Achieves First Profitable Quarter in Company’s Public History
LOUISVILLE, Ky.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Lightyear Network Solutions, Inc. (OTCBB: LYNS), a provider of telecommunication services to business and residential customers throughout North America, today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2010.
Results for the fourth quarter and full year reflect Lightyear’s acquisition of SouthEast Telephone, which was completed on October 1, 2010.
“2010 was a monumental year for Lightyear in many respects,” said J. Sherman Henderson III, Chief Executive Officer of Lightyear. “Since beginning to operate as a public company in February 2010, we have begun to execute our strategy of expanding our business and services through acquisitions as well as through organic growth. Of particular significance was our acquisition in October 2010 of SouthEast Telephone, which nearly doubled our customer base, increased our revenues, and became immediately accretive to EBITDA.”
“The company reached profitability for the first time in our public history during the fourth quarter of 2010, reflecting our ability to successfully consolidate the two companies, its people, services and technology, while benefiting from synergies and economies of scale,” Mr. Henderson added. “We expect to continue to benefit from these synergies as we complete the consolidation of our operations and continue to focus on growing our individual product lines.”
Highlights for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 include:
• First profitable quarter since beginning to operate as a public company
• Net income of $5.0 million, inclusive of a non-recurring gain and recognition of a tax benefit resulting from the SouthEast Telephone transaction, compared with a net loss of $1.8 million for the same period in 2009
• Net income of $80,000 from continuing operations
• Revenues of $11.6 million (pre-acquisition) for the quarter compared with $11.3 million for the same period in 2009
• Reduced operating costs (pre-acquisition) by 17 percent as compared with the same period in 2009
• Completed acquisition of SouthEast Telephone, which nearly doubled our customer base to more than 60,000
• Expanded of our board of directors with seasoned and experienced telecom and sales veterans
“The fourth quarter was a breakout quarter during which time we had positive EBITDA and positive net income,” said Stephen Lochmueller, President of Lightyear. “While continuing to focus on our core business, we made significant strides in our growth strategy with the integration of SouthEast Telephone. We believe our growth and profitability will increase in 2011 as we continue to improve our operations and seek new opportunities.”
Highlights for the year ended December 31, 2010 include:
• Raised $5.4 million in new capital
• Net income of $1.6 million, inclusive of a non-recurring gain and recognition of a tax benefit resulting from the SouthEast Telephone transaction, compared with a net loss of $5.8 million in 2009
• Net income attributable to common stockholders was $502,000, or $0.03 per diluted share, compared with a loss of $0.58 per share in 2009
• Full-year revenue of $52.3 million compared with $55.4 million in 2009; this decrease was the result of the decision by management to eliminate services that no longer fit with strategic network plans
• Operating costs decreased to $20.1 million compared with $22.2 million in 2009
• Signed a large number of major accounts in diverse industries, including casino gaming, global plastics manufacturing, supermarket chains and call centers
“We accomplished several major goals in 2010 relating to our growth and acquisition strategy,” Mr. Lochmueller added. “We completed our first acquisition and made significant progress on our integration. We stabilized revenue, and we achieved profitability. We are pleased with our overall performance and accomplishments in 2010, and we look forward to continued growth this year.”
About Lightyear Network Solutions, Inc.
Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, Lightyear Network Solutions provides telecommunication services to large, medium and small businesses and to residential consumers throughout North America. Lightyear’s product offerings include local PRI and digital T1, enhanced Internet services, MPLS, Ethernet, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), local and long distance service, and conferencing. Lightyear also offers wireless services to customers in the U.S. through wholesale contracts with multiple wireless providers. Lightyear built its own VoIP network in 2004 to enhance its product offerings and has partnered with some of the most prominent names in telecom including: Sprint, Verizon, AT&T, Level 3, PAETEC, CenturyLink, XO Communications, Intelliverse, BroadSoft, Cisco and ADTRAN. Lightyear Network Solutions is headquartered in Louisville, Ky. Additional information can be found at: www.lightyear.net.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” for purposes of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s “safe harbor” provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Rule 3b-6 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause Lightyear’s actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated. These forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, statements about our marketing and acquisition opportunities, business strategies, competition, expected activities and expenditures as we pursue our business plan. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in any forward-looking statements are reasonable, the risks and uncertainties which could cause our actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated includes changes in market conditions, our ability to integrate acquired operations, the ability to obtain additional financing on satisfactory terms, customer acceptance of products, regulatory issues, competitive factors, or other business circumstances and risk factors described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Lightyear undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this press release. Click here for a pdf file of this Press Release, which includes financial information.
