Quarterlytics / Communication Services / Telecommunications Services / ATN International, Inc. / FY2014 Annual Report

ATN International, Inc.
Annual Report 2014

ATNI · NASDAQ Communication Services
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Ticker ATNI
Exchange NASDAQ
Sector Communication Services
Industry Telecommunications Services
Employees 2300
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FY2014 Annual Report · ATN International, Inc.
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Atlantic Tele-Network
2014 Annual Report

Investments for the long-term

Atlantic Tele-Network,  Inc.  (ATN)  provides  telecommunications  services  to  rural,  niche 

and  other  under-served  markets  and  geographies  in  the  United  States,  Bermuda  and 

the  Caribbean  and  owns  and  operates  solar  power  systems  in  select  locations  in  the 

United States.  Through our operating subsidiaries, we provide both wireless and wireline 

connectivity to residential and business customers, including a range of mobile wireless 

solutions,  local  exchange  services  and  broadband  internet  services.    We  also  provide 

distributed solar electric power to corporate, utility and municipal customers and are the 

owner and operator of terrestrial and submarine fiber optic transport systems.  We are 

proud of our track record of delivering strong financial results, and consistently paying 

dividends, while at the same time growing both our business and shareholder value.

Financial Highlights

Annual Dividend Per Share

$0.84

$0.90

$0.96

$1.04

$1.12

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Comparison of 5 Year Cumulative Total Return1
COMPARISON OF 5 YEAR CUMULATIVE TOTAL RETURN* 
Among Atlantic Tele-Network, Inc., the Russell 2000 Index, the S&P Smallcap 600 Index, 
Among Atlantic Tele-Network, Inc., the Russell 2000 Index, the S&P Smallcap 600 Index, 
and the NASDAQ Telecommunications Index 
and the NASDAQ Telecommunications Index

$250 

$200 

$150 

$100 

$50 

$0 

12/09 

12/10 

12/11 

12/12 

12/13 

12/14 

Atlantic Tele-Network, Inc. 

Russell 2000 

S&P Smallcap 600 

NASDAQ Telecommunications 

26%

74%

Wireline
Revenue

Wireless
Revenue

46%

54%

International
Revenue

U.S.
Revenue

56%

44%

Retail
Revenue

Wholesale
Revenue

1  $100 invested on 12/31/09 in stock or index, including reinvestment of dividends.
*$100 invested on 12/31/09 in stock or index, including reinvestment of dividends. 
  Fiscal year ending December 31.
Fiscal year ending December 31. 
  Copyright© 2015 S&P, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc.  All rights reserved.
  Copyright© 2015 Russell Investment Group.  All rights reserved.
Copyright© 2015 S&P, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved. 
Copyright© 2015 Russell Investment Group. All rights reserved. 

1

FELLOW STOCKHOLDERS

We are pleased to be sharing the results of yet another strong year 

and when coupled with longer term contracts and other strategic 

for  your  Company.    Revenues  for  2014  increased  15%  to  $336.3 

considerations,  one  that  we  hope  will  more  clearly  position  us 

million,  and  Adjusted  EBITDA1  increased  22%  to  $139.8  million, 

as  a  long-term  alternative  network  provider  akin  to  a  provider  of 

significant  growth  compared  to  2013  results.    Net  income  from 

backhaul, tower or datacenter services.  This is a work in progress 

continuing operations was $58.0 million, a 23% increase from 2013 

so stockholders will have a better sense of whether this strategy is 

after  eliminating  $10.4  million  of  one-off  costs  incurred  in  2013 

successful after 2015 is behind us.

arising from the prepayment of debt. We finished the year with an 

extremely strong balance sheet with over $370 million of cash and a 

substantial amount of borrowing capacity.

This strong performance in the first full year of operations following 

the  sale  of  our  Alltel  business  exceeded  our  internal  expectations 

and reflected the capability of our legacy asset portfolio to produce 

solid, sustainable results.  The primary cause of this good news was 

clear:  the  exceptional  performance  of  our  U.S.  wireless  business.  

U.S. wireless revenues increased to $153 million in 2014, up almost 

42%  from  last  year,  thanks  in  large  part  to  the  $128  million  in 

capital  investments  we  have  made  over  the  last  two  years  to  add 

capacity, coverage and advanced technologies to our rural wireless 

network.    In  2014  alone,  we  added  nearly  175  base  stations  and 

approximately 115 new sites, and we upgraded more than 75 sites 

Choice Wireless employees participate in canned goods donation.

to more advanced mobile data technologies.

The strong year in the U.S. wireless business more than compensated 

It  is  always  rewarding  to  see  investments  pay  off  as  forecast,  but 

there was a lot of hard work behind that success and we are grateful 

for the efforts of our team and the trust placed in us by customers.  

for  more  mixed  results  from  our  international  wireless  and  U.S. 

wireline  businesses,  although  there  were  still  some  bright  spots 

there  as  well.  In  Bermuda,  the  team  followed  up  excellent  2013 

Looking forward, the usage growth on existing sites in our domestic 

achievements with results that solidified those gains and gained a 

wholesale wireless business is expected to be more than offset by 

modest  increase  in  market  share.   That  is  all  the  more  impressive 

declining  rates,  as  we  have  adjusted  prices  in  order  to  keep  costs 

amid  a  local  macro-economic  situation  that  remains  challenging 

reasonable for our carrier customers.  This is a positive development 

and a new regulatory environment.

1

Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income attributable to ATN stockholders before income from discontinued operations, gain on disposal of discontinued operations, interest, taxes, 
depreciation and amortization, transaction-related charges, impairment of intangible assets, gain on disposition of long-lived assets, other income or expense, and net income 
attributable to non-controlling interests.  Management believes that the inclusion of this non-GAAP financial measure helps investors to gain a meaningful understanding of the 
Company’s core operating results and enhances comparing such performance with prior periods.  ATN’s management uses this non-GAAP measure, in addition to GAAP financial 
measures, as the basis for measuring our core operating performance and comparing such performance to that of prior periods.  See ir.atni.com for reconciliations of the non-GAAP 
financial measure used in this annual report to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure.

2

Kaieteur Falls, Kaieteur National Park, Essequibo Territory, Guyana

Overall,  the  Island  Wireless  business  segment  to  which  Bermuda 

belongs had good subscriber growth of 6.4%, but we would have 

liked  to  see  profitability  grow  faster.  Within  this  segment,  certain 

of our smaller businesses have struggled to achieve the necessary 

economies of scale and market share to earn positive returns on our 

investments.   With  this  in  mind,  we  agreed  to  sell  our  business  in 

Turks and Caicos in 2014, despite the resulting loss of much of our 

investment.  The market was  simply  too small for three providers, 

particularly after the large population decline that followed a hard 

recession.  In Guyana, results suffered again in 2014.  While wireline 

revenues  were  boosted  by  an  almost  15%  increase  in  broadband 

subscribers, the illegal bypass of our network for long distance traffic 

and poor competitive performance in wireless cost us.  We’ve made 

both changes to our consumer offerings and further investments in 

technologies and human resources in an effort to turn around those 

elements of the business that are under our control.

Back  in  the  United  States,  the  Company’s  wireline  operations 

completed  major  fiber  builds  in  2014,  and  have  had  some  great 

early  successes  signing  up  customers  and  expanding  this  “on-

CellOne sponsors basketball tournament.

cash  on  cash  returns.    At  times,  this  has  meant  investing  in 

infrastructure  in  some  of  the  less  sought  after  markets  within  the  

telecommunications  industry.    On  occasion,  the  Company  has 

looked to new geographic or business segments where we can find 

attractive entry points and opportunities that meet our investment 

goals.  This year, we went farther afield than in the past when we 

entered  into  a  new  area  of  infrastructure  investment  with  our 

network”  business.    There  is  much  more  to  do,  however,  to  scale 

acquisition of 46 megawatts of U.S.-based photovoltaic production 

this business and ensure an attractive long-term cash flow profile.  

facilities owned and operated by Green Lake Capital. 

This past year was one of rapid growth and expansion for one of our 

smaller  businesses  —  our  remaining  U.S.  retail  wireless  business, 

which  primarily  serves  retail  customers  who  live  in  the  areas 

covered by our wholesale network where there is no viable national 

carrier  option.   This  is  a  small  market  as  there  are  few  permanent 

residents  in  such  remote  areas.   We  are  offering  these  services  as 

extensions to our existing wholesale business, particularly in tribal 

lands where residents have for too long been subjected to limited 

options, antiquated technologies and high prices. 

We  believe  that  the  renewable  energy  sector  offers  exciting 

prospects  for  growth.    The  Company  acquired  solar  generation 

assets  and  customer  relationships  that  we  believe  to  be  of  high 

quality, and was able to retain the Green Lake management team, 

now operating as our Ahana Renewables subsidiary.  ATN has had 

good success in the past providing capital and other resources to 

talented teams looking to build out and acquire new infrastructure 

in  underbuilt  areas.    We  see  solar  and  the  renewables  space  and 

the Ahana group as an opportunity to do this again and provide us 

As long-time stockholders will know, we pride ourselves on taking 

with an ongoing source of investment opportunities, much like we 

a  patient,  disciplined  approach  to  our  investment  decisions  — 

continue to do with our U.S. wireless operations that we originally 

willing  to  forego  short  term  benefits  for  consistent,  long-lasting 

acquired nearly ten years ago.   

3

Exploring Opportunities 

There  are  risks  with  any  investment;  and 

price  in  our  shares  to  $67.59  per  share  on 

those  risks  are  higher  when  we  enter  into  a 

December  31,  2014. Your  Board  of  Directors 

market or segment with which we are initially 

was  similarly  pleased  by  the  Company’s 

unfamiliar. 

  The  renewables  sector  is  no 

progress 

in  2014  and  approved  an  8% 

exception;  however,  we  were  able  to  enter  

increase  in  the  dividend  to  the  current  rate 

this 

newly 

developing 

infrastructure 

of  $1.16  annually,  continuing  a  consecutive 

sector  with  a  modest  cash  investment  of 

sixteen-year  track  record  of  increasing  our 

approximately $64 million and with excellent 

quarterly dividend. 

downside  protection  by  acquiring  diverse 

contracts  with  commercial  and  industrial 

customers  of  high  credit  standing  and  an 

immediate  return  on  investment  of  over 

10%.   We  also  were  able  to  retain  operators 

and  advisers  with  extensive  experience  in 

the  sector  and  the  talent  and  the  discipline 

to 

improve  our  chances  of 

long-term 

great potential for enhancing value, through 

improving  profitability  in  underperforming 

or  early  stage  operations  and  in  enhancing 

the  long-term  prospects  and  strategic  value 

of  others.    Furthermore,  we  look  forward  to 

success.    There  will  be  ups  and  downs  in 

investing more of your Company’s substantial 

this  nascent  industry,  but  we  think  it  is 

balance  sheet  capacity  in  opportunities  that 

here  to  stay  and  we  are  fans  of  investing 

we believe have a good chance of delivering 

in 

infrastructure 

technology  with  both 

attractive  risk-adjusted  returns  on  invested 

proven  elements  and  a  potential  for  growth 

capital.    Lastly,  we  would  like  to  offer  a  final 

if  technological  advances  continue. 

  We 

word of appreciation and thanks to all of the 

think  they  will  —  though  not  on  a  straight 

management  and  staff  in  the  broader  ATN 

line  up  —  and  we  believe  that  distributed 

family  of  companies.    Even  in  businesses 

generation  solar  will  be  part  of  a  diversified 

where  the  operating  results  and  investment 

energy  production 

infrastructure 

for  a  

returns in 2014 were not attractive, there was 

long time. 

a  good  deal  of  hard,  smart  and  passionate 

We  know  shareholders  focus  on  the  market 

work.  We are lucky to have so many people 

performance of the  Company’s  stock and its 

who  are  dedicated  to  providing  a  good 

dividend policy.  We are pleased to note that  

experience  to  customers,  a  productive  work 

investors  have  recognized  our  progress  in 

environment for their colleagues and a good 

2014 as well as our future growth prospects, 

return  for  the  Company’s  investors.   We  can 

resulting  in  a  19.4%  increase  in  the  market 

ask no more.

Michael T. Prior 
President and 
Chief Executive Officer

Cornelius B. Prior, Jr. 
Chairman of the Board

4

While  growth  rates  in  some  operations  are 

in  the  United  States,  namely  Massachusetts, 

expected to recede, we see 2015 as a year with 

California  and  New  Jersey.  Our  newly  formed 

On  December  24,  2014,  we  acquired  a  provider 

of  distributed  generation  solar  power  services 

subsidiary,  Ahana  Renewables,  owns  and 

operates 28 commercial solar projects at 59 sites 

with  an  aggregate  47  megawatts  DC  (“MWs”) 

of  electricity  generating  capacity.  Customers 

benefitting 

from  the  energy  produced  by 

these  photovoltaic  projects 

include  primary 

schools,  community  colleges,  private  entities, 

municipalities,  water  treatment  facilities,  and 

military  installations.    The  acquisition  provides 

growth  potential  as  well  as  the  opportunity 

to  generate  attractive  returns  for 

investors.  

Similar  to  our  initial  investments  in  wholesale 

wireless and fiber operations, Ahana Renewables 

represents  a  high-quality  infrastructure-based 

business  with  solid  cash  flows  from  long-term 

Power  Purchase  Agreements  (PPAs)  with  high-

credit  quality  counterparties  and  offers  the 

potential 

for  expansion  through  additional 

investments  or  acquisition  opportunities.  Our 

results  of  operations  will  feature  the  results  of 

the  Ahana  Renewables  business  in  our  new 

“Renewable Energy” segment.

Directors

Cornelius B. Prior, Jr., Chairman

Martin L. Budd

Michael T. Flynn

Liane J. Pelletier

Michael T. Prior

Charles J. Roesslein

Stock Listing
The common stock of the Company is traded on the 
NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol ATNI.

Annual Meeting
The Annual Meeting of Stockholders will
be held at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, 
June 11, 2015 at:

The Wylie Inn & Conference Center
295 Hale Street                                                                      
Beverly, MA 01915

SEC Form 10-K
A  copy  of  ATN’s  Annual  Report  on  Form  10-K  filed 
with  the  Securities  and  Exchange  Commission  can 
be  obtained  free  of  charge  upon  request  by  calling 
us at 978.619.1300, emailing us at ir@atni.com or by 
writing to us at:

Atlantic Tele-Network
Attention: Investor Relations
600 Cummings Center                                                             
Beverly, MA 01915

Executive Officers

Michael T. Prior
President & 
Chief Executive Officer

Justin D. Benincasa
Chief Financial Officer & 
Treasurer

William F. Kreisher
Senior Vice President, 
Corporate Development

Leonard Q. Slap
Senior Vice President & 
General Counsel

Barry C. Fougere
Senior Vice President,
Business Operations  

Shareholder Information
Headquarters
Atlantic Tele-Network, Inc.
600 Cummings Center, Beverly, MA 01915
Phone: 978.619.1300
Email: ir@atni.com                                                           
www.atni.com

Independent Auditors
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
125 High Street                                                                    
Boston, MA 02110

Registrar and Transfer Agent
The  transfer  agent  is  responsible,  among    other 
things, for handling stockholder questions regarding 
lost  stock  certificates,  address  changes,  including 
duplicate  mailings,  and  changes  in  ownership  or 
name  in  which  shares  are  held.  These  requests 
may  be  directed  to  the  transfer  agent  at  the                               
following address:

Computershare Investor Services
PO Box 30170
College Station, TX  77842
Or by Overnight:
211 Quality Circle, Suite 210
College Station, TX 77842

Phone:  866.230.2916
www.investorcentre.com  

Atlantic Tele-Network
600 Cummings Center
Beverly, MA 01915
tel: 978.619.1300