TeraGo Exits 2012 with Strong Momentum and Record Results

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Feb. 26, 2013) - TeraGo Inc. (TSX:TGO) (www.terago.ca) today announced financial and operating results for the year ended December 31, 2012.

2012 Financial and Operational Highlights

• Record annual revenue of $49.2 million in 2012, up 9% over 2011;
• Q4 2012 revenue of $12.6 million was also a record, up 5% over Q4 2011;
• EBITDA⁽¹⁾, excluding special charges (see "Special Charges" section below), was $16.0 million for the full year 2012, compared to $12.2 million in 2011, an increase of 31%. EBITDA as reported was a record $15.3 million, an increase of 25% over 2011;
• Q4 2012 EBITDA, excluding special charges, increased 15% over the same period in 2011 to $4.4 million. Q4 2012 EBITDA as reported was $4.0 million, an increase of 3% over 2011.
• Gross profit margin for the full year and Q4 2012 was 77.6% and 77.9% respectively, compared to 78.4% and 78.3% for the same periods in 2011;
• Net earnings for 2012 increased to $4.9 million compared to $0.2 million for the same period in 2011; Q4 2012 net earnings were $3.2 million compared to $0.8 million in Q4 2011; Net earnings benefitted from the recognition of $2.5 million of deferred income taxes resulting from temporary tax differences in the three months ended December 31, 2012;
• Basic earnings per share of $0.43 and $0.29 for the full year and fourth quarter of 2012 respectively, compared to $0.02 and $0.07 for the same periods in 2011;
• Added 297 net customer locations in 2012, compared to 915 in 2011 (including 585 from the MetroBridge acquisition);
• Ended the year with 6,575 customer locations in service, an increase of 5% over 2011;
• Added 243 new customer locations in Q4 2012, compared to 270 for the same period in 2011;
• Average revenue per customer location ("ARPU") for the full year and three months ended 2012 was $622 and $625, respectively, compared to $618 and $622, respectively, in 2011;
• Average monthly unit churn rate for 2012 and Q4 2012 was 1.05% and 0.86% respectively, compared to 1.08% and 1.18% for the same periods in 2011; and
• Ended 2012 with $2.6 million of cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments and access to the $4.0 million undrawn portion of the Company's $20.0 million credit facilities.

2012 Key Developments

• The Company completed its 2011 asset purchase with MetroBridge Networks International for $5.716 million and made a final payment of $1.516 million in January 2012.
• TeraGo expanded its wireless network to offer an expanded line-up of services to its Burlington, Ontario area customers and added the main business area of Milton, Ontario, Canada's fastest growing municipality, to its network footprint.
• The July 2012 amendment of the Telecommunications Act (Canada) removed foreign ownership restrictions on telecommunications companies with less than 10% market share, including TeraGo.
• With this change, subsequent to the end of the second quarter TeraGo completed the automatic conversion of approximately 3.6 million issued and outstanding Class A Non-Voting Shares into Common shares on a one-for-one basis, in accordance with the Company's share articles.
• On September 5, 2012, the Company announced a review process to identify, examine and consider a range of strategic options available to the Company with a view to enhancing shareholder value. The Company continues to explore and evaluate a range of strategic options and has not set a definitive schedule to complete its process. There can be no assurance that the strategic review process will result in any change in the operation or ownership of the Company and TeraGo does not intend to make any further announcements with respect to its strategic review until such time as it deems appropriate.
• TeraGo's ranking on the Branham Top 250 Canadian Technology Companies improved for the fifth consecutive year to 94^th.
• The Company was also recognized as one of the Achievers 50 most engaged workplaces in Canada for the second year in a row and was named one of Canada's top employers for young people for 2012.

(1)	EBITDA - See Non-GAAP measures below

Bryan Boyd, President and CEO, TeraGo Inc. said "Our growth strategy proved its worth in 2012 with record revenue, EBITDA and earnings, and strong results in all financial and operating areas. We successfully integrated the MetroBridge customer base and expanded our network footprint to include high growth areas of Canada. We look forward to continuing to deliver solid results and create value for our shareholders in 2013."

Key Financial & Operational Highlights (Unaudited)

(All financial results are in thousands, except gross profit margin, earnings (loss) per share and operating metrics)

	Three months Ended December 31							Year Ended December 31
	2012			2011				2012			2011
Financial
Revenue	$	12,567		$	11,966			$	49,168		$	44,923
Gross profit margin		77.9	%		78.3	%			77.6	%		78.4	%
EBITDA	$	3,967		$	3,833			$	15,272		$	12,234
EBITDA excluding special charges	$	4,405		$	3,833			$	15,971		$	12,234
Earnings from operations	$	924		$	999			$	3,120		$	1,388
Net earnings	$	3,245		$	811			$	4,857		$	214
Basic earnings per share	$	0.29		$	0.07			$	0.43		$	0.02
Operating
Churn rate*		0.86	%		1.18	%			1.05	%		1.08	%
Customer locations in service		6,575			6,278				6,575			6,278
ARPU*	$	625		$	622			$	622		$	618
Number of employees		189			194				189			194

The table below reconciles net earnings to EBITDA for the three months and year ended December 31, 2012 and 2011.

(in thousands of dollars)

			Three months Ended December 31								Year Ended December 31
			2012				2011				2012				2011
Net earnings for the period			$	3,245			$	811			$	4,857			$	214
Foreign exchange (gain)				11				(25	)			(14	)			26
Finance costs				197				222				828				1,167
Finance income				(9	)			(9	)			(31	)			(19	)
Deferred income tax recovery				(2,520	)			-				(2,520	)			-
Earnings from operations				924				999				3,120				1,388
Add:
Depreciation of networks assets, property and equipment and amortization of intangibles				2,821				2,499				10,674				8,827
Loss on disposal of network assets				106				43				276				324
Stock-based compensation				116				292				1,202				1,695
EBITDA				3,967				3,833				15,272				12,234
	Special Charges			438				-				699				-
EBITDA excluding special charges				4,405				3,833				15,971				12,234

2012 Results of Operations

Revenue

Total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2012 increased 9% to a record $49.2 million compared to $44.9 million for the same period in 2011. Fourth quarter 2012 revenue was a record at $12.6 million, up 5% from $12.0 million for the same period in 2011. The full year and quarterly increases largely resulted from the greater number of customer locations in service as well as existing customers upgrading their Internet and data connections. Approximately 98% of total 2012 revenue was recurring service revenue.

Customer locations

Adding 1,118 new customer additions in 2012 (1,691 in 2011), combined with a low churn rate, resulted in 297 net customer locations added, compared with 915 net additions in 2011, which included 585 in the second quarter of 2011 from the MetroBridge acquisition. The year ended with 6,575 customer locations in service, 5% growth over the 6,278 customer locations in service at December 31, 2011.

Churn rate

The average monthly churn rate in 2012 was 1.05% compared to 1.08% in 2011. The fourth quarter 2012 average monthly churn rate was 0.86%, compared to 1.18% for the same period in 2011. Management continues to strive for lower churn rates by focusing on network quality, customer service, and customer creditworthiness.

Gross margin

The gross profit margin for 2012 remained strong at 77.6% compared to 78.4% for 2011. Fourth quarter gross profit margin was 77.9% compared to 78.3% for the same period in 2011. The slight decrease is primarily due to an increase in telecommunication and other support costs as a result of the MetroBridge acquisition and annual increases in property access costs and spectrum costs.

SG&A

SG&A (Salaries and related costs - Other, and Other operating items) expenses decreased to $23.7 million in 2012 from $25.0 million in 2011. Fourth quarter SG&A expenses decreased to $5.6 million in 2012 from $5.9 million for the same period in 2011. The decreases were largely a result of lower salaries and severance costs, lower stock-based compensation, lower bad debt expense and certain other expenses. TeraGo had 31 direct sales personnel at year end, compared to 33 a year earlier.

Special charges

In September 2012, the Company announced a review process to identify, examine and consider a range of strategic options available to the Company with a view to enhancing shareholder value. Direct and incremental costs associated with this review process include investment banking fees, associated legal and other costs which have been separately classified in the Statement of Operations. For the year and three months ended December 31, 2012, special charges were $0.7 million and $0.4 million respectively, compared to $nil for the same periods in 2011.

EBITDA

2012 EBITDA increased to a record $15.3 million compared to $12.2 million in 2011, an improvement of 24.8%. Fourth quarter EBITDA increased to $4.0 million compared to $3.8 million for the same period in 2011. EBITDA includes special charges of $0.7 million and $0.4 million, respectively, for the year and fourth quarter. EBITDA, excluding the special charges, is $16.0 million and $4.4 million, respectively, for 2012 and the fourth quarter of 2012. The increase in EBITDA is in line with management's expectations as TeraGo continues to increase revenue while focusing on cost management.

Net earnings

TeraGo achieved net earnings for the full year and fourth quarter 2012 of $4.9 million and $3.2 million respectively, compared to $0.2 million and $0.8 million for the same periods in 2011. Basic earnings per share were $0.43 and $0.29 for the full year and fourth quarter of 2012 respectively, compared to $0.02 and $0.07 for the comparable periods in 2011. Both full year and fourth quarter net earnings benefited from the recognition of $2.5 million of deferred income taxes resulting from temporary tax differences in the three months and year ended December 31, 2012.

Capital resources

At year end 2012, the Company had cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $2.6 million and access to the $4.0 million undrawn portion of its $20.0 million credit facilities.

Subsequent to year end, in January 2013, the Company drew down $1.0 million from its term debt facility, which bears interest at the rate of 3.98%.

Management believes the Company's current cash, short-term investments, anticipated cash from operations, access to the undrawn portion of debt facilities and its access to additional financing in the form of debt or equity will be sufficient to meet its working capital and capital expenditure plans for the foreseeable future.

ARPU

Average monthly revenue per customer location, or ARPU, increased to $622 in 2012, compared with $618 in 2011. Fourth quarter 2012 ARPU increased to $625 compared to $622 for the same period in 2011. The increase was primarily a result of service capacity upgrades by existing customers, a higher proportion of new customers choosing higher capacity services or voice services, early termination fees, and lower credits partially offset by lower usage revenue.

Shares outstanding

As of December 31, 2012, TeraGo had 11,364,613 Common Shares and two Class B Shares outstanding.

TeraGo's spectrum portfolio

TeraGo owns 76 spectrum licences in the 24 GHz and 38 GHz bands, covering Canadian markets with a population base of nearly 23 million and plans to use this spectrum to provide Ethernet-based broadband links for businesses, government and cellular backhaul, as part of the Company's growth strategy.

Conference Call and Webcast

Management will host a conference call on Tuesday, February 26, 2013, at 9.00 a.m. EST to discuss these results. To access the conference call, please dial 416-340-2216 or 1-866-226-1792. A replay of the conference call will be available until March 19, 2013 at midnight EST. To access the replay, call 905-694-9451 or 1-800-408-3053, followed by passcode 9131735. The call will be accessible via webcast at www.terago.ca or http://www.investorcalendar.com/IC/CEPage.asp?ID=170433. An archived replay of the webcast will be available for one year.

TeraGo's audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2012, and the notes thereto, and its Management Discussion and Analysis for the same period, have been filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Non-GAAP Measures

The term "EBITDA" refers to earnings before deducting interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. EBITDA is a term commonly used to evaluate operating results. We believe that EBITDA is useful additional information to management, the Board and Investors as it provides an indication of the operational results generated by our business activities prior to taking into consideration how those activities are financed and taxed and also prior to taking into consideration asset depreciation and amortization. We also exclude foreign exchange gain or loss, finance costs, finance income, gain or loss on disposal of network assets, property and equipment and stock-based compensation from our calculation of EBITDA. Investors are cautioned that EBITDA should not be construed as an alternative to operating earnings or net earnings determined in accordance with IFRS as an indicator of our financial performance or as a measure of our liquidity and cash flows. EBITDA does not take into account the impact of working capital changes, capital expenditures, debt principal reductions and other sources and uses of cash, which are disclosed in the consolidated statements of cash flows. Our method of calculating EBITDA may differ from other issuers and, accordingly, EBITDA may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers.

The term "ARPU" refers to our average revenue per customer location. We believe that ARPU is useful supplemental information as it provides an indication of our revenue from an individual customer location on a per month basis. ARPU is not a recognized measure under IFRS and, accordingly, investors are cautioned that ARPU should not be construed as an alternative to revenue determined in accordance with IFRS as an indicator of our financial performance. We calculate ARPU by dividing our service revenue by the average number of customer locations in service during the period and we express ARPU as a rate per month. Our method of calculating ARPU may differ from other issuers and, accordingly, ARPU may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers.

The term "churn" or "churn rate" is a measure, expressed as a percentage, of customer locations terminated in a particular month. Churn represents the number of customer locations disconnected per month as a percentage of total number of customer locations in service during the month. The Company calculates churn by dividing the number of customer locations disconnected during a period by the total number of customer locations in service during the period. Churn and churn rate are not recognized measures under IFRS and, accordingly, investors are cautioned in using it. TeraGo's method of calculating churn and churn rate may differ from other issuers and, accordingly, churn may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release includes certain forward-looking statements that are made as of the date hereof and that are based upon current expectations, which involve risks and uncertainties associated with our business and the economic environment in which the business operates. All such statements are made pursuant to the 'safe harbour' provisions of, and are intended to be forward-looking statements under, applicable Canadian securities laws. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. For example, the words anticipate, believe, plan, estimate, expect, intend, should, may, could, objective and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements require us to make assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. We caution readers of this news release not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements as a number of factors could cause actual results, conditions, actions or events to differ materially from the targets, expectations, estimates or intentions expressed with the forward-looking statements. When relying on forward-looking statements to make decisions with respect to the Company, investors and others should carefully consider the risks set forth in the 2012 MD&A and 2012 Annual Information Form that can be found on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and other uncertainties and potential events. Except as may be required by applicable Canadian securities laws, we do not intend, and disclaim any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether in words, oral or written as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About TeraGo Networks

TeraGo Networks Inc. provides small and medium sized businesses with carrier-grade wireless broadband, data and voice communications services. The national network service provider owns and manages its wireless IP network servicing 6,575 customer locations in 46 major markets across Canada including Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and Winnipeg. TeraGo Networks is a Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC) and is a wholly owned subsidiary of TeraGo Inc. (TSX:TGO). More information about TeraGo is available at www.terago.ca.