Liberty Broadband Corp (LBRDK) 2021 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Liberty Broadband 2021 Q4 Earnings Call. (Operator Instructions). As a reminder, this conference is being recorded, February 25. I would now like to turn the conference over to Courtnee Chun, Chief Portfolio Officer. Please go ahead.

女士們、先生們，感謝您的耐心等待。歡迎參加Liberty Broadband 2021年第四季財報電話會議。 （操作說明）提醒各位，本次會議正在錄音，時間是2月25日。現在我將會議交給首席投資組合長Courtnee Chun女士。請開始吧。

Thank you, and good morning. Before we begin, we'd like to remind everyone that this call includes certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual events or results could differ materially due to a number of risks and uncertainties, including those mentioned in the most recent forms 10-K and 10-Q filed by Liberty Broadband and Liberty TripAdvisor with the SEC.

謝謝，早安。在開始之前，我們想提醒大家，本次電話會議包含1995年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》所界定的某些前瞻性陳述。由於許多風險和不確定因素，實際事件或結果可能與這些陳述有重大差異，其中包括Liberty Broadband和Liberty TripAdvisor最近向美國證券交易委員會提交的10-K和10-Q表格中提及的風險和不確定因素。

These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this call and Liberty Broadband and Liberty TripAdvisor expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained herein to reflect any change in Liberty Broadband or Liberty TripAdvisor's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

這些前瞻性聲明僅代表截至本次電話會議之日的觀點，Liberty Broadband 和 Liberty TripAdvisor 明確聲明不承擔任何義務或責任，對本文所載的任何前瞻性聲明進行更新或修訂，以反映 Liberty Broadband 或 Liberty TripAdvisor 對此的預期發生任何變化，或任何此類聲明所依據的事件、條件或情況發生任何變化。

On today's call, we will discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures for Liberty Broadband, including adjusted OIBDA. Information regarding the comparable GAAP metrics, along with required definitions and reconciliations, including preliminary note and schedules 1 and 2, can be found in the earnings press release issued today, as well as earnings releases for prior periods, which are available on Liberty Broadband's website.

在今天的電話會議上，我們將討論Liberty Broadband的某些非GAAP財務指標，包括調整後的OIBDA。有關可比較GAAP指標的信息，以及必要的定義和調節表（包括初步說明和附表1和附表2），可在今天發布的盈利新聞稿以及Liberty Broadband網站上提供的以往期間的盈利報告中找到。

Now I'd like to turn the call over to Greg Maffei, Liberty's President and CEO.

現在我想把電話交給 Liberty 的總裁兼執行長 Greg Maffei。

Thank you, Courtnee. Good morning. Today speaking on the call, we will also have Liberty Broadband's Chief Accounting Officer and Principal Financial Officer, Brian Wendling. Ron Duncan, CEO of GCI; and Pete Pounds, CFO of GCI, will also be available to answer questions. Also during Q&A, we will be available to answer questions related to Liberty TripAdvisor.

謝謝 Courtnee。早安.今天參加電話會議的還有 Liberty Broadband 的首席會計官兼財務長 Brian Wendling。 GCI 的執行長 Ron Duncan 和財務長 Pete Pounds 也將回答問題。此外，在問答環節，我們也會回答與 Liberty TripAdvisor 相關的問題。

So first, starting with Liberty Broadband. We did continue to sell into Charter's buyback, and from November 1 of 2021 through the 31st of January of 2022, we received $1.3 billion of proceeds from Charter. Over the same time period, we repurchased $1.4 billion of LRBDA (sic) [LBRDA] and LRBDK (sic) [LBRDK] shares at an average per share price of $157.95, which is a look-through price on the underlying Charter of about $520. I would note that Liberty has sufficient cushion under the 26% fully diluted ownership cap that in January that we had such -- we had no time selling into Charter's buyback for that 1 month in January.

首先，我們來談談Liberty Broadband。我們確實繼續參與了Charter的股票回購計劃，從2021年11月1日至2022年1月31日，我們從Charter獲得了13億美元的收益。同期，我們以平均每股157.95美元的價格回購了價值14億美元的LRBDA（原文如此）和LRBDK（原文如此）股票，該價格相當於Charter約520美元的穿透價。需要指出的是，Liberty的持股比例在26%的完全稀釋上限以下，因此在1月份我們有足夠的緩衝空間——我們當時並沒有時間參與Charter的股票回購計劃。

Looking at Charter, we -- Charter generated another quarter of strong revenue growth and cash flow growth as well. Revenue was up 4.7% and EBITDA was up 7.7% over the prior year. In 2021, Charter generated $8.7 billion of free cash flow, which was up 23% over 2020. Despite an all-time low churn and low move environment, Charter had solid broadband growth. There were 120,000 additional net additions -- subscriber additions in the fourth quarter across residential and SMB, bringing the full year total of net adds to 1.2 million. Charter had a huge quarter for mobile, adding 380,000 new lines in the fourth quarter alone, the best quarter to date for the products.

縱觀Charter公司，該公司本季營收和現金流均實現了強勁成長。營收年增4.7%，EBITDA年增7.7%。 2021年，Charter公司創造了87億美元的自由現金流，較2020年成長23%。儘管用戶流失率和用戶遷移率均處於歷史低位，Charter公司的寬頻業務依然維持了穩健成長。第四季新增用戶12萬，涵蓋住宅用戶及中小企業用戶，使全年新增用戶總數達120萬人。 Charter公司的行動業務在本季表現尤為突出，僅在第四季度就新增了38萬條線路，創下了該產品迄今為止的最佳季度業績。

Charter mobile net adds were 13% of all industry postpaid phone net adds in the fourth quarter, a great share in our territory. We added 1.2 million new mobile lines in 2021, and Charter's mobile go-to-market and pricing structure is resonating in the mobile marketplace, and we are optimistic about the ongoing opportunity.

第四季度，Charter行動裝置新增用戶佔整個產業後付費手機新增用戶的13%，在我們所涵蓋的區域內，這是一個相當可觀的份額。 2021年，我們新增了120萬條行動線路，Charter的行動端市場策略和定價結構在行動市場引起了積極反響，我們對未來的發展機會充滿信心。

This year, Charter will also begin to leverage the CBRS spectrum assets that we bought last year, with initial deployment of small cell radios. This hybrid [M&O and] opportunity is a capital efficient means of improving the cost structure of our mobile business, which obviously pairs very well with our exciting broadband business.

今年，Charter也將開始利用去年收購的CBRS頻譜資產，初步部署小型基地台無線電。這種混合型（營運和維護）模式能夠以​​高效的資本投入改善我們行動業務的成本結構，這顯然與我們蓬勃發展的寬頻業務完美契合。

Let me turn to TripAdvisor, and note that the travel recovery continued through 2021, though, trends were slowed by Omicron in December, but those headwinds are now receding. We expect leisure travel will turn to 2019 levels by later this year, and 2022 will benefit from the return of international travel and much advanced trip planning.

讓我們來看看 TripAdvisor 的數據。數據顯示，旅遊業的復甦一直持續到 2021 年，儘管 12 月的俄亥俄颶風一度減緩了復甦勢頭，但這些不利因素目前正在消退。我們預計休閒旅遊將在今年稍後恢復到 2019 年的水平，而 2022 年將受益於國際旅行的回歸和更頻繁的提前旅行計劃。

TripAdvisor's brand value is as strong as ever, and Trip reached over 1 billion reviews and opinions on the platform in the quarter. Trip is balancing its efforts on growth and appropriate investment across its portfolio to position the business well for long-term success.

TripAdvisor的品牌價值依然強勁，本季其平台上的評論和意見數量超過10億條。 Trip正在其業務組合中平衡成長和合理投資，以確保公司長期成功。

And one of the areas in which we're investing, experiences in dining has the strongest recovery in the portfolio. E&D revenue reached 90% of the 2019 level in the fourth quarter, and we continue to invest in this segment, both on products, supply, technology and expanding its geographic reach. We are also evaluating ways to crystalize the value of our E&D segment, specifically Viator, and we did file for a sub-IPO of that asset.

我們正在投資的領域之一，餐飲體驗業務，是投資組合中復甦最強勁的領域之一。第四季度，餐飲體驗業務的收入已恢復至2019年同期水準的90%，我們將繼續增加對該業務板塊的投資，包括產品、供應鏈、技術以及拓展地域覆蓋範圍。我們也在評估如何實現餐飲體驗業務板塊（特別是Viator）的價值，並已提交了Viator的子IPO申請。

On the other hand, Trip Plus didn't get the intended traction that we saw in 2021. And our focus now is rescaling that investment opportunity, appropriate with the current sizes that we see. We believe in the potential of a subscription business, but will recognize that growth more gradually. I would note, we are also progressing well on the CEO search with several exciting candidates.

另一方面，Trip Plus在2021年並未達到預期的成長動能。因此，我們目前的重點是調整這項投資的規模，使其與目前的市場規模相符。我們相信訂閱模式的潛力，但會更循序漸進地實現成長。此外，我們執行長的遴選工作也進展順利，目前已有幾位優秀的候選人。

And with that, let me turn it over to Brian to discuss the financials in more detail.

接下來，我將把發言權交給布萊恩，讓他更詳細地討論一下財務狀況。

Thank you, Greg. At quarter end, Liberty Broadband has consolidated cash and cash equivalent of $191 million, which includes $34 million of cash at GCI. The value of our Charter investment as of yesterday's close was $31 billion. At quarter end, Liberty Broadband had total principal amount of debt of $3.8 billion. During the quarter, we repaid $200 million under our Charter margin loan, which we had drawn in Q3, in part to fund share repurchases at Broadband, given the timing differences and when we received proceeds from the Charter share sales. Note the above amounts exclude the indemnification obligation and preferred stock.

謝謝格雷格。截至季末，Liberty Broadband的合併現金及現金等價物為1.91億美元，其中包括GCI的3,400萬美元現金。截至昨日收盤，我們對Charter的投資價值為310億美元。截至季末，Liberty Broadband的債務本金總額為38億美元。本季度，我們償還了2億美元的Charter保證金貸款，該貸款我們在第三季度提取，部分用於回購Broadband的股票，因為時間存在差異，且我們收到Charter股票出售所得款項的時間也不同。請注意，以上金額不包括賠償義務和優先股。

Looking at GCI, 2021 was a great year for the company. GCI generated solid free cash flow and continued to delever. For the full year, GCI's net debt declined $314 million due to solid OIBDA growth, reductions in the RHC-related receivables, moderate CapEx and refinancing in October, which will save approximately $8 million in interest expense per year. Leverage, as defined in its credit agreement, was 3x at the end of the year, which is down a full turn from last year, and GCI has $397 million of undrawn capacity under its revolver.

從GCI的角度來看，2021年是公司業績斐然的一年。 GCI創造了穩健的自由現金流，並持續降低槓桿。全年來看，由於OIBDA的穩健成長、RHC相關應收帳款的減少、適度的資本支出以及10月份的再融資，GCI的淨債務減少了3.14億美元，預計每年可節省約800萬美元的利息支出。根據其信貸協議的定義，GCI的槓桿率為3倍，較去年同期下降了整整一倍，其循環信貸額度下仍有3.97億美元的未提取額度。

For the full year, revenue grew 2%, adjusted OIBDA grew 3% to $354 million, the company's highest ever adjusted OIBDA number, driven primarily by data demand. In the fourth quarter, revenue declined slightly 3% and adjusted OIBDA declined 10%. This was driven by the absence of political advertising this year as well as the accounting effects of the extension of a large wireless roaming contract that GCI entered into in the fourth quarter.

全年來看，營收成長2%，調整後OIBDA成長3%至3.54億美元，創公司歷史新高，主要得益於數據需求的成長。第四季，營收小幅下降3%，調整後OIBDA下降10%。這主要是因為今年沒有政治廣告收入，以及GCI在第四季簽訂的一項大型無線漫遊合約延期所帶來的會計影響。

The revised terms of the contract were a headwind to revenue in Q4. It will be a headwind in 2022. But importantly, the agreement is NPV positive over the multiyear extension and provides for continued backhaul services for GCI's network, even once the new contract expires several years out from now.

合約條款的修訂對第四季的收入造成了不利影響，2022年也將繼續如此。但重要的是，該協議在多年延期後淨現值為正，並且即使在幾年後新合約到期，也能繼續為GCI的網路提供回程服務。

Operationally, GCI added over 10,000 consumer cable modem subscribers and 8,000 consumer wireless customers. The network was improved by the growth in the 5G wireless network, increased satellite capacity and progress on the fiber build to Dutch Harbor.

在營運方面，GCI新增了超過1萬戶有線數據機用戶及8,000戶無線用戶。 5G無線網路的成長、衛星容量的提升以及通往荷蘭港的光纖網路建設進展，都促進了網路效能的提升。

With that, I'll turn the call back over to Greg.

這樣，我就把電話轉回給格雷格了。

Thank you, Brian. And to our listening audience, we appreciate your continued interest in both Liberty Broadband and Liberty TripAdvisor and look forward to 2022 review.

謝謝你，布萊恩。同時，也感謝各位聽眾一直以來對Liberty Broadband和Liberty TripAdvisor的關注，我們期待在2022年進行評測。

And with that, operator, I'd like to open the line for questions.

接線員，接下來我將開放提問環節。

(Operator Instructions). And our first question comes from Michael Rollins with Citi.

（操作說明）。我們的第一個問題來自花旗銀行的麥可‧羅林斯。

I was curious to get your thoughts on Charter and specifically, when you decided to participate into Charter's buyback to stay at or below that 26% ownership level. It seems like you're balancing several factors, including the discount to NAV, at which you estimated Liberty Broadband was trading at. As Charter shares have come in value, have your considerations about selling into that Charter buyback changed? And would you rather hold on to more of your Charter shares?

我很想了解您對Charter的看法，特別是您決定參與Charter的股票回購計劃，以維持或低於26%的持股比例的原因。您似乎在權衡多種因素，包括您估計Liberty Broadband當時的股價相對於淨值的折讓。隨著Charter股價的上漲，您對參與Charter股票回購計畫的想法是否有所改變？您是否更傾向於繼續持有更多Charter的股票？

Thank you for the question, Michael. No, I don't think the calculus has really changed, because the discount has remained relatively constant. So our opportunity to pay a relatively modest tax rate and buy the discounted Charter shares by buying through Liberty Broadband has only made the whole opportunity more attractive. The relationship between Broadband and Charter has remained relatively constant. And yet the underlying is, therefore, even more attractively priced. So we're enthused about Charter's buyback and yet more enthused about our own buyback.

謝謝你的提問，麥可。不，我認為計算方法並沒有真正改變，因為折扣幅度一直相對穩定。因此，我們有機會以相對較低的稅率，透過Liberty Broadband購買折扣價的Charter股票，這使得整個投資機會更具吸引力。 Broadband和Charter之間的關係一直保持相對穩定。然而，正因如此，標的資產的價格更具吸引力。所以我們對Charter的股票回購感到興奮，對我們自己的股票回購則更加興奮。

Our next question comes from James Ratcliffe with Evercore ISI.

我們的下一個問題來自 Evercore ISI 的 James Ratcliffe。

Two, if I could. First of all, Greg, you just mentioned the tax impact. Going forward, what sort of tax drag should we be thinking about for your sales of the Charter stock? And secondly, if you could talk a little bit about the revised roaming deal at GCI and what sort of impact we should be expecting that to have going forward?

如果可以的話，我想問兩個問題。首先，格雷格，你剛才提到了稅務影響。展望未來，你出售Charter股票可能會面臨哪些稅務方面的阻力？其次，你能否談談GCI修訂後的漫遊協議，以及它未來可能產生的影響？

So I'll touch on the first and then let Ron or Pete address the second. For 2022, I think we're looking at a 5% drag or -- a 7% drag going up to lumping like 9% over time. So we'll see. At some point, we are going to run out of basis. So this is -- that relationship is going to change, but we're okay for this year. Ron, do you want to go -- do you want to chat about your roaming?

所以我先簡單說第一個問題，然後讓榮恩或皮特來談第二個問題。對於2022年，我認為我們會面臨5%或7%的下滑，隨著時間的推移，下滑幅度可能會上升到9%。所以我們拭目以待。總有一天，我們的業務基礎會耗盡。所以，這段關係將會發生變化，但今年我們暫時沒問題。羅恩，你想聊聊你的漫遊業務嗎？

Sure. We had an arrangement with a large roaming customer, under which they were coming up on an optional termination and we negotiated a multiyear extension, as Brian mentioned, at an NPV, net present value, substantial positive and a good deal for the long term on the company. And what you're really seeing is the accounting effects of the way that contract is treated. The contract is required to take the revenues over the expected life of the contract and amortize them equally over the number of years in the contract.

當然。我們之前和一家大型漫遊客戶簽了合同，他們原本可以選擇終止合同，但我們協商續簽了多年，正如布萊恩提到的，淨現值（NPV）相當可觀，對公司長遠發展來說也是一筆不錯的交易。你現在看到的其實是這份合約會計處理方式的影響。合約規定，在合約預期期間內，所有收入都要在合約年限內平均攤銷。

The cash under the contract doesn't actually change in the immediate future. But what you're seeing is primarily an accounting effect from an extension of the contract further out with lower revenues in the future period, which drags down the accounting effect upfront of recognized revenues.

合約項下的現金在短期內實際上不會改變。但您目前看到的情況主要是由於合約延期導致未來期間收入減少，從而拉低了已確認收入的會計處理效果。

Brian, if I got that wrong, you might want to jump in there before it goes too far.

布萊恩，如果我理解錯了，你最好在事情變得更糟之前介入。

No, you got it. Well said.

沒錯，你說對了。說得好。

And our last question comes from Ben Swinburne with Morgan Stanley.

最後一個問題來自摩根士丹利的本·斯溫伯恩。

Greg, another thing that's changed over the last several quarters has been Altice's share price, which I'm sure you've noticed. I was just curious, as you think about cable consolidation, which we used to talk about more, but maybe that's time to talk about again, if you think there might be an opportunity there between Charter and Altice. Do you think the regulatory environment has gotten much tougher, so that becomes -- anything of size gets harder? And then I just wanted to follow up on your basis point after your answer.

格雷格，在過去幾個季度裡，Altice的股價也發生了變化，我相信你也注意到了。我很好奇，你對有線電視整合的看法（我們以前經常討論這個話題，也許現在是時候重新探討一下了），你認為Charter和Altice之間是否存在整合機會？你覺得監管環境是否變得更加嚴格，以至於任何規模較大的公司都更難生存？在你回答之後，我還想就你提到的基點問題再問一點。

So I think my friends at Charter, who were sometimes [well, the Altice favor] is going to be the method for all success going forward in cable are feeling pretty good about the Charter way. And the questions about Altice's opportunity versus Charter's has pretty much ceased. So that's been positive. I think Charter has got a great plan of its own. You rightly point out some of the regulatory issues. I think some of the territories that Altice has are attractive, particularly Suddenlink territories, but they don't appear to be sellers of that. There have been all those rumors that they might sell those and go private on the balance, who knows. But I think Charter would be -- certainly look at any assets that were attempting to be sold. Obviously, that company is effectively controlled, so they'll make their decisions about what they're going to do. But I think Charter is pretty happy with the growth plan it has, and you rightly point out the regulatory challenges, so...

所以我覺得我在Charter的朋友們，他們之前一直認為（或Altice的偏袒）將是未來有線電視產業成功的唯一途徑，現在他們對Charter的發展模式感覺相當不錯。關於Altice和Charter各自發展機會的爭論也基本上停止了。所以這是個正面的訊號。我認為Charter有自己一套很棒的計畫。你指出的監管問題確實存在。我認為Altice的一些業務區域很有吸引力，特別是Suddenlink的業務區域，但他們似乎不打算出售這些區域。之前一直有傳言說他們可能會出售這些區域並私有化，但最終結果如何，誰也說不準。但我認為Charter肯定會關注任何試圖出售的資產。顯然，這家公司實際上是由他們控制的，所以他們會自己決定下一步的行動。但我認為Charter對自身的發展計畫相當滿意，你指出的監管挑戰也確實存在，所以…

Yes. So it sounds like you think New York would be tough from either a state or federal or both point of view?

是的。所以聽起來你認為從州政府、聯邦政府或兩者兼具的角度來看，紐約都會是個棘手的問題？

Don't you think so living there?

你住在那裡不這麼認為嗎？

Yes, I do. And then just -- I hadn't thought about the tax basis point you just made. So just -- is there any way you could help us think about what -- is it as simple as looking back at your original basis in Charter shares and sort of once you've sold enough stock to cover that, the tax treatment changes and so things have to change with the Charter relationship or it's probably more complicated than that? But -- can you help us to think about the math there.

是的，我知道。然後——我之前沒考慮到您剛才提到的稅務基礎問題。所以——您能否幫我們思考一下——是否只要回顧一下您最初持有Charter股票的成本基礎，然後賣出足夠多的股票來彌補成本基礎，稅務處理方式就會改變，從而導致您與Charter的關係也隨之改變？還是說情況可能更複雜？您能幫我們算算這其中的數學原理嗎？

That's a roughly -- Ben, that's a roughly correct calculation. I think that's a good way to think about it.

那隻是個大概的——本，那算得差不多了。我覺得這是個不錯的思考方式。

And thank you to all of our listeners and questioners. That's it for today. Again, we hope to see you next quarter, if not sooner. And thank you for your continued interest in both Liberty TripAdvisor and Liberty Broadband. And with that, operator, I think we're done.

感謝所有聽眾和提問者。今天的節目就到這裡。我們希望下個季度，甚至更早，還能再見到大家。感謝大家一直以來對Liberty TripAdvisor和Liberty Broadband的關注。好了，播音員，我想今天的節目就到這裡了。

Thank you. Once again, that does conclude today's conference. We thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

謝謝。今天的會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您可以斷開連線了。