On November 2, 2023, Uniti Group Inc. (UNIT, Financial) released its earnings report for the third quarter of 2023. The company reported a net loss of $80.9 million or $0.34 per diluted common share due to non-cash items. Despite this, UNIT saw a growth in consolidated revenue and adjusted EBITDA by 2.7% and 3.5% respectively, compared to the same period in the previous year. The AFFO per diluted common share stood at $0.35 for the third quarter.
Financial Highlights
Consolidated revenues for Q3 2023 were $290.7 million. Net Loss and Adjusted EBITDA were $80.9 million and $233.0 million, respectively, achieving Adjusted EBITDA margins of approximately 80%. Net loss attributable to common shares was $81.2 million for the period, which included a $153.0 million goodwill impairment charge related to the Uniti Fiber segment. Adjusted Funds From Operations (AFFO) attributable to common shareholders was $95.3 million, or $0.35 per diluted common share.
Segment Performance
Uniti Fiber contributed $76.1 million of revenues and $29.9 million of Adjusted EBITDA for Q3 2023, achieving Adjusted EBITDA margins of approximately 39%. Uniti Leasing contributed revenues of $214.6 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $208.6 million for the same period.
Liquidity and Dividends
At the end of the quarter, the company had approximately $263.1 million of unrestricted cash and cash equivalents. The Company’s leverage ratio at quarter-end was 6.08x based on net debt to Q3 2023 annualized Adjusted EBITDA. On November 1, 2023, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.15 per common share, payable on January 4, 2024, to stockholders of record on December 15, 2023.
Outlook for 2023
The company updated its 2023 outlook primarily for business unit level revisions, and transaction related and other costs incurred to date. The consolidated outlook for 2023 includes a revenue range of $1,154 million to $1,174 million, a net loss attributable to common shareholders between $58 million and $38 million, and an Adjusted EBITDA between $915 million and $935 million.
CEO Commentary
We delivered another solid quarter of results and consolidated bookings, demonstrating the resiliency of demand for fiber infrastructure and our overall business despite the current challenging macroeconomic environment. Our consolidated core recurring revenue grew 3% during the quarter when compared to the same quarter in the prior year, and we continue to focus on driving high margin recurring revenue through additional lease-up of our 139,000 route mile fiber network, while managing our capital intensity and low monthly company-wide churn of 0.3%," commented President and Chief Executive Officer, Kenny Gunderman.
Explore the complete 8-K earnings release (here) from Uniti Group Inc for further details.