All Time Record Bookings, Up 230%
Orlando, Florida (November 16, 2015) – IZEA, Inc. (OTCQB: IZEA), operator of the premiere online marketplace that connects brands and publishers with influential content creators, today announced record results for its third quarter ended September 30, 2015.
Third Quarter Financial Highlights:
- Closed on $12.9 Million Warrant Conversion with 81.5% participation.
- Revenue for the quarter increased 182% to a record $5.4 million compared to Q3 2014, the highest quarterly revenue in company history.
- Bookings for the quarter grew over 230% year-over-year to a record $6.7 million, up from $2.0 million in Q3 2014.
- Sponsored Social revenue for the quarter grew 80% year-over-year to $3.2 million, up from $1.8 million; Content revenue was $2.2 in Q3 2015.
- New opportunity pipeline, a representation of new client proposals generated within the quarter, grew to $36.2 million, up from $16.4 million in Q3 2014, an increase of 120%.
- Gross profit was 40% in Q3 2015.
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Third Quarter Operational Highlights:
- IZEAx aggregate network reach increased to 3.18 billion fans and followers at the end of the quarter, up 7% compared to Q2 2015 and 240% year-over-year.
- IZEAx registered users increased 13% to 583,000 in Q3 2015 compared to Q2 2015, and increased 507% from Q3 2014.
- Settled patent dispute with Blue Calypso.
IZEA ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $13.3 million, receivables of $3.0 million and an untapped $5 million credit facility with Bridge Bank. The company had unearned revenue of $2.4 million, with an additional $3.3 million of booked business not yet billed. Total stockholders’ equity was $16.2 million at the end of the quarter.
“In the third quarter, we saw exceptional bookings growth of both Sponsored Social and Content. Not only did we set an all time quarterly bookings record for the quarter, we also received the largest single booking in the history of the company with a top 5 ecommerce company. In September 2015, we delivered our first month in excess of $3 million in bookings, another milestone for our growing sales team,” commented Ted Murphy, IZEA’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
“In addition to top line bookings and revenue growth, we are becoming more efficient and effective in our sales operations. Our nine-month average bookings per salesperson through the end of Q3 2015 has increased 106% over our Q3 2014 nine month average. As a company, we are executing against a three-year vision to grow our annual bookings to $100 million by the end of 2018. Our leadership team is building the foundation required in order to achieve that goal, while continuing to discover operational efficiencies and software automation opportunities,” said Murphy.
Third Quarter 2015 Results:
Revenue for the third quarter of 2015 was $5,442,457 compared to $1,931,671 for the third quarter of 2014, an increase of 182% due to increases in Sponsored Social and Content revenue. Gross profit for the quarter was $2,152,000, up from $1,239,454 during the same period in 2014, an increase of 74%.
Operating expense for the third quarter of 2015 was $3,038,561, compared to $2,802,187 during the same period in 2014. Operating expenses increased primarily as the result of increases in the number and cost of personnel related expenses as the Company continues to invest in additional sales and engineering staff. Additionally, the Company incurred higher legal fees during the quarter in its defense and settlement of its only outstanding patent litigation for $390,506.
Operating EBITDA was $(2,167,433) for the quarter compared to $(1,309,551) during the same period last year. The decrease in EBITDA is primarily due to the legal settlement and continued investments in new hires and technology in 2015. Net loss for the quarter was $(2,645,087) compared to net income of $685,370 during the same period last year, primarily due to a $2,134,440 difference in the gain on the change in the fair value of derivatives between periods and the increase in legal settlements in 2015. Cash used for operating activities was $2,025,290 during the three months ended September 30, 2015.
Basic and diluted loss per common share for the quarter was $(.03), compared to basic and diluted income per common share of $.01 for the third quarter of 2014.
View IZEA Q3 Financials (PDF)Investor Conference Call
The Company will host a conference call today at 4:30 p.m. ET, during which IZEA management will discuss the financial results and be available to answer any questions from investors.
Conference Date: 11/16/15
Conference Start Time: 4:30 pm Eastern
Dial-In Number: (201) 689-8472
Electronic replay of the conference call will be available through November 23, 2015 by dialing 1-858-384-5517 and entering PIN number 13624690. IZEA will also post a downloadable file onto the Investor Relations area of http://corp.izea.com.
Financial Methodology & Related Disclosures
“EBITDA” is a non-GAAP financial measure within the meaning of Regulation G promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission. EBITDA is commonly defined as “earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.” We believe that EBITDA provides useful information to investors as it excludes transactions not related to the core cash operating business activities including non-cash transactions.
We believe that excluding these transactions allows investors to meaningfully trend and analyze the performance of our core cash operations. All companies do not calculate EBITDA in the same manner, and EBITDA as presented by IZEA may not be comparable to EBITDA presented by other companies. IZEA defines EBITDA as earnings or loss before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, non-cash stock related compensation, gain or loss on asset disposals, changes in contingent acquisition costs or impairment and all other income and expense items such as loss on exchanges and changes in fair value of derivatives, if applicable.
About IZEA
IZEA operates the premiere online marketplace that connects brands with influential content creators. IZEA creators range from leading bloggers and social media personalities to A-List celebrities and professional journalists. Creators are compensated for developing and distributing unique content on behalf of brands including long form text, videos, photos and status updates. Brands receive influential consumer content and engaging, shareable stories that drive awareness. For more information about IZEA, visit http://corp.izea.com.
