in the registry under contractual performance standards.
Historically, our wholesale domain service has constituted the largest portion of our business and encompasses all of our services as an accredited registrar related to the registration, renewal, transfer and management of domain names. In addition, this service fuels other revenue categories as it often is the initial service for which a reseller will engage us, enabling us to follow on with other services and allowing us to add to our portfolio by purchasing names registered through us upon their expiration. We expect Domain services will continue to be the largest portion of our business and will continue to enable us to sell add-on services.
The Company is an ICANN accredited registrar. Thus, the Company is the primary obligor with our reseller and retail registrant customers and is responsible for the fulfillment of our registrar services to those parties. As a result, the Company reports revenue in the amount of the fees we receive directly from our reseller and retail registrant customers. Our reseller customers maintain the primary obligor relationship with their retail customers, establish pricing and retain credit risk to those customers. Accordingly, the Company does not recognize any revenue related to transactions between our reseller customers and their ultimate retail customers.
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Wholesale – Value-Added Services
We derive revenue from domain related value-added services like digital certifications, WHOIS privacy and hosted email and by providing our resellers and retail registrant customers with tools and additional functionality to be used in conjunction with domain registrations. All domain related value-added services are considered distinct performance obligations which transfer the promised service to the customer over the contracted term. Fees charged to customers for domain related value-added services are collected at the inception of the contract, and revenue is recognized on a straight-line basis over the contracted term, consistent with the satisfaction of the performance obligations.
We also derive revenue from other value-added services, which primarily consists of proceeds from the OpenSRS, eNom and Ascio domain expiry streams.
Retail
We derive revenues mainly from Hover and eNom’s retail properties through the sale of retail domain name registration and email services to individuals and small businesses. The retail segment now includes the sale of the rights to its portfolio of surname domains used in connection with our RealNames email service and Linux hosting services for websites through our Exact Hosting brand.
Tucows Corporate - Mobile Services and Eliminations
Although we still provide mobile telephony services to a small subset of customers retained through the Ting Mobile brand as part of the DISH Purchase Agreement executed in Fiscal 2020; this revenue stream no longer represents the Company's strategic focus going forward. Instead we have transitioned towards being a Wavelo provider for CSPs globally. Where these retail mobile services revenues were previously disclosed as part of a Mobile Services segment in the prior year, effective January 1, 2022 we have decided to exclude retail telephony services and transition services revenues from segment EBITDA results as they are no longer centrally managed and not monitored by or reported to our CEO by segment.
Ting Mobile wireless usage contracts grant customers access to standard talk, text and data mobile services. Ting Mobile contracts are billed based on the customer's selected rate plan, which can either be usage based or an unlimited plan. All rate plan options are charged to customers on a postpaid, monthly basis at the end of their billing cycle. All future revenues associated with Retail Mobile Services stream will only be for this subset of customers retained by the Company, as mentioned above. Ting Mobile services are primarily contracted through the Ting website, for one month at a time and contain no commitment to renew the contract following each customer's monthly billing cycle. The Company's billing cycle for all Ting Mobile customers is computed based on the customer's activation date. In order to recognize revenue as the Company satisfies its obligations, we compute the amount of revenues earned but not billed from the end of each billing cycle to the end of each reporting period. In addition, revenues associated with the sale of wireless devices and accessories are recognized when title and risk of loss is transferred to the customer and shipment has occurred. Incentive marketing credits given to customers are recorded as a reduction of revenue
These Mobile Services revenue streams also includes transitional services provided to DISH. These are billed monthly at set and established rates for services provided in period and include the provision of sales, marketing, customer support, order fulfillment, and data analytics related to the legacy customer base sold to DISH. The Company recognizes revenue as the Company satisfies its obligations to provide transitional services.
As a form of consideration for the sale of the customer relationships, the Company receives a payout on the margin associated with the legacy customer base sold to DISH, over a period of 10 years. This has been classified as Other Income and not considered revenue in the current period.
The following table presents our net revenues, by revenue source:
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | ||||||
| Ting: | |||||||
| Fiber Internet Services | $ | 42,425 | $ | 25,327 | |||
| Wavelo: | |||||||
| Platform Services | 22,594 | 13,031 | |||||
| Other professional services | 1,750 | 3,750 | |||||
| Total Wavelo | 24,344 | 16,781 | |||||
| Tucows Domains: | |||||||
| Wholesale | |||||||
| Domain Services | 187,542 | 189,091 | |||||
| Value Added Services | 20,712 | 20,942 | |||||
| Total Wholesale | 208,254 | 210,033 | |||||
| Retail | 34,904 | 35,543 | |||||
| Total Tucows Domains | 243,158 | 245,576 | |||||
| Tucows Corporate: | |||||||
| Mobile Services and eliminations | 11,215 | 16,653 | |||||
| $ | 321,142 | $ | 304,337 | ||||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 16,805 | |||||
| Increase - percentage | 6 | % |
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The following table presents our revenues, by revenue source, as a percentage of total revenues:
| Year ended December 31, | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| Ting: | ||||||||
| Fiber Internet Services | 13 | % | 8 | % | ||||
| Wavelo: | ||||||||
| Platform Services | 7 | % | 4 | % | ||||
| Other Professional Services | 1 | % | 1 | % | ||||
| Total Wavelo | 8 | % | 5 | % | ||||
| Tucows Domains: | ||||||||
| Wholesale | ||||||||
| Domain Services | 58 | % | 62 | % | ||||
| Value Added Services | 6 | % | 7 | % | ||||
| Total Wholesale | 64 | % | 69 | % | ||||
| Retail | 11 | % | 12 | % | ||||
| Total Tucows Domains | 75 | % | 81 | % | ||||
| Tucows Corporate: | ||||||||
| Mobile services and eliminations | 4 | % | 6 | % | ||||
| 100 | % | 100 | % |
Total net revenues for Fiscal 2022 increased by $16.8 million, or 6%, to $321.1 million from $304.3 million for the Fiscal 2022. The overall increase in revenue was primarily driven by the $17.1 million increase in revenues attributable to our Ting segment. Ting experienced both growth in customers as we continued to build out our Ting Internet footprint as well as acquisition led revenue growth from our prior year acquisition of Simply Bits. This increase was furthered by Wavelo, contributing an increased $7.6 million to revenues, a result of increased MONOS platform revenues earned from the migration of additional subscribers onto our new platforms. The increases these two segments experienced were partially offset by reduced revenues from Mobile Services and eliminations and Tucows Domains of $5.4 million and $2.4 million, respectively. The decrease in Mobile Services and eliminations was attributable to decreased transitional services revenues, and the decrease from Tucows Domains segment from the continued normalization of domain registration growth and renewal rates from those observed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in prior years.
Deferred revenue at December 31, 2022 decreased by $2.7 million to $145.1 million from $147.8 million at December 31, 2021. This decrease was primarily driven by our Domain Services segment, accounting for $3.2 million of the decrease due to recognition of previously deferred billings for registrations and renewals growth experienced in prior years in connection with COVID-19. This decrease was partially offset by an increase in deferred revenues associated with Ting and Wavelo of $0.3 million and $0.2 million, respectively. For Ting, the increase is reflective of the continued growth in customer base and billings for that segment relative to December 31, 2021; and for Wavelo, the increase is reflective of additional other professional services revenues for standalone technology services development work with DISH which have been deferred until such time as that work is complete and we've satisfied our obligations to provide the professional services.
No customer accounted for more than 10% of revenue during Fiscal 2022 or during the year ended December 31, 2021 ("Fiscal 2021"). At both December 31, 2022 and as at December 31, 2021, DISH accounted for 46% of total accounts receivable.
Though a significant portion of the Company’s domain services revenues are prepaid by our customers, where the Company does collect receivables, significant management judgment is required at the time revenue is recorded to assess whether the collection of the resulting receivables is reasonably assured. On an ongoing basis, we assess the ability of our customers to make required payments. Based on this assessment, we expect the carrying amount of our outstanding receivables, net of allowance for doubtful accounts, to be fully collected.
Ting
Ting generated $42.4 million in revenue during Fiscal 2022, which increased by $17.1 million or 68% compared to Fiscal 2021. This growth is driven by continued subscriber growth across the markets we serve, as well as the continued expansion of our Ting Internet footprint to new Ting towns throughout the United States. Included in this $17.1 million increase of revenues is $7.6 million attributed to the prior year acquisition of Simply Bits, which closed in the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2021.
As of December 31, 2022, Ting Internet had access to 96,000 owned infrastructure serviceable addresses, 20,000 partner infrastructure serviceable addresses and 35,000 active accounts under its management; compared to having access to 76,000 owned infrastructure serviceable addresses, 15,000 partner infrastructure serviceable addresses and 26,000 active accounts under its management as of December 31, 2021. These figures exclude the increase in serviceable addresses and accounts attributable to the Simply Bits acquisition.
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Wavelo
Platform Services
Wavelo's Platform services generated $22.6 million in revenue during Fiscal 2022, which increased by $9.6 million or 74% compared to Fiscal 2021. This is driven from increased MONOS platform revenues earned from the migration of additional DISH subscribers, from their Boost Mobile brand onto our new platform. The increased platform fees are partially offset by a reduction of revenues related to the amortization of the related contract asset with DISH. The Company expects the contract asset to continue to amortize against revenue through the remainder of Fiscal 2023 and thereafter as we continue to fulfill the performance obligations of the contract. Our full-service platforms support CSPs with subscription and billing management, network orchestration and provisioning, and individual developer tools. Wavelo launched as a proven asset for CSPs, with DISH using Wavelo’s MONOS software to drive additional value within its Digital Operator Platform since 2021. More recently, Ting Internet has also integrated Wavelo’s ISOS and SM software to enable faster subscriber growth and footprint expansion. Any intercompany ISOS or SM revenues earned from Ting Internet are eliminated upon consolidation.
Other Professional Services
Wavelo's Other Professional Services for the Fiscal 2022, decreased by $2.0 million compared to Fiscal 2021, to $1.8 million. This decrease is a result of a less professional service engagements for the provision of standalone technology services development work for DISH as they shift focus to migrating subscribers at scale onto our MONOS platform.
Tucows Domains
Wholesale - Domain Services
During Fiscal 2022, Wholesale Tucows Domains revenue decreased by $1.6 million or 1% to $187.5 million. Decreases from Wholesale domain registrations were driven by the continued normalization of domain name registration growth and slowed renewal rates from those observed at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, where we experienced domain name registration growth from our large volume resellers across our Tucows Domains brands as more individuals and businesses established an online presence. The majority of the decrease in revenues is from our OpenSRS brand, followed by Ascio, EPAG, and eNom respectively.
Together the OpenSRS, eNom, EPAG and Ascio Domain Services manage 24.4 million domain names under the Tucows, eNom, EPAG and Ascio ICANN registrar accreditations and for other registrars under their own accreditations. Domains under management has decreased by 0.8 million domain names since December 31, 2021. The decrease is driven by lower renewal rates from the normalization of registration growth back to pre-pandemic levels.
Wholesale - Value Added Services
Net revenues from value-added services decreased by $0.2 million to $20.7 million compared to Fiscal 2021. The decrease in value-added service revenue was primarily driven by lower expiry stream proceeds across our Domain Services brands. As a result of the normalization of renewal rates and domains under management discussed above in connection to COVID-19, Fiscal 2022 continued to benefit from a significant volume of expired domain names registered in the past year being available for our expiry streams, which returned favorable proceeds at auction and drove revenue generation for value added services, albeit at a slower rate as the value of domain names sold at auction has declined relative to the prior period.
Retail
Net revenues from retail decreased by $0.6 million to $34.9 million compared to Fiscal 2021. The decrease in revenue was primarily related to a decrease in retail domain name registrations of $1.6 million relative to Fiscal 2021. This decrease was partially offset by an increase in Portfolio sales of $0.7 million and Exact Hosting revenues of $0.3 million.
Tucows Corporate - Mobile Services and Eliminations
Net revenues from Mobile Services and eliminations for the Fiscal 2022, decreased by $5.5 million compared to Fiscal 2021, to $11.2 million. This decrease was driven by decreased transitional services revenues from DISH of $5.1 million, notably from a decreased level of customer support and marketing services provided to DISH in connection with the legacy Ting Mobile customer base. This decrease was partially offset by an increase in revenues of $0.4 million associated with the mobile telephony services and device revenues from the small group of customers retained by the Company as part of the DISH Purchase Agreement. Revenues increased as a result of the organic subscriber growth we experienced through Fiscal 2022. Additionally, corporate eliminations increased by $0.7 million as a result of the revenues associated with ISOS platform billing between Wavelo and Ting, which began in Fiscal 2022.
COST OF REVENUES
Ting
Cost of revenues primarily includes the costs for provisioning high speed Internet access for Ting and its subsidiaries - Cedar, and Simply Bits, which is comprised of network access fees paid to third-parties to use their network, leased circuit costs to directly support enterprise customers, the personnel and related expenses (net of capitalization) related to the physical planning, design, construction and build out of the physical Fiber network and as well as personnel and related expenses (net of capitalization) related to the installation, repair, maintenance and overall field service delivery of the Fiber business. Hardware costs include the cost of equipment sold to end customers, including routers, ONTs, and IPTV products, and any inventory adjustments on this inventory. Other costs include field vehicle expenses, small sundry equipment and supplies consumed in building the Fiber network.
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Wavelo
Platform Services
Cost of revenues to provide the new MONOS, ISOS and SM platforms, as well as our legacy Platypus ISP Billing software services including network access, provisioning and billing services for CSPs. This includes the amortization of any capitalized contract fulfillment costs over the period consistent with the pattern of transferring network access, provisioning and billing services to which the cost relates. Additionally, this includes any fees paid to third-party service providers primarily for printing services in connection with the Platypus ISP Billing software.
Other Professional Services
Cost of revenues to provide standalone technology services development work to our CSP customers to help support their businesses. This includes any personnel and contractor fees for any client service resources retained by the Company. Only a subset of the Company's employee base provides professional services to our customers. This cost reflects that group of resources.
Tucows Domains
Wholesale - Domain Services
Cost of revenues for domain registrations represents the amortization of registry and accreditation fees on a basis consistent with the recognition of revenues from our customers, namely ratably over the term of provision of the service. Registry fees, the primary component of cost of revenues, are paid in full when the domain is registered, and are initially recorded as prepaid domain registry fees. This accounting treatment reasonably approximates a recognition pattern that corresponds with the provision of the services during the period. Market development funds that do not represent a payment for distinct goods or services provided by the Company, and thus do not meet the criteria for revenue recognition under Accounting Standard Update ("ASU") 2014-09, are reflected as cost of goods sold and are recognized as earned.
Wholesale - Value-Added Services
Costs of revenues for value-added services include licensing and royalty costs related to the provisioning of certain components of related to hosted email and fees paid to third-party hosting services. Fees payable for trust certificates are amortized on a basis consistent with the provision of service, generally one year, while email hosting fees and monthly printing fees are included in cost of revenues in the month they are incurred.
Retail
Costs of revenues for our provision and management of Internet services through our retail sites, Hover.com and the eNom branded sites, include the amortization of registry fees on a basis consistent with the recognition of revenues from our customers, namely ratably over the term of provision of the service. Registry fees, the primary component of cost of revenues, are paid in full when the domain is registered, and are recorded as prepaid domain registry fees and are expensed ratably over the renewal term. Costs of revenues for our surname portfolio represent the amortization of registry fees for domains added to our portfolio over the renewal period, which is generally one year, the value attributed under intangible assets to any domain name sold and any impairment charges that may arise from our assessment of our domain name intangible assets.
Tucows Corporate - Mobile Services and Eliminations
Cost of revenues for Retail Mobile Services includes the costs of provisioning mobile services, which is primarily our customers' voice, messaging, data usage provided by our MNO partner, and the costs of providing mobile phone hardware, which is the cost of mobile phone devices and SIM cards sold to our customers, order fulfillment related expenses, and inventory write-downs. Included in the costs of provisioning mobile services is any penalties associated with the minimum commitments with our MNO partner.
These Mobile Services costs also include the personnel and related costs of transitional services provided to DISH. These are billed monthly at set and established rates for services provided in period and include the provision of sales, marketing, customer support, order fulfillment, and data analytics related to the legacy customer base sold to DISH. The Company recognizes costs as the Company satisfies its obligations to provide professional services.
Network expenses
Network expenses include personnel and related expenses related to the core technologies, site reliability engineering and network operations, IT infrastructure and supply chain teams that support our various business segments. It also includes network depreciation and amortization, communication and productivity tool costs, and equipment maintenance costs. Communication and productivity tool costs includes collaboration, customer support, bandwidth, co-location and provisioning costs we incur to support the supply of all our services.
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The following table presents our cost of revenues, by revenue source:
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | ||||||
| Ting: | |||||||
| Fiber Internet Services | $ | 17,004 | $ | 12,035 | |||
| Wavelo: | |||||||
| Platform Services | 1,294 | 504 | |||||
| Other Professional Services | 1,632 | 804 | |||||
| Total Wavelo | 2,926 | 1,308 | |||||
| Tucows Domains: | |||||||
| Wholesale | |||||||
| Domain Services | 147,894 | 147,213 | |||||
| Value Added Services | 2,514 | 2,544 | |||||
| Total Wholesale | 150,408 | 149,757 | |||||
| Retail | 16,482 | 17,731 | |||||
| Total Tucows Domains | 166,890 | 167,488 | |||||
| Tucows Corporate: | |||||||
| Mobile services and eliminations | 9,448 | 12,208 | |||||
| Network Expenses: | |||||||
| Network, other costs | 17,433 | 14,769 | |||||
| Network, depreciation and amortization costs | 29,101 | 18,035 | |||||
| Network, impairment | 92 | 201 | |||||
| 46,626 | 33,005 | ||||||
| $ | 242,894 | $ | 226,044 | ||||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 16,850 | |||||
| Increase - percentage | 7 | % |
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The following table presents our cost of revenues, as a percentage of total cost of revenues for the periods presented:
| Year ended December 31, | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| Ting: | ||||||||
| Fiber Internet Services | 7 | % | 5 | % | ||||
| Wavelo: | ||||||||
| Platform Services | 1 | % | - | |||||
| Other Professional Services | 1 | % | 1 | % | ||||
| Total Wavelo | 2 | % | 1 | % | ||||
| Tucows Domains: | ||||||||
| Wholesale | ||||||||
| Domain Services | 60 | % | 65 | % | ||||
| Value Added Services | 1 | % | 1 | % | ||||
| Total Wholesale | 61 | % | 66 | % | ||||
| Retail | 7 | % | 8 | % | ||||
| Total Tucows Domains | 68 | % | 74 | % | ||||
| Tucows Corporate: | ||||||||
| Mobile services and eliminations | 4 | % | 5 | % | ||||
| Network Expenses: | ||||||||
| Network, other costs | 7 | % | 7 | % | ||||
| Network, depreciation and amortization costs | 12 | % | 8 | % | ||||
| Network, impairment | - | - | ||||||
| 19 | % | 15 | % | |||||
| 100 | % | 100 | % |
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Total cost of revenues for Fiscal 2022 increased by $16.9 million to $242.9 million, from $226 million in Fiscal 2021. The increase was driven by a $13.6 million increase in Network Expenses. The increase from Network Expenses is a result of the expansion of the Company's network infrastructure associated with the continuing expansion of the Ting Internet network footprint, the ramp up of Wavelo's MONOS, ISOS and SM platforms, as well as increased communication and productivity tool costs across our operating segments. Another contributing factor was an increases from Ting and Wavelo of $5 million and $1.6 million respectively. As discussed above in the Net Revenues section, Ting has continued to add both serviceable addresses and active subscriptions relative to Fiscal 2021. Additionally, Wavelo's increased cost of revenues have been a driven by the completion of select standalone technology services development work with DISH in the current period. These increases were partially offset by a decrease of $0.6 million from Tucows Domains and a $2.7 million decrease related to Mobile Services and eliminations. The decrease in costs for Tucows Domains is aligned with the reduced net revenues discussed above in the Net Revenues section and the reduction in domains under management in the current period. The decrease related to Mobile Services and eliminations is also driven by decreased transitional services costs from the provision of less transitional services to DISH in the current period.
Deferred costs of fulfillment as of December 31, 2022 decreased by $2.0 million, or 2%, to $110.7 million from $112.7 million at December 31, 2021. This decrease was primarily driven by Wavelo, accounting for a $1.6 million decrease in the current period related to the completion of Other Professional Services discussed above for standalone technology services development work with DISH. As these professional services were completed in the current period, the deferred costs to fulfill those services were amortized into cost of revenues. This decrease was furthered by Tucows Domains which saw a decrease of $0.5 million, aligned with the movement in deferred revenues discussed above. Relative to COVID-19 pandemic levels, Fiscal 2022 was characterized by slowing growth in additions and renewals to domains under management, which has appropriately translated to less deferred costs of fulfillment for our Domain Services segment. Additionally, our Ting segment contributed to partially offset this overall decrease with an increase in deferred costs of fulfillment of less than $0.1 million relative to the past year.
Ting
In Fiscal 2022, costs related to provisioning high speed Internet access for Ting and its subsidiaries - Cedar, and Simply Bits increased $5.0 million, or 42%, to $17.0 million as compared to $12.0 million during Fiscal 2021. The increase in costs were primarily driven by increased direct costs, bandwidth and colocation costs related to the continued expansion of the Ting Fiber network. Included in this $5.0 million increase, $1.9 million related to the prior year acquisition of Simply Bits.
Wavelo
Platform Services
Cost of revenues from Wavelo Platform Services for Fiscal 2022 increased by $0.8 million to $1.3 million, when compared to Fiscal 2021. Cost incurred are driven by the amortization of previously capitalized costs incurred to fulfill the DISH Master Services Agreement ("MSA") over the term of the agreement. The continued incurrence of additional costs to fulfill the contract in Fiscal 2022 have resulted in increased amortization in the current period relative to the fixed term of the agreement.
Other Professional Services
Cost of revenues from Other Professional Services for Fiscal 2022 by $0.8 million to $1.6 million, when compared to Fiscal 2021. Costs incurred represent the personnel and related expenses of employees and contractors providing professional services to DISH. The increase in Other Professional Services costs relative to the prior period was a result of the completion of select standalone technology services development work for DISH in the current period, with limited comparable costs in the prior period.
Domain Services
Wholesale - Domain Services
Costs for wholesale domain services for Fiscal 2022 increased by $0.7 million to $147.9 million, when compared to Fiscal 2021. The increase to cost of revenues is driven by the prior period including volume rebates earned from registries for the high volume of domain name registrations through the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the Euro devaluation to the U.S. dollar, which made cost of revenues more expensive for our European brands Ascio and EPAG.
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Wholesale - Value Added Services
Costs for wholesale value-added services for Fiscal 2022 remained flat at $2.5 million, when compared to Fiscal 2021.
Retail
Costs for retail for Fiscal 2022 decreased by $1.2 million, to $16.5 million, when compared to Fiscal 2021. The was driven by the declining volume of retail domain name registrations across our retail brands.
Tucows Corporate - Mobile Services and Eliminations
Cost of revenues from Mobile Services and eliminations for Fiscal 2022 decreased by $2.8 million when compared to Fiscal 2021 The decrease is consistent with the above discussion around net revenues, this was driven by decreased transitional services costs of $4.4 million, notably from a decreased level of customer support and marketing services provided to DISH in connection with the legacy Ting Mobile customer base. This decrease was partially offset by an increase in cost of revenues of $1.6 million associated with the mobile telephony services and device costs associated with the small group of customers retained by the Company as part of the DISH Purchase Agreement. Cost of revenues increase as a result of the organic growth of the customer base we experienced through Fiscal 2022. Cost of revenues are outpacing revenue growth due to the unlimited usage rate plans introduced in late Fiscal 2020 by DISH that were expanded and offered to the small group of customers retained by the Company.
Network Expenses
Network costs for Fiscal 2022 increased by $13.6 million to $46.6 million when compared to Fiscal 2021. The comparative increase was driven by increased depreciation of $10 million from the Company's increased network associated with the continuing expansion of the Ting Internet footprint and the depreciation of Wavelo's new platforms. This increase from depreciation was followed by increased network costs of $2.7 million from increased personnel and contracted service costs on Ting and Wavelo segments, as well as an increase in amortization of intangible assets of $0.9 million driven by the prior period acquisition of Simply Bits.
SALES AND MARKETING
Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of personnel costs. These costs include commissions and related expenses of our sales, product management, public relations, call center, support and marketing personnel. Other sales and marketing expenses include customer acquisition costs, advertising and other promotional costs.
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| Sales and marketing | $ | 53,937 | $ | 39,471 | ||||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 14,466 | ||||||
| Increase - percentage | 37 | % | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 17 | % | 13 | % |
Sales and marketing expenses for Fiscal 2022 increased by $14.5 million, or 37%, to $53.9 million when compared to Fiscal 2021. The increase in costs relate primarily to the investment in hiring additional personnel for Ting sales, product, marketing, customer support and success teams to drive growth in Ting markets. The current period also includes the teams acquired as part of the Simply Bits acquisition, and to a lesser extent a small ramp of hiring Wavelo sales and marketing teams. Outside of additional hiring, personnel costs were impacted by wage inflation across our three segments, with issued increases in excess of 5% to align with economic conditions and market rates. In addition to personnel related costs, both marketing related costs and facility costs increased to drive subscription growth given the increase in serviceable addresses available to Ting and to support our growing workforce in select Ting towns across the United States.
Excluding movements in exchange rates, we expect sales and marketing expenses for Fiscal 2023 to increase in absolute dollars, as we adjust our marketing programs and sales and customer support personnel costs to facilitate the continued expansion of Ting and ramp-up of Wavelo's go-to-market efforts.
TECHNICAL OPERATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT
Technical operations and development expenses consist primarily of personnel costs and related expenses required to support the development of new or enhanced service offerings and the maintenance and upgrading of existing infrastructure. This includes expenses incurred in the research, design and development of technology that we use to register domain names, network access services, email, retail, domain portfolio and other Internet services, as well as to distribute our digital content services. All technical operations and development costs are expensed as incurred.
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| Technical operations and development | $ | 14,187 | $ | 14,310 | ||||
| Decrease over prior period | $ | (123 | ) | |||||
| Decrease - percentage | (1 | )% | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 4 | % | 5 | % |
Technical operations and development expenses for Fiscal 2022 decreased by $0.1 million, or 1%, to $14.2 million. The decrease in costs relates primarily to an increased level of capitalization of labor primarily in support of Wavelo's new platform builds for MONOS and ISOS, and to a lesser extend in support of Ting's network design and build. Gross personnel costs grew as a result of increased hiring of both employees and external contractors to provide development resources to assist our internal engineering teams with development aspects of the MONOS and ISOS platform. Additionally, personnel costs were impacted by wage inflation across our three segments, with issued increases in excess of 5% to align with economic conditions and market rates. Outside of personnel and external contractor costs, the Company also experienced increases in bandwidth costs in the current period, driven by the acquisition of Uniregistry assets in the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2021.
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Excluding movements in exchange rates, we expect technical operations and development expenses for Fiscal 2023, in absolute dollars, to increase when compared to Fiscal 2022 to support the ongoing growth in our operations.
GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of compensation and related costs for managerial and administrative personnel, fees for professional services, public listing expenses, rent, foreign exchange and other general corporate expenses.
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| General and administrative | $ | 30,845 | $ | 22,370 | ||||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 8,475 | ||||||
| Increase - percentage | 38 | % | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 10 | % | 7 | % |
General and administrative expenses for Fiscal 2022 increased by $8.5 million, or 38%, to $30.8 million as compared to Fiscal 2021. The increase was primarily driven by an increase in personnel costs driven by the growth of teams acquired as part of the Simply Bits acquisition and continued investment in hiring for administrative teams to better support our segments as part of our new corporate reorganization. Outside of additional hiring, personnel costs were impacted by wage inflation across our three segments, with issued increases in excess of 5% to align with economic conditions and market rates. Another driver of the increase was higher stock-based compensation expenses in order to attract, retain and scale core administrative teams to meet projected Company growth. Smaller contributors to the increase include other miscellaneous expenses such as business and property taxes, credit card fees and facility costs driven by Ting and the continuing expansion of the Ting Internet footprint.
Excluding movements in exchange rates, we expect general and administrative expenses for Fiscal 2023, in absolute dollars, to increase when compared to Fiscal 2022 largely to support the growth of our business.
DEPRECIATION OF PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| Depreciation of property and equipment | $ | 598 | $ | 534 | ||||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 64 | ||||||
| Increase - percentage | 12 | % | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 0 | % | 0 | % |
Depreciation costs for Fiscal 2022 increased by less than $0.1 million to $0.6 million as compared to Fiscal 2021. The slight increase was due to the depreciation of additions to property and equipment, in particular computer hardware purchased in support of our expanding workforce.
LOSS (GAIN) ON DISPOSAL OF PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| Loss on disposition of property and equipment | $ | 461 | $ | 234 | ||||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 227 | ||||||
| Increase - percentage | 97 | |||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 0 | % | 0 | % |
Loss on disposal of property and equipment increased by $0.2 million to $0.5 million as compared to Fiscal 2021. The increase was a result of Fiscal 2022 including a disposal of minor internal use software related to Tucows Domains for which the Company no longer expects to realize the initial use and intended benefit that it initially did when those development costs were initially capitalized.
AMORTIZATION OF INTANGIBLE ASSETS
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | $ | 9,882 | $ | 9,424 | ||||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 458 | ||||||
| Increase - percentage | 5 | % | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 3 | % | 3 | % |
Amortization of intangible assets increased by $0.5 million, to $9.9 million as compared to Fiscal 2021. This increase in amortization was a result of the acquisition of Uniregistry assets in the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2021.
Network rights, brand and customer relationships acquired in connection with the following acquisitions are amortized on a straight-line basis over a range of two to seven years: eNom in January 2017, Ascio in March of 2019, Cedar in January 2020 and Simply Bits in November 2021.
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LOSS (GAIN) ON CURRENCY FORWARD CONTRACTS
Although our functional currency is the U.S. dollar, a major portion of our fixed expenses are incurred in Canadian dollars. Our goal with regard to foreign currency exposure is, to the extent possible, to achieve operational cost certainty, manage financial exposure to certain foreign exchange fluctuations and to neutralize some of the impact of foreign currency exchange movements. Accordingly, we enter into foreign exchange contracts to mitigate the exchange rate risk on portions of our Canadian dollar exposure.
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| Loss (gain) on currency forward contracts | $ | - | $ | (277 | ) | |||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 277 | ||||||
| Increase - percentage | 100 | % | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | - | % | 0 | % |
The Company recorded a net loss of nil in the change in fair value of outstanding contracts as well as realized on mature contracts during Fiscal 2022, compared to a net gain of $0.3 million during Fiscal 2021. This is driven by the Company having no unhedged contracts.
At December 31, 2022, our balance sheet reflects a derivative instrument asset of $1.9 million and a liability of $0.4 million as a result of our existing foreign exchange contracts. Until their respective maturity dates, these contracts will fluctuate in value in line with movements in the Canadian dollar relative to the U.S. dollar.
OTHER INCOME (EXPENSES)
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| Other income (expense), net | $ | 3,874 | $ | 15,043 | ||||
| Increase over prior period | $ | (11,169 | ) | |||||
| Increase - percentage | (74 | )% | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 1 | % | 5 | % |
Other income decreased by $11.2 million when compared to Fiscal 2021. This was partially due to higher interest incurred of $9.9 million on our Amended Credit Agreement as well as interest on redeemable preferred shares. In addition to higher interest expense, the Company experienced a $1.5 million decrease in the income earned on sale of transferred assets to DISH in the current period. As described above, the Company receives a payout on the margin associated with the legacy customer base sold to DISH over the 10-year term of the agreement, as form of consideration for the sale of the legacy customer relationships. The Company expects the gain on the sale of the Ting Customer Assets to continue to decrease over the term of the payout as legacy customers naturally churn away from Ting Mobile. These decreases were partially offset by a small increase from other interest and sundry income of $0.2 million.
INCOME TAXES
The following table presents our provision for income taxes for the periods presented:
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| Provision for income taxes | $ | (217 | ) | $ | 3,906 | |||
| Decrease in provision over prior period | $ | (4,123 | ) | |||||
| Decrease - percentage | (106 | )% | ||||||
| Effective tax rate | 1 | % | 54 | % |
Income taxes decreased by $4.1 million and the effective tax rate decreased from 54% to 1% when compared to the year ended December 31, 2021. The decrease in effective tax rate is primarily due to the change in net income before tax for the year, and it is partially offset by an increase in valuation allowance on foreign tax credits as a result of a change in the geographical mix of income and reduced excess tax benefits related to stock-based compensation.
Our effective tax rates for the year ended December 31, 2022 differs from the U.S. federal statutory rate primarily due to changes in valuation allowance on foreign tax credits, state tax expense and the impact of foreign earnings.
A reconciliation of the federal statutory income tax rate to our effective tax rate is set forth in “Note 9 – Income Taxes” of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report.
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ADJUSTED EBITDA
We believe that the provision of this supplemental non-GAAP measure allows investors to evaluate the operational and financial performance of our core business using similar evaluation measures to those used by management. We use adjusted EBITDA to measure our performance and prepare our budgets. Since adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial performance measure, our calculation of adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies; and should not be considered in isolation, as a substitute for, or superior to measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. Because adjusted EBITDA is calculated before recurring cash charges, including interest expense and taxes, and is not adjusted for capital expenditures or other recurring cash requirements of the business, it should not be considered as a liquidity measure. See the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows included in the attached financial statements. Non-GAAP financial measures do not reflect a comprehensive system of accounting and may differ from non-GAAP financial measures with the same or similar captions that are used by other companies and/or analysts and may differ from period to period. We endeavor to compensate for these limitations by providing the relevant disclosure of the items excluded in the calculation of adjusted EBITDA to net income based on GAAP, which should be considered when evaluating the Company's results. Tucows strongly encourages investors to review its financial information in its entirety and not to rely on a single financial measure.
Our adjusted EBITDA definition excludes depreciation, amortization of intangible assets, income tax provisions, interest expense (net), accretion of contingent consideration, stock-based compensation, asset impairment, gains and losses from unrealized foreign currency transactions and costs that are one-time in nature and not indicative of on-going performance (profitability), including acquisition and transition costs. Gains and losses from unrealized foreign currency transactions removes the unrealized effect of the change in the mark-to-market values on outstanding foreign currency contracts not designated in accounting hedges, as well as the unrealized effect from the translation of monetary accounts denominated in non-U.S. dollars to U.S. dollars.
The following table reconciles net income to adjusted EBITDA:
| Reconciliation of Income before Provision for Income Taxes to Adjusted EBITDA | Twelve months ended December 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In Thousands of US Dollars) | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |||||||||
| Net Income for the period | $ | (27,571 | ) | $ | 3,364 | $ | 5,775 | |||||
| Less: | ||||||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | (217 | ) | 3,906 | 4,985 | ||||||||
| Depreciation of property and equipment | 28,187 | 17,986 | 12,632 | |||||||||
| Impairment and loss on disposition of property and equipment | 553 | 435 | 1,621 | |||||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | 11,394 | 10,007 | 11,420 | |||||||||
| Impairment of definite life intangible assets | - | - | 1,431 | |||||||||
| Write-down on disposal of Ting Mobile customer assets | - | - | 3,513 | |||||||||
| Interest expense, net | 14,456 | 4,617 | 3,611 | |||||||||
| Accretion of contingent liability | 248 | 383 | 344 | |||||||||
| Stock-based compensation | 7,599 | 4,592 | 3,718 | |||||||||
| Unrealized loss (gain) on change in fair value of foreign currency forward contracts | - | 606 | (500 | ) | ||||||||
| Unrealized loss (gain) on foreign exchange revaluation of foreign denominated monetary assets and liabilities | 281 | 219 | 461 | |||||||||
| Acquisition and other costs1 | 2,660 | 2,706 | 1,962 | |||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 37,590 | $ | 48,821 | $ | 50,973 |
1 Acquisition and other costs represents transaction-related expenses, transitional expenses, such as redundant post-acquisition expenses, primarily related to our acquisition of Cedar in January 2020 and Simply Bits in November 2021 and the disposition of certain Ting Mobile assets in August 2020. Expenses include severance or transitional costs associated with department, operational or overall company restructuring efforts, including geographic alignments.
Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2022 decreased by $11.2 million, or 23% to $37.6 million when compared to the year ended December 31, 2021. The decrease in adjusted EBITDA from period-to-period was primarily driven by decreased contribution from Wavelo due to significant investments into building out both our teams and platforms in support of future growth; as well as current period charges for amortization the contract asset related to the DISH agreement. This decrease was furthered by reduced contribution by both Ting and Tucows Domains. Ting, from the investment in the ramp of expenditures related to the Fiber Internet network build and expansion plan; and Tucows Domains from the continued normalization of domain registrations and slowed renewal rates relative to patterns experienced over the last fiscal years from the COVID-19 pandemic as well as domains under management. When comparing Adjusted EBITDA in Fiscal 2021 to Fiscal 2020, the decrease in contribution was similarly driven by the increased investment in Ting due to the ramp of expenditures related to the Fiber Internet network build and expansion plan. That decrease was partially offset by increased contribution from Wavelo, the income earned on sale of transferred assets to DISH , as well as from Tucows Domains strong performance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)
To mitigate the impact of the change in fair value of our foreign exchange contracts on our financial results, in October 2012 we begun applying hedge accounting for the majority of the contracts we need to meet our Canadian dollar requirements on a prospective basis. The impact of the fair value adjustment on outstanding hedged contracts for Fiscal 2022 was a net loss in other comprehensive income of $0.4 million compared to a net loss of $2.0 million for Fiscal 2021.
The following table presents other comprehensive income for the periods presented:
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| Other comprehensive income (loss) | $ | 441 | $ | (1,993 | ) | |||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 2,434 | ||||||
| Increase - percentage | (122 | )% | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 0 | % | (1 | )% |
The impact of the fair value adjustments on outstanding hedged contracts during Fiscal 2022 was a gain in OCI before reclassifications of $0.4 million as compared to a gain of $0.6 million during Fiscal 2021.
The net amount reclassified to earnings during Fiscal 2022 was a gain of less than $0.1 million compared to a loss of $2.6 million during Fiscal 2021.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2021 AS COMPARED TO THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2020
The Company has initially applied ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) on January 1, 2019, which was adopted using the modified retrospective basis. Accordingly, comparative figures have not been restated.
NET REVENUES
The following table presents our net revenues, by revenue source:
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||||
| Ting | |||||||
| Fiber Internet Services | $ | 25,327 | $ | 17,151 | |||
| Wavelo | |||||||
| Platform Services | 13,031 | 1,839 | |||||
| Other Professional Services | 3,750 | - | |||||
| Total Wavelo | 16,781 | 1,839 | |||||
| Tucows Domains: | |||||||
| Wholesale | |||||||
| Domain Services | 189,091 | 186,893 | |||||
| Value Added Services | 20,942 | 18,526 | |||||
| Total Wholesale | 210,033 | 205,419 | |||||
| Retail | 35,543 | 36,835 | |||||
| Total Tucows Domains | 245,576 | 242,254 | |||||
| Tucows Corporate: | |||||||
| Mobile services and eliminations | 16,653 | 49,958 | |||||
| $ | 304,337 | $ | 311,202 | ||||
| (Decrease) increase over prior period | $ | (6,865 | ) | ||||
| (Decrease) increase - percentage | (2 | %) |
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The following table presents our revenues, by revenue source, as a percentage of total revenues:
| Year ended December 31, | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Ting: | ||||||||
| Fiber Internet Services | 8 | % | 6 | % | ||||
| Wavelo: | ||||||||
| Platform Services | 4 | % | 1 | % | ||||
| Other Professional Services | 1 | % | - | |||||
| Total Wavelo | 5 | % | 1 | % | ||||
| Tucows Domains: | ||||||||
| Wholesale | ||||||||
| Domain Services | 62 | % | 59 | % | ||||
| Value Added Services | 7 | % | 6 | % | ||||
| Total Wholesale | 69 | % | 65 | % | ||||
| Retail | 12 | % | 12 | % | ||||
| Total Tucows Domains | 81 | % | 77 | % | ||||
| Tucows Corporate: | ||||||||
| Mobile services and eliminations | 6 | % | 16 | % | ||||
| 100 | % | 100 | % |
Total net revenues for Fiscal 2021 decreased by $6.9 million, or 2%, to $304.3 million from $311.2 million for Fiscal 2020. The overall decrease in revenue was primarily driven by the $33.3 million reduction of revenues attributable to Mobile Services and eliminations. This decrease in Mobile Services revenues was directly related to the DISH Purchase Agreement as well as the shutdown of Roam Mobility brands in the past year. As part of the DISH Purchase Agreement, as a form of consideration for the sale of the customer relationships, the Company receives a payout on the margin associated with the legacy customer base sold to DISH over the 10-year term of the agreement. This has been classified as Other Income and not considered revenue in the current period. This decrease was partially offset by increases from each of Wavelo, Ting, and Tucows Domains segments. Wavelo saw a $14.9 million increase as a result of the new Platform Services revenue stream and other professional services revenues created out of the DISH MSA in the past year. Fiscal 2021 had a full year of platform revenues, whereas Fiscal 2020 was a stub period due to timing of the MSA. Ting saw a $8.2 million increase related to Ting segment revenues, a result of both growth in customers as we continue to build out our Ting Internet footprint as well as acquisition led revenue growth from our fourth quarter Fiscal 2021 acquisition of Simply Bits. Additionally, smaller increases from Domain Services of $3.3 million, driven by outsized proceeds from our domain expiry revenue streams relative to Fiscal 2020.
Deferred revenue at December 31, 2021 decreased to $147.8 million from $152.2 million at December 31, 2020. This decrease was primarily driven by our Tucows Domains segment, accounting for $3.5 million of the decrease due to recognition of previously deferred billings for registrations and renewals growth experienced in Fiscal 2020 in connection with COVID-19. This decrease is followed by a decrease related to Wavelo, accounting for $2.1 million of the decrease due to the recognition of previously deferred bundled and other professional services revenues. These professional services revenues were recognized as the Company performed its obligation to provide these services to DISH. These decreases were partially offset by an increase in deferred revenue associated with Ting, and its subsidiaries of $1.1 million, which is reflective of the continued growth in customer base and billings for that segment relative to December 31, 2020 and inclusion of deferred revenues associated with the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2021 acquisition of Simply Bits.
No customer accounted for more than 10% of revenue during Fiscal 2021 or during Fiscal 2020. As of December 31, 2021 DISH accounted for 46% of total accounts receivable and as at December 31, 2020, DISH accounted for 59% of total accounts receivable.
Though a significant portion of the Company’s domain services revenues are prepaid by our customers, where the Company does collect receivables, significant management judgment is required at the time revenue is recorded to assess whether the collection of the resulting receivables is reasonably assured. On an ongoing basis, we assess the ability of our customers to make required payments. Based on this assessment, we expect the carrying amount of our outstanding receivables, net of allowance for doubtful accounts, to be fully collected.
Ting
Ting, and its subsidiaries generated $25.3 million in revenue during Fiscal 2021, up $8.2 million or 48% compared to Fiscal 2020. This growth is driven by continued subscriber growth across the markets we serve, as well as the continued expansion of our Ting Internet footprint to new Ting towns throughout the United States. Of this $8.2 million increase, $1.3 million related to our fourth quarter of Fiscal 2021 acquisition of Simply Bits.
As of December 31, 2021, Ting Internet had access to 76,000 owned infrastructure serviceable addresses, 15,000 partner infrastructure serviceable addresses and 26,000 active accounts under its management; compared to having 49,000 owned infrastructure serviceable addresses, 10,000 partner infrastructure serviceable addresses and 15,000 active accounts under its management as of December 31, 2020. These figures exclude the increase in serviceable addresses and accounts attributable to the Simply Bits acquisition.
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Wavelo
Platform Services
Wavelo's Platform services generated $13 million in revenue during Fiscal 2021, which increased by $11.2 million or 609% compared to Fiscal 2020. This is driven from increased MONOS platform revenues fees earned from DISH for a full year relative to the stub period of Fiscal 2020. Our full-service platforms support CSPs with subscription and billing management, network orchestration and provisioning, and individual developer tools.
Other Professional Services
Wavelo's Other Professional Services generated $3.8 million in revenue during Fiscal 2021, up from nil in Fiscal 2020. This increase is a result of significant professional service engagements for the provision of standalone technology services development work for DISH Fiscal 2021, whereas Fiscal 2020 was absent of such development work.
Tucows Domains
Wholesale - Domain Services
During Fiscal 2021, Wholesale Domain Services revenue increased by $2.2 million or 1% to $189.1 million. The increase in revenue compared to Fiscal 2020 was primarily driven by the recognition of previously deferred billings from the past year, as discussed above in the change in deferred revenue. As more businesses established an online presence during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Fiscal 2020 we experienced domain name registration growth from our large volume resellers across our Domain Services brands. Fiscal 2021 was then characterized by a normalization of this COVID-19 registration growth back to levels experienced pre-pandemic as well as some erosion in renewal rates in the last half of the year. The increase in revenues from deferred revenue discussed above is offset by a small decrease in billings of $0.3 million, largely driven by our eNom brand which has seen continued decline in registrations by non-core customers relative to Fiscal 2020.
Together the OpenSRS, eNom, EPAG and Ascio Domain Services manage 25.2 million domain names under the Tucows, eNom, EPAG and Ascio ICANN registrar accreditations and for other registrars under their own accreditations. Domains under management has decreased by 0.2 million domain names since December 31, 2020. The decrease is driven by lower renewal rates from the normalization of registration growth back to pre-pandemic levels, along with the continued erosion of registrations related to non-core customers from our eNom brand.
Wholesale - Value Added Services
Net revenues from value-added services increased by $2.4 million to $20.9 million compared to Fiscal 2020. The increase in value-added service revenue over Fiscal 2020 was primarily driven by an increase in expiry stream proceeds across our Domain Services brands. As a result of the normalization of renewal rates and domains under management discussed above in connection to COVID-19, Fiscal 2021 benefited from a significant volume of expired domain names registered in the past year being available for our expiry streams, which returned favorable proceeds at auction and drove our revenue growth for value added services.
Retail
Net revenues from retail decreased by $1.3 million to $35.5 million compared to Fiscal 2020. The decrease in revenue was primarily related to domain portfolio sales, which decreased by $0.9 million as a result of the Company disposing of its entire domain portfolio, excluding surname domains used in the RealNames email service during the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2020. This decrease was compounded by a $0.5 million decrease in retail domain name registrations from the erosion of retail customers away from our eNom Central brand. These decreases were partially offset by an increase in Exact Hosting revenues of $0.1 million.
Tucows Corporate - Mobile Services and Eliminations
Net revenues from Mobile Services and eliminations for the Fiscal 2021, as compared to Fiscal 2020, decreased by $33.3 million or 67% to $16.7 million. This decrease is driven by a decline in Mobile Services revenues of $37.1 million directly related to the DISH Purchase Agreement in late Fiscal 2020 as well as the shutdown of Roam Mobility brands in the past year. As part of the DISH Purchase Agreement, as a form of consideration for the sale of the customer relationships, the Company receives a payout on the margin associated with the legacy customer base sold to DISH over the 10-year term of the agreement. This has been classified as Other Income and not considered revenue in the current period. This decrease is offset by increased transitional services revenues from DISH of $3.8 million from the inclusion of a full year of revenues compared to a stub period of services provided in Fiscal 2020.
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COST OF REVENUES
The following table presents our cost of revenues, by revenue source:
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||||
| Ting: | |||||||
| Fiber Internet Services | $ | 12,035 | $ | 6,855 | |||
| Wavelo: | |||||||
| Platform Services | 504 | 183 | |||||
| Other Professional Services | 804 | - | |||||
| Total Wavelo | 1,308 | 183 | |||||
| Tucows Domains | |||||||
| Wholesale | |||||||
| Domain Services | 147,213 | 146,788 | |||||
| Value Added Services | 2,544 | 3,016 | |||||
| Total Wholesale | 149,757 | 149,804 | |||||
| Retail | 17,731 | 17,647 | |||||
| Total Tucows Domains | 167,488 | 167,451 | |||||
| Tucows Corporate: | |||||||
| Mobile services and eliminations | 12,208 | 25,912 | |||||
| Network Expenses: | |||||||
| Network, other costs | 14,769 | 10,194 | |||||
| Network, depreciation and amortization costs | 18,035 | 13,484 | |||||
| Network, impairment | 201 | 1,638 | |||||
| 33,005 | 25,316 | ||||||
| $ | 226,044 | $ | 225,717 | ||||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 327 | |||||
| Increase - percentage | 0 | % |
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The following table presents our cost of revenues, as a percentage of total cost of revenues for the periods presented:
| Year ended December 31, | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Ting: | ||||||||
| Fiber Internet Services | 5 | % | 3 | % | ||||
| Wavelo: | ||||||||
| Platform Services | - | - | ||||||
| Other Professional Services | 1 | % | - | |||||
| Total Wavelo | 1 | % | - | |||||
| Tucows Domains: | ||||||||
| Wholesale | ||||||||
| Domain Services | 65 | % | 65 | % | ||||
| Value Added Services | 1 | % | 1 | % | ||||
| Total Wholesale | 66 | % | 66 | % | ||||
| Retail | 8 | % | 8 | % | ||||
| Total Tucows Domains | 74 | % | 74 | % | ||||
| Tucows Corporate: | ||||||||
| Mobile services and eliminations | 5 | % | 11 | % | ||||
| Network Expenses: | ||||||||
| Network, other costs | 7 | % | 5 | % | ||||
| Network, depreciation and amortization costs | 8 | % | 6 | % | ||||
| Network, impairment | - | 1 | % | |||||
| 15 | % | 12 | % | |||||
| 100 | % | 100 | % |
Total cost of revenues for Fiscal 2021 increased by $0.3 million to $226.0 million, from $225.7 million in Fiscal 2020. The increase was driven by a $7.7 million increase in Network Expenses. The increase from Network Expenses is a result of the expansion of the Company's increased network infrastructure associated with the continuing expansion of the Ting Internet network footprint, the ramp up of Wavelo's platforms, as well as increased communication and productivity tool costs across our operating segments. Another contributing factor was an increase from Ting and Wavelo of $5.2 million and $1.1 million, respectively. As discussed above in the Net Revenues section, Ting has continued to add both serviceable addresses and active subscriptions relative to Fiscal 2020. Additionally, Wavelo's increased cost of revenues have been a driven by the completion of select standalone technology services development work with DISH in the current period. These increases were partially offset by a decrease of $13.7 million from Mobile Services and eliminations. The decrease related to Mobile Services and eliminations is consistent with the discussion above in Net Revenues, and directly related to the DISH Purchase Agreement as well as the shutdown of Roam Mobility brands in Fiscal 2020. The cost of revenues from Mobile Services in Fiscal 2021 only reflect the small subset of customers retained as part of the DISH Purchase Agreement, whereas Fiscal 2020 included the majority of the year at the full legacy subscriber base.
Deferred costs of fulfillment as of December 31, 2021 increased by $1.6 million, or 1.5%, to $112.7 million from $111.1 million at December 31, 2020. This increase was primarily driven by Wavelo, accounting for a $3.4 million increase in the current period related to the continued deferral of ongoing Other Professional Services work with DISH. This increase was partially offset by a decrease from Tucows Domains of $1.8 million, aligned with the movement in deferred revenues discussed above.
Ting
In Fiscal 2021, costs related to provisioning high speed Internet access for Ting and its subsidiaries - Cedar, and Simply Bits increased $5.2 million, or 76%, to $12.0 million as compared to $6.9 million during Fiscal 2020. The increase in costs were primarily driven by increased direct costs and, bandwidth and colocation costs related to the continued expansion of the Ting Fiber network. Although directionally aligned with the experienced growth in revenue over the same period, the outpaced increase in cost of revenues for Ting is a result of the necessary upfront investment and expenditure needed to build out the network in advance of anticipated revenue growth in any particular location. Of this $5.2 million increase, $0.3 million related to our fourth quarter of Fiscal 2021 acquisition of Simply Bits.
Wavelo
Platform Services
Cost of revenues from Wavelo Platform Services for Fiscal 2021 increased by $0.3 million to $0.5 million, when compared to Fiscal 2020. Cost incurred are driven by the amortization of previously capitalized costs incurred to fulfill the DISH MSA over the term of the agreement. The ramp up of additional costs to fulfill the contract in Fiscal 2021 at the start of the agreement have resulted in increased amortization Fiscal 2021.
Other Professional Services
Cost of revenues from Other Professional Services for Fiscal 2021 increased by $0.8 million, when compared to Fiscal 2020. Costs incurred represent the personnel and related expenses of employees and contractors providing professional services to DISH. The increase in Other Professional Services costs relative to the prior period was a result of the completion of select standalone technology services development work for DISH in the current period, with limited comparable costs in the prior period.
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Tucows Domains
Wholesale - Domain Services
Costs for wholesale domain services for Fiscal 2021 increased by $0.4 million to $147.2 million, when compared to Fiscal 2020. The increase is consistent with the above discussion around net revenues, where registration costs were recognized in Fiscal 2021 from previously deferred billed costs incurred from experienced domain name registration growth and domains under management in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. The overall increase was also impacted by decreases in current year billed costs from our eNom brand, which has seen a decline in registrations and domains under management in the current year, beyond the impacts of normalization from COVID-19 impacts.
Wholesale - Value Added Services
Costs for wholesale value-added services for Fiscal 2021 decreased by $0.5 million to $2.5 million, when compared to Fiscal 2020. The decrease in cost of revenue is primarily related to decreases in Digital Certificates and other value added service costs compared to Fiscal 2020.
Retail
Costs for retail for Fiscal 2021 increased by less than $0.1 million, to $17.7 million, when compared to Fiscal 2020. The was driven by increased costs related to Exact Hosting and was partially offset by declining volume of retail domain name registrations related to the eNom retail brands.
Tucows Corporate - Mobile Services and Eliminations
Cost of revenues related to Mobile Services and eliminations for Fiscal 2021, as compared to Fiscal 2020, decreased by $13.7 million or 53% to $12.2 million. This is driven by decreased Mobile Services costs of $16.9 million, of which $16.1 million relates to Ting Mobile and $0.8 million relates to Roam Mobility. The decrease related to Mobile Services and eliminations is consistent with the discussion above in Net Revenues, and directly related to the DISH Purchase Agreement as well as the shutdown of Roam Mobility brands in Fiscal 2020. The cost of revenues from Mobile Services in Fiscal 2021 only reflect the small subset of customers retained as part of the DISH Purchase Agreement, whereas Fiscal 2020 included the majority of the year at the full legacy subscriber base. This decrease is partially offset by an increase of $3.2 million related to costs associated with Other Professional Services provided to DISH, from the inclusion of a full year of cost compared to a stub period of services provided in Fiscal 2020.
Network Expenses
Network costs for Fiscal 2021 increased by $7.7 million to $33.0 million when compared to Fiscal 2020. The comparative increase was primarily driven by both increased network costs and depreciation as a result of the expansion of the Company’s increased network infrastructure associated with the continuing expansion of the Ting Fiber footprint. These increases were partially offset by a decrease in impairment of property, plant and equipment, due to Fiscal 2020 including a $1.6 million impairment charge for Ting TV, a product formerly under development for Ting Internet. Additionally, Fiscal 2021 benefited from a decrease in amortization charges from the full amortization of the Ascio Technology intangible asset acquired in 2019.
SALES AND MARKETING
Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of personnel costs. These costs include commissions and related expenses of our sales, product management, public relations, call center, support and marketing personnel. Other sales and marketing expenses include customer acquisition costs, advertising and other promotional costs.
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Sales and marketing | $ | 39,471 | $ | 34,274 | ||||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 5,197 | ||||||
| Increase - percentage | 15 | % | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 13 | % | 11 | % |
Sales and marketing expenses for Fiscal 2021 increased by $5.2 million, or 15%, to $39.5 million when compared to Fiscal 2020. The increase in costs relate primarily to increased salaries and benefits driven by an expanding workforce and wage inflation focused on our Ting teams, as well as increased marketing related costs to drive active subscription growth given the increase in serviceable addresses available to our Ting segment. In addition to this, we also experienced an increase in costs related to stock-based compensation expenses in an effort to attract and retain labor and an increase in facility costs increased directly related to the expansion of our Ting Fiber internet footprint and workforce in select Ting towns across the United States.
TECHNICAL OPERATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT
Technical operations and development expenses consist primarily of personnel costs and related expenses required to support the development of new or enhanced service offerings and the maintenance and upgrading of existing infrastructure. This includes expenses incurred in the research, design and development of technology that we use to register domain names, network access services, email, retail, domain portfolio and other Internet services, as well as to distribute our digital content services. All technical operations and development costs are expensed as incurred.
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Technical operations and development | $ | 14,310 | $ | 12,427 | ||||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 1,883 | ||||||
| Increase - percentage | 15 | % | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 5 | % | 4 | % |
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Technical operations and development expenses for Fiscal 2021 increased by $1.9 million, or 15%, to $14.3 million. The increase in costs relates primarily to increased spending on external contractors to provide development resources to assist our internal shared services and engineering teams with development aspects of Wavelo's platforms. In addition to increased spending on external contractors, a slight increase in salaries and benefits driven by an expanding workforce and wage inflation focused on our shared services and engineering teams contributed to the overall increase in costs for the period along with stock-based compensation expenses to attract and retain labor.
GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of compensation and related costs for managerial and administrative personnel, fees for professional services, public listing expenses, rent, foreign exchange and other general corporate expenses.
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| General and administrative | $ | 22,370 | $ | 20,268 | ||||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 2,102 | ||||||
| Increase - percentage | 10 | % | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 7 | % | 7 | % |
General and administrative expenses for Fiscal 2021 increased by $2.1 million, or 10%, to $22.4 million as compared to Fiscal 2020. The increase was primarily driven increases in personnel and related expenses as well as stock-based compensation expenses in order to attract, retain and scale core administrative teams including Human Resources and Finance to meet projected Company growth. Additionally, we experienced an increase in professional accounting and legal fees associated with our growing Ting segment. These increases were partially offset by reduced Mobile Services credit card fees as a result of the DISH Purchase Agreement that closed in the past year, as well as a decrease in facility related costs and foreign exchange expenses.
DEPRECIATION OF PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Depreciation of property and equipment | $ | 534 | $ | 488 | ||||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 46 | ||||||
| Increase - percentage | 9 | % | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 0 | % | 0 | % |
Depreciation costs for Fiscal 2021 remained relatively flat at $0.5 million as compared to Fiscal 2020. The slight increase was due to the depreciation of additions to property and equipment, in particular computer hardware purchased in support of our expanding workforce.
LOSS (GAIN) ON DISPOSAL OF PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Loss on disposition of property and equipment | $ | 234 | $ | (17 | ) | |||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 251 | ||||||
| Increase - percentage | (1,476 | )% | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 0 | % | (0 | )% |
Loss on disposal of property and equipment increased by $0.2 million to $0.2 million as compared to Fiscal 2020. The increase was a result of Fiscal 2021 including a disposal of minor internal use software for which the Company no longer expects to realize the initial use and intended benefit that it initially did when those development costs were initially capitalized.
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AMORTIZATION OF INTANGIBLE ASSETS
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | $ | 9,424 | $ | 10,080 | ||||
| Decrease over prior period | $ | (656 | ) | |||||
| Decrease - percentage | (7 | )% | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 3 | % | 3 | % |
Amortization of intangible assets decreased $0.7 million for Fiscal 2021, to $9.4 million. The decrease is primarily driven by the write-off of Mobile Services related intangible assets in connection with the both the sale of the Ting Mobile customer base and the shutdown of Roam Mobility brands in Fiscal 2020.
Network rights, brand and customer relationships acquired in connection with the following acquisitions are amortized on a straight-line basis over a range of two to seven years: eNom in January 2017, Ascio in March of 2019, Cedar in January 2020 and Simply Bits in November 2021.
IMPAIRMENT OF DEFINITE LIFE INTANGIBLE ASSETS
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Impairment of indefinite life intangible assets | $ | - | $ | 1,431 | ||||
| Decrease over prior period | $ | (1,431 | ) | |||||
| Decrease - percentage | (100 | )% | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | - | % | 0 | % |
Impairment of definite life intangible assets for Fiscal 2021 was nil compared to $1.4 million in Fiscal 2020. The decrease is driven by the write-off of Roam Mobility brands customer relationships that were written off in Fiscal 2020 when the Company decided to shut down the related businesses as a result of lack of demand for SIM-enabled roaming services due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
LOSS (GAIN) ON CURRENCY FORWARD CONTRACTS
Although our functional currency is the U.S. dollar, a major portion of our fixed expenses are incurred in Canadian dollars. Our goal with regard to foreign currency exposure is, to the extent possible, to achieve operational cost certainty, manage financial exposure to certain foreign exchange fluctuations and to neutralize some of the impact of foreign currency exchange movements. Accordingly, we enter into foreign exchange contracts to mitigate the exchange rate risk on portions of our Canadian dollar exposure.
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Loss (gain) on currency forward contracts | $ | (277 | ) | $ | (383 | ) | ||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 106 | ||||||
| Increase - percentage | 28 | % | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 0 | % | 0 | % |
We have entered into certain forward exchange contracts that do not comply with the requirements of hedge accounting to meet a portion of our future Canadian dollar requirements through December 2021. During Fiscal 2021, the Company recorded a net gain of $0.3 million on the change in fair value of outstanding contract as well as realized matured contracts. In Fiscal 2020 the Company recorded a net gain of $0.4 million in the change in fair value of outstanding contract as well as realized matured contracts.
At December 31, 2021, our balance sheet reflects a derivative instrument asset of $0.6 million and a derivative instrument liability of $0.1 million as a result of our existing foreign exchange contracts. Until their respective maturity dates, these contracts will fluctuate in value in line with movements in the Canadian dollar relative to the U.S. dollar.
OTHER INCOME AND (EXPENSES)
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Other income (expense), net | $ | 15,043 | $ | 3,843 | ||||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 11,200 | ||||||
| Increase - percentage | 291 | % | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 5 | % | 1 | % |
Other income increased by $11.2 million when compared to Fiscal 2020. This was driven by a $12.4 million increase due to the income earned on sale of transferred assets to DISH to DISH. As described above, the Company receives a payout on the margin associated with the legacy customer base sold to DISH over the 10-year term of the agreement, as form of consideration for the sale of the legacy customer relationships. Comparatively, the gain in Fiscal 2020 represented the net effect of proceeds earned from DISH in regards to the legacy customer base of $11.1 million offset by the write off of certain Mobile intangible and contract assets totaling $3.5 million. This overall increase in other income was partially offset by higher interest expense from higher variable interest rates incurred on our Amended 2019 Credit Facility. Other expense consists primarily of the interest we incur in connection with our Amended 2019 Credit Facility. The interest incurred primarily relates to our loan balances obtained to fund the acquisition of eNom, Ascio, Cedar and Simply Bits and funding for expenditures associated with the Company’s Fiber to the Home build program.
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INCOME TAXES
The following table presents our provision for income taxes for the periods presented:
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Provision for income taxes | $ | 3,906 | $ | 4,985 | ||||
| Decrease in provision over prior period | $ | (1,079 | ) | |||||
| Decrease - percentage | (22 | )% | ||||||
| Effective tax rate | 54 | % | 46 | % |
Income taxes decreased by $1.1 million and the effective tax rate increased from 46% to 54% when compared to Fiscal 2020. The increase in effective tax rate is primarily due to changes in blended tax rates and is partially offset by an increase in stock option benefit deduction. Our Fiscal 2021 income tax expense includes a tax recovery of $1.6 million related to the adoption of ASU 2016-09, which requires all excess tax benefits and tax deficiencies related to employee share-based payments to be recognized through income tax expense on a prospective basis. The Fiscal 2021 tax recovery related to excess tax benefits related to employee share-based compensation was $0.4 million.
In Fiscal 2021, the Company did not utilize the bonus depreciation with respect to its continued investment in the Ting business. Despite this, due to the reduction in tax rate to 21%, it is unlikely we will ultimately be able to fully claim the Fiscal 2021 foreign taxes paid in future years as a foreign tax credit. As such, we have taken a valuation allowance on foreign tax credits not utilized for 2021 income tax purposes, the net negative effect of which is a $2.3 million addition to income tax expense, as compared to $2.9 million additional tax expense in Fiscal 2020.
A reconciliation of the federal statutory income tax rate to our effective tax rate is set forth in “Note 9 – Income Taxes” of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report.
OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)
To mitigate the impact of the change in fair value of our foreign exchange contracts on our financial results, in October 2012 we begun applying hedge accounting for the majority of the contracts we need to meet our Canadian dollar requirements on a prospective basis. The impact of the fair value adjustment on outstanding hedged contracts for Fiscal 2021 was a net loss in other comprehensive income of $2.0 million compared to a net gain of $1.9 million for Fiscal 2020.
The following table presents other comprehensive income for the periods presented:
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Other comprehensive income (loss) | $ | (1,993 | ) | $ | 1,863 | |||
| Decrease over prior period | $ | (3,856 | ) | |||||
| Decrease - percentage | (207 | )% | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 1 | % | 1 | % |
The impact of the fair value adjustments on outstanding hedged contracts during 2021 was a gain in OCI of $0.6 million as compared to a gain of $1.7 million during 2020.
The net amount reclassified to earnings during 2022 was a loss of $2.6 million compared to a gain of $0.2 million during 2021.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
As of December 31, 2022, our cash and cash equivalents balance increased $14.4 million when compared to December 31, 2021. Our principal uses of cash were $137.5 million for the continued investment in property, equipment and intangible assets driven by the Ting Internet expansion, $3.1 million for contingency consideration related to the acquisition of Cedar and Simply Bits, $1.0 million related to deferred preferred share financing costs for Ting, and $0.7 million related to the payment of loan payable costs. These uses of cash were partially offset by $87.5 million proceeds from redeemable preferred shares, $48.3 million proceeds received from the drawdown of the Amended Credit Agreement, $19.9 million from cash provided from operating activities, and $1.1 million from proceeds received on the exercise of stock options.
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Amended 2019 Credit Facility
On June 14, 2019, the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Tucows.com Co., Ting Fiber, Inc., Ting Inc., Tucows (Delaware) Inc. and Tucows (Emerald), LLC entered into an Amended and Restated Senior Secured Credit Agreement (the “Amended 2019 Credit Facility”) with Royal Bank (“RBC”), as administrative agent, and lenders party thereto (collectively with RBC) under which the Company had access to an aggregate of up to $240 million in funds, which consisted of $180 million guaranteed credit facility and a $60 million accordion facility. The Amended 2019 Credit Facility replaced a secured Credit Agreement dated January 20, 2017 with Bank of Montreal, RBC and Bank of Nova Scotia.
The obligations of the Company under the Amended 2019 Credit Agreement are secured by a first priority lien on substantially all of the personal property and assets of the Company and has a four-year term, maturing on June 13, 2024.
Second Amended 2019 Credit Facility
On October 26, 2021, the Company entered into a Second Amended and Restated Senior Secured Credit Agreement (the “Second Amended 2019 Credit Agreement”) with the Lenders and Toronto-Dominion Bank (collectively the “New Lenders”) to, among other things, increase the existing revolving credit facility from $180 million to $240 million. The Second Amended 2019 Credit Agreement provided the Company with access to an aggregate of $240 million in committed funds. Under the Second Amended 2019 Credit Agreement, the Company agreed to comply with the following financial covenants at all times, which were to be calculated on a rolling four quarter basis: (i) maximum Total Funded Debt to Adjusted EBITDA Ratio of 4.50:1.00 until March 31, 2023 and 4.00:1.00 thereafter; and (ii) minimum Interest Coverage Ratio of 3.00:1.00. The Second Amended 2019 Credit Agreement also provided for two additional interest rate tiers if the Company exceeded a 3.50x Total Funded Debt to Adjusted EBITDA Ratio.
Third Amended and Restated Senior Secured Credit Agreement
On August 8, 2022, the Company entered into the Third Amended and Restated Senior Secured Credit Agreement (the "Amended Credit Agreement") with the Lenders. The Amended Credit Agreement continues to provide the Company with access to the Second Amended 2019 Credit Agreement. Under the Amended Credit Agreement, and in connection with the Unit Purchase Agreement the Lenders agreed that Ting Fiber, Inc. (converted to Ting LLC) and its wholly owned subsidiaries ceased to be Guarantors under the Credit Facility and were released from their respective guarantee and security documents, including a release of the Lenders' security interests and liens upon the assets of such entities. Additionally, the Amended Credit Agreement extended the maturity of the Credit Facility to June 14, 2024. The Company is subject to the following financial covenants at all times, which are to be calculated on a rolling four quarter basis: (i) maximum Total Funded Debt to Adjusted EBITDA Ratio of 4.00:1.00 until September 29, 2023 and 3.75:1.00 thereafter; and (ii) minimum Interest Coverage Ratio of 3.00:1.00. The financial covenant calculations will exclude the financial results of Ting Fiber Inc. (converted to Ting LLC) and its wholly owned subsidiaries. The Amended Credit Agreement added SOFR loans as a form of advance available under the Credit Facility to replace LIBOR rate advances, and such SOFR loans may bear interest based on Adjusted Daily Simple SOFR (defined to be the applicable SOFR rate published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York plus 0.10% per annum subject to a floor of zero) or Adjusted Term SOFR (defined to be the applicable SOFR rate published by CME Group Benchmark Administration Limited plus 0.10% for one-month, 0.15% for three-months, and 0.25% for six-months per annum).
On March 14, 2023, the Company entered into an Amending Agreement No.2 to the Third Amended and Restated Senior Secured Credit Agreement (the "Credit Agreement Amendment"). The Amended Credit Agreement continues to provide the Company with access to an aggregate of $240 million in committed funds, however there is a suspension to the $60 million accordion during the Leverage Step Up Period (the “Leverage Step Up Period”). Additionally, the Credit Agreement Amendment has extended the maturity of the Credit Facility to September 30, 2024. As a result of the execution of the Credit Agreement Amendment, the Company is subject to the following financial covenants at all times, with monthly testing during the Leverage Step Up Period and reverting to quarterly tests thereafter: (i) maximum Total Funded Debt to Adjusted EBITDA Ratio of 4.50:1.00 from March 14, 2023 up to and including September 29, 2023; 4.00:1.00 from September 30, 2023 up to and including December 30, 2023; and 3.75:1.00 thereafter; and (ii) minimum Interest Coverage Ratio of 3.00:1.00. On March 14, 2023 the Company made a repayment of $2.8 million on the Credit Facility.
As of December 31, 2022, the Company held contracts in the amount of $49.7 million with BMO to trade U.S. dollars in exchange for Canadian dollars under an uncommitted treasury risk management facility which assists the Company with hedging Canadian dollar exposures. Please see the discussion in the Material Cash Requirements section below.
Cash Flow from Operating Activities
Year ended December 31, 2022
Net cash inflows from operating activities were $19.9 million, a decrease of 33% when compared to the prior year. Net income, after adjusting for non-cash charges, during Fiscal 2022 was $14.8 million, a decrease of 53% when compared to the prior year. Net income included non-cash charges and recoveries of $42.4 million such as depreciation, amortization, stock-based compensation, loss (gain) on change in fair value of currency forward contracts, net right of use operating asset or liability, accretion of contingent consideration, amortization of debt discount and issuance costs, impairment of property and equipment, loss on disposal of domain names, net amortization of contract costs, excess tax benefits on stock-based compensation, accretion of redeemable preferred shares, and deferred income taxes (recovery). In addition, change in our working capital contributed net cash of $5.0 million. Utilized cash of $18.5 million from the changes in the contract asset from DISH, inventory, accounts receivable, deferred revenue, customer deposits and accreditation fees payable were offset by positive contributions of $23.5 million from movements in accrued liabilities, accounts payable, prepaid expenses and deposits, income taxes recoverable, and deferred costs of fulfillment.
Year ended December 31, 2021
Net cash inflows from operating activities were $29.6 million, a decrease of 18% when compared to the prior year. Net income, after adjusting for non-cash charges, during Fiscal 2021 was $31.6 million, a decrease of 12% when compared to the prior year. Net income included non-cash charges and recoveries of $28.3 million such as depreciation, amortization, impairment of indefinite life intangible asset, loss on write-off of property and equipment, write-down on disposal of Ting Mobile customer assets and contract costs, excess tax benefits on stock-based compensation, stock-based compensation, the provision for unrealized losses on currency forward contracts and a recovery for deferred tax. This generation of cash from net income was reduced by a working capital change of $2.0 million. We generated $11.1 million from movements in accounts receivable, accounts payable, accrued liabilities, and customer deposits. These positive contributions were offset by cash use of $13.1 million from deferred revenue, prepaid expenses and deposits, deferred costs of fulfillment, income taxes recoverable, contract asset, inventory, and accreditation fees payable.
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Year ended December 31, 2020
Net cash inflows from operating activities were $36.1 million, a decrease of 11% when compared to the prior year. Net income, after adjusting for non-cash charges, during Fiscal 2020 was $36.0 million, a decrease of 6% when compared to the prior year. Net income included non-cash charges and recoveries of $30.2 million such as depreciation, amortization, impairment of indefinite life intangible asset, loss on write-off of property and equipment, write-down on disposal of Ting Mobile customer assets and contract costs, excess tax benefits on stock-based compensation, stock-based compensation, the provision for unrealized losses on currency forward contracts and a recovery for deferred tax. This generation of cash from net income was further increased by a working capital change of $0.1 million. We generated $6.7 million from movements in inventory, income taxes recoverable, accrued liabilities, customer deposits and deferred revenue. These positive contributions were offset by cash use of $6.6 million to invest in accounts receivable, prepaid expenses and deposits, deferred costs of fulfillment, accounts payable, and accreditation fees.
Cash Flow from Financing Activities
Year ended December 31, 2022
Net cash inflows from financing activities during Fiscal 2022 totaled $132.0 million as compared to cash inflows of $73.1 million during Fiscal 2021. Total cash inflows were driven by $87.5 million of proceeds from redeemable preferred shares issued to Generate, $48.3 million of proceeds received from drawdown of the Amended Credit Facility, as well as $1.1 million from proceeds received on the exercise of stock options. These cash inflows were partially offset by $3.1 million for contingency consideration related to the acquisition of Cedar and Simply Bits, $1.0 million related to deferred preferred share financing costs for Ting, and $0.7 million related to the payment of loan payable costs.
Year ended December 31, 2021
Net cash inflows from financing activities during Fiscal 2021 totaled $73.1 million as compared to cash inflows of $5.1 million during Fiscal 2020. Net cash inflows of $69 million resulting from draws on the Second Amended 2019 Credit Facility and $4.8 million from proceeds received on the exercise of stock options. These cash inflows were partially offset by $0.4 million outflow from the net impact of exercise of stock options and $0.3 million of loan costs.
Year ended December 31, 2020
Net cash inflows from financing activities during Fiscal 2020 totaled $5.1 million as compared to cash inflows of $43.5 million during Fiscal 2019. Net cash inflows of $8.0 million resulting from draws on the Second Amended 2019 Credit Facility and $1.0 million from proceeds received on the exercise of stock options. These cash inflows were partially offset by $3.3 million outflow for stock repurchases, $0.6 million outflow from the net impact of exercise of stock options and $0.1 million of loan costs.
Cash Flow from Investing Activities
Year ended December 31, 2022
Investing activities during the Fiscal 2022 used net cash of $137.5 million as compared to using $102.0 million during Fiscal 2021. Cash outflows of $136.7 million related to the investment in property, equipment and intangible assets, primarily to support the continued expansion of our Ting Internet Fiber network footprints in California, Colorado, Idaho, North Carolina, and Virginia as we seek to extend both our current network and expand to new markets. We expect our capital expenditures to continue to increase during Fiscal 2023. In addition to investment in property, equipment and intangible assets, the current period used $0.8 million for the acquisition of other intangible assets.
Year ended December 31, 2021
Investing activities during the Fiscal 2021 used net cash of $102.0 million as compared to using $53.3 million during Fiscal 2020. Cash outflows of $73.9 million related to the investment in property, equipment and intangible assets, primarily to support the continued expansion of our fiber footprint. The Company continues to invest in our existing Ting Towns of Centennial, Colorado, Charlottesville, Virginia, Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, Wake Forest, North Carolina, Holly Springs, North Carolina, Sandpoint, Idaho, Rolesville, North Carolina and Culver City, California as we seek to extend both our current network and expand to new markets. We expect our capital expenditures on building and expanding our fiber network to continue to increase during Fiscal 2022. In addition to investment in property, equipment and intangible assets, the current period used $24 million in connection with the acquisition of Simply Bits, used $2.5 million in connection with the acquisition of Uniregistry and used $2.0 million for an investment in an unrelated entity. These cash outflows were partially offset by $0.5 million from proceeds on disposal of property and equipment.
Year ended December 31, 2020
Investing activities during the Fiscal 2020 used net cash of $53.3 million as compared to using $76.1 million during Fiscal 2019. Cash outflows of $44.5 million related to the investment in property, equipment and intangible assets, primarily to support the continued expansion of our fiber footprint. In addition, the Company used $8.8 million in connection with the acquisition of Cedar. The Company continues to invest in our existing Ting Towns of Centennial, Colorado, Charlottesville, Virginia, Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, Wake Forest, North Carolina, Holly Springs, North Carolina, and Sandpoint, Idaho as well ramping construction in Roaring Fork, Colorado, Rolesville, North Carolina, and Culver City, California, as we seek to extend both our current network and expand to new towns. We expect our capital expenditures on building and expanding our fiber network to continue to increase significantly during Fiscal 2021.
We may need additional funds or seek other financing arrangements to facilitate more rapid expansion, develop new or enhance existing products or services, respond to competitive pressures or acquire or invest in complementary businesses, technologies, services or products. We may also evaluate potential acquisitions of other businesses, products and technologies. We currently have no commitments or agreements regarding the acquisition of other businesses. If additional financing is required, we may need additional equity or debt financing and any additional financing may be dilutive to existing investors. We may not be able to raise funds on acceptable terms, or at all.
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Off Balance Sheet Arrangements
We did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as of December 31, 2022.
Material Cash Requirements
As of December 31, 2022, we had cash and cash equivalents of $23.5 million of which $18.0 million belongs to Ting and $5.5 million belongs to Excluding-Ting.
Ting
Prior to the Company entering into the Unit Purchase Agreement, the LLC Agreement and the Amended Credit Agreement on August 8, 2022, Ting's operating losses, acquisitions and capital investments were funded by the operating cash flows from Excluding-Ting and the Second Amended 2019 Credit Agreement. Since August 8, 2022, Ting's operating losses and investments in the Ting Internet footprint have been soley funded by the Unit Purchase Agreement. The Unit Purchase Agreement will provide Ting with total capital commitments of $200 million in the form of Series A Preferred Units. As of December 31, 2022, the balance owing on the Unit Purchase Agreement was $91.4 million, with remaining capital commitments of $112.5 million. See Note 13. Redeemable preferred shares to the Consolidated Financial Statements for information regarding the terms of the Unit Purchase Agreement. As a result of the Amended Credit Agreement, Ting, LLC and its wholly owned subsidiaries were released from the Second Amended 2019 Credit Agreement, and Ting no longer has access to additional funding from the Amended Credit Agreement. As a result of certain restrictions placed on Ting in the LLC Agreement, we do not expect that Ting will be able to access funding from Excluding-Ting during the next 12 months.
In the next 12 months, Ting has capital purchase commitments of $35.1 million, lease commitments of $4.3 million and other operating expense commitments of $1.3 million. Ting has no debt repayment or interest commitments due in the next 12 months. We believe that Ting's current cash and cash equivalents as well as the remaining capital commitments from the Unit Purchase Agreement will be sufficient to fund Ting's commitments over the next 12 months.
Total Ting network capital expenditures for Fiscal 2023 are expected to be approximately $120 million. Other than the $35.1 million purchase obligations, the Company's remaining planned capital expenditures are discretionary in nature. In order to fund the discretionary portion of capital expenditures, the Company is seeking additional alternative sources of debt and equity financing.
In the long-term, Ting intends to continue the rapid expansion of its Internet footprint through construction activities, joint ventures and acquisitions. Future expansion of the Ting Internet footprint will continue to require further debt and equity financing. Our future expansion of the Ting Internet footprint and access to additional financing will depend on a range of factors, including economic, competitive and business factors as well as changes in government monetary or fiscal policy. Redemptions under the Unit Purchase Agreement are expected to be funded by growth in future cash flows, equity financing as well as alternative debt financing.
Excluding-Ting
Excluding-Ting's acquisitions and capital investments have been funded by the Company's operating income and the Company's existing Amended Credit Agreement. As of December 31, 2022, the Company’s Amended Credit Facility had an outstanding balance of $239.7 million. There are no scheduled principal repayments within 12 months. As of December 31, 2022, the Company has entered into floating-to-fixed interest rate swap instruments with a notional value of $70 million. Future interest payments associated with the Amended Credit Agreement are estimated to total $20.5 million, with $11.7 millionpayable within 12 months using current interest rates, net of our interest rate swaps, assuming no repayments. See Note 8 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for information regarding the terms of the Amended Credit Agreement.
In the next 12 months, Excluding-Ting has lease commitments of $0.9 million and other operating expense commitments of $12.6 million. Excluding-Ting has no capital expenditure commitments. We believe that Excluding-Ting's current cash and cash equivalents as well as operating cash flow will be sufficient to fund Excluding-Ting's commitments over the next 12 months. For Fiscal 2023, the Company plans to fund Excluding-Ting's cash requirements solely through operating income, while making discretionary loan repayments to create greater operating flexibility and access to additional financing.
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In the long-term, Excluding-Ting may seek additional financing to accelerate the growth of our Wavelo business, repurchase shares or future acquisitions. The Company's credit facility expires on September 30, 2024 and the Company will be required to refinance the Amended Credit Agreement once it becomes due.
FY 2021 10-K MD&A
SEC filing source: 0001437749-22-004915.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
OVERVIEW
Our mission is to provide simple useful services that help people unlock the power of the Internet.
We accomplish this by reducing the complexity of our customers’ experience as they access the Internet (at home or on the go) and while using Internet services such as domain name registration, email and other Internet services. During the first quarter of 2021, the Company completed a reorganization of its reporting structure into three operating and reportable segments: Fiber Internet Services, Mobile Services and Domain Services. Previously, we disclosed two operating and reportable segments: Network Access Services and Domain Services. The change to our reportable operating segments was the result of a shift in our business and management structures that was initiated in 2020 and completed during the first quarter of 2021. The operations supporting what was previously known as our Network Access Services segment have become increasingly distinct between our mobile services (which includes both retail mobile MNVO based services and wholesale MSE services) and our fiber Internet services which were also included in our Network Access Services segment. We are now both organized and managed, and also report our financial results as three segments: Fiber Internet Services, Mobile Services and Domain Services. The three segments are differentiated primarily by their services, the markets they serve and the regulatory environments in which they operate.
Our principal place of business is located in Canada. We manage our business as three segments: Fiber Internet Services - which primarily derives revenue from Fiber Internet services and billing solutions to small ISPs, Mobile Services - which primarily derives revenues from three distinct service offerings including retail mobile services, platform services and professional services, and Domain Services - which derives revenue from three distinct service offerings including wholesale domain services, wholesale value added services and retail. To assist us in forecasting growth and to help us monitor the effectiveness of our operational strategies, our management regularly reviews revenues, cost of revenues, gross profit and adjusted EBITDA as a key measure of segment performance in order to gain more depth and understanding of the key business metrics driving our business. Effective January 1, 2022, our existing Mobile Services segment will be renamed to the communication service providers ("CSPs") Platform Services segment, and no longer include the 10-year payment stream on transferred legacy subscribers earned as part of the DISH Purchase Agreement as well as the retail sale of mobile phones, retail telephony services and transition services, all of which are not considered a part of our core business operations with the shift from MVNO to MSE. The renamed CSP Platform Services segment will continue to contain our MSE and professional services product offerings; since branded as Wavelo, as well as the billing solutions to Internet service providers (“ISPs”), that was previously reported under Fiber Internet Services segment. The Fiber segment will now only contain the operating results of our retail high speed Internet access operations, excluding the billing solutions moved to the new CSP Platform Services segment. The product offerings included in the Domain Services segment will remain unchanged.
For the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019, we reported revenue of $304 million, $311 million and $337 million, respectively.
Fiber Internet Services
Fiber Internet Services includes the provision of fixed high-speed Internet access services and other revenues, including billing solutions to small ISPs.
The Company also derives revenue from the sale of fixed high-speed Internet access, Ting Internet, in select towns throughout the United States, with further expansion underway to both new and existing Ting towns. Our primary sales channel of Ting Internet is through the Ting website. The primary focus of Ting Internet is to provide reliable Gigabit Internet services to consumer and business customers. Revenues from Ting Internet are all generated in the U.S. and are provided on a monthly basis. Ting Internet services have no fixed contract terms.
As of December 31, 2021, Ting Internet had access to 82,000 serviceable addresses and 26,000 active accounts under its management compared to having access to 56,000 serviceable addresses and 15,000 active accounts under its management as of December 31, 2020.
Mobile Services
Mobile Services includes the provision of Mobile Services Enabler ("MSE") platform and professional services, as well as the sale of retail mobile phone and retail telephone services for a small subset of retail customers.
Mobile Services were historically focused on providing mobile telephony services through our MVNO brand Ting Mobile. As mentioned above, on August 1, 2020 the Company sold substantially all of the customer relationships associated with Ting Mobile to DISH as part of the Purchase Agreement and now only retains a small subset of customers for which it continues to provide retail mobile services through the Ting Mobile brand. As part of the Purchase Agreement, the Company granted DISH the right to use and an option to purchase the Ting brand. Historically, we also operated other MVNO brands, ZipSim and Always Online Wireless (collectively referred to as the “Roam Mobility brands”). However, as a result of the developments in the economy and the heavily impacted business and leisure travel industries as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic early into Fiscal 2020, the Company was faced with considerable lack of demand for a SIM-enabled roaming service and decided to shut down the operations of the Roam Mobility brands, which was completed by September 30, 2020. Although we still provide retail mobile services to a small subset of customers retained from the Purchase Agreement, this service offering no longer represents the Company's strategic focus for Mobile Services going forward. Instead, we have transitioned away from a MVNO and towards a MSE, where we will focus on delivering a wide range of functions including billing, activation, provisioning, funnel marketing, and other professional services to mobile providers via our Mobile Platform. DISH is the first Tucows MSE customer.
Revenues from our retail mobile services, MSE platform and professional services are all generated in the U.S. and are provided on a monthly basis. Our MSE customer agreements have set contract lengths with the underlying Mobile Virtual Network Operator ("MVNO"). As part of the DISH Purchase Agreement, as a form of consideration for the sale of the customer relationships, the Company receives a payout on the margin associated with the legacy customer base sold to DISH. This has been classified as Other Income and not considered revenue in the current period.
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Domain Services
Domain Services includes wholesale and retail domain name registration services, as well as value added services derived through our OpenSRS, eNom, Ascio, EPAG and Hover brands. We earn revenues primarily from the registration fees charged to resellers in connection with new, renewed and transferred domain name registrations. In addition, we earn revenues from the sale of retail domain name registration and email services to individuals and small businesses. Domain Services revenues are attributed to the country in which the contract originates, which is primarily in Canada and the U.S for OpenSRS and eNom brands. Ascio domain services contracts and EPAG agreements primarily originate in Europe.
Our primary distribution channel is a global network of approximately 35,000 web hosts, ISPs and other resellers around the world who typically provide their customers, the end-users of Internet-based services, with solutions for establishing and maintaining an online presence. Our primary focus is serving the needs of this network of resellers by providing the broadest portfolio of generic top-level domain (“gTLD”) and the country code top-level domain options and related services, a white-label platform that facilitates the provisioning and management of domain names, a powerful Application Program Interface, easy-to-use interfaces, comprehensive management and reporting tools, and proactive and attentive customer service. Our services are integral to the solutions that our resellers deliver to their customers. We provide “second tier” support to our resellers by email, chat and phone in the event resellers experience issues or problems with our services. In addition, our Network Operating Center proactively monitors all services and network infrastructure to address deficiencies before customer services are impacted. We believe that the underlying platforms for our services are among the most mature, reliable and functional reseller-oriented provisioning and management platforms in our industry, and we continue to refine, evolve and improve these services for both resellers and end-users. Our business model is characterized primarily by non-refundable, up-front payments, which lead to recurring revenue and positive operating cash flow.
Wholesale, primarily branded as OpenSRS, eNom, EPAG and Ascio, derives revenue from its domain name registration service. Together the OpenSRS, eNom, EPAG and Ascio Domain Services manage 25.2 million domain names under the Tucows, eNom, EPAG and Ascio ICANN registrar accreditations and for other registrars under their own accreditations. Domains under management has decreased by 0.2 million domain names since December 31, 2020. The decrease is driven by lower renewal rates from the normalization of registration growth back to pre-pandemic levels, along with the continued erosion of registrations related to non-core customers from our eNom brand.
Value-Added Services include hosted email which provides email delivery and webmail access to millions of mailboxes, Internet security services, WHOIS privacy, publishing tools and other value-added services. All of these services are made available to end-users through a network of 35,000 web hosts, ISPs, and other resellers around the world. In addition, we also derive revenue by monetizing domain names which are near the end of their lifecycle through advertising or auction sale.
Retail, primarily the Hover and eNom portfolio of websites, including eNom, and eNom Central, derive revenues from the sale of domain name registration and email services to individuals and small businesses. Our retail domain services also include our Personal Names Service – based on over 36,000 surname domains – that allows roughly two-thirds of Americans to purchase an email address based on their last name. The retail segment now includes the sale of the rights to its portfolio of surname domains used in connection with our Realnames email service and our Exact Hosting Service, that provides Linux hosting services for individual and small business websites.
KEY BUSINESS METRICS AND NON-GAAP MEASURE
We regularly review a number of business metrics, including the following key metrics and non-GAAP measure, to assist us in evaluating our business, measure the performance of our business model, identify trends impacting our business, determine resource allocations, formulate financial projections and make strategic business decisions. Following the sale of substantially all of the Ting Mobile customers as part of the Purchase Agreement, we have ceased reporting Ting Mobile subscribers and accounts under management. The following tables set forth the key business metrics which we believe are the primary indicators of our performance for the periods presented:
Adjusted EBITDA
Tucows reports all financial information in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). Along with this information, to assist financial statement users in an assessment of our historical performance, we typically disclose and discuss a non-GAAP financial measure, adjusted EBITDA, on investor conference calls and related events that excludes certain non-cash and other charges as we believe that the non-GAAP information enhances investors’ overall understanding of our financial performance. Please see discussion of adjusted EBITDA in the Results of Operations section below.
| Ting Internet | For the year ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||||
| (in '000's) | |||||||||||
| Ting Internet accounts under management | 26 | 15 | 10 | ||||||||
| Ting Internet serviceable addresses (1) | 82 | 56 | 36 |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| (1) | Defined as premises to which Ting has the capability to provide a customer connection in a service area. |
| Domain Services | For the year ended December 31,(1) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||||
| (in 000's) | |||||||||||
| Total new, renewed and transferred-in domain name registrations provisioned | 17,374 | 18,220 | 17,285 | ||||||||
| Domains under management | |||||||||||
| Registered using Registrar Accreditation belonging to the Tucows Group | 18,909 | 19,685 | 19,233 | ||||||||
| Registered using Registrar Accreditation belonging to Resellers | 6,254 | 5,692 | 4,540 | ||||||||
| Total domain names under management | 25,163 | 25,377 | 23,773 |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| (1) | For a discussion of these period-to-period changes in the domains provisioned and domains under management and how they impacted our financial results see the Net Revenues discussion below. |
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OPPORTUNITIES, CHALLENGES AND RISKS
Our revenue is primarily realized in U.S. dollars and a major portion of our operating expenses are paid in Canadian dollars. Fluctuations in the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Canadian dollar may have a material effect on our business, financial condition and results from operations. In particular, we may be adversely affected by a significant weakening of the U.S. dollar against the Canadian dollar on a quarterly and an annual basis. Our policy with respect to foreign currency exposure is to manage our financial exposure to certain foreign exchange fluctuations with the objective of neutralizing some or all of the impact of foreign currency exchange movements by entering into foreign exchange forward contracts to mitigate the exchange risk on a portion of our Canadian dollar exposure. We may not always enter into such forward contracts and such contracts may not always be available and economical for us. Additionally, the forward rates established by the contracts may be less advantageous than the market rate upon settlement.
Fiber Internet Services
As an ISP, we have invested and expect to continue to invest in new fiber to the home (“FTTH”) deployments in select markets in the United States. The investments are a reflection of our ongoing efforts to build FTTH network via public-private partnerships in communities we identify as having strong, unmet demand for FTTH services. Given the significant upfront build and operational investments for these FTTH deployments, there is risk that future technological and regulatory changes as well as competitive responses from incumbent local providers, may result in us not fully recovering these investments.
The communications industry continues to compete on the basis of network reach and performance, types of services and devices offered, and price.
Mobile Services
The prior year sale of substantially all of the Company’s mobile customer base and pivot from MVNO to MSE was a strategic shift for our Mobile Services segment. At this time, DISH is our sole customer and represents 100% of our MSE platform and professional services revenues until such time that we are able to scale our services to other customers interested in our enablement services. With all our MSE platform and professional services revenues concentrated with one customer, we are exposed to significant risk if we are unable to maintain this customer relationship or establish new relationships in the future. Additionally, our revenues as an MSE are directly tied to the subscriber volumes of DISH's MVNO or MNO networks, so our profitability is contingent on the ability of DISH to continue to add subscribers onto our platform.
Additionally, as described above, the Company is entitled to a long-term payment stream that is a function of the margin generated by the transferred subscribers over the 10-year term of the DISH Purchase Agreement. This consideration structure may not prove to be successful or profitable in the long-term to us if the existing subscriber base churns at an above average rate. Additionally, given DISH controls the revenues and costs incurred associated with the acquired subscribers, there could arise a situation where profitability for the subscriber base is diminished either by lower price points or cost inflation.
As part of the transactions contemplated by the DISH Purchase agreement in the prior year, the Company retained a small number of customer accounts associated with one MNO agreement that was not reassigned to DISH at time of sale. We continue to be subject to the minimum revenue commitments previously agreed to with this excluded MNO agreement. The Company is able to continue adding customers under the excluded MNO network. However, with no direct ability to change customer pricing or renegotiate contract costs or terms, the Company may be unable to meet the minimum commitments with this MNO partner and could incur significant and recurring penalties until such a time that the contract is complete. These penalties would negatively impact our operational performance and financial results if enforced by the MNO.
Domain Services
The increased competition in the market for Internet services in recent years, which we expect will continue to intensify in the short and long term, poses a material risk for us. As new registrars are introduced, existing competitors expand service offerings and competitors offer price discounts to gain market share, we face pricing pressure, which can adversely impact our revenues and profitability. To address these risks, we have focused on leveraging the scalability of our infrastructure and our ability to provide proactive and attentive customer service to aggressively compete to attract new customers and to maintain existing customers.
Substantially all of our Domain Services revenue is derived from domain name registrations and related value-added services from wholesale and retail customers using our provisioning and management platforms. The market for wholesale registrar services is both price sensitive and competitive and is evolving with the introduction of new gTLDs, particularly for large volume customers, such as large web hosting companies and owners of large portfolios of domain names. We have a relatively limited ability to increase the pricing of domain name registrations without negatively impacting our ability to maintain or grow our customer base. Growth in our Domain Services revenue is dependent upon our ability to continue to attract and retain customers by maintaining consistent domain name registration and value-added service renewal rates and to grow our customer relationships through refining, evolving and improving our provisioning platforms and customer service for both resellers and end-users. In addition, we also generate revenue through pay-per-click advertising and the sale of names from our portfolio of domain names and through the OpenSRS Domain Expiry Stream. The revenue associated with names sales and advertising has recently experienced flat to declining trends due to the uncertainty around the implementation of ICANN’s New gTLD Program, lower traffic and advertising yields in the marketplace, which we expect to continue.
From time-to-time certain of our vendors provide us with market development funds to expand or maintain the market position for their services. Any decision by these vendors to cancel or amend these programs for any reason may result in payments in future periods not being commensurate with what we have achieved during past periods.
An in-depth assessment of the risk factors impacting our businesses has been discussed at length above in Part I under the caption "Item 1A Risk Factors" in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
The following is a discussion of our critical accounting policies and methods. Critical accounting policies are defined as those that are both important to the portrayal of our financial condition and results of operations and are reflective of significant judgments and uncertainties made by management that may result in materially different results under different assumptions and conditions. “Note 2 – Significant Accounting Policies” of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2021 (“Fiscal 2021”) included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report, includes further information on the significant accounting policies and methods used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements.
The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. Management bases its estimates on historical experience, available market information as applicable, and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances at the time they are made. Under different assumptions or conditions, the actual results will differ, potentially materially, from those previously estimated. Many of the conditions impacting these assumptions and estimates are outside of the Company’s control. Management evaluates its estimates on an on-going basis.
Contracts with multiple performance obligations
Our mobile platform service contract contains multiple performance obligations with DISH. We are required to allocate the transaction price between performance obligations - Mobile Platform Services and Professional Services, which impacts the timing of revenue recognition. We determine the stand-alone selling price of Mobile Platform Services using the residual method, which requires us to make estimates of future consideration earned during the entire term of the mobile platform service contract as well as the stand-alone selling price of Professional Services. Changes in assumptions could cause an increase or decrease in the amount of revenue that we report in a particular period.
Acquired customer relationships
For acquired customer relationships, the Company estimates the fair value based on the income approach. The income approach is a valuation technique that calculates the fair value of an intangible asset based on the present value of future cash flows expected to be generated over the remaining useful life of the asset. This valuation involves significant subjectivity and estimation uncertainty, including assumptions related to future revenues attributable to acquired customer relationships, attrition rates and discount rates.
Loss contingencies
We are sometimes subject to claims, suits, regulatory and government investigations, and other proceedings involving competition, intellectual property, privacy, tax and related compliance, labor and employment, commercial disputes, and other matters. Certain of these matters include speculative claims for substantial or indeterminate amounts of damages. We record a liability when we believe that it is probable that a loss has been incurred and the amount can be reasonably estimated.
We evaluate, on a regular basis, developments in our legal matters that could affect the amount of liability that has been previously accrued, and the matters and related reasonably possible losses disclosed, and make adjustments and changes to our disclosures as appropriate. Significant judgment is required to determine both the likelihood and the estimated amount of a loss related to such matters. Until the final resolution of such matters, there may be an exposure to loss in excess of the amount recorded, and such amounts could be material.
Impairment of Goodwill and intangibles
We evaluate factors such as macro-economic, industry and market conditions including the capital markets and the competitive environment amongst others. We concluded that there were no indications of impairment under the qualitative approach. The analysis was consistent with the approach we utilized in our analysis performed in prior years.
Any changes to our key assumptions about our businesses and our prospects, or changes in market conditions, could cause the fair value of our operating segments to fall below its carrying value, resulting in a potential impairment charge. In addition, changes in our organizational structure or how our management allocates resources and assesses performance, could result in a change in our operating segments, requiring a reallocation and updated impairment analysis of goodwill and indefinite life intangible assets.
Changes in estimates
There were no material changes to our critical accounting estimates during Fiscal 2021.
Revenue Recognition Policy
The Company’s revenues are derived from (a) the provisioning of retail fiber Internet services in our Fiber Internet Services segment, (b) the provisioning of wholesale mobile platform services, professional services and the provisioning of retail mobile services in our Mobile Services segment; and from (c) domain name registration contracts, other domain related value-added services, domain sale contracts, and other advertising revenue in our Domain Services segment. Amounts received in advance of meeting the revenue recognition criteria described below are recorded as deferred revenue. All products are generally sold without the right of return or refund.
Revenue is measured based on consideration specified in a contract with a customer and excludes any sales incentives and amounts collected on behalf of third parties. The Company recognizes revenue when it satisfies a performance obligation by transferring control over a product or service to a customer.
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Nature of goods and services
The following is a description of principal activities – separated by reportable segments – from which the Company generates its revenue. For more detailed information about reportable segments. See “Note 19 – Segment Reporting” of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this report for more information.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Fiber Internet Services |
Fiber Internet Services derive revenues from providing Ting Internet to individuals and small businesses in select cities. In addition, we provide billing, provisioning and customer care software solutions to ISPs through our Platypus billing software. Ting Internet access contracts provide customers Internet access at their home or business through the installation and use of our fiber optic network. Ting Internet contracts are generally prepaid and grant customers with unlimited bandwidth based on a fixed price per month basis. Since consideration is collected before the service period, revenue is initially deferred and recognized as the Company performs its obligation to provide Internet access.
Ting Internet services are primarily contracted through the Ting website, for one month at a time and contain no commitment to renew the contract following each customer’s monthly billing cycle. The Company’s billing cycle for all Ting Internet access customers is computed based on the customer’s activation date. In order to recognize revenue as the Company satisfies its obligations, we compute the amount of revenues earned but not billed from the end of each billing cycle to the end of each reporting period. In addition, revenues associated with the sale of Internet hardware to subscribers are recognized when title and risk of loss is transferred to the subscriber and shipment has occurred. Incentive marketing credits given to customers are recorded as a reduction of revenue.
In those cases, where payment is not received at the time of sale, revenue is not recognized until contract inception unless the collection of the related accounts receivable is reasonably assured. The Company records costs that reflect expected refunds, rebates and credit card charge-backs as a reduction of revenues at the time of the sale based on historical experiences and current expectations.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| (b) | Mobile Services |
Retail Mobile Services
Ting Mobile wireless usage contracts grant customers access to standard talk, text and data mobile services. Ting Mobile contracts are billed based on the customer's selected rate plan, which can either be usage based or an unlimited plan. All rate plan options are charged to customers on a postpaid, monthly basis at the end of their billing cycle. As discussed previously, in the past fiscal year the Company sold substantially all of its retail mobile customer relationships, and mobile handset and SIM inventory to DISH and granted the right to use and option to purchase the Ting brand. The Company only retains a small subset of customers to which it continues to provide retail mobile services. All future revenues associated with Retail Mobile Services stream will only be for this subset of customers retained by Ting, Inc.
Ting Mobile services are primarily contracted through the Ting website, for one month at a time and contain no commitment to renew the contract following each customer's monthly billing cycle. The Company's billing cycle for all Ting Mobile customers is computed based on the customer's activation date. In order to recognize revenue as the Company satisfies its obligations, we compute the amount of revenues earned but not billed from the end of each billing cycle to the end of each reporting period. In addition, revenues associated with the sale of wireless devices and accessories are recognized when title and risk of loss is transferred to the customer and shipment has occurred. Incentive marketing credits given to customers are recorded as a reduction of revenue.
As a form of consideration for the sale of the customer relationships, the Company receives a payout on the margin associated with the legacy customer base sold to DISH, over a period of 10 years. This has been classified as Other Income and not considered revenue in the current period.
Mobile Platform Services
Tucows' MSE platform provides network access, provisioning and billing services for MVNOs as well as a fixed number of professional service hours. Our MVNO customers are billed monthly, on a postpaid basis. The monthly fees are variable, based on the volume of their subscribers utilizing the platform during a given month, to which minimums may apply. Customers may also be billed fixed platform fees and granted fixed credits as part of the consideration for long-term contracts. Consideration received for MSE platform services is allocated to MSE services and professional services and recognized as each service obligation is fulfilled. Fixed fees for Mobile Platform Services are recognized into revenue evenly over the service period, while variable usage fees are recognized each month as they are consumed. Professional services revenue is recognized as the hours of professional services granted to the customer are used or expire. When consideration for Mobile Platform Services is received before the service is delivered, the revenue is initially deferred and recognized only as the Company performs its obligation to provide services. Likewise, if Mobile Platform Services are delivered before the Company has the unconditional right to invoice the customer, revenue is recognized as a Contract Asset.
Other Professional Services
This revenue stream includes any other professional services, including transitional services, earned in connection with Tucows' new MSE business. These are billed to our customers monthly at set and established rates for services provided in period. The Company recognizes revenue over this new revenue stream as the Company satisfies its obligations to provide professional services.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
|---|---|---|
| (c) | Domain Services |
Wholesale - Domain Services
Domain registration contracts, which can be purchased for terms of one to ten years, provide our resellers and retail registrant customers with the exclusive right to a personalized internet address from which to build an online presence. The Company enters into domain registration contracts in connection with each new, renewed and transferred-in domain registration. At the inception of the contract, the Company charges and collects the registration fee for the entire registration period. Though fees are collected upfront, revenue from domain registrations are recognized ratably over the registration period as domain registration contracts contain a ‘right to access’ license of IP, which is a distinct performance obligation measured over time. The registration period begins once the Company has confirmed that the requested domain name has been appropriately recorded in the registry under contractual performance standards.
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Historically, our wholesale domain service has constituted the largest portion of our business and encompasses all of our services as an accredited registrar related to the registration, renewal, transfer and management of domain names. In addition, this service fuels other revenue categories as it often is the initial service for which a reseller will engage us, enabling us to follow on with other services and allowing us to add to our portfolio by purchasing names registered through us upon their expiration. We expect Domain services will continue to be the largest portion of our business and will continue to enable us to sell add-on services.
The Company is an ICANN accredited registrar. Thus, the Company is the primary obligor with our reseller and retail registrant customers and is responsible for the fulfillment of our registrar services to those parties. As a result, the Company reports revenue in the amount of the fees we receive directly from our reseller and retail registrant customers. Our reseller customers maintain the primary obligor relationship with their retail customers, establish pricing and retain credit risk to those customers. Accordingly, the Company does not recognize any revenue related to transactions between our reseller customers and their ultimate retail customers.
Wholesale – Value-Added Services
We derive revenue from domain related value-added services like digital certifications, WHOIS privacy and hosted email and by providing our resellers and retail registrant customers with tools and additional functionality to be used in conjunction with domain registrations. All domain related value-added services are considered distinct performance obligations which transfer the promised service to the customer over the contracted term. Fees charged to customers for domain related value-added services are collected at the inception of the contract, and revenue is recognized on a straight-line basis over the contracted term, consistent with the satisfaction of the performance obligations.
We also derive revenue from other value-added services, which primarily consists of proceeds from the OpenSRS, eNom and Ascio domain expiry streams.
Retail
We derive revenues mainly from Hover and eNom’s retail properties through the sale of retail domain name registration and email services to individuals and small businesses. The retail segment now includes the sale of the rights to its portfolio of surname domains used in connection with our Realnames email and Linux hosting services for websites through our Exact Hosting brand.
For information about geographic areas, see “Note 19 – Segment Reporting” of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report.
Valuation of Goodwill, Intangible Assets and Long-Lived Assets
The excess of the purchase price over the fair values of the identifiable assets and liabilities from our acquisitions is recorded as goodwill. At December 31, 2021, we had $130.4 million in goodwill related to our acquisitions and $50.4 million in intangible assets comprised of indefinite life intangibles of $12.3 million and finite life intangible assets of $38.1 million. At December 31, 2020, we had $116.3 million in goodwill related to our acquisitions and $47.4 million in intangible assets comprised of indefinite life intangibles of $12.3 million and finite life intangible assets of $35.1 million. As described above, we report our financial results as three operating segments, Fiber Internet Services, Mobile Services and Domain Services. Eighty-three percent of goodwill relates to our Domain Services operating segment and 17% of goodwill relates to our Fiber Internet Services segment. Of our goodwill balance, $91.4 million is not deductible for tax purposes. Seventy-three percent of intangible assets relate to our Domain Services operating segment and 27% of intangible assets relate to our Fiber Internet Services segment.
We account for goodwill and indefinite life intangible assets in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (“FASB’s”) authoritative guidance, which requires that goodwill and indefinite life intangible assets are not amortized, but are subject to an annual impairment test. We complete our impairment test on an annual basis, during the fourth quarter of our fiscal year, or more frequently, if changes in facts and circumstances indicate that impairment indicators are present.
Our indefinite life intangible assets consist of surname domain names and direct navigation domain names. In order to maintain our rights to these domain names, we pay annual renewal fees to the applicable domain name registries. Over the course of time, we sometimes decide not to renew certain under-performing domain names and incur an impairment charge associated with such non-renewal. There was no impairment recorded on indefinite-life intangible assets during 2021, 2020 and 2019.
With regard to long-lived assets comprised of property and equipment and finite life intangible assets, we continually evaluate whether events or circumstances have occurred that indicate the remaining estimated useful lives of our definite-life intangible assets may warrant revision or whether the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable and exceed their fair value. We use an estimate of the related undiscounted cash flows over the remaining life of the asset in measuring whether the asset is recoverable. During Fiscal
2021 there was no impairment recorded on definite-life intangible assets and property and equipment. In
2020 there was a $1.4 million impairment recorded on definite-life intangible assets associated with the shutdown of the Roam Mobility brands discussed above. There was no impairment recorded on definite-life intangible assets and property and equipment recorded during
2019.
We performed a qualitative assessment to determine whether there were events or circumstances which would lead to a determination, whether it is more likely than not, that goodwill and indefinite life intangible assets have been impaired. In performing the qualitative testing, we made an evaluation of the impact of various factors to the expected future cash flows attributable to our operating segments and to the assumed discount rate which would be used to present value those cash flows. Consideration was given to factors such as macro-economic, industry and market conditions including the capital markets and the competitive environment amongst others. We concluded that there were no indications of impairment under the qualitative approach. The analysis was consistent with the approach we utilized in our analysis performed in prior years.
In connection with business acquisitions that we have completed, we identify and estimate the fair value of net assets acquired, including certain identifiable intangible assets (other than goodwill) and liabilities assumed. The determination of acquisition date fair values requires us to make significant estimates and assumptions regarding projected revenues, costs, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, attrition rates and discount rates. Changes to these assumptions may result in material differences depending on the size of the acquisition completed.
Any changes to our key assumptions about our businesses and our prospects, or changes in market conditions, could cause the fair value of our operating segments to fall below its carrying value, resulting in a potential impairment charge. In addition, changes in our organizational structure or how our management allocates resources and assesses performance, could result in a change in our operating segments, requiring a reallocation and updated impairment analysis of goodwill and indefinite life intangible assets. A goodwill or intangible asset impairment charge could have a material effect on our consolidated financial statements because of the significance of goodwill and intangible assets to our consolidated balance sheet. There was no further impairment of goodwill or intangible assets as a result of the annual impairment tests completed during the fourth quarters of
2021,
2020 or
2019.
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Accounting for Income Taxes
We are subject to income taxes in the U.S. and numerous foreign jurisdictions. Significant judgment is required in evaluating our uncertain tax positions and determining our provision for income taxes. We apply a two-step approach to recognizing and measuring uncertain tax positions. The first step is to evaluate the tax position for recognition by determining if on the weight of available evidence, it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained on audit, including resolution of related appeals or litigation processes, if any. The second step is to measure the tax benefit that is more than 50% likely to be realized upon settlement.
Although we believe we have adequately reserved for our uncertain tax positions, no assurance can be given that the final tax outcome of these matters will not be different. We adjust these reserves in light of changing facts and circumstances, such as the closing of a tax audit or the refinement of an estimate based on new information that may become available. To the extent that the final tax outcome of these matters is different than the amounts recorded, such differences will impact the provision for income taxes in the period in which such determination is made.
As we account for income taxes under the asset and liability method, we recognize deferred tax assets or liabilities for the anticipated future tax effects of temporary differences between the financial statement basis and the tax basis of our assets and liabilities. We record a valuation allowance to reduce the net deferred tax assets when it is more likely than not that the benefit from the deferred tax assets will not be realized. In assessing the need for a valuation allowance, historical and future levels of income, expectations and risks associated with estimates of future taxable income and ongoing tax planning strategies are considered. In the event that it is determined that the deferred tax assets to be realized in the future would be in excess of the net recorded amount, an adjustment to the deferred tax asset valuation allowance would be recorded. This adjustment would increase income in the period that such determination was made. Likewise, should it be determined that all or part of a recorded net deferred tax asset would not be realized in the future, an adjustment to increase the deferred tax asset valuation allowance would be charged to income in the period that such determination would be made. At December 31, 2021, the valuation allowance of $13.5 million was related to foreign tax credits that we are not expected to realize, compared to $11.2 million at December 31, 2020.
On a periodic basis, we evaluate the probability that our deferred tax asset balance will be recovered to assess its realizability. To the extent we believe it is more likely than not that some portion of our deferred tax assets will not be realized, we will increase the valuation allowance against the deferred tax assets. Realization of our deferred tax assets is dependent primarily upon future taxable income. Our judgments regarding future profitability may change due to future market conditions, changes in U.S. or international tax laws and other factors. These changes, if any, may require possible material adjustments to these deferred tax assets, impacting net income or net loss in the period when such determinations are made.
Recently Issued Accounting Standards
See “Note 2 – Significant Accounting Policies” of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report for information regarding recently issued accounting standards.
Current COVID-19 response and expected impacts
The ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic continued to characterize Fiscal 2021, however the financial and operational impacts from COVID-19 on our business have been limited. Over the past year, we've monitored the situation and its impacts on our business but have ultimately seen trends stabilize, with continued recovery in U.S. markets due to large-scale vaccination programs. Management continues to assess the impact regularly but expects limited financial and operational impact through the upcoming fiscal year, should the COVID-19 pandemic persist. While the spread of COVID-19 may eventually be contained or mitigated, there is no guarantee that a future outbreak will not occur as evidenced by numerous variants of the virus emerging, including Omicron. Since the onset of this pandemic in 2020, all employees who could conceivably work from home were and continue to be encouraged to do so. Since then we have transitioned to defining ourselves as a remote-first organization, and for the small group of employees who are unable work from home, including our order fulfillment and Fiber installation teams, many of whom work in the field, they are encouraged to practice social distancing and to continue to follow hygiene best practices and safety protocols as outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. In the past year, the Ting Fiber Internet team established an installation solution for our employees and customers that minimizes risks associated with person-to-person contact and they continue to effectively deploy this installation solution currently. We have also implemented a vaccination policy requiring those employees who work from a Company office, meet in person with customers or travel by plane or train for business purposes to be fully vaccinated.
We have not experienced any productivity issues, material resource constraints nor do we foresee requiring any material expenditures to continue to implement our business continuity plans described above. Likewise, we have not experienced nor do we foresee any future impacts to our liquidity position, credit risk, internal controls or impacts to our accounting policies as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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RESULTS OF OPERATIONS FOR THE YEAR ENDED December 31, 2021 AS COMPARED TO THE YEAR ENDED December 31, 2020
NET REVENUES
Fiber Internet Services
Fiber Internet Services derive revenues from providing Ting Internet to individuals and small businesses in select cities. In addition, we provide billing, provisioning and customer care software solutions to ISPs through our Platypus billing software. Ting Internet access contracts provide customers Internet access at their home or business through the installation and use of our fiber optic network. Ting Internet contracts are generally prepaid and grant customers with unlimited bandwidth based on a fixed price per month basis. Since consideration is collected before the service period, revenue is initially deferred and recognized as the Company performs its obligation to provide Internet access.
Ting Internet services are primarily contracted through the Ting website, for one month at a time and contain no commitment to renew the contract following each customer’s monthly billing cycle. The Company’s billing cycle for all Ting Internet access customers is computed based on the customer’s activation date. In order to recognize revenue as the Company satisfies its obligations, we compute the amount of revenues earned but not billed from the end of each billing cycle to the end of each reporting period. In addition, revenues associated with the sale of Internet hardware to subscribers are recognized when title and risk of loss is transferred to the subscriber and shipment has occurred. Incentive marketing credits given to customers are recorded as a reduction of revenue.
In those cases, where payment is not received at the time of sale, revenue is not recognized until contract inception unless the collection of the related accounts receivable is reasonably assured. The Company records costs that reflect expected refunds, rebates and credit card charge-backs as a reduction of revenues at the time of the sale based on historical experiences and current expectations.
Mobile Services
Mobile Services - Retail Mobile Services
Ting Mobile wireless usage contracts grant customers access to standard talk, text and data mobile services. Ting Mobile contracts are billed based on the customer's selected rate plan, which can either be usage based or an unlimited plan. All rate plan options are charged to customers on a postpaid, monthly basis at the end of their billing cycle. As discussed previously, in the past fiscal year the Company sold substantially all of its retail mobile customer relationships, and mobile handset and SIM inventory to DISH and granted the right to use and option to purchase the Ting brand. The Company only retains a small subset of customers to which it continues to provide retail mobile services. All future revenues associated with Retail Mobile Services stream will only be for this subset of customers retained by Ting, Inc.
Ting Mobile services are primarily contracted through the Ting website, for one month at a time and contain no commitment to renew the contract following each customer's monthly billing cycle. The Company's billing cycle for all Ting Mobile customers is computed based on the customer's activation date. In order to recognize revenue as the Company satisfies its obligations, we compute the amount of revenues earned but not billed from the end of each billing cycle to the end of each reporting period. In addition, revenues associated with the sale of wireless devices and accessories are recognized when title and risk of loss is transferred to the customer and shipment has occurred. Incentive marketing credits given to customers are recorded as a reduction of revenue.
As a form of consideration for the sale of the customer relationships, the Company receives a payout on the margin associated with the legacy customer base sold to DISH, over a period of 10 years. This has been classified as Other Income and not considered revenue in the current period.
Mobile Services - Mobile Platform Services
Tucows' MSE platform provides network access, provisioning and billing services for MVNOs as well as a fixed number of professional service hours. Our MVNO customers are billed monthly, on a postpaid basis. The monthly fees are variable, based on the volume of their subscribers utilizing the platform during a given month, to which minimums may apply. Customers may also be billed fixed platform fees and granted fixed credits as part of the consideration for long-term contracts. Consideration received for MSE platform services is allocated to MSE services and professional services and recognized as each service obligation is fulfilled. Fixed fees for Mobile Platform Services are recognized into revenue evenly over the service period, while variable usage fees are recognized each month as they are consumed. Professional services revenue is recognized as the hours of professional services granted to the customer are used or expire. When consideration for Mobile Platform Services is received before the service is delivered, the revenue is initially deferred and recognized only as the Company performs its obligation to provide services. Likewise, if Mobile Platform Services are delivered before the Company has the unconditional right to invoice the customer, revenue is recognized as a Contract Asset.
Mobile Services - Other Professional Services
This revenue stream includes any other professional services, including transitional services, earned in connection with Tucows' new MSE business. These are billed to our customers monthly at set and established rates for services provided in period. The Company recognizes revenue over this new revenue stream as the Company satisfies its obligations to provide professional services.
Domain Services
Wholesale - Domain Services
Domain registration contracts, which can be purchased for terms of one to ten years, provide our resellers and retail registrant customers with the exclusive right to a personalized internet address from which to build an online presence. The Company enters into domain registration contracts in connection with each new, renewed and transferred-in domain registration. At the inception of the contract, the Company charges and collects the registration fee for the entire registration period. Though fees are collected upfront, revenue from domain registrations are recognized ratably over the registration period as domain registration contracts contain a ‘right to access’ license of IP, which is a distinct performance obligation measured over time. The registration period begins once the Company has confirmed that the requested domain name has been appropriately recorded in the registry under contractual performance standards.
Historically, our wholesale domain service has constituted the largest portion of our business and encompasses all of our services as an accredited registrar related to the registration, renewal, transfer and management of domain names. In addition, this service fuels other revenue categories as it often is the initial service for which a reseller will engage us, enabling us to follow on with other services and allowing us to add to our portfolio by purchasing names registered through us upon their expiration. We expect Domain services will continue to be the largest portion of our business and will continue to enable us to sell add-on services.
The Company is an ICANN accredited registrar. Thus, the Company is the primary obligor with our reseller and retail registrant customers and is responsible for the fulfillment of our registrar services to those parties. As a result, the Company reports revenue in the amount of the fees we receive directly from our reseller and retail registrant customers. Our reseller customers maintain the primary obligor relationship with their retail customers, establish pricing and retain credit risk to those customers. Accordingly, the Company does not recognize any revenue related to transactions between our reseller customers and their ultimate retail customers.
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Wholesale – Value-Added Services
We derive revenue from domain related value-added services like digital certifications, WHOIS privacy and hosted email and by providing our resellers and retail registrant customers with tools and additional functionality to be used in conjunction with domain registrations. All domain related value-added services are considered distinct performance obligations which transfer the promised service to the customer over the contracted term. Fees charged to customers for domain related value-added services are collected at the inception of the contract, and revenue is recognized on a straight-line basis over the contracted term, consistent with the satisfaction of the performance obligations.
We also derive revenue from other value-added services, which primarily consists of proceeds from the OpenSRS, eNom and Ascio domain expiry streams.
Retail
We derive revenues mainly from Hover and eNom’s retail properties through the sale of retail domain name registration and email services to individuals and small businesses. The retail segment now includes the sale of the rights to its portfolio of surname domains used in connection with our Realnames email service and Linux hosting services for websites through our Exact Hosting brand.
The following table presents our net revenues, by revenue source:
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||||
| Fiber Internet Services: | |||||||
| Fiber Internet Services | $ | 26,445 | $ | 18,428 | |||
| Mobile Services: | |||||||
| Retail mobile services | 9,395 | 46,540 | |||||
| Mobile platform services | 11,912 | 564 | |||||
| Other professional services | 11,009 | 3,416 | |||||
| Total Mobile | 32,316 | 50,520 | |||||
| Domain Services: | |||||||
| Wholesale | |||||||
| Domain Services | 189,091 | 186,893 | |||||
| Value Added Services | 20,942 | 18,526 | |||||
| Total Wholesale | 210,033 | 205,419 | |||||
| Retail | 35,543 | 36,835 | |||||
| Total Domain Services | 245,576 | 242,254 | |||||
| $ | 304,337 | $ | 311,202 | ||||
| (Decrease) increase over prior period | $ | (6,865 | ) | ||||
| (Decrease) increase - percentage | (2 | )% |
The following table presents our revenues, by revenue source, as a percentage of total revenues:
| Year ended December 31, | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Fiber Internet Services: | ||||||||
| Fiber Internet Services | 9 | % | 6 | % | ||||
| Mobile Services: | ||||||||
| Retail mobile services | 3 | % | 15 | % | ||||
| Mobile platform services | 4 | % | 0 | % | ||||
| Other professional services | 4 | % | 1 | % | ||||
| Total Mobile | 11 | % | 16 | % | ||||
| Domain Services: | ||||||||
| Wholesale | ||||||||
| Domain Services | 61 | % | 61 | % | ||||
| Value Added Services | 7 | % | 6 | % | ||||
| Total Wholesale | 68 | % | 67 | % | ||||
| Retail | 12 | % | 11 | % | ||||
| Total Domain Services | 80 | % | 78 | % | ||||
| 100 | % | 100 | % |
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Total net revenues for Fiscal 2021 decreased by $6.9 million, or 2%, to $304.3 million from $311.2 million for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 (“Fiscal 2021”). The overall decrease in revenue was primarily driven by the $18.2 million reduction of revenues attributable to our Mobile Services segment. This decrease in Mobile Services revenues was directly related to the DISH Purchase Agreement as well as the shutdown of Roam Mobility brands in the past year. As part of the DISH Purchase Agreement, as a form of consideration for the sale of the customer relationships, the Company receives a payout on the margin associated with the legacy customer base sold to DISH over the 10-year term of the agreement. This has been classified as Other Income and not considered revenue in the current period. This decrease in Mobile Services revenues was partially offset by a $8.0 million increase related to Fiber Internet Services revenues, a result of both growth in customers as we continue to build out our Ting Internet footprint as well as acquisition led revenue growth from our fourth quarter acquisition of Simply Bits. Additionally, smaller increases from Domain Services of $3.3 million also helped partially offset any revenue decreases in period, which was driven by outsized proceeds from our domain expiry revenue streams relative to the fiscal year ending December 31, 2020 ("Fiscal 2020").
Deferred revenue at December 31, 2021 decreased to $147.8 million from $152.2 million at December 31, 2020. This decrease was primarily driven by our Domain Services segment, accounting for $3.5 million of the decrease due to recognition of previously deferred billings for registrations and renewals growth experienced in Fiscal 2020 in connection with COVID-19. This decrease is followed by a decrease related to Mobile Services, accounting for $2.1 million of the decrease due to the recognition of previously deferred bundled and other professional services revenues. These professional services revenues were recognized as the Company performed its obligation to provide these services to DISH. These decreases were partially offset by an increase in deferred revenue associated with Fiber Internet Services of $1.1 million, which is reflective of the continued growth in customer base and billings for that segment relative to December 31, 2020.
No customer accounted for more than 10% of revenue during Fiscal 2021 or during Fiscal 2020. As of December 31, 2021 DISH accounted for 46% of total accounts receivable and as at December 31, 2020, DISH accounted for 59% of total accounts receivable.
Though a significant portion of the Company’s domain services revenues are prepaid by our customers, where the Company does collect receivables, significant management judgment is required at the time revenue is recorded to assess whether the collection of the resulting receivables is reasonably assured. On an ongoing basis, we assess the ability of our customers to make required payments. Based on this assessment, we expect the carrying amount of our outstanding receivables, net of allowance for doubtful accounts, to be fully collected.
Fiber Internet Services
Revenues from Ting Internet and billing solutions generated $26.4 million in revenue during Fiscal 2021, up $8.0 million or 43% compared to Fiscal 2020. This growth is driven by continued subscriber growth across our Fiber network relative to Fiscal 2021, as well as the continued expansion of our Ting Internet footprint to new Ting towns throughout the United States. Of this $8.0 million increase, $1.3 million related to our fourth quarter acquisition of Simply Bits.
As of December 31, 2021, Ting Internet had access to 82,000 serviceable addresses and 26,000 active accounts under its management compared to having access to 56,000 serviceable addresses and 15,000 active accounts under its management as of December 31, 2020. These figures exclude the increase in serviceable addresses and accounts attributable to the Simply Bits acquisition.
Mobile Services
Retail Mobile Services
Net revenues from Retail Mobile Services for the Fiscal 2021, decreased by $37.1 million compared to Fiscal 2020, to $9.4 million. This decrease is a result of the significant changes to our Mobile Services segment that occurred during Fiscal 2020 as we transitioned from MVNO to MSE. These changes include both the shutdown of the Roam Mobility brands in the second quarter of 2020 followed by the sale of substantially all of the Ting Mobile customer base as part of the DISH Purchase Agreement. Ting Mobile accounts for substantially all of this decrease (of which $4.4 million is reduced device revenues and $31.4 million relates to service revenues), followed by Roam Mobility at $1.3 million of the total decrease.
The revenues earned from Retail Mobile Services for Fiscal 2021 is only reflective of the mobile telephony services and device revenues associated with the small group of customers retained by the Company from the sale of the historically larger Ting Mobile customer base to DISH. As mentioned above, the payout the Company receives from the aforementioned sale has been classified as Other Income and not considered revenue in the current period.
Mobile Platform Services
Net revenues from Mobile Platform Services for the Fiscal 2021, increased by $11.3 million compared to Fiscal 2020, to $11.9 million. This increase is a result of the new MSE business created as a result of the DISH Purchase Agreement in the past year. Only five months of comparable revenues existed during Fiscal 2020. Additionally, during Fiscal 2021 the net revenues recognized include both platform fee billings as well as revenues recognized from the previous deferral of bundled professional fees offered in connection with Mobile Platform Services. The Company has satisfied its obligations to provide any bundled professional services revenues recognized in the current period. Tucows' MSE platform provides network access, provisioning and billing services for MVNOs, of which DISH is currently our sole customer.
Other Professional Services
Net revenues from Other Professional Services for the Fiscal 2021, increased by $7.6 million compared to Fiscal 2020, to $11.0 million. Similar to above, this increase is a result of the new MSE business created as a result of the DISH Purchase Agreement in the past year. Tucows' other professional services include both standalone technology services development work and other transitional services including sales, marketing, customer support, order fulfillment, and data analytics for MVNOs, of which DISH is currently our sole customer. During Fiscal 2021, we earned revenues for both provision of standalone technology services development work as well as a full year of transitional services. This is in contrast to Fiscal 2020 which was characterized by only five months of solely transitional services revenues.
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Domain Services
Wholesale - Domain Services
During Fiscal 2021, Wholesale Domain Services revenue increased by $2.2 million or 1% to $189.1 million. The increase in revenue compared to Fiscal 2020 was primarily driven by the recognition of previously deferred billings from the past year, as discussed above in the change in deferred revenue. As more businesses established an online presence during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Fiscal 2020 we experienced domain name registration growth from our large volume resellers across our Domain Services brands. Fiscal 2021 was then characterized by a normalization of this COVID-19 registration growth back to historically experienced pre-pandemic levels as well as some erosion in renewal rates in the last half of the year. The increase in revenues from deferred revenue discussed above is offset by a small decrease in billings of $0.3 million, largely driven by our eNom brand which has seen continued decline in registrations by non-core customers relative to Fiscal 2020.
Together the OpenSRS, eNom, EPAG and Ascio Domain Services manage 25.2 million domain names under the Tucows, eNom, EPAG and Ascio ICANN registrar accreditations and for other registrars under their own accreditations. Domains under management has decreased by 0.2 million domain names since December 31, 2020. The decrease is driven by lower renewal rates from the normalization of registration growth back to pre-pandemic levels, along with the continued erosion of registrations related to non-core customers from our eNom brand.
Wholesale - Value Added Services
Net revenues from value-added services increased by $2.4 million to $20.9 million compared to Fiscal 2020. The increase in value-added service revenue over Fiscal 2020 was primarily driven by an increase in expiry stream proceeds across our Domain Services brands. As a result of the normalization of renewal rates and domains under management discussed above in connection to COVID-19, Fiscal 2021 benefited from a significant volume of expired domain names registered in the past year being available for our expiry streams, which returned favorable proceeds at auction and drove our revenue growth for value added services.
Retail
Net revenues from retail decreased by $1.3 million to $35.5 million compared to Fiscal 2020. The decrease in revenue was primarily related to domain portfolio sales, which decreased by $0.9 million as a result of the Company disposing of its entire domain portfolio, excluding surname domains used in the RealNames email service during the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2020. This decrease was compounded by a $0.5 million decrease in retail domain name registrations from the erosion of retail customers away from our eNom Central brand. These decreases were partially offset by an increase in Exact Hosting revenues of $0.1 million.
COST OF REVENUES
Fiber Internet Services
Cost of revenues primarily includes the costs for provisioning high speed Internet access, which is comprised of network access fees paid to third-parties to use their network, leased circuit costs to directly support enterprise customers, the personnel and related expenses (net of capitalization) related to the physical planning, design, construction and build out of the physical Fiber network and as well as personnel and related expenses (net of capitalization) related to the installation, repair, maintenance and overall field service delivery of the Fiber business. Hardware costs include the cost of equipment sold to end customers, including routers, ONTs, and IPTV products, and any inventory adjustments on this inventory. Other costs include field vehicle expenses, small sundry equipment and supplies consumed in building the Fiber network and fees paid to third-party service providers primarily for printing services in connection with billing services to ISPs.
Mobile Services
Retail Mobile Services
Cost of revenues for Retail Mobile Services includes the costs of provisioning mobile services, which is primarily our customers' voice, messaging, data usage provided by our Network Operator, and the costs of providing mobile phone hardware, which is the cost of mobile phone devices and SIM cards sold to our customers, order fulfillment related expenses, and inventory write-downs.
Mobile Platform Services
Cost of revenues, if any, to provide the MSE Platform services including network access, provisioning and billing services for MVNOs. This includes the amortization of any capitalized contract fulfillment costs over the period consistent with the pattern of transferring network access, provisioning and billing services to which the cost relates.
Other Professional Services
Cost of revenues to provide professional services, including transitional services, to our MVNO customers to help support their businesses. This includes any personnel and contractor fees for any client service resources retained by the Company. Only a subset of the Company's employee base provides professional services to our MVNO customers. This cost reflects that group of resources.
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Domain Services
Wholesale - Domain Services
Cost of revenues for domain registrations represents the amortization of registry and accreditation fees on a basis consistent with the recognition of revenues from our customers, namely ratably over the term of provision of the service. Registry fees, the primary component of cost of revenues, are paid in full when the domain is registered, and are initially recorded as prepaid domain registry fees. This accounting treatment reasonably approximates a recognition pattern that corresponds with the provision of the services during the period. Market development funds that do not represent a payment for distinct goods or services provided by the Company, and thus do not meet the criteria for revenue recognition under ASU 2014-09, are reflected as cost of goods sold and are recognized as earned.
Wholesale - Value-Added Services
Costs of revenues for value-added services include licensing and royalty costs related to the provisioning of certain components of related to hosted email and fees paid to third-party hosting services. Fees payable for trust certificates are amortized on a basis consistent with the provision of service, generally one year, while email hosting fees and monthly printing fees are included in cost of revenues in the month they are incurred.
Retail
Costs of revenues for our provision and management of Internet services through our retail sites, Hover.com and the eNom branded sites, include the amortization of registry fees on a basis consistent with the recognition of revenues from our customers, namely ratably over the term of provision of the service. Registry fees, the primary component of cost of revenues, are paid in full when the domain is registered, and are recorded as prepaid domain registry fees and are expensed ratably over the renewal term. Costs of revenues for our surname portfolio represent the amortization of registry fees for domains added to our portfolio over the renewal period, which is generally one year, the value attributed under intangible assets to any domain name sold and any impairment charges that may arise from our assessment of our domain name intangible assets.
Network expenses
Network expenses include personnel and related expenses related to the network operations, IT infrastructure and supply chain teams that support our various business segments. It also includes network depreciation and amortization, communication and productivity tool costs, and equipment maintenance costs. Communication and productivity tool costs includes collaboration, customer support, bandwidth, co-location and provisioning costs we incur to support the supply of all our services.
The following table presents our cost of revenues, by revenue source:
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||||
| Fiber Internet Services: | |||||||
| Fiber Internet Services | $ | 12,120 | $ | 6,982 | |||
| Mobile Services: | |||||||
| Retail mobile services | 6,012 | 22,942 | |||||
| Mobile platform services | 419 | 56 | |||||
| Other professional services | 7,000 | 2,970 | |||||
| Total Mobile | 13,431 | 25,968 | |||||
| Domain Services: | |||||||
| Wholesale | |||||||
| Domain Services | 147,213 | 146,788 | |||||
| Value Added Services | 2,544 | 3,016 | |||||
| Total Wholesale | 149,757 | 149,804 | |||||
| Retail | 17,731 | 17,647 | |||||
| Total Domain Services | 167,488 | 167,451 | |||||
| Network Expenses: | |||||||
| Network, other costs | 14,769 | 10,194 | |||||
| Network, depreciation and amortization costs | 18,035 | 13,484 | |||||
| Network, impairment | 201 | 1,638 | |||||
| 33,005 | 25,316 | ||||||
| $ | 226,044 | $ | 225,717 | ||||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 327 | |||||
| Increase - percentage | 0 | % |
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The following table presents our cost of revenues, as a percentage of total cost of revenues for the periods presented:
| Year ended December 31, | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Fiber Internet Services: | ||||||||
| Fiber Internet Services | 5 | % | 3 | % | ||||
| Mobile Services: | ||||||||
| Retail mobile services | 3 | % | 10 | % | ||||
| Mobile platform services | 0 | % | 1 | % | ||||
| Other professional services | 3 | % | 1 | % | ||||
| Total Mobile | 6 | % | 12 | % | ||||
| Domain Services: | ||||||||
| Wholesale | ||||||||
| Domain Services | 65 | % | 64 | % | ||||
| Value Added Services | 1 | % | 1 | % | ||||
| Total Wholesale | 66 | % | 65 | % | ||||
| Retail | 8 | % | 8 | % | ||||
| Total Domain Services | 74 | % | 73 | % | ||||
| Network Expenses: | ||||||||
| Network, other costs | 7 | % | 5 | % | ||||
| Network, depreciation and amortization costs | 8 | % | 6 | % | ||||
| Network, impairment | 0 | % | 1 | % | ||||
| 15 | % | 12 | % | |||||
| 100 | % | 100 | % |
Total cost of revenues for Fiscal 2021 increased by $0.3 million to $226.0 million, from $225.7 million in Fiscal 2020. The decrease was primarily driven by the $12.5 million of reduced costs attributable to our Mobile Services segment that was impacted by both the DISH Purchase Agreement and the shutdown of Roam Mobility brands in late Fiscal 2020. When compared to Fiscal 2020, the Mobile Services segment looks different as a result of our shift from MVNO to MSE. Both these factors contribute to Fiscal 2021 having significantly lower costs for the Mobile Services segment. This decrease in overall cost of revenues is partially offset by increases from Fiber Internet Services costs, Network Expenses costs as well as increases in Domain Services costs of $5.1 million, $7.6 million and less than $0.1 million, respectively. The increase from Fiber Internet Services is related to the continued expansion of both serviceable addresses and active subscriptions as well as the fourth quarter acquisition of Simply Bits. This is aligned with the discussion above in the Net Revenue section for this segment. The increase from Network Expenses is a result of the expansion of the Company’s increased network infrastructure associated with the continuing expansion of the Ting Fiber footprint and an increase in communication and productivity tool costs across our service lines. Domain Services costs of revenues increased as a result of recognition of registration costs from previously deferred billed costs related to the strong performance and additions to domains under management as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Deferred costs of fulfillment as of December 31, 2021 increased by $1.6 million, or 1%, to $112.7 million from $111.1 million at December 31, 2020. This increase was primarily driven by Mobile Services, accounting for $3.4 million of the increase which is due to the increase in current period costs incurred in connection with the fulfillment of our MSE agreement and other professional services with DISH. This increase was partially offset by a decrease in deferred costs of fulfillment related to domain name registration and service renewals of $1.8 million, decreasing as registration costs are recognized from previously deferred billed costs from registrations driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. Relative to COVID-19 pandemic levels, Fiscal 2021 was characterized by slowing growth in additions and renewals to domains under management, which has appropriately translated to less deferred costs of fulfillment for our Domain Services segment. Additionally, our Fiber Internet Services segment contributed to partially offset this overall decrease with an increase in deferred costs of fulfillment of less than $0.1 million relative to the past year.
Fiber Internet Services
In Fiscal 2021, costs related to provisioning high speed Internet access and billing solutions increased $5.1 million, or 73%, to $12.1 million as compared to $7.0 million during Fiscal 2020. The increase in costs were primarily driven by increased direct costs and, bandwidth and colocation costs related to the continued expansion of the Ting Fiber network. Although directionally aligned with the experienced growth in revenue over the same period, the outpaced increase in cost of revenues for Fiber Internet services is a result of the necessary upfront investment and expenditure needed to build out the network in advance of anticipated revenue growth in any particular location. Of this $5.1 million increase, $0.4 million related to our fourth quarter acquisition of Simply Bits.
Mobile Services
Retail Mobile Services
Cost of revenues from Retail Mobile Services for Fiscal 2021 decreased by $16.9 million to $6.0 million, when compared to Fiscal 2020. The decrease is consistent with the above discussion around net revenues, and is a result of the significant changes to our Mobile Services segment that occurred during Fiscal 2020 as we transitioned from MVNO to MSE. Ting Mobile accounts for $16.1 million of this decrease (of which $5.2 million is reduced device costs and $10.9 million relates to reduced service costs), followed by Roam Mobility at less than $0.8 million of the total decrease. The cost of revenues incurred from Retail Mobile Services during Fiscal 2021 is only reflective of the mobile telephony services and device costs associated with the small group of customers retained by the Company from the DISH Purchase Agreement. The decline also included reduced minimum commitment charges which decreased by $0.3 million as compared to Fiscal 2020.
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Mobile Platform Services
Cost of revenues from Mobile Platform Services for Fiscal 2021 increased by $0.3 million to $0.4 million, when compared to Fiscal 2020. The increase was the result of the new MSE business created as a result of the DISH Purchase Agreement in the past year. Only five months of comparable cost of revenues existed during Fiscal 2020. Tucows' MSE platform provides network access, provisioning and billing services for MVNOs, of which DISH is currently our sole customer. Costs incurred represent the amortization of previously capitalized costs incurred to fulfill the DISH MSE agreement over the term of the agreement.
Other Professional Services
Cost of revenues from Other Professional Services for Fiscal 2021 increased by $4.0 million to $7.0 million, when compared to Fiscal 2020. The increase was the result of the new MSE business created as a result of the DISH Purchase Agreement in the past year. Tucows' professional services include standalone technology services development and other transitional services including sales, marketing, customer support, order fulfillment, and data analytics for MVNOs, of which DISH is currently our sole customer. During Fiscal 2021, we incurred cost of revenues for both provision of standalone technology services development work as well as a full year of transitional services. This is in contrast to Fiscal 2020 which was characterized by only five months of solely transitional services cost of revenues. Costs incurred represent any personnel and contractor fees for any client service resources retained by the Company to provide either standalone technology services development work or transitional services to DISH.
Domain Services
Wholesale - Domain Services
Costs for wholesale domain services for Fiscal 2021 increased by $0.4 million to $147.2 million, when compared to Fiscal 2020. The increase is consistent with the above discussion around net revenues, where registration costs were recognized in Fiscal 2021 from previously deferred billed costs incurred from experienced domain name registration growth and domains under management in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. The overall increase was also impacted by decreases in current year billed costs from our eNom brand, which has seen a decline in registrations and domains under management in the current year, beyond the impacts of normalization from COVID-19 impacts.
Wholesale - Value Added Services
Costs for wholesale value-added services for Fiscal 2021 decreased by $0.5 million to $2.5 million, when compared to Fiscal 2020. The decrease in cost of revenue is primarily related to decreases in Digital Certificates and other value added service costs compared to Fiscal 2020.
Retail
Costs for retail for Fiscal 2021 increased by less than $0.1 million, to $17.7 million, when compared to Fiscal 2020. The was driven by increased costs related to Exact Hosting and was partially offset by declining volume of retail domain name registrations related to the eNom retail brands.
Network Expenses
Network costs for Fiscal 2021 increased by $7.7 million to $33.0 million when compared to Fiscal 2020. The comparative increase was primarily driven by both increased network costs and depreciation as a result of the expansion of the Company’s increased network infrastructure associated with the continuing expansion of the Ting Fiber footprint. These increases were partially offset by a decrease in impairment of property, plant and equipment, due to Fiscal 2020 including a $1.6 million impairment charge for Ting TV, a product formerly under development for Ting Internet. Additionally, Fiscal 2021 benefited from a decrease in amortization charges from the full amortization of the Ascio Technology intangible asset acquired in 2019.
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SALES AND MARKETING
Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of personnel costs. These costs include commissions and related expenses of our sales, product management, public relations, call center, support and marketing personnel. Other sales and marketing expenses include customer acquisition costs, advertising and other promotional costs.
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Sales and marketing | $ | 39,471 | $ | 34,274 | ||||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 5,197 | ||||||
| Increase - percentage | 15 | % | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 13 | % | 11 | % |
Sales and marketing expenses for Fiscal 2021 increased by $5.2 million, or 15%, to $39.5 million when compared to Fiscal 2020. The increase in costs relate primarily to increased salaries and benefits driven by an expanding workforce and wage inflation focused on our Fiber Internet services teams, as well as increased marketing related costs to drive active subscription growth given the increase in serviceable addresses available to our Fiber Internet Services segment. In addition to this, we also experienced an increase in costs related to stock-based compensation expenses in an effort to attract and retain labor and an increase in facility costs increased directly related to the expansion of our Ting Fiber internet footprint and workforce in select Ting towns across the United States.
Excluding movements in exchange rates, we expect sales and marketing expenses for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022 (“Fiscal 2022”) to increase in absolute dollars, as we adjust our marketing programs and sales and customer support personnel costs to support our Fiber Internet marketing and customer service needs.
TECHNICAL OPERATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT
Technical operations and development expenses consist primarily of personnel costs and related expenses required to support the development of new or enhanced service offerings and the maintenance and upgrading of existing infrastructure. This includes expenses incurred in the research, design and development of technology that we use to register domain names, network access services, email, retail, domain portfolio and other Internet services, as well as to distribute our digital content services. All technical operations and development costs are expensed as incurred.
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Technical operations and development | $ | 14,310 | $ | 12,427 | ||||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 1,883 | ||||||
| Increase - percentage | 15 | % | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 5 | % | 4 | % |
Technical operations and development expenses for Fiscal 2021 increased by $1.9 million, or 15%, to $14.3 million. The increase in costs relates primarily to increased spending on external contractors to provide development resources to assist our internal shared services and engineering teams with development aspects of the MSE platform. In addition to increased spending on external contractors, a slight increase in salaries and benefits driven by an expanding workforce and wage inflation focused on our shared services and engineering teams contributed to the overall increase in costs for the period along with stock-based compensation expenses to attract and retain labor
Excluding movements in exchange rates, we expect technical operations and development expenses for Fiscal 2022, in absolute dollars, to increase when compared to Fiscal 2021 to support the ongoing growth in our operations.
GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of compensation and related costs for managerial and administrative personnel, fees for professional services, public listing expenses, rent, foreign exchange and other general corporate expenses.
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| General and administrative | $ | 22,370 | $ | 20,268 | ||||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 2,102 | ||||||
| Increase - percentage | 10 | % | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 7 | % | 7 | % |
General and administrative expenses for Fiscal 2021 increased by $2.1 million, or 10%, to $22.4 million as compared to Fiscal 2020. The increase was primarily driven increases in personnel and related expenses as well as stock-based compensation expenses in order to attract, retain and scale core administrative teams including Human Resources and Finance to meet projected Company growth. Additionally, we experienced an increase in professional accounting and legal fees associated with our growing Fiber Internet segment. These increases were partially offset by reduced Mobile Services credit card fees as a result of the DISH Purchase Agreement that closed in the past year, as well as a decrease in facility related costs and foreign exchange expenses.
Excluding movements in exchange rates, we expect general and administrative expenses for Fiscal 2022, in absolute dollars, to increase when compared to Fiscal 2021 largely to support the growth of our business.
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DEPRECIATION OF PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Depreciation of property and equipment | $ | 534 | $ | 488 | ||||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 46 | ||||||
| Increase - percentage | 9 | % | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 0 | % | 0 | % |
Depreciation costs for Fiscal 2021 remained relatively flat at $0.5 million as compared to Fiscal 2020. The slight increase was due to the depreciation of additions to property and equipment, in particular computer hardware purchased in support of our expanding workforce.
LOSS (GAIN) ON DISPOSAL OF PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Loss on disposition of property and equipment | $ | 234 | $ | (17 | ) | |||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 251 | ||||||
| Decrease - percentage | (1,476 | ) | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 0 | % | (0 | )% |
Loss on disposal of property and equipment increased by $0.2 million to $0.2 million as compared to Fiscal 2020. The increase was a result of Fiscal 2021 including a disposal of minor internal use software for which the Company no longer expects to realize the initial use and intended benefit that it initially did when those development costs were initially capitalized.
AMORTIZATION OF INTANGIBLE ASSETS
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | $ | 9,424 | $ | 10,080 | ||||
| Decrease over prior period | $ | (656 | ) | |||||
| Decrease - percentage | (7 | )% | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 3 | % | 3 | % |
Amortization of intangible assets decreased $0.7 million for Fiscal 2021, to $9.4 million. The decrease is primarily driven by the write-off of Mobile Services related intangible assets in connection with the both the sale of the Ting Mobile customer base and the shutdown of Roam Mobility brands in Fiscal 2020.
Network rights, brand and customer relationships acquired in connection with the following acquisitions are amortized on a straight-line basis over a range of two to seven years: eNom in January 2017, Ascio in March of 2019, Cedar in January 2020 and Simply Bits in November 2021.
IMPAIRMENT OF DEFINITE LIFE INTANGIBLE ASSETS
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Impairment of definite life intangible assets | $ | - | $ | 1,431 | ||||
| Decrease over prior period | $ | (1,431 | ) | |||||
| Decrease - percentage | (100 | )% | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | - | % | 0 | % |
Impairment of definite life intangible assets for Fiscal 2021 was nil compared to $1.4 million in Fiscal 2020. The decrease is driven by the write-off of Roam Mobility brands customer relationships that were written off in Fiscal 2020 when the Company decided to shut down the related businesses as a result of lack of demand for SIM-enabled roaming services due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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LOSS (GAIN) ON CURRENCY FORWARD CONTRACTS
Although our functional currency is the U.S. dollar, a major portion of our fixed expenses are incurred in Canadian dollars. Our goal with regard to foreign currency exposure is, to the extent possible, to achieve operational cost certainty, manage financial exposure to certain foreign exchange fluctuations and to neutralize some of the impact of foreign currency exchange movements. Accordingly, we enter into foreign exchange contracts to mitigate the exchange rate risk on portions of our Canadian dollar exposure.
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Loss (gain) on currency forward contracts | $ | (277 | ) | $ | (383 | ) | ||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 106 | ||||||
| Decrease - percentage | 28 | % | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 0 | % | 0 | % |
We have entered into certain forward exchange contracts that do not comply with the requirements of hedge accounting to meet a portion of our future Canadian dollar requirements through December 2021. During Fiscal 2021, the Company recorded a net gain of $0.3 million on the change in fair value of outstanding contract as well as realized matured contracts. In Fiscal 2020 the Company recorded a net gain of $0.4 million in the change in fair value of outstanding contract as well as realized matured contracts.
At December 31, 2021, our balance sheet reflects a derivative instrument asset of $0.3 million as a result of our existing foreign exchange contracts. Until their respective maturity dates, these contracts will fluctuate in value in line with movements in the Canadian dollar relative to the U.S. dollar.
OTHER INCOME (EXPENSES)
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Other income (expense), net | $ | 15,043 | $ | 3,843 | ||||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 11,200 | ||||||
| Increase - percentage | 291 | % | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 5 | % | 1 | % |
Other income increased by $11.2 million when compared to Fiscal 2020. This was driven by a $12.4 million increase due to the gain on sale of Ting Customer Assets to DISH. As described above, the Company receives a payout on the margin associated with the legacy customer base sold to DISH over the 10-year term of the agreement, as form of consideration for the sale of the legacy customer relationships. Comparatively, the gain in Fiscal 2020 represented the net effect of proceeds earned from DISH in regards to the legacy customer base of $11.1 million offset by the write off of certain Mobile intangible and contract assets totaling $3.5 million. This overall increase in other income was partially offset by higher interest expense from higher variable interest rates incurred on our Amended 2019 Credit Facility. Other expense consists primarily of the interest we incur in connection with our Amended 2019 Credit Facility. The interest incurred primarily relates to our loan balances obtained to fund the acquisition of eNom, Ascio, Cedar and Simply Bits and funding for expenditures associated with the Company’s Fiber to the Home build program.
INCOME TAXES
The following table presents our provision for income taxes for the periods presented:
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Provision for income taxes | $ | 3,906 | $ | 4,985 | ||||
| Decrease in provision over prior period | $ | (1,079 | ) | |||||
| Decrease - percentage | (22 | )% | ||||||
| Effective tax rate | 54 | % | 46 | % |
We operate in various tax jurisdictions, and accordingly, our income is subject to varying rates of tax. Losses incurred in one jurisdiction cannot be used to offset income taxes payable in another jurisdiction. Our ability to use income tax loss carry forwards and future income tax deductions is dependent upon our operations in the tax jurisdictions in which such losses or deductions arise. Income taxes are computed using the asset and liability method, under which deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the difference between the financial statement carrying values and tax base of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to affect taxable income. Valuation allowances are established when necessary to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.
Income taxes decreased by $1.1 million and the effective tax rate increased from 46% to 54% when compared to Fiscal 2020. The increase in effective tax rate is primarily due to changes in blended tax rates and is partially offset by an increase in stock option benefit deduction. Our Fiscal 2021 income tax expense includes a tax recovery of $1.6 million related to the adoption of ASU 2016-09, which requires all excess tax benefits and tax deficiencies related to employee share-based payments to be recognized through income tax expense on a prospective basis. The Fiscal 2020 tax recovery related to excess tax benefits related to employee share-based compensation was $0.4 million.
In Fiscal 2021, the Company did not utilize the bonus depreciation with respect to its continued investment in the Ting Fiber business. Despite this, due to the reduction in tax rate to 21%, it is unlikely we will ultimately be able to fully claim the Fiscal 2021 foreign taxes paid in future years as a foreign tax credit. As such, we have taken a valuation allowance on foreign tax credits not utilized for 2021 income tax purposes, the net negative effect of which is a $2.3 million addition to income tax expense, as compared to $2.9 million additional tax expense in Fiscal 2020.
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A reconciliation of the federal statutory income tax rate to our effective tax rate is set forth in “Note 9 – Income Taxes” of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report.
ADJUSTED EBITDA
We believe that the provision of this supplemental non-GAAP measure allows investors to evaluate the operational and financial performance of our core business using similar evaluation measures to those used by management. We use adjusted EBITDA to measure our performance and prepare our budgets. Since adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial performance measure, our calculation of adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies; and should not be considered in isolation, as a substitute for, or superior to measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. Because adjusted EBITDA is calculated before recurring cash charges, including interest expense and taxes, and is not adjusted for capital expenditures or other recurring cash requirements of the business, it should not be considered as a liquidity measure. See the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows included in the attached financial statements. Non-GAAP financial measures do not reflect a comprehensive system of accounting and may differ from non-GAAP financial measures with the same or similar captions that are used by other companies and/or analysts and may differ from period to period. We endeavor to compensate for these limitations by providing the relevant disclosure of the items excluded in the calculation of adjusted EBITDA to net income based on GAAP, which should be considered when evaluating the Company's results. Tucows strongly encourages investors to review its financial information in its entirety and not to rely on a single financial measure.
Our adjusted EBITDA definition excludes depreciation, amortization of intangible assets, income tax provision, interest expense (net), accretion of contingent consideration, stock-based compensation, asset impairment, loss on the disposal of Ting Mobile customer assets, gains and losses from unrealized foreign currency transactions and costs that are one-time in nature and not indicative of on-going performance (profitability), including acquisition and transition costs. Gains and losses from unrealized foreign currency transactions removes the unrealized effect of the change in the mark-to-market values on outstanding unhedged foreign currency contracts, as well as the unrealized effect from the translation of monetary accounts denominated in non-U.S. dollars to U.S. dollars.
The following table reconciles net income to adjusted EBITDA:
| Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to Income before Provision for Income Taxes | Twelve months ended December 31, | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (In Thousands of US Dollars) | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||||
| (unaudited) | (unaudited) | (unaudited) | (unaudited) | |||||||||
| Adjusted EBITDA | $ | 48,821 | $ | 50,972 | $ | 51,905 | ||||||
| Depreciation of property and equipment | 17,986 | 12,632 | 8,961 | |||||||||
| Impairment and loss on disposition of property and equipment | 435 | 1,621 | 73 | |||||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | 10,007 | 11,420 | 10,333 | |||||||||
| Impairment of definite life intangible assets | - | 1,431 | - | |||||||||
| Write-down on disposal of Ting Mobile customer assets | - | 3,513 | - | |||||||||
| Interest expense, net | 4,617 | 3,611 | 4,769 | |||||||||
| Accretion of contingent liability | 383 | 344 | - | |||||||||
| Stock-based compensation | 4,592 | 3,718 | 2,876 | |||||||||
| Unrealized loss (gain) on change in fair value of forward contracts | 606 | (500 | ) | (313 | ) | |||||||
| Unrealized loss (gain) on foreign exchange revaluation of foreign denominated monetary assets and liabilities | 219 | 461 | (581 | ) | ||||||||
| Acquisition and other costs1 | 2,706 | 1,961 | 1,216 | |||||||||
| Income before provision for income taxes | $ | 7,270 | $ | 10,760 | $ | 24,571 |
1 Acquisition and other costs represents transaction-related expenses, transitional expenses, such as redundant post-acquisition expenses, primarily related to our acquisition of Cedar in January 2020 and Simply Bits in November 2021 and the disposition of certain Ting Mobile assets in August 2020. Expenses include severance or transitional costs associated with department, operational or overall company restructuring efforts, including geographic alignments.
Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2021 decreased by $2.2 million, or 4% to $48.8 million when compared to the year ended December 31, 2020. The decrease in adjusted EBITDA from period-to-period was primarily driven by the increased investment in Ting Fiber due to the ramp of expenditures related to the Fiber network build and expansion plan. This decrease was partially offset by increased contributions from both Mobile Services due to the gain on sale of Ting Customer Assets earned as Other Income and new MSE Platform revenues growing in the current period and from Domain Services; due to strong performance in both Domain Services and Value added Services such as expiry revenues. When comparing Adjusted EBITDA in Fiscal 2020 to the year ended December 31, 2019 (“Fiscal 2019”), the lower contribution stemmed from the erosion of wholesale and retail registrations from our eNom brand as well as Mobile Services due to the sale of Ting Mobile customer relationships to DISH as well as the shutdown of Roam Mobility. The overall decrease in Adjusted EBIDTA in Fiscal 2020 was partially offset by an increased contribution from wholesale domain registrations from our OpenSRS and EPAG brands who experienced an increase in domains under management at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic as more businesses moved online in early Fiscal 2020. The increase was also impacted by increased contribution from Ascio, with a full year of contribution in Fiscal 2020 relative to the stub period in Fiscal 2019 due to acquisition timing. Additionally, the acquisition of Cedar and continued expansion of the Ting Fiber network contributed to increased contribution from Fiber year-over-year.
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OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)
To mitigate the impact of the change in fair value of our foreign exchange contracts on our financial results, in October 2012 we begun applying hedge accounting for the majority of the contracts we need to meet our Canadian dollar requirements on a prospective basis. The impact of the fair value adjustment on outstanding hedged contracts for Fiscal 2021 was a net loss in other comprehensive income of $2.0 million compared to a net gain of $1.9 million for Fiscal 2020.
The following table presents other comprehensive income for the periods presented:
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| Other comprehensive income (loss) | $ | (1,993 | ) | $ | 1,863 | |||
| Decrease over prior period | $ | (3,856 | ) | |||||
| Decrease - percentage | (207 | )% | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | (1 | )% | 1 | % |
The impact of the fair value adjustments on outstanding hedged contracts during 2021 was a gain in OCI of $0.6 million as compared to a gain of $1.7 million during 2020.
The net amount reclassified to earnings during 2021 was a loss of $2.6 million compared to a gain of $0.2 million during 2020.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS FOR THE YEAR ENDED December 31, 2020 AS COMPARED TO THE YEAR ENDED December 31, 2019
The Company has initially applied Accounting Standard Update (“ASU”) No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) on January 1, 2019, which was adopted using the modified retrospective basis. Accordingly, comparative figures have not been restated.
NET REVENUES
The following table presents our net revenues, by revenue source:
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2019 | ||||||
| Fiber Internet Services: | |||||||
| Fiber Internet Services | $ | 18,428 | $ | 11,006 | |||
| Mobile Services | |||||||
| Retail mobile services | 46,540 | 84,657 | |||||
| Mobile platform services | 564 | - | |||||
| Other professional services | 3,416 | - | |||||
| Total Mobile | 50,520 | 84,657 | |||||
| Domain Services: | |||||||
| Wholesale | |||||||
| Domain Services | 186,893 | 182,957 | |||||
| Value Added Services | 18,526 | 18,922 | |||||
| Total Wholesale | 205,419 | 201,879 | |||||
| Retail | 36,835 | 39,603 | |||||
| Total Domain Services | 242,254 | 241,482 | |||||
| $ | 311,202 | $ | 337,145 | ||||
| (Decrease) increase over prior period | $ | (25,943 | ) | ||||
| (Decrease) increase - percentage | (8 | %) |
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The following table presents our revenues, by revenue source, as a percentage of total revenues:
| Year ended December 31, | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2019 | |||||||
| Fiber Internet Services: | ||||||||
| Fiber Internet Services | 6 | % | 3 | % | ||||
| Mobile Services | ||||||||
| Retail mobile services | 15 | % | 25 | % | ||||
| Mobile platform services | 0 | % | 0 | % | ||||
| Other professional services | 1 | % | 0 | % | ||||
| Total Mobile | 16 | % | 25 | % | ||||
| Domain Services: | ||||||||
| Wholesale | ||||||||
| Domain Services | 61 | % | 55 | % | ||||
| Value Added Services | 6 | % | 6 | % | ||||
| Total Wholesale | 67 | % | 61 | % | ||||
| Retail | 11 | % | 12 | % | ||||
| Total Domain Services | 78 | % | 72 | % | ||||
| 100 | % | 100 | % |
Total net revenues for Fiscal 2020 decreased by $25.9 million, or 8%, to $311.2 million from $337.1 million for Fiscal 2019. The overall decrease in revenue was primarily driven by the $34.1 million reduction of revenues attributable to our Mobile Services segment that was impacted by both the sale of the majority of the customer base of Ting Mobile to DISH Wireless on August 1, 2020 and the shutdown of Roam Mobility brands impacted by loss of mobile subscribers and reduced usage related to COVID-19 when compared to Fiscal 2019. As part of the DISH Purchase Agreement, as a form of consideration for the sale of the customer relationships, the Company receives a payout on the margin associated with the legacy customer base sold to DISH over the 10-year term of the agreement. This has been classified as Other Income and not considered revenue in Fiscal 2020. This decrease in revenues was offset by a $7.4 million increase related to Fiber Internet services revenues, driven by our acquisition of Cedar as well as through the expansion of our existing Ting Internet footprint. Additionally, smaller increases from Domain Services of $0.8 million also helped offset any revenue decreases in period, which was driven by an overall increase in domains under management relative to the prior year as more businesses established online presences due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Deferred revenue from domain name registrations and other Internet services at December 31, 2020 increased to $152.2 million from $149.3 million at December 31, 2019, primarily due to current period billings for domain name registration and service renewals.
No customer accounted for more than 10% of revenue during Fiscal 2020 or during Fiscal 2019. As of December 31, 2020 DISH accounted for 59% of total accounts receivable and at December 31, 2019 no customer accounted for more than 10% of accounts receivable.
Though a significant portion of the Company’s domain services revenues are prepaid by our customers, where the Company does collect receivables, significant management judgment is required at the time revenue is recorded to assess whether the collection of the resulting receivables is reasonably assured. On an ongoing basis, we assess the ability of our customers to make required payments. Based on this assessment, we expect the carrying amount of our outstanding receivables, net of allowance for doubtful accounts, to be fully collected.
Fiber Internet Services
Revenues from Ting Internet and billing solutions generated $18.4 million in revenue during Fiscal 2020, up $7.4 million or 67% compared to Fiscal 2019. This growth is driven by the recent first quarter acquisition of Cedar. Cedar contributed $4.7 million of the increase in revenue during the current period, with $2.7 million related to the continued expansion of our Ting Internet footprint in new and existing Ting towns throughout the United States.
As of December 31, 2020, Ting Internet had access to 56,000 serviceable addresses and 15,000 active accounts under its management compared to having access to 36,000 serviceable addresses and 10,000 active accounts under its management as of December 31, 2019. These figures include the increase in serviceable addresses and accounts attributable to the Cedar acquisition.
Mobile Services
Net revenues from Mobile Services for Fiscal 2020, as compared to Fiscal 2019, decreased by $34.2 million or 40% to $50.5 million. This decrease is driven by a decline in Retail Mobile Services revenue, which decreased by $38.2 million compared to Fiscal 2019, to $46.5 million. Ting Mobile accounts for $35.0 million of this decrease (of which $2.0 million is reduced device revenues and $33.0 million relates to service revenues), followed by Roam Mobility at $3.1 million of the total decrease. The decline in Retail Mobile Services revenue is driven by the sale of substantially all of the Ting Mobile customer base on August 1, 2020 to DISH and the shutdown of Roam Mobility in Fiscal 2020. In addition to these changes, continued subscriber churn and reduced usage related to the COVID-19 pandemic for three full quarters in 2020 also resulted in lower revenues relative to Fiscal 2019. This decrease is offset by an increase in Mobile Platform services revenues by $0.6 million and Other Professional Services revenues by $3.4 million, both a result of the new MSE business created, for which DISH is currently the only customer. The current period only reflects seven months of retail mobile services revenue at the existing subscriber base of Ting Mobile, versus a complete twelve-month period in 2019. Subsequent to the sale to DISH, the Retail Mobile Services revenue relates to a small subset of customers retained by the Company. The consideration for the sale of the subscriber base to DISH is captured as Other Income in the current period and described below.
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Domain Services
Wholesale - Domain Services
During Fiscal 2020, Wholesale domain services revenue increased by $3.9 million or 2% to $186.9 million. The increase in revenue compared to Fiscal 2019 was primarily driven by a $4.6 million increase in revenue related to the prior year acquisition of Ascio. In Fiscal 2020, Ascio revenues include a full year of earned revenue compared to the stub period of attributable revenue during Fiscal 2019. Additionally, we saw a further increase in Wholesale domain revenues of $5.2 million from our other domain services brands, namely OpenSRS and EPAG due to the increase in domains under management for these brands associated with an uptick in registrations through 2020 in connection with COVID-19. As more businesses establish an online presence during this time, we have seen growth from large volume resellers across these brands. This has had a marginal impact on revenue in the current period but will have a carryforward impact in subsequent periods as revenues are recognized from previously deferred billings. These increases were offset by a decrease of $5.9 million in Wholesale domain revenues related to our eNom brand, driven by continued decline in domain registrations by non-core customers relative to Fiscal 2019.
Together the OpenSRS, eNom, EPAG and Ascio Domain Services manage 25.2 million domain names under the Tucows, eNom, EPAG and Ascio ICANN registrar accreditations and for other registrars under their own accreditations. Domains under management has increased by 1.6 million domain names in Fiscal 2020 since December 31, 2019. The increase is driven by increased registrations experienced by our brands during the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw more businesses establish and expand their online presence, offset by the continued erosion of registrations related to non-core customers from our eNom brand.
Wholesale - Value Added Services
Net revenues from value-added services increased by $0.9 million to $19.8 million compared to Fiscal 2019. The increase in value-added service revenue over Fiscal 2019 was primarily driven by an increase in expiry stream revenue.
Retail
Net revenues from retail decreased by $0.5 million to $34.3 million compared to Fiscal 2019. The decrease in revenue was primarily driven by the erosion of retail customers away from our eNom Central brand. Additionally portfolio revenues decreased by $3.5 million to $1.3 million compared to Fiscal 2019. This decrease was expected after the Company disposed of its entire domain portfolio in the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2019, excluding surname domains used in the RealNames email service.
COST OF REVENUES
The following table presents our cost of revenues, by revenue source:
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2019 | ||||||
| Fiber Internet Services: | |||||||
| Fiber Internet Services | $ | 6,982 | $ | 3,928 | |||
| Mobile Services | |||||||
| Retail mobile services | 22,942 | 44,415 | |||||
| Mobile platform services | 56 | - | |||||
| Other professional services | 2,970 | - | |||||
| Total Mobile | 25,968 | 44,415 | |||||
| Domain Services: | |||||||
| Wholesale | |||||||
| Domain Services | 146,788 | 148,530 | |||||
| Value Added Services | 3,161 | 2,986 | |||||
| Total Wholesale | 149,949 | 151,516 | |||||
| Retail | 17,502 | 17,720 | |||||
| Total Domain Services | 167,451 | 169,236 | |||||
| Network Expenses: | |||||||
| Network, other costs | 10,194 | 9,190 | |||||
| Network, depreciation and amortization costs | 13,484 | 9,599 | |||||
| Network, impairment | 1,638 | - | |||||
| 25,316 | 18,789 | ||||||
| $ | 225,717 | $ | 236,368 | ||||
| (Decrease) increase over prior period | $ | (10,651 | ) | ||||
| (Decrease) increase - percentage | (5 | %) |
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The following table presents our cost of revenues, as a percentage of total cost of revenues for the periods presented:
| Year ended December 31, | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2019 | |||||||
| Fiber Internet Services: | ||||||||
| Fiber Internet Services | 3 | % | 2 | % | ||||
| Mobile Services | ||||||||
| Retail mobile services | 10 | % | 19 | % | ||||
| Mobile platform services | 1 | % | 0 | % | ||||
| Other professional services | 1 | % | 0 | % | ||||
| Total Mobile | 12 | % | 19 | % | ||||
| Domain Services: | ||||||||
| Wholesale | ||||||||
| Domain Services | 64 | % | 63 | % | ||||
| Value Added Services | 1 | % | 1 | % | ||||
| Total Wholesale | 65 | % | 64 | % | ||||
| Retail | 8 | % | 7 | % | ||||
| Total Domain Services | 73 | % | 71 | % | ||||
| Network Expenses: | ||||||||
| Network, other costs | 5 | % | 4 | % | ||||
| Network, depreciation and amortization costs | 6 | % | 4 | % | ||||
| Network, impairment | 1 | % | 0 | % | ||||
| 12 | % | 8 | % | |||||
| 100 | % | 100 | % |
Total cost of revenues for Fiscal 2020 decreased by $10.7 million, or 5%, to $225.7 million from $236.4 million in Fiscal 2019. The decrease was primarily driven by the $18 million of reduced costs attributable to our Mobile Services segment. Consistent with above, Fiscal 2020 results included three full quarters of impact from loss of mobile subscribers and reduced usage related to COVID-19, in addition to the 2020 results including the sale of Ting Mobile customers and the shutdown of Roam Mobility. Both of these contributed to Fiscal 2020 results having significantly lower costs. Additionally, further decreases in domain name services of $1.8 million, related to continued erosion in Wholesale and Retail domain registrations by non-core customers primarily from our existing Domain Services brands, namely eNom. These decreases were offset by increased network expenses of $6.5 million and Fiber access costs of $3.1 million as a result of continued Fiber network expansion. The increase in network expenses included a $1.6 million impairment related to Ting TV, a product under development for Ting Fiber that was discontinued. These increased Fiber costs of revenues were driven by both our acquisition of Cedar as well as through the expansion of our existing Ting Internet footprint.
Prepaid domain registration and other Internet services fees as of December 31, 2020 increased by $1.9 million, or 2%, to $111.1 million from $109.2 million at December 31, 2019 primarily due to current period domain name registration and annual service renewals.
Fiber Internet Services
In Fiscal 2020, costs related to provisioning high speed Internet access and billing solutions increased $3.1 million, or 79%, to $7.0 million as compared to $3.9 million during Fiscal 2019. The increase in costs were primarily driven by increased direct costs and bandwidth costs related to the continued expansion of the Ting Fiber network, for both existing towns and cities as well as those acquired via the Cedar acquisition.
Mobile Services
Cost of revenues from Mobile Services for Fiscal 2020, as compared to Fiscal 2019, decreased by $18.4 million or 41% to $26.0 million. This is driven by decreased Retail Mobile Services costs of $21.5 million, of which $19.6 million relates to Ting Mobile (of which $2.3 million is reduced device costs and $17.3 million relates to service costs) and $1.9 million relates to Roam Mobility. Consistent with the above discussion around net revenues, the driving factors for these decreases from Fiscal 2019 are related to the sale of substantially all of the Ting Mobile customer base and the shutdown of Roam Mobility in Fiscal 2020. Residual Retail Mobile Services costs are also impacted by three quarters of the COVID-19 pandemic, characterized by a decline in mobile subscribers and reduced usage which translates into lower year-to-date costs. The decline also included reduced minimum commitment charges with network operators which decreased by $4.3 million compared to the Fiscal 2019. This decrease is partially offset by an increase of $3.0 million related to costs associated with Other Professional Services provided to DISH.
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Domain Services
Wholesale - Domain Services
Costs for wholesale domain services for Fiscal 2020 decreased by $1.7 million to $146.8 million, when compared to Fiscal 2019. The decrease was primarily driven by a $6.1 million decrease in wholesale domain services costs associated with the erosion of domain registrations by non-core customers for our eNom brand. This decrease in eNom registrations was offset by increased Wholesale domain services costs of $4.3 million from our other wholesale brands, namely OpenSRS, EPAG and Ascio. The offsetting increase is largely a result of the acquisition of Ascio, where Ascio costs represent a full year in Fiscal 2020 compared to the stub period of attributable costs during Fiscal 2019. To a lesser extent any residual increase was a result of increased domains under management for OpenSRS as a result of COVID-19 impacts discussed above.
Wholesale - Value Added Services
Costs for wholesale value-added services for Fiscal 2020 increased by $0.2 million to $3.2 million, when compared to Fiscal 2019. The increase in cost of revenue is primarily related to an increase in certificate costs related to Ascio and increased Expiry sales compared to Fiscal 2019.
Retail
Costs for retail for Fiscal 2020 decreased by $0.1 million, to $17.0 million, when compared to Fiscal 2019. The decrease was a result of an overall declining volume of transactions related to the eNom retail brands. Costs for portfolio decreased by $0.1 million for Fiscal 2020, to $0.5 million when compared to Fiscal 2019. This decrease was expected after the Company disposed of its entire domain portfolio in the fourth quarter of Fiscal 2019, excluding surname domains used in the RealNames email service.
Network Expenses
Network costs for Fiscal 2020 increased by $6.5 million to $25.3 million when compared to Fiscal 2019. The comparative increase was primarily driven by depreciation as a result of the expansion of the Company’s increased network infrastructure associated with the continuing expansion of the Ting Fiber footprint, inclusive of $0.7 million related to the Cedar acquisition. In addition to these Fiber network increases, the second quarter of 2020 included a $1.6 million impairment related to Ting TV, a product under development for Ting Fiber.
SALES AND MARKETING
Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of personnel costs. These costs include commissions and related expenses of our sales, product management, public relations, call center, support and marketing personnel. Other sales and marketing expenses include customer acquisition costs, advertising and other promotional costs.
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2019 | |||||||
| Sales and marketing | $ | 34,274 | $ | 34,270 | ||||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 4 | ||||||
| Increase - percentage | 0 | % | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 11 | % | 10 | % |
Sales and marketing expenses for Fiscal 2020 remained flat at $34.3 million when compared to Fiscal 2019. Although the Company initially forecasted an increase in sales and marketing expenses for Fiscal 2020, the sale of substantially all of the Ting Mobile customer base and the shutdown of Roam Mobility through the latter half of Fiscal 2020 effectively offset any increases in expenditure seen from the Cedar and Ascio acquisitions or the continued build out of the Ting Fiber network.
TECHNICAL OPERATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT
Technical operations and development expenses consist primarily of personnel costs and related expenses required to support the development of new or enhanced service offerings and the maintenance and upgrading of existing infrastructure. This includes expenses incurred in the research, design and development of technology that we use to register domain names, network access services, email, retail, domain portfolio and other Internet services, as well as to distribute our digital content services. Editorial costs relating to the rating and review of the software content libraries are included in the costs of product development. All technical operations and development costs are expensed as incurred
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2019 | |||||||
| Technical operations and development | $ | 12,427 | $ | 9,717 | ||||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 2,710 | ||||||
| Increase - percentage | 28 | % | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 4 | % | 3 | % |
Technical operations and development expenses for Fiscal 2020 increased by $2.7 million, or 28%, to $12.4 million. The increase in costs relates primarily to increased salaries and benefits driven by an expanding workforce and wage inflation focused on our shared services and engineering teams of $2.3 million, as well as increased spending related to contract and outsourcing spends to aid in platform development efforts across our business lines of $0.4 million. Additionally, Fiscal 2020 reflected a full year of people costs related to the workforce acquired in the Ascio acquisition, as compared to a stub period of costs in Fiscal 2019.
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GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of compensation and related costs for managerial and administrative personnel, fees for professional services, public listing expenses, rent, foreign exchange and other general corporate expenses.
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2019 | |||||||
| General and administrative | $ | 20,268 | $ | 17,880 | ||||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 2,388 | ||||||
| Increase - percentage | 13 | % | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 7 | % | 5 | % |
General and administrative expenses for Fiscal 2020 increased by $2.4 million, or 13%, to $20.3 million as compared to Fiscal 2019. The increase was primarily driven by an increase in people costs of $1.5 million, an increase in foreign exchange expense of $1.4 million, and an increase in professional fees of $0.6 million in connection with the sale of the Ting Mobile customer relationships to DISH. These increases in general and administrative expenses were offset by a decrease in both credit card fees and bad debts associated with the Mobile Services business, in the amounts of $0.8 million and $0.2 million, respectively. Additionally, the current year saw a decrease in transitional costs related to Ascio and eNom of $0.2 million and $0.2 million, respectively.
DEPRECIATION OF PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2019 | |||||||
| Depreciation of property and equipment | $ | 488 | $ | 486 | ||||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 2 | ||||||
| Increase - percentage | 0 | % | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 0 | % | 0 | % |
Depreciation costs for Fiscal 2020 remained flat at $0.5 million for Fiscal 2019.
LOSS (GAIN) ON DISPOSAL OF PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2019 | |||||||
| Loss on disposition of property and equipment | $ | (17 | ) | $ | 73 | |||
| Decrease over prior period | $ | (90 | ) | |||||
| Decrease - percentage | (123 | )% | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | (0 | )% | 0.02 | % |
Loss (gain) on disposal of property and equipment decreased $0.1 million in Fiscal 2020. The decrease was a result of Fiscal 2019 including equipment disposal from the former Kirkland, Washington office. The Company saw a small gain in the current year on the disposition of property and equipment from the shutdown of the St. Catharines, Ontario office.
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AMORTIZATION OF INTANGIBLE ASSETS
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2019 | |||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | $ | 10,080 | $ | 9,209 | ||||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 871 | ||||||
| Increase - percentage | 9 | % | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 3 | % | 3 | % |
Amortization of intangible assets increased $0.9 million for Fiscal 2020, to $10.1 million. The increase is primarily driven by the acquisition of Cedar as well as a full year's worth of amortization of acquired Ascio intangible assets for which Fiscal 2019 represented a stub period.
Network rights, brand and customer relationships acquired in connection with the following acquisitions are amortized on a straight-line basis over a range of two to seven years: eNom in January 2017, Ascio in March of 2019, and Cedar in January 2020. As discussed above, the balance of the Roam Mobility brands was fully impaired as at June 30, 2020 as part of shutdown of the Roam brands. This is reflected below in the impairment of definite life intangible assets of $1.4 million.
IMPAIRMENT OF DEFINITE LIFE INTANGIBLE ASSETS
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2019 | |||||||
| Impairment of indefinite life intangible assets | $ | 1,431 | $ | - | ||||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 1,431 | ||||||
| Increase - percentage | N/A | % | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 0 | % | - | % |
Impairment of definite life intangible assets for Fiscal 2020 was $1.4 million as compared to nil in Fiscal 2019. The increase is driven by the write-off of customer relationships acquired in connection with our Roam Mobility Brands. As discussed above, Roam Mobility saw a decline in mobile subscribers and reduced usage related to the COVID-19 pandemic. As at June 30, 2020, the Company decided to shut down the Roam Mobility brands and related business as a result of this lack of demand for SIM-enabled roaming services due to the continued decrease of both business and leisure travel caused by the pandemic. As part of that shut down, the associated customer relationships previously acquired were written off in period.
LOSS (GAIN) ON CURRENCY FORWARD CONTRACTS
Although our functional currency is the U.S. dollar, a major portion of our fixed expenses are incurred in Canadian dollars. Our goal with regard to foreign currency exposure is, to the extent possible, to achieve operational cost certainty, manage financial exposure to certain foreign exchange fluctuations and to neutralize some of the impact of foreign currency exchange movements. Accordingly, we enter into foreign exchange contracts to mitigate the exchange rate risk on portions of our Canadian dollar exposure.
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2019 | |||||||
| Loss (gain) on currency forward contracts | $ | (383 | ) | $ | (198 | ) | ||
| Decrease over prior period | $ | (185 | ) | |||||
| Decrease - percentage | 93 | % | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 0 | % | 0 | % |
We have entered into certain forward exchange contracts that do not comply with the requirements of hedge accounting to meet a portion of our future Canadian dollar requirements through December 2020. During Fiscal 2020, the Company recorded a net gain of $0.5 million on the change in fair value of outstanding contract as well as a $0.1 million realized loss on matured contracts. In Fiscal 2019 the Company recorded a net gain of $0.3 million in the change in fair value of outstanding contracts as well as a $0.1 million realized loss on matured contracts.
At December 31, 2020, our balance sheet reflects a derivative instrument asset of $3.9 million as a result of our existing foreign exchange contracts. Until their respective maturity dates, these contracts will fluctuate in value in line with movements in the Canadian dollar relative to the U.S. dollar.
OTHER INCOME AND (EXPENSES)
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2019 | |||||||
| Other income (expense), net | $ | 3,843 | $ | (4,769 | ) | |||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 8,612 | ||||||
| Increase - percentage | (181 | )% | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 1 | % | 1 | % |
Other income increased by $8.6 million when compared to Fiscal 2019. This was primarily due to the $7.6 million increase due to the gain on sale of Ting customer assets to DISH in the current period. This gain represented the net effect of proceeds earned from DISH in regards to the legacy customer base of $11.1 million offset by the write off of certain Mobile intangible and contract assets totaling $3.5 million. In addition to this, another contributing factor in the increase was lower interest incurred on our Amended 2019 Credit Facility, obtained to fund the acquisition of eNom, Ascio and Cedar and funding for expenditures associated with the Company’s Fiber to the Home program.
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INCOME TAXES
The following table presents our provision for income taxes for the periods presented:
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2019 | |||||||
| Provision for income taxes | $ | 4,985 | $ | 9,173 | ||||
| Decrease in provision over prior period | $ | (4,188 | ) | |||||
| Decrease - percentage | (46 | )% | ||||||
| Effective tax rate | 46 | % | 37 | % |
We operate in various tax jurisdictions, and accordingly, our income is subject to varying rates of tax. Losses incurred in one jurisdiction cannot be used to offset income taxes payable in another jurisdiction. Our ability to use income tax loss carry forwards and future income tax deductions is dependent upon our operations in the tax jurisdictions in which such losses or deductions arise. Income taxes are computed using the asset and liability method, under which deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the difference between the financial statement carrying values and tax base of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to affect taxable income. Valuation allowances are established when necessary to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.
Fiscal 2020 includes tax on profits of $10.8 million compared to $24.6 million for Fiscal 2019. Our Fiscal 2020 income tax expense includes a tax expense of less than $0.1 million related to the adoption of ASU 2016-09, which requires all excess tax benefits and tax deficiencies related to employee share-based payments to be recognized through income tax expense on a prospective basis. The Fiscal 2019 tax recovery related to excess tax benefits related to employee share-based compensation was $0.6 million. On December 22, 2017, the Act was signed into law making significant changes to the Internal Revenue Code. Changes include, but are not limited to, a federal corporate tax rate decrease from 35% to 21% for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017, the transition of U.S. international taxation from a worldwide tax system to a territorial system, bonus depreciation that will allow for full expensing of qualified property, and a one-time transition tax on the mandatory deemed repatriation of foreign earnings.
In Fiscal 2020, the Company did not utilize the bonus depreciation with respect to its continued investment in the Ting Internet business. Despite this, due to the reduction in tax rate to 21%, it is unlikely we will ultimately be able to fully claim the Fiscal 2020 foreign taxes paid in future years as a foreign tax credit. As such, we have taken a valuation allowance on foreign tax credits not utilized for 2020 income tax purposes and net operating losses not expected to be utilized in the future, the net negative effect of which is a $2.9 million addition to income tax expense, as compared to $5.3 million additional tax expense in Fiscal 2019.
A reconciliation of the federal statutory income tax rate to our effective tax rate is set forth in “Note 9 – Income Taxes” of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report.
OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)
To mitigate the impact of the change in fair value of our foreign exchange contracts on our financial results, in October 2012 we begun applying hedge accounting for the majority of the contracts we need to meet our Canadian dollar requirements on a prospective basis. The impact of the fair value adjustment on outstanding hedged contracts for Fiscal 2020 was a net gain in other comprehensive income of $1.9 million compared to a net gain of $1.3 million for Fiscal 2019.
The following table presents other comprehensive income for the periods presented:
| (Dollar amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | Year ended December 31, | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2019 | |||||||
| Other comprehensive income (loss) | $ | 1,863 | $ | 1,283 | ||||
| Increase over prior period | $ | 580 | ||||||
| Increase - percentage | 45 | % | ||||||
| Percentage of net revenues | 1 | % | 0 | % |
The impact of the fair value adjustments on outstanding hedged contracts during 2020 was a gain in OCI of $1.7 million as compared to a loss of $1.1 million during 2019.
The net amount reclassified to earnings during 2020 was a loss of $0.2 million compared to a loss of $0.2 million during 2019.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2021, our cash and cash equivalents balance increased $0.8 million when compared to December 31, 2020. Our principal uses of cash were $73.9 million for the continued investment in property, equipment and intangible assets, $24.0 million for the acquisition of Simply Bits, $2.5 million for the acquisition of Uniregistry, $2.0 million related to an investment in an unrelated entity, and $0.7 million of other costs, including tax payment associated with stock option exercises and loan payable costs. These uses of cash were offset by cash provided by operating activities of $29.6 million, advances of $69 million from our Second Amended 2019 Credit Facility (as defined below), $4.8 million of proceeds received on exercise of stock options, and $0.5 million from proceeds on disposal of property and equipment.
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Amended 2019 Credit Facility
On June 14, 2019, the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Tucows.com Co., Ting Fiber, Inc., Ting Inc., Tucows (Delaware) Inc. and Tucows (Emerald), LLC, entered into an Amended and Restated Senior Secured Credit Agreement with Royal Bank of Canada (“RBC”), as administrative agent, and lenders party thereto (collectively with RBC, the “Lenders”) under which the Company has access to an aggregate of up to $240 million in funds, which consists of $180 million guaranteed credit facility and a $60 million accordion facility. In connection with the Amended 2019 Credit Facility, the Company incurred an additional $0.3 million of fees paid to lenders and $0.2 million of legal fees related to the debt issuance. Of these fees, $0.4 million are debt issuance costs, which have been reflected as a reduction to the carrying amount of the loan payable and will be amortized over the term of the credit facility agreement and $0.1 million have been recorded in General and administrative expenses. On November 27, 2019, the Company entered into Amending Agreement No. 1 to the Amended and Restated Senior Secured Credit Agreement (collectively with the Amended and Restated Senior Secured Credit Agreement, the “Amended 2019 Credit Facility”) to amend certain defined terms in connection with the Cedar acquisition.
The Amended 2019 Credit Facility replaced a secured Credit Agreement dated January 20, 2017 with Bank of Montreal, RBC and Bank of Nova Scotia.
The obligations of the Company under the Amended 2019 Credit Agreement are secured by a first priority lien on substantially all of the personal property and assets of the Company and has a four-year term, maturing on June 13, 2023.
Second Amended 2019 Credit Facility
On October 26, 2021, the Company entered into a Second Amended and Restated Senior Secured Credit Agreement (the “Second Amended 2019 Credit Agreement”) with the Lenders and Toronto-Dominion Bank (collectively the “New Lenders”) to, among other things, increase the existing revolving credit facility from $180 million to $240 million. The Amended Credit Agreement provides the Company with access to an aggregate of $240 million in committed funds. Under the Amended Credit Agreement, the Company has agreed to comply with the following financial covenants at all times, which are to be calculated on a rolling four quarter basis: (i) maximum Total Funded Debt to Adjusted EBITDA Ratio of 4.50:1.00 until March 31, 2023 and 4.00:1.00 thereafter; and (ii) minimum Interest Coverage Ratio of 3.00:1.00. The Amended Credit Agreement also provides for two additional interest rate tiers if the Company exceeds a 3.50x Total Funded Debt to Adjusted EBITDA Ratio.
As of December 31, 2021, the Company held contracts in the amount of $25.2 million with BMO to trade U.S. dollars in exchange for Canadian dollars under an uncommitted treasury risk management facility which assists the Company with hedging Canadian dollar exposures.
Cash Flow from Operating Activities
Year ended December 31, 2021
Net cash inflows from operating activities were $29.6 million, a decrease of 18% when compared to the prior year. Net income, after adjusting for non-cash charges, during Fiscal 2021 was $31.6 million, a decrease of 12% when compared to the prior year. Net income included non-cash charges and recoveries of $28.3 million such as depreciation, amortization, impairment of indefinite life intangible asset, loss on write-off of property and equipment, write-down on disposal of Ting Mobile customer assets and contract costs, excess tax benefits on stock-based compensation, stock-based compensation, the provision for unrealized losses on currency forward contracts and a recovery for deferred tax. This generation of cash from net income was reduced by a working capital change of $2.0 million. We generated $11.1 million from movements in accounts receivable, accounts payable, accrued liabilities, and customer deposits. These positive contributions were offset by cash use of $13.1 million from deferred revenue, prepaid expenses and deposits, deferred costs of fulfillment, income taxes recoverable, contract asset, inventory, and accreditation fees payable.
Year ended December 31, 2020
Net cash inflows from operating activities were $36.1 million, a decrease of 11% when compared to the prior year. Net income, after adjusting for non-cash charges, during Fiscal 2020 was $36.0 million, a decrease of 6% when compared to the prior year. Net income included non-cash charges and recoveries of $30.2 million such as depreciation, amortization, impairment of indefinite life intangible asset, loss on write-off of property and equipment, write-down on disposal of Ting Mobile customer assets and contract costs, excess tax benefits on stock-based compensation, stock-based compensation, the provision for unrealized losses on currency forward contracts and a recovery for deferred tax. This generation of cash from net income was further increased by a working capital change of $0.1 million. We generated $6.7 million from movements in inventory, income taxes recoverable, accrued liabilities, customer deposits and deferred revenue. These positive contributions were offset by cash use of $6.6 million to invest in accounts receivable, prepaid expenses and deposits, deferred costs of fulfillment, accounts payable, and accreditation fees.
Year ended December 31, 2019
Net cash inflows from operating activities were $40.4 million, an increase of 9% when compared to the prior year. Net income, after adjusting for non-cash charges, during Fiscal 2019 was $38.4 million, an increase of 8% when compared to the prior year. Net income included non-cash charges and recoveries of $23.0 million such as depreciation, amortization, impairment of indefinite life intangible asset, excess tax benefits on stock-based compensation, stock-based compensation, the provision for unrealized losses on currency forward contracts and a recovery for deferred tax. This generation of cash from net income was further increased by a working capital change of $2.0 million. We generated $13.3 million from movements in inventory, prepaid registration costs, prepaid expenses and deposits, accrued liabilities and customer deposits. These positive contributions were offset by cash use of $11.3 million to invest in accounts receivable, deferred revenue, income taxes recoverable, accounts payable, and accreditation fees.
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Cash Flow from Financing Activities
Year ended December 31, 2021
Net cash inflows from financing activities during Fiscal 2021 totaled $73.1 million as compared to cash inflows of $5.1 million during Fiscal 2020. Net cash inflows of $69 million resulting from draws on the Second Amended 2019 Credit Facility and $4.8 million from proceeds received on the exercise of stock options. These cash inflows were partially offset by $0.4 million outflow from the net impact of exercise of stock options and $0.3 million of loan costs.
Year ended December 31, 2020
Net cash inflows from financing activities during Fiscal 2020 totaled $5.1 million as compared to cash inflows of $43.5 million during Fiscal 2019. Net cash inflows of $8.0 million resulting from draws on the Second Amended 2019 Credit Facility and $1.0 million from proceeds received on the exercise of stock options. These cash inflows were partially offset by $3.3 million outflow for stock repurchases, $0.6 million outflow from the net impact of exercise of stock options and $0.1 million of loan costs.
Year ended December 31, 2019
Net cash inflows from financing activities during Fiscal 2019 totaled $43.5 million as compared to cash outflows of $12.9 million during Fiscal 2018. Net cash inflows of $57.4 million resulting from draws on the Second Amended 2019 Credit Facility to fund the FTTH capital expenditures, the acquisition of Ascio and general working capital requirements. These cash inflows were partially offset by outflows of $8.1 million of principal repayments relating to our 2019 Credit Amended Credit Facility, $5.0 million in stock repurchases, $0.6 million of loan costs and $0.2 million outflow from the net impact of exercise of stock options.
Cash Flow from Investing Activities
Year ended December 31, 2021
Investing activities during the Fiscal 2021 used net cash of $102.0 million as compared to using $53.3 million during Fiscal 2020. Cash outflows of $73.9 million related to the investment in property, equipment and intangible assets, primarily to support the continued expansion of our fiber footprint. The Company continues to invest in our existing Ting Towns of Centennial, Colorado, Charlottesville, Virginia, Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, Wake Forest, North Carolina, Holly Springs, North Carolina, Sandpoint, Idaho, Rolesville, North Carolina and Culver City, California as we seek to extend both our current network and expand to new markets. We expect our capital expenditures on building and expanding our fiber network to continue to increase during Fiscal 2022. In addition to investment in property, equipment and intangible assets, the current period used $24 million in connection with the acquisition of Simply Bits, used $2.5 million in connection with the acquisition of Uniregistry and used $2.0 million for an investment in an unrelated entity. These cash outflows were partially offset by $0.5 million from proceeds on disposal of property and equipment.
Year ended December 31, 2020
Investing activities during the Fiscal 2020 used net cash of $53.3 million as compared to using $76.1 million during Fiscal 2019. Cash outflows of $44.5 million related to the investment in property, equipment and intangible assets, primarily to support the continued expansion of our fiber footprint. In addition, the Company used $8.8 million in connection with the acquisition of Cedar. The Company continues to invest in our existing Ting Towns of Centennial, Colorado, Charlottesville, Virginia, Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, Wake Forest, North Carolina, Holly Springs, North Carolina, and Sandpoint, Idaho as well ramping construction in Roaring Fork, Colorado, Rolesville, North Carolina, and Culver City, California, as we seek to extend both our current network and expand to new towns. We expect our capital expenditures on building and expanding our fiber network to continue to increase significantly during Fiscal 2021.
Year ended December 31, 2019
Investing activities during the Fiscal 2019 used net cash of $76.1 million as compared to using $29.7 million during Fiscal 2018. Cash outflows of $28.5 million related to the acquisition of Ascio Technologies, Inc., $3.6 million related to the acquisition of intangible assets, of which $3.5 million related to the acquisition of mobile subscribers of the FreedomPop and Unreal MVNO brands, and $44.1 million of cash outflows was invested in property and equipment, primarily to support the continued expansion of our fiber footprint. The Company continues to invest in our existing Ting Towns of Charlottesville, Virginia, Holly Springs, North Carolina and Westminster, Maryland as well ramping construction in Sandpoint, Idaho, Centennial, Colorado, and Fuquay Varina, North Carolina, as we seek to extend both our current network and expand to new towns. We expect our capital expenditures on building and expanding our fiber network to continue to increase significantly during Fiscal 2019.
We may need additional funds or seek other financing arrangements to facilitate more rapid expansion, develop new or enhance existing products or services, respond to competitive pressures or acquire or invest in complementary businesses, technologies, services or products. We may also evaluate potential acquisitions of other businesses, products and technologies. We currently have no commitments or agreements regarding the acquisition of other businesses. If additional financing is required, we may need additional equity or debt financing and any additional financing may be dilutive to existing investors. We may not be able to raise funds on acceptable terms, or at all.
Off Balance Sheet Arrangements
We did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as of December 31, 2021.
Material Cash Requirements
The Company’s material cash requirements include the following contractual and other obligations.
Debt
As of December 31, 2021, the Company’s Second Amended 2019 Credit Facility had an outstanding balance of $191.4 million. There are no scheduled principal repayments within 12 months. As of December 31, 2021, the Company has entered into floating-to-fixed interest rate swap instruments with a notional value of $70 million. Future interest payments associated with the Second Amended 2019 Credit Facility are estimated to total $10.4 million, with $6.9 million payable within 12 months using current interest rates, net of our interest rate swaps. See Note 8 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for information regarding the terms of the Second Amended Credit Facility.
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Leases
The Company has lease arrangements for certain Internet infrastructure, data center space and corporate facilities. As of December 31, 2021, the Company had fixed lease payment obligations of $16.7 million, with $3.5 million payable within 12 months.
Other Expenditures
We have entered into purchase obligations of $12.2 million to be settled in fiscal 2022, which are related to the Company's ongoing operations. Other than operating expenses, cash requirements for fiscal 2022 are expected to consist primarily of fiber network capital expenditures to expand our footprint in new and existing Ting towns. Total fiber network capital expenditures for fiscal 2022 are expected to double from 2021 to approximately $130 million, of which $21.5 million are subject to purchase obligations. Other than the $21.5 million purchase obligations, the Company’s remaining planned capital expenditures are discretionary in nature. In order to fund the discretionary portion of capital expenditures, the Company will seek alternative sources of financing, which could include but are not limited to additional financing arrangements beyond the Company’s current revolving credit facility as well as private or public share offerings.