Q1 2021 Liberty Broadband Corp and Liberty Tripadvisor Holdings Inc Earnings Call
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by that come to the Liberty broadband Q1 earnings call on trains.
During the presentation, all participants will be in a listen only mode. Afterwards, we will conduct a question answer session at that time. If you have a question. Please press star one on your two different assets.
As a reminder, this conference is being recorded I would now like to turn the conference over to Courtney Chun Chief portfolio Officer. Please go ahead.
Good morning, before we begin we'd like to remind everyone that this call includes certain forward looking statements within the meaning of the private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 actual events or results could differ materially due to a number of risks and uncertainties, including those mentioned in our most recent form 10-K on 10-Q filed by Liberty broadband and Liberty Tripadvisor.
For the SEC. These forward looking statements speak only as of the date of this call and Liberty broadband and Liberty Tripadvisor expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward looking statement contained herein to reflect any change in liberty broadband or liberty tripadvisor as expectations with regard there to or any change in events conditions or.
Circumstances on which any such statement is based on today's call. We will discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures for Liberty broadband, including adjusted OIBDA information regarding the comparable GAAP metrics, along with required definitions and reconciliations, including preliminary note and schedules one and two can be found in the earnings press release issued today, which is available on Liberty brought.
Bands website now.
To turn the call over to Liberty's, President and CEO Greg per se.
Thank you Courtney and good morning to all of you out there.
Speaking on the call. Besides myself, we'll have liberty broadband chief accounting and per net principal financial officer, Brian Wendling.
Also during the Q&A, we will answer questions related to Liberty Tripadvisor.
On Dunkin' CEO of GCI and Pete pounds. The CFO of GCI will also be available to answer questions.
So turning now to Liberty broadband.
In March.
Liberty broadband began participating in charters buyback holding our fully diluted ownership at 26%.
Through April we have received nearly $1 billion of proceeds and we used these proceeds to repurchase $6 1 million L. B R. D. K shares from February through April at an average price per share of $152 30 per share.
We view this having meaningful value creation for our shareholders with the L. B R. D NAV discount running about 19% and allowing us to have a look through on purchase price on charter of about $516 per share.
While our quarterly repurchases may fluctuate due to the timing of cash received in et cetera, We expect that our L. B R D repurchases to match or exceed the after tax proceeds we received from sales of charter shares on an annual basis.
I would remind you in 2021, we expect only 5% to 7% tax leakage on any charter share sales due to some tax loss carryforwards.
Looking now at charter itself.
We are approaching the five year Mark of the purchase of time Warner cable on Brighthouse.
The charter has gone up over $100 billion through this period.
Our total gain in charter prior to the time on which we began selling into their our buyback with nearly $30 billion.
And we're up over four times on our initial investment.
In Q1 at charter.
Growth in data usage continues to grow we added 2 million internet customers over the past year.
And the average Internet only customer is using 700 gig per month in the first part of the quarter up nearly 20% year over year and there are sizeable cohort of users using more than one terabyte per month.
Charter continues to invest in its network to satisfy that demand and a high ROIC.
During the first quarter residential revenue grew five 8% the fastest level of growth in several years and the adjusted EBITDA grew 12, 5% that's up double digits for the third consecutive quarter and margins expanded over 200 basis points year over year.
Charter is mobile business continues to demonstrate strong growth revenues were up 90% year over year, we added 300000 mobile lines.
Impressive considering the general low level of sales activity in Q1, as Tom and Chris noted on their call.
There are meaningful potential cost savings for customers, who choose charter as a full service connectivity partner, including mobile.
So with that let me turn it over to Tripadvisor Liberty Tripadvisor on beginning first Liberty trip at Corp.
What level, we completed the repurchase of 42% of <unk> preferred shares for $373 million.
We note that 3% that repurchase was actually completed after the quarter end.
We funded that with the net proceeds of a new $330 million trip exchangeable bond and we delivered $92 million on trip stock to surcharges.
Importantly, <unk> wave there put rights under their preferred eliminating any potential negative overhang on L trip and giving us a full year runway on that security for value creation potential.
So target has been a great partner over the past year, we look forward to their continuing and ongoing involvement and Greg O'hara continuity on both the trip and ultra boards.
Now turning to Tripadvisor itself.
Trip continue to see rising demand for leisure travel on its platform led by domestic travel, particularly U S domestic crowd.
We believe the U S can be a leading indicator for global travel as the vaccine rollout continues worldwide and other countries replicate the successes we have had here in.
In March for example, U S traffic on the site approach, 80% of 2019 levels.
<unk> continued to exhibit cost discipline in the first quarter, which we believe positions us well for increased operating leverage going forward.
We also made good progress on our direct TV offering Tripadvisor plus.
On the plus is still only in beta data. It is already savings subscribers on average up more than $300 per booking much greater than the $99 subscription fee.
Trip also opportunities Opportunistically access the bond market in tandem with the ultra bond offering we did in March and they price day $345 million convertible note up 37, 5% and an attractive 25 right.
So with that let me turn it over to Brian to discuss the financials, a little more detail.
Thank you Greg at quarter on Liberty broadband had consolidated cash and cash equivalents of $1 2 billion, which includes $51 million of cash at GCI.
The value of our charter investment on Liberty broadband as of yesterday's close was 39 billion.
And at quarter end Liberty broadband had a total principal amount of debt of $4 6 billion.
GCI strong results on the $190 million revolver pay down in the current quarter led to meaningful de levering with leverage as defined on GCI credit agreement for three four times.
<unk> substantial cushion under its maximum leverage covenant of six five times.
Liberty broadband has $300 million of Undrawn margin loan capacity at GCI has $422 million of Undrawn capacity on its line of credit.
Note the above amounts exclude the indemnification obligation on the preferred stock.
Turning to Gci's results GCI had a great first quarter revenue grew 5% on adjusted OIBDA grew 11% to $96 million, the companys highest ever quarterly adjusted OIBDA driven by demand for data across the consumer and business divisions, and lower costs associated with that reduced bad debt and health care expenses.
Bind with prior cost savings initiatives.
For Q1 2020 included $9 million of one time revenue related to services provided in 2019 adjusting for this one time prior year benefit revenue and adjusted OIBDA would have grown by 9% and 24% respectively.
Operationally GCI added over 15000 consumer revenue generating cable modem subscribers and 6000 consumer revenue generating wireless subscribers over the last year.
On the rural Health care front.
We received $175 million in payments during the quarter related to the funding years ended ended June 32019, and 2020, which we used to pay down our revolver. We continue to work with the FTC on rates and payments for the funding year ending 6021 assets.
As mentioned last quarter, we received a new FCC order in January that gives rate certainty to Alaska providers for funding years, ending in June 'twenty, two and 'twenty three.
And we expect to have a shorter period between service delivery and cash collection going for it.
With that I'll turn the call back over to Greg.
Thank you Brian.
Listening audience. We appreciate your continued interest in Liberty broadband and Liberty Tripadvisor and with that operator, I'd like to open the line for questions. Please.
Perfect. Thank you. So if you would like to ask a question. Please press star one on your Hudson Keypad, you start with our first question from James Ratcliffe Evercore.
Please go ahead your line is open.
Thank you.
Two for.
For Iran, and Pete on the GCI and then Greg one for you on Liberty trip.
When GCI can you talk about the potential tailwind from the emergency broadband program and also more generally what sort of for the potential benefit from risks you see increased government support for broadband infrastructure.
And Greg on L trip, the spread to me my math is 35% plus.
Any way to get cash to tackle that spread and other sitars gets a say in the recent history with margin loans has been eventful shall we say, but are there other structures or options you use and how just roughly how much of a priority is that spread for you. Thanks.
Are you on.
So on the water. They were asked Greg do you want to take you for sure that sounds great. Ryan If you guys want to take a shot that will be great.
Alright.
It's sort of a two part question. The first on the emergency broadband program, which will add in Alaska a $75.
Credit for any consumer broadband who has some is in some way impacted by COVID-19.
Ordinarily you would expect a very strong uptick from something like that we're a participant in the lifeline wireline telephone program and we have a substantial number of customers for that.
Hi, I'm, a little cautious as to how much upside to expect from the broadband program in terms of new subscribers, just because we've done so well in <unk>.
Last 15 months with the pandemic and added so many subscribers ultimately you hit a limit to how many are out there I suspect there will be a substantial number who use the program.
So is there a benefit how many new subscribers that ads is hard to say I will also throw in one caveat to truly substantial growth coming from that program and that's a generalized industry wide modem shortage. The chip problem has led to a shortage.
Modems, we have some capacity to continue expanding but we will get through.
Much more than the third quarter.
Even at current growth rates, if we don't get delivery on some of our our pending modem orders and that's an industry wide problem with respect to the amount of money flowing into the industry.
The potential new congressional lax.
My concern is there is more money that can be then can be absorbed by industry capacity, there simply isn't enough fiber components cable and work force available to deploy $100 billion nationwide at the pace that people seem to expect.
Appointment and I worry about expectations getting out in front of reality those amounts really should be deliberate, but I think for a long way from knowing what the actual results are.
Okay. Thank you so on the <unk> discount.
As you know there is relatively limited volume in El trip and it has fluctuated from being a premium at various times to a discount and it was made more complicated by the structure. We have on the uncertainty around for targets and if you go back and remember when.
Liberty trip was spun away from Liberty ventures, and actually add that margin loan we twice restructured it to try and manage our downside once through a variable forward and once through encouraging a large dividend trip both of which reduced our balances yet we still ran into trouble in the bottom of the pandemic. So we are.
Cautious in our capital structure, we're very excited about what we put in place because we feel it's relatively bulletproof.
And we have increased our upside any and the potential that trip after the restructuring with rytary. So after clearing up debt capital structure and aligning us with trip more appropriately we will look at alternatives on things, we can do about cleaning up the discount, but I think a lot of it is going to be educating the market about how.
That alignment has improved and how.
We are better positioned going forward with that runway and the uncertainty removed.
Great. Thank you.
Our next question from Bentley Cross with TD Securities. Your line is open.
Please go ahead.
Two if I may 1st for Greg.
On charter participated a little bit more aggressively on maybe a lot more aggressively the most and erode off program.
Wondering your thoughts on kind of what the difference in view was between charter and the rest of the industry for allowed them to be able on a more aggressive there.
And then secondly on GCI two.
2020 results and then this quarter again seem to be a lot better than what was originally contemplated in the merger Docs wondering your view on what have been the major puts and takes.
And what's the upside from here. Thank you.
So on Argos I think.
It's really a function of a function of a couple of things.
First I think the charter management team.
Sure on their ability to operate effectively in many of these rural markets.
And know how to drive their cost attractively in the terms of their cost to connect to their cost to service.
And so their opportunity to go after some of these was attractive secondly, the capital structure, we have candidly allowed us to be more aggressive.
Because we had flexibility and extend the runway of growth and being rewarded for that as we.
I've got a shareholder base, which has seen our growth and understands and appreciates it all of those.
We're very effective third I think that kind of caught some of the.
Our LEC competition Napping, I do not think that people thought they would be as aggressive as they were and they were able to at attractive prices create new subscribers given the incentives provided under the <unk> program.
So all of those things I think create an opportunity some of that still in flux. We will see some of the are there aren't off <unk> and Argos.
Nominal winners are being challenged we'll see how that plays out there may yet be more opportunity hedge and we will watch on the opportunities with the Biogen administrations proposed broadband.
So incentives to see if there are more growth opportunities for charter as we go forward.
Okay.
I guess, the second half of that as well and then.
In terms of GCI has improved performance I think there really are two key components. Most important one long term is probably be improvement situated the regulatory situations surrounding.
Oral health care environment up here on the fact that we're now able to get paid for the services that we're rendering to our rural health care customers and that we have a reasonably good degree of rate certainty going forward that overhang.
First write offs that we had taken to.
To date the rate reductions and then the rate recoveries when they came back in other.
Statue impact on the turnaround between 2019 and 2020, we see that as a stable business going forward with some continued growth and I feel very strongly that that's a good platform for us that will help too.
To drive the business second huge improvement in the turn from 19 through 21 of course is on the consumer side with the growth in cable modems.
And I think we have to be cautious to figure out how much of that is pandemic related obviously, the pandemic drove a substantially increased demand for data volumes. It also reduced the vacancy rate in bus.
Increased the household formation rate because people werent being evicted or not being evicted from their apartments and it drove down our bad debt because people are paying for their cable modems, how all of that plays out.
Once the stimulus benefits and the stimulus protections phase out is harder to see so it's difficult for me to call what the the post pandemic impact on GCI will be but we're cautious.
Hidden beneath the veil of the strong stimulus performances, a week, Alaska economy, So I'm a little cautious there I am bullish about continued growth of wireless growth going forward. Our <unk> network in Alaska is vastly superior to all the other wireless networks up here and that's what's being reflected.
And the and the wireless growth so kind of a mixed bag there.
Yeah, if I could add I think ron's underselling, while clearly.
Stimulus.
Improved regulatory.
Pandemic demand, we're all big factors I think the GCI management team has done a good job of focusing the business expense reductions.
Exiting some non core businesses for.
Focus on its broadband strength in demand and as Ron did note the improved wireless offering.
With the strongest network in Alaska also have created a far better business out there just.
Heart and prepared to capitalize on the opportunities.
I'd ask for your comments thank you.
Our next question is from Mike for Rollins Citi. Your line is now open. Please go ahead.
Thanks, and good morning, two questions.
First is there an opportunity to revisit the ownership cap discussion with charter.
Does the cap being enforced at 26% fluent how easy the structure of Liberty broadband and whether or not you would just rather own charter shares directly instead of through Liberty broadband.
And then also just curious you mentioned five G.
If you could describe if you're seeing any new use cases from your customers in the early days on the <unk> network. Thanks.
So I'll, let Ron touch on the <unk> in a moment.
On the on the 26% cap we did have discussions we were offered some alternatives to increase the cap.
We looked at those as unattractive relative to repurchasing our own stock at a 19% discount theres nothing to say, we can't revisit some of those discussions down the road.
But at the moment, we like paying a 5% to 7% tax on repurchasing our own stock at 19% discounted underlying charter. So you ask why one should choose L. B R. D over over charter I think thats exactly yet youre purchasing at a 19% discount to the underlying charter.
And you have the opportunity to see us accrete.
As charter it creates its own share count or decreases in share kind of creates its share price hopefully we have the opportunity that even more attractively at a more leveraged basis with a discounted share repurchase so we.
We like charter, we really like <unk>.
And on the five G. In spite of the industry, but I think it's early to be seeing any material impacts from.
New use cases, the population of five G devices relative to the overall wireless population is still less than.
10% I think most of our users are using five G as faster speed than it is blazingly faster speed as much as 10 times faster from some of our users and that's the selling point today, we're not seeing dramatic new use cases evolve that doesn't mean that won't happen or wont accelerate.
As we get a denser population of five G devices, but in terms of what's driving our sales on what's driving the revenue. It's it's the speed and the network quality right now.
Thank you.
Our last question is from Matthew Harrigan.
From benchmark. Please go ahead your line is open.
Thank you Ron already answered my question, but on the relative buyback. It back you know Greg made the point in the last call that you get some amusing where youre actually increasing the number of charter shares on per LP Rdas shares as a result of the net effect of the buyback activity does that.
Net disappear when you thought that NOL I mean are you still going to have only that very slight tax leakage moving forward for an intermediate period or is that just kind of a short term thing and then apart from the very favorable napkin math is there anything in Washington from attacks.
Point of regulatory advantage point that could motivate you to get something done sooner rather than later on and do everything pretty nebulous since early in the administration, but.
You and John Malone have always been very savvy on that to say the least.
Thank you for that.
Question in the compliment on the tax rate, we think it will tip up marginally in 2022, but it will still be very attractive.
Relative to certainly the current discount.
When you do share repurchases as always you have two mines, one minded take advantage of a low price and the second mind as to get your own stock up.
We have for the moment are happy to take advantage of that share price discount in the NAV discount and take advantage of what we know will be a large flow of capital approaching $3 billion a year from charter. So I look at this as a likely to be a.
As you said a napkin.
<unk> creator and we like naphtha and value creators because if they are pretty simple to understand even we can get it hopefully the market will get it too so.
So we're enthused about continuing to value.
We purchased at this discounted value and to the degree it shrinks well, we can reevaluate and talk about other alternatives, but at the moment, we're going to lean in with all we got.
And then as I have no idea, what's going to happen to the biden tax rates it seems to be all in flux.
I do not anticipate that we will have a major impact overall on what we're doing but there's certainly a lot of fog.
Thanks, Thanks, Greg.
Thank you and with that operator, I think we're done for today. Thank you again to all of the listeners. Thank you for interest in the Liberty companies and we hope to speak with you next quarter again, if not sooner.
This concludes today's call. Thank you for your participation you may now disconnect.
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