Interxion Reports First Quarter 2018 Results

AMSTERDAM 3 May 2018 – Interxion Holding NV (NYSE:INXN, news), a leading European provider of carrier and cloud-neutral colocation data centre services, announced its results today for the three months ended 31 March 2018.

Financial Highlights                                                          

• Revenue increased by 17% to €133.8 million (1Q 2017: €113.9 million).
• Recurring revenue¹ increased by 17% to €127.0 million (1Q 2017: €108.3 million).
• Net income increased by 14% to €11.7 million (1Q 2017: €10.3 million).
• Adjusted net income² increased by 17% to €11.9 million (1Q 2017: €10.2 million).
• Earnings per diluted share increased by 13% to €0.16 (1Q 2017: €0.14).
• Adjusted earnings² per diluted share increased by 16% to €0.17 (1Q 2017: €0.14).
• Adjusted EBITDA² increased by 19% to €60.9 million (1Q 2017: €51.3 million).

• Adjusted EBITDA margin increased to 45.5% (1Q 2017: 45.1%).
• Capital expenditures, including intangible assets³, were €96.2 million (1Q 2017: €54.8 million).

 

Operating Highlights

• Equipped space increased by 4,000 square metres in the quarter to 128,900 square metres.
• Revenue generating space increased by 2,900 square metres in the quarter to 104,100 square metres.
• Utilisation rate at the end of the quarter was 81%.
• During the first quarter, Interxion completed the following capacity additions:

• • 2,400 sqm expansion in Frankfurt;
  • 1,100 sqm data centre in Brussels;
  • 400 sqm expansion in Vienna.

“Interxion’s first quarter results continue our strong and consistent track record with 17% year-over-year revenue growth and 19% year-over-year adjusted EBITDA growth.  These results are the outcome of ongoing successful execution of our strategy that remains focused on creating communities of interest encompassing connectivity providers, platform providers, and enterprise customers,” said David Ruberg, Interxion’s Chief Executive Officer. “With Cloud infrastructure and Hybrid Cloud adoption expanding across Europe, we continue to respond to strong demand across our footprint with approximately 38,000 sqm of incremental space capacity being constructed in 11 different markets. This represents a 30% expansion in our existing space capacity, scheduled to open over the next two years.”

Quarterly Review

Revenue in the first quarter of 2018 was €133.8 million, a 17% increase over the first quarter of 2017 and a 3% increase over the fourth quarter of 2017. Recurring revenue was €127.0 million, a 17% increase over the first quarter of 2017 and a 3% increase over the fourth quarter of 2017. Recurring revenue in the first quarter represented 95% of total revenue. On an organic constant currency5 basis, revenue in the first quarter of 2018 was 17% higher than in the first quarter of 2017.

Cost of sales in the first quarter of 2018 was €52.7 million, a 20% increase over the first quarter of 2017 and an 8% increase over the fourth quarter of 2017.

Gross profit was €81.1 million in the first quarter of 2018, a 16% increase over the first quarter of 2017 and flat over the fourth quarter of 2017. Gross profit margin was 60.6% in the first quarter of 2018, compared with 61.3% in the first quarter of 2017 and 62.4% in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Sales and marketing costs in the first quarter of 2018 were €8.7 million, a 10% increase over the first quarter of 2017 and a 3% decrease from the fourth quarter of 2017.

Other general and administrative costs (excluding depreciation and amortisation, share-based payments and M&A transaction costs) were €11.6 million in the first quarter of 2018, a 9% increase over the first quarter of 2017 and an 11% decrease from the fourth quarter of 2017.

Depreciation and amortisation in the first quarter of 2018 was €29.6 million, an increase of 22% from the first quarter of 2017 and a 2% increase from the fourth quarter of 2017.

Operating income in the first quarter of 2018 was €26.9 million, an increase of 13% from the first quarter of 2017 and a 4% increase from the fourth quarter of 2017.

Net finance expense for the first quarter of 2018 was €11.4 million, an 11% increase over the first quarter of 2017 and a 7% decrease over the fourth quarter of 2017.

Income tax expense for the first quarter of 2018 was €3.8 million, a 15% increase compared with the first quarter of 2017 and a 4% increase from the fourth quarter of 2017.

Net income was €11.7 million in the first quarter of 2018, a 14% increase over the first quarter of 2017 and a 20% increase from the fourth quarter of 2017.

Adjusted net income was €11.9 million in the first quarter of 2018, a 17% increase over the first quarter of 2017 and a 12% increase from the fourth quarter of 2017.

Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter of 2018 was €60.9 million, a 19% increase over the first quarter of 2017 and a 3% increase over the fourth quarter of 2017. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 45.5% in the first quarter of 2018 compared with 45.1% in the first quarter of 2017 and 45.5% in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Net cash flows from operating activities were €34.6 million in the first quarter of 2018, compared with €41.6 million in the first quarter of 2017 and €45.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Cash generated from operations was €58.1 million in the first quarter of 2018, compared with €63.0 million in the first quarter of 2017 and €50.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Capital expenditures, including intangible assets, were €96.2 million in the first quarter of 2018, compared with €54.8 million in the first quarter of 2017 and €69.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Cash and cash equivalents were €55.3 million at 31 March 2018, compared with €38.5 million at year end 2017. Total borrowings, net of deferred revolving facility financing fees, were €911.1 million at 31 March 2018, compared with €832.6 million at year end 2017. On 16 March 2018, we entered into a €225.0 million unsecured subordinated revolving facility with an initial maturity date of 31 December 2018.

Equipped space at the end of the first quarter of 2018 was 128,900 square metres, compared with 116,500 square metres at the end of the first quarter of 2017 and 124,900 square metres at the end of the fourth quarter of 2017. Revenue generating space at the end of the first quarter of 2018 was 104,100 square metres, compared with 91,000 square metres at the end of the first quarter of 2017 and 101,200 square metres at the end of the fourth quarter of 2017. Utilisation rate, the ratio of revenue-generating space to equipped space, was 81% at the end of the first quarter of 2018, compared with 78% at the end of the first quarter of 2017 and 81% at the end of the fourth quarter of 2017. These capacity metrics include Interxion Science Park.

Business Outlook

Interxion today is reaffirming guidance for Revenue and Adjusted EBITDA and updating guidance for full year 2018 for Capital expenditures (including intangibles):

Revenue	€553 million – €569 million
Adjusted EBITDA	€250 million – €260 million
Capital expenditures (including intangibles)	€365 million – €390 million

Conference Call to Discuss Results

Interxion will host a conference call today at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1:30 p.m. BST, 2:30 p.m. CEST) to discuss the results.

To participate on this call, U.S. callers may dial toll free 1-866-966-1396; callers outside the U.S. may dial direct +44 (0) 2071 928 000. The conference ID for this call is INXN. This event also will be webcast live over the Internet in listen-only mode at investors.interxion.com.

A replay of this call will be available shortly after the call concludes and will be available until 17 May 2018. To access the replay, U.S. callers may dial toll free 1-866-247-4222; callers outside the U.S. may dial direct +44 (0) 1452 550 000. The replay access number is 9794844.

Forward-looking Statements

This communication contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results and future events to differ materially from Interxion’s expectations include, but are not limited to, the difficulty of reducing operating expenses in the short term, the inability to utilise the capacity of newly planned data centres and data centre expansions, significant competition, the cost and supply of electrical power, data centre industry over-capacity, performance under service level agreements, delays in remediating the material weakness in internal control over financial reporting and/or making disclosure controls and procedure effective, certain other risks detailed herein and other risks described from time to time in Interxion’s filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).

Interxion does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this report.

Non-IFRS Financial Measures

Included in these materials are certain non-IFRS financial measures, which are measures of our financial performance that are not calculated and presented in accordance with IFRS, within the meaning of applicable SEC rules. These measures are as follows: (i) Adjusted EBITDA; (ii) Recurring revenue; (iii) Revenue on an organic constant currency basis; (iv) Adjusted net income; (v) Adjusted basic earnings per share; (vi) Adjusted diluted earnings per share and (vii) Cash generated from operations.

Other companies may present Adjusted EBITDA, Recurring revenue, Revenue on an organic constant currency basis, Adjusted net income, Adjusted basic earnings per share, Adjusted diluted earnings per share and Cash generated from operations differently than we do. Each of these measures are not measures of financial performance under IFRS and should not be considered as an alternative to operating income or as a measure of liquidity or an alternative to Profit for the period attributable to shareholders (“net income”) as indicators of our operating performance or any other measure of performance implemented in accordance with IFRS.

Adjusted EBITDA, Recurring revenue and Revenue on an organic constant currency basis

We define Adjusted EBITDA as Operating income adjusted for the following items, which may occur in any period, and which management believes are not representative of our operating performance:

• Depreciation and amortisation – property, plant and equipment and intangible assets (except goodwill) are depreciated on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life. We believe that these costs do not represent our operating performance.
• Share-based payments – primarily the fair value at grant to employees of equity awards, which are being re-determined for market conditions as of each reporting date, until final grant date. Share-based payments are recognised as an employee expense over the vesting period. We believe that this expense does not represent our operating performance.
• Income or expense related to the evaluation and execution of potential mergers or acquisitions (“M&A”) – under IFRS, gains and losses associated with M&A activity are recognised in the period in which such gains or losses are incurred. We exclude these effects because we believe they are not reflective of our ongoing operating performance.
• Adjustments related to terminated and unused data centre sites – these gains and losses relate to historical leases entered into for certain brownfield sites, with the intention of developing data centres, which were never developed and for which management has no intention of developing into data centres. We believe the impact of gains and losses related to unused data centres are not reflective of our business activities and our ongoing operating performance.

In certain circumstances, we may also adjust for other items that management believes are not representative of our current ongoing performance. Examples include: adjustments for the cumulative effect of a change in accounting principle or estimate, impairment losses, litigation gains and losses or windfall gains and losses.

We define Recurring revenue as revenue incurred from colocation and associated power charges, office space, amortised set-up fees, cross-connects and certain recurring managed services (but excluding any ad hoc managed services) provided by us directly or through third parties, excluding rents received for the sublease of unused sites.

We believe Adjusted EBITDA and Recurring revenue provide useful supplemental information to investors regarding our ongoing operational performance. These measures help us and our investors evaluate the ongoing operating performance of the business after removing the impact of our capital structure (primarily interest expense) and our asset base (primarily depreciation and amortisation). Management believes that the presentation of Adjusted EBITDA, when combined with the primary IFRS presentation of net income, provides a more complete analysis of our operating performance. Management also believes the use of Adjusted EBITDA facilitates comparisons between us and other data centre operators (including other data centre operators that are REITs) and other infrastructure-based businesses. Adjusted EBITDA is also a relevant measure used in the financial covenants of our credit facilities and our 6.00% Senior Secured Notes due 2020.

A reconciliation from net income to Adjusted EBITDA is provided in the tables attached to this press release. Adjusted EBITDA and other key performance indicators may not be indicative of our historical results of operations, nor are they meant to be predictive of future results.

We present constant currency information for revenue and Recurring revenue to provide a framework for assessing how our underlying businesses performed excluding the effect of foreign currency rate fluctuations. To present this information, current and comparative prior period results for entities reporting in currencies other than Euro are converted into Euro using the average exchange rates from the prior period rather than the actual exchange rates in effect during the current period.

We believe that revenue growth is a key indicator of how a company is progressing from period to period and presenting organic constant currency information for revenue and Recurring revenue provides useful supplemental information to investors regarding our ongoing operational performance because it helps us and our investors evaluate the ongoing operating performance of the business after removing the impact of acquisitions and currency exchange rates.

 

Adjusted net income, Adjusted basic earnings per share and Adjusted diluted earnings per share

We define Adjusted net income as net income adjusted for the following items and the related income tax effect, which may occur in any period, and which management believes are not reflective of our operating performance:

• Income or expense related to the evaluation and execution of potential mergers or acquisitions (“M&A”) – under IFRS, gains and losses associated with M&A activity are recognised in the period in which such gains or losses are incurred. We exclude these effects because we believe they are not reflective of our ongoing operating performance.
• Adjustments related to provisions – these adjustments are made for adjustments in provisions that are not reflective of the ongoing operating performance of Interxion. These adjustments may include changes in provisions for onerous lease contracts.
• Adjustments related to capitalised interest – under IFRS, we are required to calculate and capitalise interest allocated to the investment in data centres and exclude it from net income. We believe that reversing the impact of capitalised interest provides information about the impact of the total interest costs and facilitates comparisons with other data centre operators.

In certain circumstances, we may also adjust for items that management believes are not representative of our current ongoing performance. Examples include: adjustments for the cumulative effect of a change in accounting principle or estimate, impairment losses, litigation gains and losses or windfall gains and losses.

Management believe that the exclusion of certain items listed above, provides useful supplemental information to net income to aid investors in evaluating the operating performance of our business and comparing our operating performance with other data centre operators and infrastructure companies. We believe the presentation of Adjusted net income, when combined with net income prepared in accordance with IFRS is beneficial to a complete understanding of our performance. A reconciliation from reported net income to Adjusted net income is provided in the tables attached to this press release.

Adjusted basic earnings per share and Adjusted diluted earnings per share amounts are determined on Adjusted net income.

Cash generated from operations

Cash generated from operations is defined as net cash flows from operating activities, excluding interest and corporate income tax payments and receipts. Management believe that the exclusion of these items, provides useful supplemental information to net cash flows from operating activities to aid investors in evaluating the cash generating performance of our business.

The company’s outlook for 2018 included in this press release, includes a range for expected Adjusted EBITDA, a non-IFRS financial measure, which excludes items that management believes are not representative of our operating performance. These items include, but are not limited to, depreciation and amortisation, share-based payments, income or expense related to the evaluation and execution of potential mergers or acquisitions, adjustments related to terminated and unused data centre sites, and other significant items that currently cannot be predicted. The exact amount of these items is not currently determinable but may be significant. Accordingly, the company is unable to provide equivalent reconciliations from the corresponding forward-looking IFRS measures to expected Adjusted EBITDA.