Softchoice Corporation (“Softchoice” or the “Company”) (TSX: SFTC) today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter (“Q4 2023”) and full year ended December 31, 2023. The Company also declared (i) a quarterly dividend of Cdn. $0.13 per Common Share, an increase over last quarter; and (ii) a Cdn. $4.00 per Common Share special dividend as further detailed below. Softchoice will hold a conference call/webcast to discuss its results today, March 5, 2024, at 8:30 a.m. ET. Except where noted, all dollar ($) amounts are in U.S. dollars.

Financial results highlights1

Q4 2023 compared with Q4 2022

  • Solid demand across strategic focus areas drove a 5.9% increase in Gross Sales, including broad-based growth of 11.1% in Software & Cloud and 6.2% in Services.
  • Gross Profit growth of 1.3% was lower than Gross Sales primarily due to a decline in Services gross profit, stemming from a non-recurring $2.7 million reduction in cost of sales recorded in the prior year, including a variable compensation accrual reversal.
  • Adjusted EBITDA was $28.4 million, a decline of 9.9%, or $3.1 million, mainly due to a variable compensation accrual reversed in the prior year.
  • Net income per share on a diluted basis was $0.32 and Adjusted EPS on a diluted basis was $0.31 compared with $0.30 and $0.32, respectively in Q4 2022.

2023 compared with 2022

  • Record Gross Profit with growth of 4.7%, or $14.8 million, in Constant Currency, (a 3.3% or $10.4 million increase on a reported basis) driven by double-digit growth in Software & Cloud solutions.
  • Adjusted EBITDA increased 10.8%, or $8.8 million, to $90.6 million, or 28.1% of gross profit, up from $81.8 million or 26.2% of gross profit.
  • Adjusted EBITDA margin increased by 190 basis points driven by an ongoing focus on capturing operational leverage and efficiencies as well as a foreign exchange benefit, which enabled an increase in sales capacity and the launch of an AI solutions team to accelerate future growth.
  • Income from operations grew by 31.2% to $70.6 million, resulting in Net income per share on a diluted basis of $0.78 (an increase of 122.9%) and Adjusted EPS on a diluted basis of $0.90 (an increase of 12.5%).
  • High cash conversion of profits combined with effective working capital management delivered Net cash provided by operating activities of $100 million, with $30 million returned to shareholders via quarterly dividends and share buybacks, and net debt reduction of approximately $70 million, resulting in net leverage at December 31, 2023 of 0.4x versus 1.3x the prior year.

Andrew Caprara, Softchoice’s Chief Executive Officer, said: 2

“Our record performance in 2023 validates our strengths in our strategic focus areas of cloud, digital workplace, and software asset management, all of which are underpinned by security, and our investments in driving organic growth by continuously adding to our sales capacity and technical capabilities. These investments are helping us build a highly recurring, consumption-based Software & Cloud business that achieved double-digit gross profit growth in 2023, outpacing our average growth rate in those solutions compared to the prior five years. This growth offset the impact of industry-wide challenges within the wider Hardware market, resulting in our organic growth rate exceeding major competitors in our markets.

“We are continuing to grow our sales capacity, rolling out innovations in our software asset management and services offerings, and investing in our AI solutions. Since the launch of Copilot for Microsoft 365 last November, we have seen extraordinary customer interest in identifying use cases and preparing their IT environments for AI applications. As one of the largest software and cloud solution providers in the North American mid-market, we are well positioned to become a leader in driving adoption of Copilot for Microsoft 365 and deliver full next-generation cloud and workplace AI solutions across Microsoft Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud Platform.”

Jonathan Roiter, Softchoice’s Chief Financial Officer, said:

“Our ongoing systematic approach towards improving operational execution drove a significant increase in our Adjusted EBITDA margin in 2023 as well as record profits and cash flow, which in turn allowed us to reduce our leverage to only 0.4x while returning $30 million in capital to our shareholders. We achieved this while simultaneously increasing our salesforce and technical talent and growing our customer base at pre-pandemic levels. Our focus on organically growing our business also generated high returns on invested capital that we believe are best-in-class.

“Reflecting confidence in our long-term growth strategy and ability to generate significant free cash flow, our Board has approved our third annual increase to our quarterly dividend, which is now 86% higher than when we first launched it following our IPO in 2021. Beginning the year with minimal debt and the proven capability to deleverage, we are also pleased our Board has approved a special dividend of $4.00 per share. The primary focus of our balanced capital allocation framework is to continue to fund organic growth investments, followed by progressively increasing annually our quarterly dividend, deleveraging our balance sheet and lastly opportunistic M&A, with excess capital returned to shareholders all within our view of an optimal net leverage range of approximately 1x to 3x.”

Quarterly Dividends and Share Buyback Update 2

  • On March 4, 2024, the Board declared a quarterly dividend of Cdn. $0.13 per Common Share for the period from January 1, 2024 to March 31, 2024 to be paid on April 12, 2024 to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 28, 2024, representing an approximate 18% increase over Q1 2023. The dividend to which this notice relates is an eligible dividend for tax purposes. This is the third consecutive year that the Board has approved a two-cent increase in quarterly dividends since the Company went public in 2021.
  • During Q4 2023 and Fiscal 2023, the Company repurchased and cancelled 180,736 and 945,073 Common Shares, respectively, at an average price of Cdn. $16.53 and $17.32 per Common Share, respectively, under its NCIB program. Since March 13, 2023, the beginning of the current NCIB term, the Company has repurchased and cancelled a total of 423,409 Common Shares at an average price of Cdn. $16.78. The Board has approved the renewal of the NCIB upon expiry of the current NCIB for up to 2.5% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares, subject to approval by the Toronto Stock Exchange (“TSX”).

Special Dividend 2

  • The Board has also declared a special dividend of Cdn. $4.00 per Common Share to be paid on April 12, 2024 to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 28, 2024.
  • Based on current shares outstanding and foreign exchange rate of $0.74 CAD/USD, the aggregate amount of the special dividend to be paid is estimated to be approximately $180 million; such payment is anticipated to be made using a combination of cash on hand and the Corporation’s revolving term loan (the “Credit Facility”). On March 4, 2024, the Company increased its Credit Facility commitment by $50 million using a portion of the available $100 million accordion feature.
  • The special dividend to which this notice relates is an eligible dividend for tax purposes.

Supplementary Measures for the year ended December 31, 20231

  • Revenue Retention Rate was 98%, with the decline in Hardware Gross Sales offsetting increased Customer retention and increased Software & Cloud Gross Sales. SMB and Commercial revenue retention continued to trend at or above 100%, offset by a decline in Enterprise revenue retention driven by a decrease in Hardware Gross Sales.
  • Customers grew by 4.6% to 4,908 as at December 31, 2023, an increase of 214 versus December 31, 2022, supported by a 6.6% increase in average Account Executives (“AEs”) to 454.
  • AE headcount was 497 at December 31, 2023, an increase of 57 or 13.0% versus December 31, 2022.
  • Free Cash Flow increased by 20.7% to $57.3 million. Free Cash Flow is a non-IFRS measure. As of Q4 2023, the Company has replaced its previous metric Adjusted Free Cash Flow with Free Cash Flow as defined in this quarter’s Management’s Discussion and Analysis.

Financial Summary1

US$ M except per share amounts, percentages and ratios

Operations

Q4
2023

Q4
2022

Change
%

Change in
Constant
Currency*
%

2023

2022

Change
%

Change in
Constant
Currency*
%

Gross Sales

604.6

570.7

5.9%

 

2,210.4

2,165.0

2.1%

 

Net sales

217.9

228.9

(4.8)%

 

816.4

928.2

(12.0)%

 

Gross profit

87.3

86.2

1.3%

1.4%

322.7

312.3

3.3%

4.7%

as a percentage of Gross Sales

14.4%

15.1%

 

 

14.6%

14.4%

 

 

Adjusted EBITDA

28.4

31.5

(9.9%)

 

90.6

81.8

10.8%

 

as a Percentage of Gross Profit

32.5%

36.6%

 

 

28.1%

26.2%

 

 

Income from operations

23.8

25.3

(6.0%)

 

70.6

53.8

31.2%

 

Net income

19.0

18.2

4.5%

 

46.0

21.8

111.5%

 

Net income per Diluted Share

$0.32

$0.30

6.7%

 

$0.78

$0.35

122.9%

 

Adjusted Net Income

18.5

19.5

(5.1%)

 

53.1

49.5

7.3%

 

Adjusted EPS (Diluted)

$0.31

$0.32

(3.1%)

 

$0.90

$0.80

12.5%

 

Cash flow

Q4 2023

Q4 2022

Change
%

2023

2022

Change
%

Net cash provided by operating activities, excluding change in non-cash operating working capital

19.7

20.0

(1.2%)

64.7

44.9

44.2%

Net cash provided by operating activities

74.7

71.1

5.1%

99.9

40.0

149.4%

Free Cash Flow

 

 

 

57.3

47.5

20.7%

Dividend per share

Cdn. $0.11

Cdn. $0.09

22.2%

Cdn. $0.44

Cdn. $0.36

22.2%

Financial Position, as at:

Dec. 31, 2023

Dec. 31, 2022

Loans and borrowings less Cash

21.7

88.0

Consolidated net debt** to Adjusted EBITDA ratio

0.4

1.3

Gross Sales and Gross Profit by IT Solution Type and Sales Channel

 

Q4
2023

Q4
2022

Change
%

Change in
Constant
Currency*
%

2023

2022

Change
%

Change in
Constant
Currency*
%

Gross Sales by IT Solution Type*:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Software & Cloud

459.9

414.1

11.1%

 

1,659.4

1,493.0

11.1%

 

Services

28.8

27.1

6.2%

 

111.8

108.8

2.8%

 

Hardware

115.8

129.5

(10.6)%

 

439.2

563.3

(22.0)%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gross Profit by IT Solution Type:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Software & Cloud

59.0

54.3

8.8%

9.1%

219.0

197.9

10.7%

12.6%

as a percentage of Gross Sales

12.8%

13.1%

 

 

13.2%

13.3%

 

 

Services

8.3

10.6

(21.9)%

(21.8)%

32.1

30.5

5.1%

5.2%

as a percentage of Gross Sales

28.7%

39.0%

 

 

28.7%

28.1%

 

 

Hardware

20.0

21.3

(6.1)%

(6.7)%

71.5

83.9

(14.7)%

(14.0)%

as a percentage of Gross Sales

17.3%

16.5%

 

 

16.3%

14.9%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gross Sales by Sales Channel*:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SMB

122.1

115.2

6.0%

 

510.0

448.7

13.7%

 

Commercial

307.5

301.4

2.0%

 

1,136.2

1,110.0

2.4%

 

Enterprise

174.9

154.1

13.5%

 

564.2

606.3

(7.0)%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gross Profit by Sales Channel:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SMB

20.2

19.4

3.9%

3.3%

74.9

69.8

7.2%

8.7%

as a percentage of Gross Sales

16.5%

16.9%

 

 

14.7%

15.6%

 

 

Commercial

47.3

46.6

1.4%

1.2%

180.5

172.1

4.9%

6.1%

as a percentage of Gross Sales

15.4%

15.5%

 

 

15.9%

15.5%

 

 

Enterprise

19.9

20.1

(1.3)%

0.0%

67.3

70.4

(4.4)%

(2.5)%

as a percentage of Gross Sales

11.4%

13.1%

 

 

11.9%

11.6%

 

 

Amounts may not add to total due to rounding

* Q4 2023 and 2023 in Constant Currency are translated at the average foreign exchange rate of Q4 2022 and 2022, which was $0.74 CAD/USD and $0.77 CAD/USD, respectively.

** Consolidated net debt equates to loans and borrowings plus lease liabilities less cash-on-hand

Quarterly Conference Call

Softchoice’s management team will hold a conference call to discuss our 2023 results today at 8:30 a.m. (ET).

DATE: Tuesday, March 5, 2024

TIME: 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time

WEBCAST: https://app.webinar.net/VeDM7Po4RxG

A link to the webcast will also be available on the Events page of the Investors section of Softchoice’s website at http://investors.softchoice.com. Please connect at least 15 minutes prior to the conference call to ensure adequate time for any software download that may be required to join the webcast. An archived replay of the webcast will be available for 90 days.

DIAL-IN: To join the conference call without operator assistance, you may register and enter your phone number at https://emportal.ink/3u4ZXLk to receive an instant automated call back. You can also dial direct to be entered to the call by an Operator: 416-764-8659 or 1-888-664-6392.

TAPED REPLAY: 416-764-8677 or 1-888-390-0541, Replay Code 493447 # (Available until March 12, 2024)

Capitalized Terms

Capitalized terms used in this release and terms we use to describe our IT solution types, including Software & Cloud, Services, and Hardware and sales channels including SMB, Commercial, and Enterprise, as well as other measures such as Customer, Revenue Retention Rate, and Constant Currency, are described in the Company’s Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations the three months and year ended December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2023 (the “Q4 2023 MD&A”), and/or our annual information form dated March 29, 2023 (the “AIF”) filed on SEDAR (as defined below) and available on the Company’s investor relations website http://investors.softchoice.com.

1 Non-IFRS Measures

This news release makes reference to certain non-IFRS measures and other measures. These measures are not recognized measures under International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”) and do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. Rather, these measures are provided as additional information to complement those IFRS measures by providing further understanding of our results of operations from management’s perspective. Accordingly, these measures should not be considered in isolation nor as a substitute for analysis of our financial information reported under IFRS. We use non-IFRS measures, including “Adjusted EBITDA”, “Adjusted EBITDA as a Percentage of Gross Profit”, “Adjusted Cash Operating Expenses”, “Adjusted Net Income (Loss)”, “Adjusted EPS”, “Free Cash Flow”, and “Gross Sales”. These non-IFRS measures and other measures are used to provide investors with supplemental measures of our operating performance and thus highlight trends in our core business that may not otherwise be apparent when relying solely on IFRS measures. Our management uses these non-IFRS measures and other measures in order to facilitate operating performance comparisons from period to period, to prepare annual operating budgets and forecasts and to determine components of management compensation. We also believe that securities analysts, investors and other interested parties frequently use certain of these non-IFRS measures and other measures in the evaluation of issuers. As required by Canadian securities laws, we reconcile the non-IFRS measures to the most comparable IFRS measures. For more information on non-IFRS measures and other measures, see the Q4 2023 MD&A filed on SEDAR and available on the Company’s investor relations website http://investors.softchoice.com.

Reconciliations of Non-IFRS Financial Measures

(Information in thousands of U.S. dollars, unless otherwise stated)

Three Months Ended
December 31,

Fiscal Year Ended
December 31,

Reconciliation of Net Sales to Gross Sales

2023

2022

2023

2022

Net sales

217,880

228,898

816,404

928,214

Net adjustment for sales transacted as agent

386,688

341,792

1,394,039

1,236,792

Gross Sales

604,568

570,690

2,210,443

2,165,006

 

Reconciliation of Operating Expenses to Adjusted Cash Operating Expenses

 

 

 

 

Operating expenses

63,551

60,904

252,057

258,490

Depreciation and amortization

(2,501)

(4,798)

(13,873)

(19,391)

Equity-settled share-based compensation and other costs(1)

(1,176)

(504)

(3,793)

(2,933)

Non-recurring compensation and other costs (2)

(56)

(862)

(1,473)

(3,825)

CRA assessment (5)

(899)

(899)

Business transformation non-recurring costs (3)

(84)

(3)

(1,447)

Non-recurring legal recovery (provision) (4)

115

(322)

Adjusted Cash Operating Expenses

58,919

54,656

232,131

230,572

 

 

 

 

 

Reconciliation of Income from operations to Adjusted EBITDA

 

 

 

 

Income from operations

23,759

25,271

70,626

53,841

Depreciation and amortization

2,501

4,798

13,873

19,391

Equity-settled share-based compensation and other

costs (1)

1,176

504

3,793

2,933

Non-recurring compensation and other costs (2)

56

862

1,473

3,825

Business transformation non-recurring costs (3)

84

3

1,447

Non-recurring legal (recovery) provision (4)

(115)

322

CRA assessment (5)

899

899

Adjusted EBITDA

28,391

31,519

90,552

81,759

Adjusted EBITDA as a Percentage of Gross Profit (6)

32.5%

36.6%

28.1%

26.2%

 

 

 

 

 

Reconciliation of Net Income to Adjusted Net Income

 

 

 

 

Net income

19,036

18,211

46,036

21,770

Amortization of intangible assets

585

3,247

7,164

12,921

Equity-settled share-based compensation and other

costs (1)

1,176

504

3,793

2,933

Non-recurring compensation and other costs (2)

56

862

1,473

3,825

Business transformation non-recurring costs (3)

84

3

1,447

Non-recurring legal (recovery) provision (4)

(115)

322

CRA assessment (5)

899

899

(Gain) loss on lease modification (7)

(569)

4

(778)

Foreign exchange (gain) loss (8)

(3,011)

(2,142)

(3,522)

13,146

Other non-recurring expense (9)

87

930

Related tax effects (10)

(268)

(724)

(2,730)

(7,026)

Adjusted Net Income

18,473

19,473

53,092

49,490

Weighted Average Number of Shares (Basic)

59,612,564

58,437,178

58,521,141

58,961,733

Weighted Average Number of Shares (Diluted)

60,227,454

61,303,730

59,136,031

61,828,285

Adjusted EPS (Basic) (11)

0.31

0.33

0.91

0.84

Adjusted EPS (Diluted) (11)

0.31

0.32

0.90

0.80

The following measures are reported on a trailing twelve-month basis only:

Reconciliation of Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities to

Free Cash Flow

Fiscal Year Ended December 31,

2023

2022

Net cash provided by operating activities

99,882

40,049

Adjusted for:

 

 

Change in noncash working capital

(35,149)

4,835

Maintenance Capex

(3,420)

(3,393)

Principal lease payments

(4,880)

(4,965)

Realized foreign exchange (gain) loss

853

10,941

Free Cash Flow

57,286

47,467

 

 

 

 

 

 

Notes (Refer to the Q4 2023 MD&A for description of the sections with parentheses within these Notes)

(1) 

These expenses represent costs recognized in connection with the Company’s legacy option plan and omnibus long-term equity incentive plan, pursuant to which options granted are fair valued at the time of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model and adjusted for any plan modifications, and expenses related to Restricted share units (“RSUs”) and Deferred share units (“DSUs”) (as defined below). Beginning in Q3 2023, these expenses include the employer match contributions to the ESPP.

(2)

These expenses include compensation costs relating to severance and other costs comprised of professional, legal, consulting, accounting and management fees that are non-recurring and are sporadic in nature.

(3)

All non-recurring costs relating to the business transformation initiative were segregated for tracking purposes and are monitored on a regular basis. The costs relate to the implementation and system enhancements for the business transformation. As at December 31, 2023, a total of $51 million has been invested to date in operating and capital expenditures in the business transformation initiative and related system enhancements.

(4) 

The Company has settled certain legal claims, without admission of liability or wrongdoing, in respect of U.S. wage and hour disputes and has incurred $2.0 million in expenses for such settlements to date of which $0.3 million was incurred in Fiscal 2022, which are non-recurring in nature. These legal claims were settled in Q2 2022. In Q1 2023, the Company received $0.1 million related to this matter.

(5)

The Company is currently under audit with the Canada Revenue Agency for wage subsidies collected under the CEWS program during the period of Q1 2020 to Q3 2021, and has provided for $0.9 million in regards to a CEWS reassessment.

(6) 

Adjusted EBITDA as a Percentage of Gross Profit is calculated as Adjusted EBITDA divided by gross profit. See “Non-IFRS Measures and Other Measures – Non-IFRS Measures – Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA as a Percentage of Gross Profit”.

(7)

The gain on lease modification recognized in Q1 2022 as a result of the derecognition of the lease liabilities related to rental parking as the associated office space has been subleased.

(8)

Foreign exchange (gain) loss includes both realized and unrealized amounts.

(9)

Other non-recurring expense include costs the Company incurred in Q2 2023 in connection with the tax reorganization that occurred at the time of the IPO and costs recognized in Q4 2022 relating to hardware devices stolen by a third-party purporting to be a customer.

(10)

This relates to the tax effects of the adjusting items, which was calculated by applying the statutory tax rate of 26.5% and adjusting for any permanent differences and capital losses.

(11) 

Basic Adjusted EPS is calculated using the weighted average number of shares outstanding during the period. Diluted Adjusted EPS includes the dilutive impact of the stock options in addition to the weighted average number of shares outstanding during the period. See “Non-IFRS Measures and Other Measures – Non-IFRS Measures – Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted EPS”.

 

2 Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws in Canada.

Forward-looking information may relate to our future business, financial outlook and anticipated events or results and may include information regarding our financial position, business strategy, growth strategies, addressable markets, market share, budgets, operations, financial results, taxes, dividend policy, NCIB, operating environment, business plans and objectives. Particularly, information regarding our expectations of future results, performance, growth, achievements, prospects or opportunities or the markets in which we operate is forward-looking information. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “plans”, “targets”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “an opportunity exists”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “outlook”, “financial outlook”, “forecasts”, “projection”, “prospects”, “strategy”, “intends”, “anticipates”, “does not anticipate”, “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might”, “will”, “will be taken”, “occur” or “be achieved”. In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, intentions, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances contain forward-looking information. Statements containing forward-looking information are not historical facts but instead represent management’s expectations, estimates and projections regarding possible future events or circumstances.

Forward-looking information may include, among other things: (i) the Company’s expectations regarding its financial performance and future market share growth, including among others, organic growth; (ii) the Company’s expectations regarding industry and market trends, growth rates and growth strategies; (iii) the Company’s business plans and strategies; (iv) the Company’s ability to retain customers and increase margin per customer; (v) the Company’s relationship and status with technology partners; (vi) the Company’s growth strategies, future organic growth, and competitive position in the IT industry; (vii) the Company’s dividend program, dividend rates, any special dividend and increases or progressive increases in dividends; (viii) the Company’s NCIB program and the purchase of Common Shares in connection with such program; (ix) the impact of macroeconomic conditions and remote and hybrid work on our business, financial position, results of operations and/or cashflows; (x) the Company’s use, adoption, integration and growth of AI tools, products, services and solutions, including any growth, leadership position or business changes resulting from AI or the AI solutions team; and (xi) the leverage and range of net leverage and the Company’s ability or desire to remain within any optimal leverage parameters.

Forward-looking information is necessarily based on a number of opinions, estimates and assumptions that we considered appropriate and reasonable as at the date such statements are made, and 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 information, including but not limited to the risk factors described in our Q4 2023 MD&A and under “Risk Factors” in the AIF. A copy of the AIF can be accessed under our profile on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (“SEDAR”) at www.sedar.com and on our website at investors.softchoice.com. There can be no assurance that such forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information, which speaks only as at the date made. Softchoice does not undertake any obligation to update such forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required under applicable securities laws.

About Softchoice

Softchoice (TSX: SFTC) is a software-focused IT solutions provider that equips organizations to be agile and innovative, and for their people to be engaged, connected and creative at work. That means moving them to the cloud, helping them build the workplace of tomorrow, and enabling them to make smarter decisions about their technology portfolio. For more information, please visit www.softchoice.com.