OTTAWA, CANADA — (Marketwired) — 08/08/13 — Wi-LAN Inc. (“WiLAN” or the “Company”) (TSX: WIN)(NASDAQ: WILN) today announced financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2013 ended June 30, 2013. All financial information in this press release is reported in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise indicated.
Second Quarter 2013 Highlights
“Our second quarter revenues exceeded our guidance and increased sequentially over the first quarter.” said Jim Skippen, President & CEO. “Despite unusually high litigation activity targeted at realizing value from our broad portfolio of IP, our business generated $2.1 million from operations during the quarter and returned over $7.1 million to shareholders in dividend and share buyback payments.”
Added Skippen, “During the quarter we signed five new licenses including a broad Digital TV and Display portfolio license with Panasonic and an early license renewal with Samsung. We look forward to further strengthening our business relationship with Samsung and seeking opportunities to work together in the building of more valuable patent portfolios.”
Eligible Dividend
The Board of Directors has declared an eligible dividend of CDN $0.04 per common share to be paid on October 4, 2013 to shareholders of record on September 13, 2013.
Second Quarter 2013 Revenue Review
In the three month period ended June 30, 2013, WiLAN generated revenues of $19.9 million, as compared to $20.8 million in the three month period ended June 30, 2012. Revenue recognized during the quarter from the license renewal agreement signed with Samsung replaced revenue that WiLAN would have received under the terms of the previous license agreement. For the three month period ended June 30, 2013, the top 10 licensees accounted for 85% of revenues, whereas the top 10 accounted for 86% of revenues in the three month period ended June 30, 2012.
Second Quarter 2013 Operating Expense Review
In the three month period ended June 30, 2013, cost of revenue totaled $22.5 million as compared to $12.8 million in the three month period ended March 31, 2012. The increase in expenses is primarily attributable to an increase in litigation expense.
For the three months ended June 30, 2013, litigation expenses amounted to $14.6 million compared to $5.8 million for the same period last year. The increase in litigation expense over the prior year period is attributable to an increased level of effort in ongoing patent infringement litigations including preparation for multiple claims construction hearings and multiple trials scheduled to take place in 2013.
In the second quarter ended June 30, 2013, MG&A expenses amounted to $3.9 million as compared to $3.3 million in the second quarter ended June 30, 2012. The increase in spending year over year is primarily attributable to increased staffing levels and an increase in public company related expenses.
Second Quarter 2013 Earnings Review
In the second quarter ended June 30, 2013, adjusted earnings amounted to a loss of $0.8 million or 1 cent per share as compared to adjusted earnings of $10.1 million, or 8 cents per share, in the comparative period last year. The decrease in adjusted earnings as compared to last year is primarily attributable to the increase in litigation expenses.
The Company generated a GAAP loss of $7.6 million, or 6 cents per share on a basic level, in the three month period ended June 30, 2013, as compared to a GAAP loss of $0.1 million, or nil per share on a basic level, in the same period last year. In the three month period ended June 30, 2013, the Company recorded an income tax recovery of $2.0 million as compared to an income tax expense of $1.4 million recorded in the same period last year.
Second Quarter 2013 Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Review
At June 30, 2013, the Company-s cash, comprised of cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments, totaled $159.3 million, representing a decrease of $17.6 million from the cash position at December 31, 2012. The decrease is primarily attributable to $1.8 million cash utilized in operations, the payment of dividends totaling $9.1 million, the repurchase of common shares totaling $2.9 million and the purchase of patents and other intangibles totaling $3.0 million. The Company-s cash equivalents and short-term investments include T-bills, term deposits and GICs.
Third Quarter 2013 Financial Guidance
For the third quarter 2013 ending September 30, 2013, the Company expects revenue to be at least $20.7 million. This revenue guidance does not include the potential impact of any new agreements that may be signed during the balance of the second quarter of 2013 or the potential impact of any royalties identified in audits conducted by the Company. Operating expenses for the third quarter are expected to be in the range of $20.5 million to $21.6 million of which $13.5 million to $14.5 million is expected to be litigation expense. For the third quarter of 2013, and assuming no additional agreements are signed, adjusted earnings are expected to be between a loss of $650,000 and earnings of $500,000.
The above statements are forward-looking and actual results may differ materially. The “Forward- looking Information” section at the end of this press release provides information on various risks and uncertainties that the Company faces. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties relating to the Company-s business are discussed in greater detail in the “Risk Factors” section of WiLAN-s annual information form for the 2012 fiscal year dated March 7, 2013 (copies of which may be obtained at or ). Financial guidance is provided to assist investors and other interested parties in understanding WiLAN-s performance. The reader is cautioned that using this information for any other purpose may be inappropriate.
The Company-s revenues result primarily from the licensing of intellectual property which, by its very nature, is directly affected by the timing of the closure of license agreements, the nature and extent of specific licenses including actual rates, product sales by licensees which can be subject to seasonality as well as overall market demands and the timeliness of the receipt of licensee royalty reports. In addition, certain revenues may be of a one-time nature.
The above targets for the three month period ended September 30, 2013 reflects our current business indicators and expectations and is subject to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. Due to their nature, certain income and expense items, such as significant settlements from companies involved in current enforcement actions, brokerage opportunities, new significant litigation or defense actions that could arise during the quarter, losses on asset impairments or realized foreign exchange losses cannot be accurately forecast. Accordingly, we exclude forecasts of such items from our guidance. Actual revenues reported may exceed the revenue guidance provided due to the receipt of royalty reports, signing of new license agreements and completion of licensee audits, all after the guidance is provided.
WiLAN-s imperative is to negotiate the best possible license as measured over the long-term and accordingly, the timing of actual license signings may vary from that forecasted. Actual results may vary materially from the guidance provided as a consequence of the above noted factors.
Conference Call Information – August 8, 2013 – 10:00 AM ET
WiLAN will conduct a conference call to discuss its financial results today at 10:00 AM Eastern Time (ET). WiLAN CEO, Jim Skippen and CFO, Shaun McEwan will be on the call.
Calling Information
A live audio webcast will be available at
Replay Information
The call will be available at and accessible by telephone until 11:59 PM ET on November 6, 2013.
About WiLAN
WiLAN, founded in 1992, is a leading technology innovation and licensing company. WiLAN has licensed its intellectual property to over 270 companies worldwide. Inventions in our portfolio have been licensed by companies that manufacture or sell a wide range of communication and consumer electronics products including 3G and 4G handsets, Wi-Fi-enabled laptops, Wi-Fi and broadband routers, xDSL infrastructure equipment, cellular base stations and digital television receivers. WiLAN has a large and growing portfolio of more than 3,000 issued or pending patents. For more information: .
Note
((i)) WiLAN follows GAAP in preparing its interim and annual financial statements. Adjusted Earnings are earnings from continuing operations before stock-based compensation expense, depreciation and amortization expense, interest expense, unrealized foreign exchange gains or losses, provision for income taxes and certain other non-cash, one-time, or non-recurring charges.
Forward-looking Information
This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other United States and Canadian securities laws. The phrases “we believe”, “will generated”, “will strengthen”, “to work”, “to be”, “potential impact”, “may be”, “are expected”, “may differ”, “can be”, “may exceed”, “to negotiate”, “may vary” and similar terms and phrases are intended to identify these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information are based on estimates and assumptions made by WiLAN in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that WiLAN believes are appropriate in the circumstances. Many factors could cause WiLAN-s actual performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Such factors include, without limitation, the risks described in WiLAN-s March 7, 2013 annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2012 (the “AIF”). Copies of the AIF may be obtained at or . WiLAN recommends that readers review and consider all of these risk factors and notes that readers should not place undue reliance on any of WiLAN-s forward-looking statements. WiLAN has no intention and undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
All trademarks and brands mentioned in this release are the property of their respective owners.
Contacts:
Shaun McEwan
Chief Financial Officer
O: 613.688.4898
C: 613.697.7159
Tyler Burns
Director, Investor Relations
O: 613.688.4330
C: 613.697.0367
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