VIQ Solutions Inc. (“VIQ”, “VIQ Solutions” or the “Company”) (TSX:VQS), a global provider of secure, AI-driven, digital voice and video capture technology and transcription services, today...
Adjusted EBITDA1 improved significantly quarter over quarter
MISSISSAUGA, Ontario: VIQ Solutions Inc. (“VIQ”, “VIQ Solutions” or the “Company”) (TSX:VQS), a global provider of secure, AI-driven, digital voice and video capture technology and transcription services, today announces its unaudited financial results for the first quarter ending March 31, 2024. Results are reported in US dollars and prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”).
“This quarter’s performance was noteworthy on a number of fronts. Despite the normal seasonality of the Courts segment in January, two of the three months in the quarter generated positive Adjusted EBITDA. Directionally, the Adjusted EBITDA path is the result of the positioning of our technology platform NetScribe aiAssist, the human adoption of industry specific AI, the previously announced cost reductions, price increase adjustments and the launch of some of the larger bookings in our Insurance segment. These drivers have laid the foundation for a continued financial improvement as the year progresses,” said Sebastien Pare, CEO of VIQ Solutions.
First Quarter 2024 Financial Highlights
“We are pleased with the significant improvement of approximately $1M to Adjusted EBITDA quarter over quarter and excited about our prospects for 2024. We executed and progressed against the strategic initiatives we set in motion at the beginning of 2023, continuing through the first quarter of 2024, which have resulted in significant cost reductions. Improving VIQ’s Adjusted EBITDA performance continues to be a top priority,” said Alexie Edwards, VIQ’s Chief Financial Officer.
First Quarter 2024 Operational Highlights
“Q1, which is heavily impacted by seasonality in Australia, is typically the lowest revenue generating quarter of the year. Our technology platform migrations in Australia to Netscribe is being embraced not only by our transcribers but also by our customers that are not only adapting to the technology but engaging to accelerate disruption within the courts and legal sectors. Our results in the first quarter, show we are delivering as expected, in particular, we are encouraged by the recovery of our run rate in U.S. verticals such as insurance and criminal justice. We are also excited by the long-awaited implementation of one of the top insurance companies in the U.S. This organic win is a meaningful contract that will help fuel and fortify favorable trends in 2024. Innovations that will be released in the next quarter will top off the requirements to fully execute and solidify our position as both the services and technology lead in all the geographies where we operate”, said Susan Sumner, VIQ's President and Chief Operating Officer.
1 Represents a non-IFRS measure. Non-IFRS measures are not recognized measures under IFRS, do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. Management believes non-IFRS measures, including Adjusted EBITDA, provide supplementary information to IFRS measures used in assessing the performance of the Company’s business. Please refer to the "Non-IFRS Measures" section below and the reconciliations of the non-IFRS financial measures to their most directly comparable IFRS financial measures in the tables at the end of this press release.
A copy of the Company’s unaudited financial statements and accompanying MD&A for the three months ended March 31, 2024 (collectively, the “Financial Information”) will be available under the Company’s profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.
Conference Call Details
VIQ will host a conference call and webcast to discuss the Financial Information on May 14, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. (Eastern time). The call will consist of updates by Sebastien Paré, VIQ’s Chief Executive Officer, Alexie Edwards, VIQ’s Chief Financial Officer, and Susan Sumner, VIQ’s President and Chief Operating Officer, followed by a question-and-answer period.
Investors may access a live webcast of the call on the Company’s website at www.viqsolutions.com/investors or by dialing 1-888-440-4052 (North America toll-free) or +1-646-960-0827 (international) to be connected to the call by an operator using conference ID number 4983233. Participants should dial in at least 10 minutes prior to the start of the call.
A replay of the webcast will be available on the Company’s website through the same link approximately one hour after the conference call concludes.
About VIQ Solutions
VIQ Solutions is a global provider of secure, AI-driven, digital voice and video capture technology and transcription services. VIQ offers a seamless, comprehensive solution suite that delivers intelligent automation, enhanced with human review, to drive transformation in the way content is captured, secured, and repurposed into actionable information. The cyber-secure, AI technology and services platform are implemented in the most rigid security environments including criminal justice, legal, insurance, government, corporate finance, media, and transcription service provider markets, enabling them to improve the quality and accessibility of evidence, to easily identify predictive insights and to achieve digital transformation faster and at a lower cost.
Forward-looking Statements
Certain statements included in this press release constitute forward-looking statements or forward-looking information (collectively, “forward-looking statements”) under applicable securities legislation. Such forward- looking statements or information are provided for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes.
Forward-looking statements (typically contain statements with words such as "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "plan", "intend", "estimate", "propose", "project" or similar words, including negatives thereof, suggesting future outcomes or that certain events or conditions “may” or “will” occur). These statements are only predictions. Forward-looking statements in this press release include but are not limited to statements with respect to the Company’s improved 2024 performance, including to gross margin, the Company’s focus and its priorities, expected higher volumes, increases in SaaS sales and the evolution of sectors in 2024, the filing of the Financial Information on SEDAR+ and the conference call to discuss the Company’s financial results.
Forward-looking statements are based on several factors and assumptions which have been used to develop such statements, but which may prove to be incorrect. Although VIQ believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements because VIQ can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. In addition to other factors and assumptions which may be identified in this press release, assumptions have been made regarding, among other things, recent initiatives, cost savings from workforce optimization, cost reductions from the Company’s workflow solutions and that sales and prospects may increase revenue. In addition to other factors and assumptions that may be identified in this press release, assumptions have been made regarding, among other things, recent initiatives, cost savings from workforce optimization, cost reductions from the Company’s workflow solutions, and that sales and prospects may increase revenue. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive of all factors and assumptions that have been used.
Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on a number of opinions, assumptions and estimates that while considered reasonable by the Company as of the date of this press release, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions, and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the factors described in greater detail in the “Risk Factors” section of the Company’s annual information form and in the Company’s other materials filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities.
These factors are not intended to represent a complete list of the factors that could affect the Company; however, these factors should be considered carefully. Such estimates and assumptions may prove to be incorrect or overstated. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release and the Company expressly disclaims any obligations to update or alter such statements, or the factors or assumptions underlying them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
VIQ Solutions Inc. |
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Interim Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Position |
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(Expressed in US dollars, unaudited) |
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| March 31, | December 31, | ||||
Assets |
|
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Current assets |
|
| ||||
Cash | $ | 2,221,509 |
| $ | 1,621,778 |
|
Trade and other receivables, net of allowance for doubtful accounts |
| 4,827,117 |
|
| 4,382,668 |
|
Inventories |
| 31,497 |
|
| 29,146 |
|
Prepaid expenses and deposits |
| 1,224,121 |
|
| 1,636,349 |
|
Non-current assets |
| 8,304,244 |
|
| 7,669,941 |
|
Restricted cash |
| 176,778 |
|
| 185,655 |
|
Property and equipment |
| 934,252 |
|
| 1,066,194 |
|
Right-of-use assets |
| 484,861 |
|
| 596,063 |
|
Intangible assets |
| 7,417,504 |
|
| 8,066,733 |
|
Goodwill |
| 11,861,876 |
|
| 12,090,609 |
|
Total assets | $ | 29,179,515 |
| $ | 29,675,195 |
|
Liabilities |
|
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Current liabilities |
|
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Trade and other payables and accrued liabilities | $ | 6,537,747 |
| $ | 6,269,023 |
|
Income tax payable |
| 72,049 |
|
| 59,044 |
|
Share-based payment liability |
| 24,537 |
|
| 25,246 |
|
Derivative warrant liability |
| 127,072 |
|
| 188,042 |
|
Current portion of long-term debt * |
| 13,811,491 |
|
| 19,812 |
|
Current portion of lease obligations |
| 464,135 |
|
| 483,362 |
|
Current portion of contract liabilities |
| 1,786,184 |
|
| 1,809,003 |
|
Non-current liabilities |
| 22,823,215 |
|
| 8,853,532 |
|
Long-term debt * |
| – |
|
| 13,246,176 |
|
Long-term lease obligations |
| 123,720 |
|
| 220,750 |
|
Other long-term liabilities |
| 1,033,879 |
|
| 1,179,639 |
|
Total liabilities |
| 23,980,814 |
|
| 23,500,097 |
|
Shareholders' Equity |
|
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Capital stock |
| 77,403,488 |
|
| 76,230,158 |
|
Contributed surplus |
| 8,674,321 |
|
| 8,671,879 |
|
Accumulated other comprehensive loss |
| (982,819 | ) |
| (670,788 | ) |
Deficit |
| (79,896,289 | ) |
| (78,056,151 | ) |
|
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|
| 5,198,701 |
|
| 6,175,098 |
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Total liabilities and shareholders' equity | $ | 29,179,515 |
| $ | 29,675,195 |
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* The Company obtained a waiver on April 30, 2024 from Beedie for the non compliance of the Maximum Total Secured Debt Leverage financial covenant for the month of March 2024. As a result, the principal amount of Note Payable and paid in kind interest owing remains due to be repaid in January 2027
VIQ Solutions Inc. | ||||||
Three months ended March 31, | ||||||
| 2024 |
|
| 2023 |
| |
Revenue | $ | 9,921,673 |
| $ | 10,052,571 |
|
Cost of Sales |
| 5,529,115 |
|
| 5,624,614 |
|
Gross Profit |
| 4,392,558 |
|
| 4,427,957 |
|
Expenses |
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Selling and administrative expenses |
| 4,310,774 |
|
| 5,361,301 |
|
Research and development expenses |
| 165,110 |
|
| 144,809 |
|
Stock based compensation |
| 28,533 |
|
| 333,292 |
|
Gain on revaluation of RSUs |
| (28,777 | ) |
| (56,946 | ) |
(Gain) loss on revaluation of the derivative warrant liability |
| (57,165 | ) |
| 158,752 |
|
Foreign exchange loss |
| 102,833 |
|
| 237,018 |
|
Depreciation |
| 194,894 |
|
| 226,159 |
|
Amortization |
| 806,457 |
|
| 1,130,303 |
|
Interest expense |
| 388,924 |
|
| 333,836 |
|
Accretion and other financing costs |
| 326,878 |
|
| 163,716 |
|
Gain on contingent consideration |
| – |
|
| (10,389 | ) |
Impairment of property and equipment |
| – |
|
| 157,464 |
|
Restructuring costs |
| (9,694 | ) |
| 27,412 |
|
Other income |
| (11,205 | ) |
| (5,094 | ) |
Total expenses |
| 6,217,652 |
|
| 8,201,633 |
|
Current income tax expense |
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