Q1 2015 revenue increases 51.7% year-over-year and 8.3% sequentially fueled by SaaS, recurring-revenue model –
Q1 2015 average revenue per customer increases 14% year-over-year as growing customer base now includes nearly 100 advertisers using the Company’s CAKE technology platform
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – May 12, 2015 – Accelerize Inc. (OTCQB: ACLZ) (OTCBB: ACLZ), a leader in marketing technology solutions, today announced financial results for its fiscal first quarter ended March 31, 2015.
Company Highlights for Q1 2015
New Customer Acquisition and Recurring Revenue Success: First quarter revenues of $5.2MM were driven by CAKE, its digital marketing software division, recently recognized as a “Vendor to Watch” in the Gartner Digital Marketing Hubs report. During the quarter the Company significantly extended the CAKE SaaS platform into larger market opportunities through CAKE for Advertisers, its new multi-channel digital marketing hub that enables advertisers to accurately track, attribute and optimize advertising spend. By the end of Q1 2015, the Company increased its customer roster to include nearly 100 advertisers, with an average revenue per customer increase of 14% year-over-year.
International Sales Growth and Diversification across Industry Groups: The Company achieved significant global diversification with 26% of overall revenue being derived outside the U.S. in Q1 2015, up from 19% in Q1 2014. During the first quarter, the Company added new clients from across the globe, including Europe, Israel, Australia, Brazil and India. New client wins also spanned major industry groups, including finance (Acorns), dating (Mate1 Dating), web development marketing (The Control Group), mobile (Komli Media, Purify Digital) and digital advertising (Indexa Network).
Sales and Marketing Expansion: In order to capitalize on increasing international demand, the Company established a local sales presence in two new geographic areas in the quarter – Australia and India. Additionally, the Company upgraded its enterprise sales force and marketing team in the U.S. and U.K. through the strategic hiring of seasoned professionals with experience at Adobe, AOL, Amazon, DoubleClick, OpenX, Responsys and Xactly.
Extending Ecosystem with Key Partnerships and Integrations: The Company established partnerships with leading companies in the advertising technology landscape, offering integrations with organizations such as Marketo, Google Adwords, Bing Ads and DoubleClick. It also strengthened existing partnerships with Neo@Ogilvy, the Horizon Group and Tipalti.
“We continue to build momentum on a number of business fronts which is only beginning to be evidenced in our financial performance. The first quarter marked Accelerize’s 20th consecutive quarter of revenue growth, and we are committed to achieving further advancements throughout 2015 and beyond as the demand for our SaaS services has never been greater,” said Brian Ross, CEO and Chairman of Accelerize Inc. “Through our significant investments in R&D we have and will continue to introduce innovative and complimentary software products to extend our leadership position across the dynamic ad tech ecosystem. When coupled with our international expansion and the quality of our new sales team members, we have set the stage to drive growth at Accelerize to the next level in the years to come. In this quarter alone, our CAKE platform tracked more than 15+ billion consumer actions and we look forward to increasing these metrics as we lead the way in this rapidly growing market.”
Financial Highlights for Q1 2015
Revenues: Total revenues for Q1 2015 reached a record $5.2MM, a 52% increase from $3.4MM recorded in Q1 2014, and an 8% sequential increase from Q4 2014. Revenue growth was largely driven by a 19% increase in the average number of customers and a 14% increase in average revenue per customer year-over-year. Geographically, 26% of revenues in Q1 2015 were derived from outside the U.S. as compared to 19% in Q1 2014 reflecting the success of the Company’s international expansion efforts. The Company expects future revenues from CAKE to be driven by ongoing organic growth, further international expansion and the addition of larger customers using the Company’s enterprise SaaS product, CAKE for Advertisers.
Operating (Loss) Income: Operating loss for Q1 2015 was $(1.6MM), compared to operating loss of ($364K) recorded in Q1 2014. The loss in Q1 2015 was largely attributed to a $511K increase in sales and marketing expenses to drive customer growth, a $1.6MM increase in general and administrative expenses to bolster its management and support staff, and a $299K increase in ongoing research and development expenses to foster product innovation, partially offset by a $1.8MM increase in revenue.
Adjusted EBITDA: Adjusted EBITDA for Q1 2015 was ($0.517k). Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure that excludes stock option and warrant expense and is defined below.
Cash Flow: Net cash provided in Q1 was $358K, compared to net cash used of $26K during the prior year period. The Company’s total operating expenses in Q1 2015 increased 82% year-over-year to $5.5MM inclusive of $637K of stock option and warrant expense and $403K of depreciation and amortization expense. During Q1 2015 the Company’s investment in ongoing research and development to drive product innovation was $875k, a 52% year-over-year increase. As a result, free cash flow, which amounts to cash flow from operations less capital expenditures, totaled $(644K).
Balance Sheet: Total cash as of March 31, 2015 was $1.5MM compared to $1.1MM on December 31, 2014. Total current assets as of March 31, 2015 rose to $3.7MM, an increase of 19% compared to $3.1MM on December 31, 2014. Total working capital increased to $1.9MM compared to $1.7MM on December 31, 2014.
Michael Lin, Accelerize’s CFO, added “Our strong recurring revenue model along with low revenue churn provided continued sales momentum in the first quarter of 2015. As we move through the rapid expansion phase of our business, driving sales growth while managing expenses will be critical to our success. We have grown our staff significantly on a year-over-year basis to build for the future and we are now well positioned to drive sustainable growth. As we move through 2015 we intend to make further investments in sales and technology in order to capitalize on the rapidly growing ad-tech marketplace. We remain committed to improving the Company’s visibility and liquidity through a potential up-listing to a major stock exchange, and we continue to evaluate strategies to accomplish this goal in the best possible way for our Company and its stockholders.”
About Accelerize
Accelerize Inc. (OTCQB: ACLZ) (OTCBB: ACLZ) offers marketing technology solutions that revolutionize the way advertisers leverage their digital advertising data. For more information, visit www.accelerize.com.
Use of Forward-looking Statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements from Accelerize Inc. within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and federal securities laws. For example, when Accelerize Inc. says that it is committed to achieving further advancements through 2015 and beyond, that it will continue to introduce innovative and complimentary software products to extend its leadership position, that it has set the stage to drive growth in years to come, that it looks forward to increasing metrics, that it expects future revenues to be driven by ongoing organic growth, international expansion and customer additions, that it intends to make further investments in sales and technology, that it may make a potential up-listing to a major stock exchange, and other statements containing the words “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “expects,” “will” and similar expressions, Accelerize Inc. is using forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on the current expectations of the management of Accelerize Inc. only, and are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements: changes in technology and market requirements; our technology may not be validated as we progress further; we may be unable to retain or attract key employees whose knowledge is essential to the development of our products and services; unforeseen market and technological difficulties may develop with our products and services; inability to timely develop and introduce new technologies, products and applications; loss of market share and pressure on pricing resulting from competition, which could cause the actual results or performance of Accelerize Inc. to differ materially from those contemplated in such forward-looking statements. Except as otherwise required by law, Accelerize Inc. undertakes no obligation to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. For a more detailed description of the risk and uncertainties affecting Accelerize Inc., reference is made to Accelerize Inc.’s reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information
Accelerize provides financial statements that are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). To help understand Accelerize’s financial performance the company has supplemented its financial results that it provides in accordance with GAAP with certain non-GAAP financial measures. The method Accelerize uses to produce non-GAAP financial results is not computed according to GAAP and may differ from the methods used by other companies. Non-GAAP financial measures are not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for comparable GAAP measures and should be read only in conjunction with the company’s consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. Specifically, management is excluding the following items from its non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA calculation:
Stock-Based Compensation and Warrant Expenses: The company’s compensation strategy includes the use of stock-based compensation and warrants to attract and retain employees and executives. It is principally aimed at aligning their interests with those of our stockholders and at long-term employee retention, rather than to motivate or reward operational performance for any particular period. Thus, stock-based compensation and warrant expense varies for reasons that are generally unrelated to operational decisions and performance in any particular period.