Hawaiian Telcom Reports Solid Second Quarter Results

Hawaiian Telcom Headquarters. Photo courtesy of Hawaiian Telcom.

By Sonia Isotov

Hawaiian Telcom Holdco, Inc. has reported a 1% increase in revenues over last year for the second quarter ended June 30.  Additionally significant this quarter, Hawaiian Telcom was awarded a video franchise to offer TV service.

“Hawaiian Telcom was awarded its video franchise at the end of the second quarter and we have since begun a staged launch of our TV service on Oahu. The commercial launch of Hawaiian Telcom TV is a significant milestone for our company. It allows us to offer choice and deliver a world-class TV service to the people of Hawaii and enhances the attractiveness of our bundle offers to drive growth in our overall consumer business,” said Eric K. Yeaman, president and CEO of Hawaiian Telcom.

Second quarter revenue was $100.7 million, an increase of 1%  from $99.6 million in the comparable period a year ago, due primarily to equipment sales and growth from new business products, as well as data transport demand from wireless carriers, partially offset by the impact from access line loss.

Hawaii Telcom generated a net income of $6.7 million, which excluded one-time charges totaling approximately $2.2 million that were related to a reduction-in-force and lease termination costs associated with the closure of its remaining retail stores.

Other highlights from the company quarterly report are as follows:

• Adjusted EBITDA, of $31.8 million, a 6% increase from $30.1 million a year ago. Adjusted EBITA being net income plus interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, non-cash stock compensation plus non-recurring costs not expected to occur regularly in the ordinary course of business.
• Added approximately 4,500 high-speed internet (HSI) subscribers year-over-year nearly double second quarter 2009 year-over-year growth of approximately 2,250.
• Added 2,100 residential bundles, driving residential bundle penetration to 38%, up from 36% in the prior quarter.

“I am pleased with the solid results we were able to deliver in the second quarter, primarily the year-over-year growth in revenues and adjusted EBITDA as well as the investment we continue to make in our network to support the growth opportunities in our marketplace,” said Yeaman in a written statement.  “These results provide a solid foundation to build upon and are the direct result of our employees’ commitment to the execution of our strategic plan.

“In the business market, we continue to experience solid growth in our IP-based services.  In the second quarter we launched several new bundles tailored to small and medium-sized businesses that leverage these services and strengthen our position as Hawaii’s leading end-to-end solutions provider.  In addition, we continue to grow our wholesale business primarily through the deployment of fiber facilities to wireless cell sites to support the increased demand for network capacity from national wireless carriers as a result of the significant growth in wireless data usage by consumers and businesses.

“Overall, we continue to make good progress in the execution of our strategy to profitably grow our business, deliver superior service to our customers, and improve our financial performance with the goal of increasing value for our shareholders.”