Bay Street News

i3 Verticals Reports First Quarter 2019 Financial Results

Affirms Previously Issued Guidance for Fiscal 2019

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Feb. 13, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — i3 Verticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: IIIV) (“i3 Verticals” or the “Company”) today reported its financial results for the fiscal first quarter ended December 31, 2018.

Highlights for the fiscal first quarter of 2019 vs. 2018

  1. Represents a non-GAAP financial measure. For additional information (including reconciliation information), see the attached schedules to this release.
  2. Integrated payments represents payment transactions that are generated in situations where payment technology is embedded within the Company’s own proprietary software, a client’s software or critical business process.

Greg Daily, Chairman and CEO of i3 Verticals, commented, “We are pleased with our first quarter performance. We continue to deliver a healthy mix of revenues from acquisitions and organic growth, following the plan we laid out at the time of our IPO. Rick Stanford, our President, remains focused on expanding our revenue base through acquisitions, and our pipeline is very active. We currently have three signed term sheets, two within the Public Sector vertical and another technology acquisition that will fold into the Public Sector. We are optimistic about additional opportunities for complementary acquisitions in that market.

“During the quarter, we also focused on integrating the three acquisitions we previously announced. We are excited about the products and services those acquisitions bring to our current and future customers. Our proprietary technology offerings are expanding, and we are encouraged about the opportunities to integrate our payment solutions into these products,” concluded Daily.

2019 Outlook
The Company announced that it is maintaining its previously issued guidance as follows:

(in thousands, except per share amounts) Outlook Range
  Fiscal year ending September 30, 2019
Adjusted net revenue(1) (non-GAAP) $ 122,000 $ 128,000
Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) $ 35,000 $ 36,000
Adjusted diluted earnings per share(2) (non-GAAP) $ 0.84 $ 0.87
           

_______________________

  1. Under GAAP, companies must adjust, as necessary, beginning balances of acquired deferred revenue to fair value as part of acquisition accounting as defined by GAAP. For the 2019 outlook, the Company has removed the effect of these adjustments to acquisition date fair value from acquisitions that have closed as of the earnings release date.
  2. Assumes an effective pro forma tax rate of 25.0% (non-GAAP).

With respect to the “2019 Outlook” above, reconciliation of adjusted net revenue, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted diluted earnings per share guidance to the closest corresponding GAAP measure on a forward-looking basis is not available without unreasonable efforts. This inability results from the inherent difficulty in forecasting generally and quantifying certain projected amounts that are necessary for such reconciliations. In particular, sufficient information is not available to calculate certain adjustments required for such reconciliations, including changes in the fair value of contingent consideration, income tax expense of i3 Verticals, Inc. and equity-based compensation expense. The Company expects these adjustments may have a potentially significant impact on future GAAP financial results.

Conference Call
The Company will host a conference call on Thursday, February 14, 2019, at 8:00 a.m. ET, to discuss financial results and operations. To listen to the call live via telephone, participants should dial (323) 794‑2588 approximately 10 minutes prior to the start of the call.  A telephonic replay will be available from 11:00 a.m. ET on February 14, 2019, through February 21, 2019, by dialing (719) 457‑0820 and entering Confirmation Code 3699962. 

To listen to the call live via webcast, participants should visit the “Investors” section of the Company’s website, www.i3verticals.com, and go to the “Events & Presentations” page approximately 10 minutes prior to the start of the call. The online replay will be available on this page of the Company’s website beginning shortly after the conclusion of the call and will remain available for 30 days.

Non-GAAP Measures
This press release contains information prepared in conformity with GAAP as well as non-GAAP information. It is management’s intent to provide non-GAAP financial information to enhance understanding of the Company’s consolidated financial information as prepared in accordance with GAAP. This non-GAAP information should be considered by the reader in addition to, but not instead of, the financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. Each non-GAAP financial measure and the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure are presented so as not to imply that more emphasis should be placed on the non-GAAP measure. The non-GAAP financial information presented may be determined or calculated differently by other companies.

Additional information about non-GAAP financial measures, including, but not limited to, adjusted net revenue, pro forma adjusted net income, adjusted EBITDA and pro forma adjusted diluted EPS, and a reconciliation of those measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures is included on pages 8 through 10 in the financial schedules of this release.

About i3 Verticals
Helping drive the convergence of software and payments, i3 Verticals delivers seamlessly integrated payment and software solutions to small- and medium-sized businesses and other organizations in strategic vertical markets, such as education, non-profit, the public sector, property management, and healthcare and to the business-to-business payments market. With a broad suite of payment and software solutions that address the specific needs of its clients in each strategic vertical market, i3 Verticals processed approximately $11.7 billion in total payment volume for the 12 months ended December 31, 2018.

Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact or relating to present facts or current conditions included in this release are forward-looking statements, including any statements regarding guidance and statements of a general economic or industry specific nature. Forward-looking statements give the Company’s current expectations and projections relating to its financial condition, results of operations, guidance, plans, objectives, future performance and business. You can identify forward-looking statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements may include words such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “plan,” “intend,” “believe,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “could have,” “exceed,” “significantly,” “likely” and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of the timing or nature of future operating or financial performance or other events.

The forward-looking statements contained in this release are based on assumptions that we have made in light of the Company’s industry experience and its perceptions of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors we believe are appropriate under the circumstances. As you review and consider information presented herein, you should understand that these statements are not guarantees of future performance or results. They depend upon future events and are subject to risks, uncertainties (many of which are beyond the Company’s control) and assumptions. Although we believe that these forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, you should be aware that many factors could affect the Company’s actual future performance or results and cause them to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements. Certain of these factors and other risks are discussed in the Company’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and include, but are not limited to: (i) the ability to generate revenues sufficient to maintain profitability and positive cash flow; (ii) competition in the Company’s industry and the ability to compete effectively; (iii) the dependence on non-exclusive distribution partners to market the Company’s products and services; (iv) the ability to keep pace with rapid developments and changes in the Company’s industry and provide new products and services; (v) liability and reputation damage from unauthorized disclosure, destruction or modification of data or disruption of the Company’s services; (vi) technical, operational and regulatory risks related to the Company’s information technology systems and third-party providers’ systems; (vii) reliance on third parties for significant services; (viii) exposure to economic conditions and political risks affecting consumer and commercial spending, including the use of credit cards; (ix) the ability to increase the Company’s existing vertical markets, expand into new vertical markets and execute the Company’s growth strategy; (x) the ability to successfully complete acquisitions and effectively integrate those acquisitions into the Company’s services; (xi) degradation of the quality of the Company’s products, services and support; (xii) the ability to retain clients, many of which are small- and medium-sized businesses, which can be difficult and costly to retain; (xiii) the Company’s ability to successfully manage its intellectual property; (xiv) the ability to attract, recruit, retain and develop key personnel and qualified employees; (xv) risks related to laws, regulations and industry standards; (xvi) the Company’s indebtedness and potential increases in its indebtedness; (xvii) operating and financial restrictions imposed by the Company’s senior secured credit facility; and (xviii) the risk factors included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2018. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of these assumptions prove incorrect, the Company’s actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements.

Any forward-looking statement made by us in this release speaks only as of the date of this release. Factors or events that could cause the Company’s actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

Contacts:  
Clay Whitson Scott Meriwether
Chief Financial Officer Senior Vice President – Finance
(615) 988-9890 (615) 942-6175
cwhitson@i3verticals.com smeriwether@i3verticals.com
   

i3 Verticals, Inc. Consolidated Statements of Operations
(Unaudited)
($ in thousands, except share and per share amounts)

  Three months ended December 31,
  2018   2017   % Change
           
Revenue $ 84,868     $ 77,221     10 %
           
Operating expenses          
Interchange and network fees 55,829     52,238     7 %
Other costs of services 9,790     9,553     2 %
Selling general and administrative 12,516     8,845     42 %
Depreciation and amortization 3,552     2,856     24 %
Change in fair value of contingent consideration (349 )   382     (191 )%
Total operating expenses 81,338     73,874     10 %
           
Income from operations 3,530     3,347     5 %
           
Other expenses          
Interest expense, net 914     2,387     (62 )%
Change in fair value of warrant liability     1,681     n/m  
Total other expenses 914     4,068     (78 )%
           
Income (loss) before income taxes 2,616     (721 )   n/m  
           
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes 265     (389 )   (168 )%
           
Net income (loss) 2,351     (332 )   n/m  
           
Net income attributable to non-controlling interest 2,173         n/m  
Net income (loss) attributable to i3 Verticals, Inc. $ 178     $ (332 )   (154 )%
           
Net income per share available to Class A common stock(1):          
Basic $ 0.02          
Diluted $ 0.02          
Weighted average shares of Class A common stock outstanding(1):          
Basic 8,812,630          
Diluted 9,903,168          
             

__________________________

  1. Basic and diluted net income per Class A common stock are presented only for the period after the Company’s Reorganization Transactions.

i3 Verticals, Inc. Financial Highlights
(Unaudited)
($ in thousands, except per share amounts)

  Three months ended December 31,
  2018   2017   % Change 
           
Net revenue (non-GAAP) $ 29,570   $ 24,983   18 %
Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) 8,578   6,849   25 %
Pro forma adjusted diluted earnings per share (non-GAAP) $ 0.20        
             

i3 Verticals, Inc. Supplemental Volume Information
(Unaudited)
($ in thousands)

  Three months ended December 31,
  2018   2017
       
Payment volume(1) $ 2,943,849   $ 2,827,929
           

__________________________

  1. Payment volume is the net dollar value of both 1) Visa, Mastercard and other payment network transactions processed by the Company’s clients and settled to clients by us and 2) ACH transactions processed by the Company’s clients and settled to clients by the Company.

i3 Verticals, Inc. Segment Summary
(Unaudited)
($ in thousands)

  As of and for the Three Months Ended December 31, 2018
  Merchant Services   Proprietary Software and Payments   Other   Total
Revenue $ 77,702     $ 7,166     $     $ 84,868  
               
Operating expenses              
Interchange and network fees 54,364     1,465         55,829  
Other costs of services 9,396     394         9,790  
Selling general and administrative 6,091     2,987     3,438     12,516  
Depreciation and amortization 2,782     661     109     3,552  
Change in fair value of contingent consideration (319 )   (30 )       (349 )
Income (loss) from operations $ 5,388     $ 1,689     $ (3,547 )   $ 3,530  
               
Payment volume $ 2,804,139     $ 139,710     $     $ 2,943,849  
                               

  As of and for the Three Months Ended December 31, 2017
  Merchant Services   Proprietary Software and Payments   Other   Total
Revenue $ 72,679     $ 4,545   $ (3 )   $ 77,221
               
Operating expenses              
Interchange and network fees 51,047     1,192   (1 )   52,238
Other costs of services 9,143     410       9,553
Selling general and administrative 4,886     1,695   2,264     8,845
Depreciation and amortization 2,310     517   29     2,856
Change in fair value of contingent consideration (125 )   507       382
Income (loss) from operations $ 5,418     $ 224   $ (2,295 )   $ 3,347
               
Payment volume $ 2,705,780     $ 122,149   $     $ 2,827,929
                           

i3 Verticals, Inc. Consolidated Balance Sheets
($ in thousands, except share and per share amounts)

  December 31,   September 30,
  2018   2018
  (unaudited)    
Assets      
Current assets      
Cash and cash equivalents $ 887   $ 572
Accounts receivable, net 10,374   12,500
Settlement assets 930   863
Prepaid expenses and other current assets 3,278   2,630
Total current assets 15,469   16,565
       
Property and equipment, net 3,111   2,958
Restricted cash 666   665
Capitalized software, net 6,482   3,372
Goodwill 98,486   83,954
Intangible assets, net 71,224   66,023
Other assets 1,754   1,605
Total assets $ 197,192   $ 175,142
       
Liabilities and equity      
Liabilities      
Current liabilities      
Accounts payable 3,388   4,114
Current portion of long-term debt 5,000   5,000
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities 15,371   11,538
Settlement obligations 930   863
Deferred revenue 4,614   4,927
Total current liabilities 29,303   26,442
       
Long-term debt, less current portion and debt issuance costs, net 49,009   31,776
Other long-term liabilities 4,314   4,726
Total liabilities 82,626   62,944
       
Commitments and contingencies      
Stockholders’ equity      
Preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share, 10,000,000 shares authorized; 0 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2018 and September 30, 2018  
Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, 150,000,000 shares authorized; 9,108,032 and 9,112,042 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2018 and September 30, 2018, respectively 1   1
Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, 40,000,000 shares authorized; 17,213,806 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2018 and September 30, 2018 2   2
Additional paid-in-capital 39,513   38,562
Accumulated earnings 914   736
Total Stockholders’ equity 40,430   39,301
Non-controlling interest 74,136   72,897
Total equity 114,566   112,198
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $ 197,192   $ 175,142
           

i3 Verticals, Inc. Consolidated Cash Flow Data
(Unaudited)
($ in thousands)

  Three months ended December 31,
  2018   2017
       
Net cash provided by operating activities $ 6,072     $ 5,868  
Net cash used in investing activities $ (22,026 )   $ (21,990 )
Net cash provided by financing activities $ 16,270     $ 16,603  
               

Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The Company believes that non-GAAP financial measures are important to enable investors to understand and evaluate its ongoing operating results. Accordingly, i3 Verticals includes non-GAAP financial measures when reporting its financial results to shareholders and potential investors in order to provide them with an additional tool to evaluate the Company’s ongoing business operations. i3 Verticals believes that the non-GAAP financial measures are representative of comparative financial performance that reflects the economic substance of i3 Verticals’ current and ongoing business operations.

Although non-GAAP financial measures are often used to measure the Company’s operating results and assess its financial performance, they are not necessarily comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies due to potential inconsistencies in the method of calculation. i3 Verticals believes that its provision of non-GAAP financial measures provides investors with important key financial performance indicators that are utilized by management to assess the Company’s operating results, evaluate the business and make operational decisions on a prospective, going-forward basis. Hence, management provides disclosure of non-GAAP financial measures to give shareholders and potential investors an opportunity to see i3 Verticals as viewed by management, to assess i3 Verticals with some of the same tools that management utilizes internally and to be able to compare such information with prior periods. i3 Verticals believes that inclusion of non-GAAP financial measures provides investors with additional information to help them better understand its financial statements just as management utilizes these non-GAAP financial measures to better understand the business, manage budgets and allocate resources.

i3 Verticals, Inc. Reconciliation of GAAP Net Income to Non-GAAP Pro Forma Adjusted Net Income and Non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA
(Unaudited)
($ in thousands)

  Three months ended December 31,
  2018   2017
Net income (loss) attributable to i3 Verticals, Inc. $ 178     $ (332 )
Net income attributable to non-controlling interest 2,173      
Non-GAAP Adjustments:      
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes 265     (389 )
Non-cash change in fair value of contingent consideration(1) (349 )   382  
Non-cash change in fair value of warrant liability(2)     1,681  
Equity-based compensation(3) 951      
Acquisition revenue adjustments(4) 531      
Acquisition-related expenses(5) 360     228  
Acquisition intangible amortization(6) 2,905     2,260  
Non-cash interest expense(7) 233     221  
Other taxes(8) 3     36  
Non-GAAP pro forma adjusted income before taxes 7,250     4,087  
Pro forma taxes at effective tax rate(9) (1,812 )   (1,022 )
Pro forma adjusted net income(10) $ 5,438     $ 3,065  
Cash interest expense, net(11) 681     2,166  
Pro forma taxes at effective tax rate(9) 1,812     1,022  
Depreciation and internally developed software amortization(12) 647     596  
Adjusted EBITDA $ 8,578     $ 6,849  
               

________

  1. Non-cash change in fair value of contingent consideration reflects the changes in management’s estimates of future cash consideration to be paid in connection with prior acquisitions from the amount estimated as of the later of the most recent balance sheet date forming the beginning of the income statement period or the original estimates made at the closing of the applicable acquisition.
  2. Non-cash change in warrant liability reflects the fair value change in certain warrants for the Company’s common units associated with the Company’s mezzanine notes in the aggregate principal amount of $10.5 million. These warrants are accounted for as liabilities on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets and were repaid with proceeds from its IPO.
  3. Equity-based compensation expense consisted of $951 related to stock options issued under the Company’s 2018 Equity Incentive Plan during the three months ended December 31, 2018.
  4. Under GAAP, companies must adjust, as necessary, beginning balances of acquired deferred revenue to fair value as part of acquisition accounting as defined by GAAP. Acquisition revenue adjustments remove the effect of these adjustments to acquisition date fair value from acquisitions that have closed as of the date of this earnings release.
  5. Acquisition-related expenses are the professional service and related costs directly related to the Company’s acquisitions and are not part of its core performance.
  6. Acquisition intangible amortization reflects amortization of intangible assets and software acquired through business combinations, acquired customer portfolios, acquired referral agreements and related asset acquisitions.
  7. Non-cash interest expense reflects amortization of deferred financing costs.
  8. Other taxes consist of franchise taxes, commercial activity taxes and other non-income based taxes. Taxes related to salaries or employment are not included. 
  9. Pro forma corporate income tax expense is based on Non-GAAP adjusted income before taxes and is calculated using a tax rate of 25.0% for both 2018 and 2017, based on blended federal and state tax rates, considering the Tax Reform Act for 2018.
  10. Pro forma adjusted net income assumes that the effect of the Reorganization Transactions and the Company’s IPO occurred prior to the year ended September 30, 2018, and that all net income during that period was available to the Class A common shareholders. Further, pro forma adjusted diluted earnings per share assumes that all Common Units in i3 Verticals, LLC and the associated non-voting Class B common stock were exchanged for Class A common stock at the beginning of the period on a one for one basis.
  11. Cash interest expense, net represents all interest expense recorded on the Company’s statement of operations other than non-cash interest expense, which represents amortization of deferred financing costs.
  12. Depreciation and internally developed software amortization reflects depreciation on the Company’s property, plant and equipment, net, and amortization expense on its internally developed capitalized software.

i3 Verticals, Inc. GAAP Diluted EPS and Non-GAAP Pro Forma Adjusted Diluted EPS
(Unaudited)
($ in ones)

  Three months ended December 31, 2018
Diluted net income available to Class A common stock per share $ 0.02
Pro forma adjusted diluted earnings per share (non-GAAP)(1) $ 0.20
Pro forma weighted average shares of adjusted diluted Class A common stock outstanding(2) 27,116,974
   

__________

  1. Pro forma adjusted diluted earnings per share is calculated using pro forma adjusted net income and the pro forma weighted average shares of adjusted diluted Class A common stock outstanding.
  2. Pro forma weighted average shares of adjusted diluted Class A common stock outstanding include 17,213,806 outstanding shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exchange of Common Units in i3 Verticals, LLC and 1,090,538 shares of unvested Class A common stock and options for the three months ended December 31, 2018.

i3 Verticals, Inc. Reconciliation of GAAP Revenue to Non-GAAP Adjusted Net Revenue
(Unaudited)
($ in thousands)

  Three months ended December 31,
  2018   2017
Revenue $ 84,868     $ 77,221  
Acquisition revenue adjustments(1) 531      
Interchange and network fees (55,829 )   (52,238 )
Adjusted Net Revenue $ 29,570     $ 24,983  
               

__________

  1. Under GAAP, companies must adjust, as necessary, beginning balances of acquired deferred revenue to fair value as part of acquisition accounting as defined by GAAP. Acquisition revenue adjustments remove the effect of these adjustments to acquisition date fair value from acquisitions that have closed as of the date of this earnings release.