AudioCodes Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2021 Results and Declares Semi-Annual Dividend of 18 cents per share

LOD, Israel, Feb. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --

Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2021 Highlights

• Quarterly revenues increased by 12.7% year-over-year to $66.1 million; full 2021 year revenues increased by 12.7% to $248.9 million.
• Quarterly service revenues increased by 16.2% year-over-year to $24.4 million; full 2021 year service revenues increased by 24.4% to $93.8 million.
• GAAP results:
  - Quarterly GAAP gross margin was 67.2%;
  - Quarterly GAAP operating margin was 14.0%;
  - Quarterly GAAP net income was $7.3 million, or $0.22 per diluted share; and
  - Full 2021 year GAAP net income was $33.8 million, or $1.00 per diluted share.
• Non-GAAP results:
  - Quarterly Non-GAAP gross margin was 67.6%;
  - Quarterly Non-GAAP operating margin was 20.4%;
  - Quarterly Non-GAAP net income was $13.4 million, or $0.39 per diluted share; and
  - Full 2021 year Non-GAAP net income was $51.8 million, or $1.50 per diluted share.
• Net cash provided by operating activities was $4.3 million for the quarter and $47.3 million for the full year.
• AudioCodes repurchased 314,227 of its ordinary shares during the quarter at an aggregate cost of $10.7 million.

Details

AudioCodes (NASDAQ: AUDC), a leading vendor of advanced communications software, products and productivity solutions for the digital workplace, today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year periods ended December 31, 2021.

Revenues for the fourth quarter of 2021 were $66.1 million compared to $63.4 million for the third quarter of 2021 and $58.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2020. Revenues were $248.9 million in 2021 compared to $220.8 million in 2020.

Net income was $7.3 million, or $0.22 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2021 compared to $8.4 million, or $0.24 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2020. Net income was $33.8 million, or $1.00 per diluted share, in 2021 compared to $27.2 million, or $0.83 per diluted share, in 2020.

On a Non-GAAP basis, net income was $13.4 million, or $0.39 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2021 compared to $15.2 million, or $0.44 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2020. Non-GAAP net income was $51.8 million, or $1.50 per diluted share, in 2021 compared to $46.7 million, or $1.41 per diluted share, in 2020.

Non-GAAP net income excludes: (i) share-based compensation expenses; (ii) amortization expenses related to intangible assets; (iii) expenses related to deferred payments in connection with the acquisition of Callverso Ltd; (iv) other income related to a payment made by the landlord to AudioCodes Inc., a subsidiary of the Company, in connection with the termination of a lease agreement for its offices in New Jersey; (v) financial expenses related to exchange rate differences in connection with revaluation of assets and liabilities in non-dollar denominated currencies; and (vi) non-cash deferred tax expenses. A reconciliation of net income on a GAAP basis to a non-GAAP basis is provided in the tables that accompany the condensed consolidated financial statements contained in this press release.

Net cash provided by operating activities was $4.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2021 and $47.3 million for 2021. Net cash provided by operating activities in both periods was impacted by the $12.2 million payment made in December 2021 which was the third and last installment payment pursuant to the royalty buyout agreement.

Cash and cash equivalents, long and short-term bank deposits and long and short-term marketable securities were $174.8 million as of December 31, 2021 compared to $186.3 million as of December 31, 2020. The decrease in cash and cash equivalents, long and short-term bank deposits and long and short-term marketable securities was the result of the use of cash for the continued repurchasing of the Company's ordinary shares pursuant to its share repurchase program and the payment of a cash dividends during 2021, offset, in part, by cash provided by operating activities.

"We are pleased to report strong financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2021 which demonstrate exceptional performance for the Company. With year over year growth in annual revenues accelerating from 10.2% in 2020 to 12.7% in 2021, ongoing improved gross margin, stronger competitive positioning, and expansion of our core service offerings, 2021 sets the stage for success in coming years" said Shabtai Adlersberg, President and Chief Executive Officer of AudioCodes.

"We executed successfully on our long term strategic plan while pivoting the business towards greater contribution from recurring revenues and Cloud Communications," Mr. Adlersberg continued. "At the heart of our success was our offering and sales of solutions for Microsoft UC, which grew about 20% year over year. Additionally, our contact center business in the quarter grew 12% YoY and more than 15% for the full year. Enterprise contributed nearly 85% of our revenue during the year, growing above 15% in 2021. Our AudioCodes Live managed service performance exceeded our internal expectations, with ARR exiting this year well above our target of $15 million, and more than doubling from a year ago. Our services revenue grew 24.4% year-on-year and accounted for 37.7% of revenues, up from 34.2% a year ago.  Additionally, our pipeline continues to expand across core areas of our business, supported by long-term trends of migration of voice infrastructure to the cloud, hybrid work, and enhanced customer engagement and experience (CX) solutions powered by AI."

 "While still a small percentage of our revenues, Voice.ai bookings and revenues grew over 100% during the year, eclipsing our projection of $5 million booking for the year. We now project this business should nearly double again in 2022. In the 4th quarter of 2021, we announced the acquisition of Callverso which specializes in development and deployment of state-of-the-art virtual agent solutions for contact center applications. This acquisition further strengthens AudioCodes' ability to help contact centers improve their customer experience while reducing operational costs," concluded Mr. Adlersberg.

Acquisition of Callverso Ltd.

In November 2021, the Company acquired Callverso, a leading Israeli developer and provider of conversational AI solutions for contact centers. This acquisition is intended to add Callverso's Conversational AI capabilities to AudioCodes portfolio of innovative contact center solutions and Live CX services that already cover high quality voice connectivity, work from home solutions, contextual click-to-call and voice channel integration with chatbots. The Company acquired Callverso for cash plus an earn-out arrangement based on attaining certain sales targets over the next three years.

Share Buy Back Program

During the quarter ended December 31, 2021, the Company acquired 314,227 of its ordinary shares under its share repurchase program for a total consideration of $10.7 million.

In December 2021, the Company received court approval in Israel to purchase up to an aggregate amount of $35 million of additional ordinary shares. The court approval also permits AudioCodes to declare a dividend of any part of this amount. The approval is valid through June 19, 2022.

Cash Dividend

AudioCodes also announced today that the Company's Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend in the amount of 18 cents per share. The aggregate amount of the dividend is approximately $5.8 million. The dividend is payable on March 1, 2022, to all of the Company's shareholders of record at the close of trading on the NASDAQ Global Select Market on February 15, 2022. 

In accordance with Israeli tax law, the dividend is subject to withholding tax at source at the rate of 25% of the dividend amount payable to each shareholder of record, subject to applicable exemptions. If the recipient of the dividend is at the time of distribution or was at any time during the preceding 12-month period the holder of 10% or more of the Company's share capital, the withholding rate is 30%.

The dividend will be paid in U.S. dollars on the ordinary shares of AudioCodes Ltd. that are traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market or the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange. The amount and timing of any other dividends will be determined by the Board.

Conference Call & Web Cast Information

AudioCodes will conduct a conference call at 8:30 A.M., Eastern Time today to discuss the Company's fourth quarter and full year of 2021 operating performance, financial results and outlook. Interested parties may participate in the conference call by dialing one the following numbers:

United States Participants: 888-506-0062

International Participants: +1 (973) 528-0011

The conference call will also be simultaneously webcast. Investors are invited to listen to the call live via webcast at the AudioCodes investor website at http://www.audiocodes.com/investors-lobby

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About AudioCodes

AudioCodes Ltd. (NASDAQ, TASE: AUDC) is a leading vendor of advanced communications software, products and productivity solutions for the digital workplace. AudioCodes enables enterprises and service providers to build and operate all-IP voice networks for unified communications, contact centers, and hosted business services. AudioCodes offers a broad range of innovative products, solutions and services that are used by large multi-national enterprises and leading tier-1 operators around the world.

For more information on AudioCodes, visit http://www.audiocodes.com.

Statements concerning AudioCodes' business outlook or future economic performance; product introductions and plans and objectives related thereto; and statements concerning assumptions made or expectations as to any future events, conditions, performance or other matters, are "forward-looking statements'' as that term is defined under U.S. Federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements are subject to various risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated in such statements. These risks, uncertainties and factors include, but are not limited to: the effect of global economic conditions in general and conditions in AudioCodes' industry and target markets in particular; shifts in supply and demand; market acceptance of new products and the demand for existing products; the impact of competitive products and pricing on AudioCodes' and its customers' products and markets; timely product and technology development, upgrades and the ability to manage changes in market conditions as needed; possible need for additional financing; the ability to satisfy covenants in the Company's loan agreements; possible disruptions from acquisitions; the ability of AudioCodes to successfully integrate the products and operations of acquired companies into AudioCodes' business; possible adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business and results of operations; and other factors detailed in AudioCodes' filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. AudioCodes assumes no obligation to update the information in this release.

©2022 AudioCodes Ltd. All rights reserved. AudioCodes, AC, HD VoIP, HD VoIP Sounds Better, IPmedia, Mediant, MediaPack, What's Inside Matters, OSN, SmartTAP, User Management Pack, VMAS, VoIPerfect, VoIPerfectHD, Your Gateway To VoIP, 3GX, VocaNom, AudioCodes One Voice, AudioCodes Meeting Insights, AudioCodes Room Experience and CloudBond are trademarks or registered trademarks of AudioCodes Limited. All other products or trademarks are property of their respective owners. Product specifications are subject to change without notice.

Summary financial data follows

(1)  Share-based compensation expenses related to options and restricted share units granted to employees and others.

(2)  Amortization expenses related to intangible assets.

(3)  Expenses related to deferred payments in connection with the acquisition of Callverso Ltd.

(4)  Other income related to a payment made to AudioCodes Inc. in connection with the termination of a lease agreement for its offices in New Jersey. 

(5)  Financial expenses related to exchange rate differences in connection with revaluation of assets and liabilities in non-dollar denominated currencies.

(6)  Non-cash deferred tax expenses.

Note: Non-GAAP measures should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for, the results prepared in accordance with GAAP. The Company believes that non-GAAP information is useful because it can enhance the understanding of its ongoing economic performance and therefore uses internally this non-GAAP information to evaluate and manage its operations. The Company has chosen to provide this information to investors to enable them to perform comparisons of operating results in a manner similar to how the Company analyzes its operating results and because many comparable companies report this type of information.

SOURCE AudioCodes