First quarter sees increase in subscriber activity, on revenues of $4.0 million

DALLAS, TX / ACCESSWIRE / May 15, 2023 / KonaTel, Inc. (OTCQB:KTEL) (www.konatel.com), a voice/data communications holding company, today announced financial results for the three-month period ended March 31, 2023.

First Quarter 2023 Financial Summary

• Revenues of $4.0 million, down 4.6% compared to the first quarter last year.
• Gross profit of $1.0 million, down 39.2% compared to the first quarter last year.
• Operating loss of ($753,000) compared to operating income of $51,000 in the first quarter last year.
• GAAP net loss of $(915,000), or $(0.02) per share, compared to $(44,000), or $(0.00) per share, in the first quarter last year.
• Non-GAAP net loss of $(608,000), or $(0.01) per diluted share, compared to Non-GAAP income of $135,000, or $0.00 per diluted share, in the first quarter of last year.

Sean McEwen, Chairman and CEO of KonaTel stated, "Revenue growth was slightly lower in the first quarter, down 4.6% compared to the prior year, mostly due to higher reimbursements received under the short-term COVID era Emergency Broadband Benefit Program ("EBB") at $50/user/month versus the ACP program at $30/user/month, which replaced the EBB program for new enrollments in early 2022. Additionally, as discussed in Q4, we allocated additional resources to further expand our infrastructure that could have been deployed to increase additional customers more aggressively in Q1. With that behind us, we are currently experiencing a 50% increase in subscriber activations versus previous quarter."

McEwen continued, "We are set to support a significantly larger customer base with minimal expansion of general and administrative expenses. Additionally, we continue to add distribution partners to broaden our growth across the United States, while also adding a new customer retention program in May and affinity partnerships to serve vertical markets such as healthcare. In addition to our current sales model, we expect to complete alternative "asset-light" growth relationships, like our Equiva partnership, that will enable us to expand our customer base without the need for substantial amounts of capital, generating additional cash flow to expand further."

McEwen concluded, "As we invest in our business and look towards substantive growth, we believe the economics of our business remain attractive and will yield profitability and positive cash flow as we expand our customer base. With our veteran leadership team in place, we are energized by the number of significant opportunities for expansion. We are creating a company to substantially grow predictable revenues, earnings and cash flow, even during weaker economic conditions."

Quarterly Financial Summary (Q1 2023 vs. Q1 2022)

Revenue of $4.0 million, a decrease of 4.6% compared to $4.2 million for reasons discussed above. The company continued to increase activations in Q1 2023 as it relocated distribution partners to higher margin areas.

Gross profit was $1.0 million, or 24.9% gross profit margin, compared to $1.6 million, or 39.0% gross profit margin. This decline is directly related to up-front costs incurred by accelerating growth to acquire new customers within the Mobile Services segment.

Total operating expenses were $1.8 million, up 9.0% compared to $1.6 million. This increase was due primarily to professional services costs related to expanded licensing within existing and new markets for IM Telecom.

GAAP net loss was $(915,000), or $(0.02) per diluted share (based on 42.4 million weighted average shares), compared to a net loss of $(44,000), or $(0.00) per diluted share (based on 41.6 million weighted average shares). This decline was impacted by lower revenue and increased customer acquisition costs directly related to higher activations within the Mobile Services segment. Customer acquisition costs may not be amortized over the life of the customer and are recorded in full at the time of customer activation.

Non-GAAP net loss was ($608,000), or $(0.01) per diluted share, compared to Non-GAAP net income of $135,000, or $0.00 per diluted share.

Balance Sheet

The Company ended the quarter with $1.6 million in cash, compared to $2.1 million on December 31, 2022.

About KonaTel

KonaTel provides a variety of retail and wholesale telecommunications services including mobile voice/text/data service supported by national U.S. mobile networks, mobile numbers, SMS/MMS services, IoT mobile data service, and a range of hosted cloud services. KonaTel's subsidiary, Apeiron Systems (www.apeiron.io), is a global cloud communications service provider employing a dynamic "as a service" (CPaaS/UCaaS/CCaaS/PaaS) platform. Apeiron provides voice, messaging, SD-WAN, and platform services using its national cloud network. All Apeiron's services can be accessed through legacy interfaces and rich communications APIs. KonaTel's other subsidiary, Infiniti Mobile (www.infinitimobile.com), is an FCC authorized national wireless ACP and Lifeline carrier with an FCC approved wireless Lifeline Compliance Plan, licensed to provide government subsidized cellular service to low-income American families across ten states. KonaTel is headquartered in Plano, Texas.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which such performance or results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time the statements are made and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements in this press release. This press release should be considered in light of the disclosures contained in the filings of KonaTel and its "forward-looking statements" in such filings that are contained in the EDGAR Archives of the SEC at www.sec.gov.

Contacts

D. Sean McEwen
(214) 323-8410
inquiries@konatel.com

-- Unaudited Balance Sheets and Statements of Operations Follow -

KonaTel, Inc.
Consolidated Balance Sheets

(unaudited)

KonaTel, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Operations
(unaudited)

SOURCE: KonaTel