GAINESVILLE, Fla., March 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — SharpSpring, Inc. (NASDAQ:SHSP), a global provider of cloud-based marketing technologies, reported financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2016.

Fourth Quarter 2016 Operational Highlights

  • Added 213 new SharpSpring customers and finished the year with 1,139 agency customers and more than 5,250 businesses using the flagship platform.
  • Ranked 391 on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500™, a ranking of the 500 fastest growing companies in North America.
  • Finalized the closure of the South African office to improve efficiencies and organizational alignment.
  • Elected technology executive Steven Huey to the board of directors and approved a plan to increase the size of the board to seven directors, five of which would be independent.

Fourth Quarter 2016 Financial Results from Continuing Operations

  • Revenue increased 10% to $2.9 million from $2.6 million in the same year-ago period. The improvement was driven by strong growth from the company’s flagship marketing automation solution, which increased 87% to $2.7 million during the fourth quarter of 2016.
  • Gross profit remained consistent at $1.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2016, compared to the same year-ago period. 
  • Including non-cash impairment charges, net loss from continuing operations totaled $2.2 million or ($­­0.26) per share, compared to a net loss of $4.4 million or ($0.60) per share in the fourth quarter of 2015.
  • Adjusted EBITDA loss (a non-GAAP metric reconciled below) totaled $1.2 million, compared to an adjusted EBITDA loss of $1.0 million in the same year-ago period.
  • Core net loss from continuing operations (a non-GAAP metric reconciled below) totaled $851,000 or ($0.10) per share, compared to core net loss of $1.1 million or ($0.16) per share in the same year-ago period.
  • At quarter-end, cash totaled $8.7 million, compared to $11.6 million at the end of the prior quarter, reflecting $1.1 million of cash tax payments related to the gain on the sale of the SMTP email relay business, which was divested in June 2016.

Full Year 2016 Financial Results from Continuing Operations

  • Revenue increased 26% to $11.5 million from $9.2 million in 2015, driven by strong growth from the flagship SharpSpring marketing automation solution, which increased 109% to $9.1 million.
  • Gross profit was $7.0 million, an increase of 10% from $6.4 million in 2015.
  • Including non-cash impairment charges, net loss from continuing operations totaled $5.2 million or ($0.66) per share, compared to a net loss from continuing operations of $9.6 million or ($1.51) per share in 2015.
  • Adjusted EBITDA loss totaled $3.8 million, compared to adjusted EBITDA loss of $2.9 million in 2015.
  • Core net loss totaled $2.5 million or ($0.31) core net loss per share, compared to core net loss of $2.5 million or ($0.40) core net loss per share in 2015.

Management Commentary
“2016 was a pivotal year for SharpSpring,” said company CEO, Rick Carlson. “We entered the period as essentially three distinct businesses, but emerged as a leaner, more focused, and stronger organization. We grew our flagship product revenues by 109% during 2016 and finished the year with more than 1,100 agency partners and over 5,250 businesses using our platform. Although we succeeded in migrating a portion the GraphicMail customer base to a new product, SharpSpring Mail+, we were ultimately unable to retain customers at the rates that we originally hoped.

“Over the past few months, we have taken some dramatic steps to transform our business. These measures included closing the South African office, adding sales and marketing resources, enhancing our R&D team, and securing partnerships with adjacent solution providers, such as Shutterstock, to strengthen the value of our offering and enable us to become more entrenched within our growing customer base.

“With the corporate restructuring now fully behind us, we are in a stronger position to capitalize on the rapidly expanding marketing automation industry. Although there is still work to be done, we believe we entered 2017 with a completely clean slate, looking leaner and more focused than ever. We expect to leverage this focus over the coming months in the form of accelerated sales starting in Q2 and through the rest of 2017.”

Conference Call
SharpSpring management will hold a conference call today (March 15, 2017) at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time (1:30 p.m. Pacific time) to discuss these results.

Company CEO Rick Carlson and CFO Edward Lawton will host the call, followed by a question and answer period.

U.S. dial-in number: 877-407-4018
International number: 201-689-8471

Please call the conference telephone number 5-10 minutes prior to the start time. An operator will register your name and organization. If you have any difficulty connecting with the conference call, please contact Liolios Group at 949-574-3860.

The conference call will be broadcast live and available for replay here and via the investor relations section of the company’s website at investors.sharpspring.com.

A replay of the conference call will be available after 7:30 p.m. Eastern time on the same day through April 5, 2017.

Toll-free replay number: 844-512-2921  
International replay number: 412-317-6671
Replay ID: 13654839

About SharpSpring, Inc.
SharpSpring, Inc. (NASDAQ:SHSP) is a rapidly growing, highly-rated global provider of affordable marketing automation delivered via a cloud-based Software-as-a Service (SaaS) platform. Thousands of businesses around the world rely on SharpSpring to generate leads, improve conversions to sales, and drive higher returns on marketing investments. Known for its innovation, open architecture and free customer support, SharpSpring offers flexible monthly contracts at a fraction of the price of competitors making it an easy choice for growing businesses and digital marketing agencies. Learn more at www.sharpspring.com.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Adjusted EBITDA, core net loss and core net loss per share are “non-GAAP financial measures” presented as supplemental measures of the company’s performance. These metrics are not presented in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP. The company believes these measures provide additional meaningful information in evaluating its performance over time. However, the measures have limitations as analytical tools, and you should not consider them in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of the company’s results as reported under GAAP. A reconciliation of net loss to these measures is included for your reference in the financial section of this earnings press release.

Important Cautions Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
The information posted in this release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify these statements by use of the words “may,” “will,” “should,” “plans,” “explores,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “continues,” “estimates,” “projects,” “intends,” and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or anticipated. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, general economic and business conditions, effects of continued geopolitical unrest and regional conflicts, competition, changes in technology and methods of marketing, delays in completing new customer offerings, changes in customer order patterns, changes in customer offering mix, continued success in technological advances and delivering technological innovations, our ability to successfully utilize our cash to develop current and future products, delays due to issues with outsourced service providers, those events and factors described by us in Item 1. A “Risk Factors” in our most recent Form 10-K and Form 10-Q and other risks to which our Company is subject, and various other factors beyond the Company’s control. Except to the extent required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise (publicly or otherwise) any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events, new information or future circumstances.

SharpSpring, Inc.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(Unaudited)
    Three Months Ended   Year Ended
    December 31,   December 31,
      2016       2015       2016       2015  
Revenue   $   2,852,979     $   2,602,558     $   11,541,702     $   9,184,307  
                 
Cost of services       1,156,102         931,710         4,507,098         2,781,691  
Gross profit       1,696,877         1,670,848         7,034,604         6,402,616  
                 
Operating expenses:                
Sales and marketing       1,269,855         1,569,436         5,354,301         5,039,395  
Research and development       656,841         497,544         2,308,650         1,733,951  
General and administrative       1,261,890         851,921         4,432,942         4,005,244  
Change in earn out liability             (85,748 )       219,473         2,555,649  
Intangible asset amortization       291,266         367,989         1,360,105         1,508,616  
Impairment of intangible assets       1,459,541         1,310,386         1,459,541         1,310,386  
                 
Total operating expenses       4,939,393         4,511,528         15,135,012         16,153,241  
                 
Operating loss       (3,242,516 )       (2,840,680 )       (8,100,408 )       (9,750,625 )
Other income (expense), net       40,262         (101,391 )       515,245         (231,718 )
                 
Loss before income taxes       (3,202,254 )       (2,942,071 )       (7,585,163 )       (9,982,343 )
Provision (benefit) for income tax       (1,013,922 )       1,425,005         (2,348,722 )       (360,409 )
Net loss from continuing operations       (2,188,332 )       (4,367,076 )       (5,236,441 )       (9,621,934 )
Net income from discontinued operations, net of tax             448,489         10,187,451         1,377,632  
Net income (loss)   $   (2,188,332 )   $   (3,918,587 )   $   4,951,010     $   (8,244,302 )
                 
Net loss per share from continuing operations                
Basic net loss per share   $   (0.26 )   $   (0.60 )   $   (0.66 )   $   (1.51 )
Diluted net loss per share   $   (0.26 )   $   (0.60 )   $   (0.66 )   $   (1.51 )
                 
Net income per share from discontinued operations                
Basic net income per share   $     $   0.06     $   1.29     $   0.22  
Diluted net income per share   $     $   0.06     $   1.29     $   0.22  
                 
Net income (loss) per share                
Basic net income (loss) per share   $   (0.26 )   $   (0.54 )   $   0.63     $   (1.30 )
Diluted net income (loss) per share   $   (0.26 )   $   (0.54 )   $   0.63     $   (1.30 )
                 
Shares used in computing basic net income (loss) per share       8,356,735         7,229,950         7,895,197         6,354,134  
Shares used in computing diluted net income (loss) per share       8,356,735         7,229,950         7,895,197         6,354,134  
                 
                 
                 
                 
                 
SharpSpring, Inc.        
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS        
                 
    December 31,   December 31,        
      2016       2015          
    (unaudited)            
Assets                
Cash and cash equivalents   $   8,651,374     $   4,158,646          
Accounts receivable, net       1,261,923         794,123          
Deferred income taxes             16,645          
Income taxes receivable       1,355,180         793,189          
Other current assets       1,396,642         205,143          
Assets held for sale             45,697          
Total current assets       12,665,119         6,013,443          
                 
Property and equipment, net       905,345         565,481          
Goodwill       8,845,394         8,881,933          
Other intangible assets, net       2,850,635         5,518,305          
Deposits and other       30,464         11,280          
Assets held for sale             251,565          
Total assets   $   25,296,957     $   21,242,007          
                 
Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity                
Accounts payable   $   498,534     $   609,454          
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities       953,171         1,098,790          
Deferred revenue       280,159         525,217          
Current portion of earn out liabilities             5,191,116          
Income taxes payable       418,357         36,469          
Deferred income taxes             7,598          
Liabilities held for sale             369,941          
Total current liabilities       2,150,221         7,838,585          
                 
Deferred income taxes       228,491                
Total liabilities       2,378,712         7,838,585          
                 
Shareholders’ equity:                
Preferred stock, $0.001 par value, 5,000,000 shares authorized, no shares issued or
outstanding at December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015
                   
Common stock, $0.001 par value,  Authorized shares-50,000,000; issued shares-
8,380,663 at December 31, 2016 and 7,233,035 at December 31, 2015; outstanding
shares-8,360,663 at December 31, 2016 and 7,233,035 at December 31, 2015
      8,381         7,233          
Additional paid in capital       27,556,398         22,607,290          
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)       (445,055 )       (142,613 )        
Accumulated deficit       (4,117,479 )       (9,068,488 )        
Treasury stock       (84,000 )              
Total shareholders’ equity       22,918,245         13,403,422          
                 
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity   $   25,296,957     $   21,242,007          
                 
                 
                 
SharpSpring, Inc.        
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS        
(Unaudited)        
    Year Ended        
    December 31,        
      2016       2015          
Cash flows from operating activities:                
Net income (loss)   $   4,951,010     $   (8,244,302 )        
Deduct: Income from discontinued operations, net of income taxes       10,187,451         1,377,632          
Net loss from continuing operations       (5,236,441 )       (9,621,934 )        
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:            
Depreciation and amortization       1,519,257         1,598,032          
Impairment of intangibles       1,459,541         1,310,386          
Excess tax benefits from share-based payments             (1,247 )        
Non-cash stock compensation       705,649         842,863          
Deferred income taxes       233,719         842,688          
Loss on disposal of property and equipment       128,978         2,491          
Non-cash change in value of earn out liability       219,473         2,556,209          
Non-cash gain from escrow claim       (84,000 )              
Unearned foreign currency (gain) loss       (185,414 )       152,211          
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:                
Accounts receivable       (499,516 )       (428,764 )        
Other assets       (210,715 )       (18,734 )        
Income taxes, net       (5,772,621 )       (445,145 )        
Accounts payable       (156,081 )       238,957          
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities       271,058         71,487          
Deferred revenue       (246,721 )       (91,703 )        
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities – Continuing operations       (7,853,834 )       (2,992,203 )        
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities – Discontinued operations       785,830         1,493,756          
Net cash used in operating activities       (7,068,004 )       (1,498,447 )        
                 
Cash flows from investing activities:                
Purchases of property and equipment       (455,506 )       (456,512 )        
Acquisitions of customer assets from resellers       (724,678 )       –           
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities – Continuing operations       (1,180,184 )       (456,512 )        
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities – Discontinued operations       13,945,548         (169,219 )        
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities       12,765,364         (625,731 )        
                 
Cash flows from financing activities:                
Payment to reduce earn out liabilities       (1,207,929 )       (2,000,000 )        
Proceeds from exercise of stock options        12,217         141,441          
Proceeds from issuance of common stock             5,332,023          
Excess tax benefits from share-based payments       (422 )       1,247          
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities – Continuing operations       (1,196,134 )       3,474,711          
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities – Discontinued operations                    
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities       (1,196,134 )       3,474,711          
                 
Effect of exchange rate on cash       (8,498 )       (17,407 )        
                 
Change in cash and cash equivalents       4,492,728         1,333,126          
                 
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period       4,158,646         2,825,520          
                 
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period   $   8,651,374     $   4,158,646          
                 

 

SharpSpring, Inc.
RECONCILIATION TO ADJUSTED EBITDA
(Unaudited, in Thousands)
                 
    Three Months Ended   Year Ended
    December 31,   December 31,
      2016       2015       2016       2015  
Net loss from continuing operations   $   (2,188 )   $   (4,367 )   $   (5,236 )   $   (9,622 )
Provision (benefit) for income tax       (1,014 )       1,425         (2,349 )       (360 )
Other (income) expense, net       (40 )       101         (515 )       232  
Depreciation & amortization       350         394         1,519         1,598  
Non-cash stock compensation       206         204         706         843  
Acquisition related charges             (86 )       219         2,604  
Restructuring charges             24         394         493  
Impairment of intangible assets       1,460         1,310         1,460         1,310  
Adjusted EBITDA       (1,226 )       (995 )       (3,802 )       (2,902 )
                 
                 
SharpSpring, Inc.
RECONCILIATION TO CORE NET INCOME (LOSS) AND CORE EARNINGS (LOSS) PER SHARE
(Unaudited, in Thousands)
                 
    Three Months Ended   Year Ended
    December 31,   December 31,
      2016       2015       2016       2015  
Net loss from continuing operations   $   (2,188 )   $   (4,367 )   $   (5,236 )   $   (9,622 )
Amortization of intangible assets       291         368         1,360         1,509  
Non-cash stock compensation       206         204         706         843  
Acquisition related charges             (86 )       219         2,604  
Restructuring charges             24         394         493  
Impairment of intangible assets       1,460         1,310         1,460         1,310  
Gain from escrow claim                   (260 )      
Tax adjustment       (620 )       1,418         (1,114 )       339  
Core net loss from continuing operations   $    (851 )   $    (1,129 )   $    (2,471 )   $    (2,524 )
                 
Core net loss per share   $    (0.10 )   $    (0.16 )   $    (0.31 )   $    (0.40 )
Weighted average common shares outstanding       8,357         7,230         7,895         6,354  

 

CONTACT: Company Contact:
Edward Lawton
Chief Financial Officer
617-500-0122
[email protected]

Investor Relations:
Liolios Group, Inc.
Matt Glover or Najim Mostamand
949-574-3860
[email protected]