Item 1. Financial Statements
Item 1. Financial Statements
RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(in thousands, except share and per share data)
(unaudited)
September 30,
December 31,
2024
2023
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents
$
37,240
$
26,494
Restricted cash
2,853
136
Accounts receivable, net
249,183
268,421
Inventory
77,316
77,521
Other current assets
49,987
46,146
Total current assets
416,579
418,718
Property and equipment, net
48,782
41,820
Intangible assets, net
199,322
238,087
Goodwill
300,892
300,892
Deferred income taxes
84,472
69,761
Operating lease right-of-use assets
30,732
39,783
Other assets
33,980
35,092
$
1,114,759
$
1,144,153
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity
Current liabilities:
Current portion of term debt
$
4,813
$
35,102
Accounts payable
78,939
85,164
Accrued expenses and other
102,942
91,687
Operating lease liabilities
10,644
15,739
Deferred revenue
95,761
113,381
Total current liabilities
293,099
341,073
Long-term debt, net of current
332,428
197,482
Warrant liability
5,587
5,295
Preferred stock liability, $ 0.01 par value per share; 10,000,000 shares authorized, none issued and outstanding at September 30, 2024; 55,000 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2023 ($ 56,650 liquidation preference)
—
53,337
Operating lease liabilities, net of current
33,249
38,711
Deferred revenue, net of current
16,751
19,218
Deferred income taxes
5,616
5,616
Other long-term liabilities
32,495
30,658
Total liabilities
719,225
691,390
Commitments and contingencies (Note 19)
Stockholders’ equity:
Common stock, $ 0.0001 par value per share; 240,000,000 shares authorized; 174,735,798 shares issued and outstanding at September 30, 2024; 172,083,667 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2023
17
17
Additional paid-in capital
1,967,952
1,958,909
Accumulated deficit
( 1,580,549 )
( 1,519,950 )
Accumulated other comprehensive income
8,114
13,787
Total stockholders’ equity
395,534
452,763
$
1,114,759
$
1,144,153
See notes to the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
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RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(in thousands, except per share data)
(unaudited)
Three months ended
Nine months ended
September 30,
September 30,
September 30,
September 30,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Revenue:
Product
$
112,151
$
108,501
$
298,894
$
319,166
Service
98,087
94,660
283,628
280,772
Total revenue
210,238
203,161
582,522
599,938
Cost of revenue:
Product
59,405
59,436
160,044
189,426
Service
34,893
33,065
103,633
102,152
Amortization of acquired technology
6,323
7,157
19,406
21,985
Total cost of revenue
100,621
99,658
283,083
313,563
Gross profit
109,617
103,503
299,439
286,375
Operating expenses:
Research and development
45,645
46,229
134,897
145,309
Sales and marketing
33,060
32,795
100,760
102,099
General and administrative
21,588
12,885
51,680
41,276
Amortization of acquired intangible assets
6,457
7,216
19,671
21,740
Acquisition-, disposal- and integration-related
—
842
—
2,982
Restructuring and related
3,794
2,680
8,779
13,924
Total operating expenses
110,544
102,647
315,787
327,330
(Loss) income from operations
( 927 )
856
( 16,348 )
( 40,955 )
Interest expense, net
( 11,952 )
( 7,143 )
( 21,818 )
( 20,331 )
Other income (expense), net
1,056
( 2,620 )
( 15,960 )
( 536 )
Loss before income taxes
( 11,823 )
( 8,907 )
( 54,126 )
( 61,822 )
Income tax provision
( 1,599 )
( 4,594 )
( 6,473 )
( 11,463 )
Net loss
$
( 13,422 )
$
( 13,501 )
$
( 60,599 )
$
( 73,285 )
Loss per share:
Basic
$
( 0.08 )
$
( 0.08 )
$
( 0.35 )
$
( 0.43 )
Diluted
$
( 0.08 )
$
( 0.08 )
$
( 0.35 )
$
( 0.43 )
Weighted average shares used to compute loss per share:
Basic
174,613
171,190
173,615
169,955
Diluted
174,613
171,190
173,615
169,955
See notes to the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
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RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss
(in thousands)
(unaudited)
Three months ended
Nine months ended
September 30,
September 30,
September 30,
September 30,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Net loss
$
( 13,422 )
$
( 13,501 )
$
( 60,599 )
$
( 73,285 )
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax:
Unrealized loss on interest rate swap, net of reclassifications and amortization into earnings
—
( 1,322 )
( 6,019 )
( 8,544 )
Reclassification of gain to other income (expense), net upon sale of interest rate swap
—
—
—
( 5,099 )
Foreign currency translation adjustments
286
( 3 )
346
( 588 )
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax
286
( 1,325 )
( 5,673 )
( 14,231 )
Comprehensive loss, net of tax
$
( 13,136 )
$
( 14,826 )
$
( 66,272 )
$
( 87,516 )
See notes to the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
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RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity
(in thousands, except shares)
(unaudited)
Three months ended September 30, 2024
Accumulated
Additional
other
Total
Common stock
paid-in
Accumulated
comprehensive
stockholders'
Shares
Amount
capital
deficit
(loss) income
equity
Balances, July 1, 2024
174,437,242
$
17
$
1,964,304
$
( 1,567,127 )
$
7,828
$
405,022
Exercise of stock options
53
—
—
—
—
—
Vesting of restricted stock awards and units
417,633
—
—
—
—
—
Shares of restricted stock returned to the Company under net share settlements to satisfy tax withholding obligations
( 119,130 )
—
( 397 )
—
—
( 397 )
Stock-based compensation expense
—
—
4,045
—
—
4,045
Other comprehensive income
—
—
—
—
286
286
Net loss
—
—
—
( 13,422 )
—
( 13,422 )
Balances, September 30, 2024
174,735,798
$
17
$
1,967,952
$
( 1,580,549 )
$
8,114
$
395,534
Nine months ended September 30, 2024
Accumulated
Additional
other
Total
Common stock
paid-in
Accumulated
comprehensive
stockholders'
Shares
Amount
capital
deficit
(loss) income
equity
Balances, January 1, 2024
172,083,667
$
17
$
1,958,909
$
( 1,519,950 )
$
13,787
$
452,763
Exercise of stock options
8,677
—
17
—
—
17
Vesting of restricted stock awards and units
3,444,670
—
—
—
—
—
Vesting of performance-based stock units
288,672
—
—
—
—
—
Shares of restricted stock returned to the Company under net share settlements to satisfy tax withholding obligations
( 1,089,888 )
—
( 3,035 )
—
—
( 3,035 )
Stock-based compensation expense
—
—
12,061
—
—
12,061
Other comprehensive loss
—
—
—
—
( 5,673 )
( 5,673 )
Net loss
—
—
—
( 60,599 )
—
( 60,599 )
Balances, September 30, 2024
174,735,798
$
17
$
1,967,952
$
( 1,580,549 )
$
8,114
$
395,534
See notes to the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
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RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity
(in thousands, except shares)
(unaudited)
Three months ended September 30, 2023
Accumulated
Additional
other
Total
Common stock
paid-in
Accumulated
comprehensive
stockholders'
Shares
Amount
capital
deficit
(loss) income
equity
Balances, July 1, 2023
170,958,400
$
17
$
1,950,079
$
( 1,513,528 )
$
17,679
$
454,247
Exercise of stock options
6,899
—
13
—
—
13
Vesting of restricted stock awards and units
612,818
—
—
—
—
—
Shares of restricted stock returned to the Company under net share settlements to satisfy tax withholding obligations
( 160,745 )
—
( 456 )
—
—
( 456 )
Stock-based compensation expense
—
—
4,950
—
—
4,950
Other comprehensive loss
—
—
—
—
( 1,325 )
( 1,325 )
Net loss
—
—
—
( 13,501 )
—
( 13,501 )
Balances, September 30, 2023
171,417,372
$
17
$
1,954,586
$
( 1,527,029 )
$
16,354
$
443,928
Nine months ended September 30, 2023
Accumulated
Additional
other
Total
Common stock
paid-in
Accumulated
comprehensive
stockholders'
Shares
Amount
capital
deficit
(loss) income
equity
Balances, January 1, 2023
168,324,995
$
17
$
1,941,569
$
( 1,453,744 )
$
30,585
$
518,427
Exercise of stock options
7,816
15
—
—
15
Vesting of restricted stock awards and units
3,927,390
—
—
—
—
—
Vesting of performance-based stock units
381,071
—
—
—
—
—
Shares of restricted stock returned to the Company under net share settlements to satisfy tax withholding obligations
( 1,223,900 )
—
( 3,912 )
—
—
( 3,912 )
Stock-based compensation expense
—
—
16,914
—
—
16,914
Other comprehensive loss
—
—
—
—
( 14,231 )
( 14,231 )
Net loss
—
—
—
( 73,285 )
—
( 73,285 )
Balances, September 30, 2023
171,417,372
$
17
$
1,954,586
$
( 1,527,029 )
$
16,354
$
443,928
See notes to the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
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RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(in thousands)
(unaudited)
Nine months ended
September 30,
September 30,
2024
2023
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net loss
$
( 60,599 )
$
( 73,285 )
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to cash flows used in operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization of property and equipment
10,131
10,603
Amortization of intangible assets
39,077
43,725
Amortization of debt issuance costs and original issue discount
4,137
2,517
Amortization of accumulated other comprehensive gain related to interest rate swap
( 8,196 )
( 3,818 )
Stock-based compensation
12,061
16,914
Deferred income taxes
( 14,614 )
( 3,617 )
Gain on sale of swap
—
( 7,301 )
Change in fair value of warrant liability
292
( 444 )
Change in fair value of preferred stock liability
8,091
( 572 )
Dividends accrued on preferred stock liability
2,743
2,573
Payment of dividends accrued on preferred stock liability
( 6,686 )
—
Foreign currency exchange losses
1,357
1,174
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable
18,896
31,345
Inventory
( 1,630 )
( 4,327 )
Other operating assets
9,456
27,785
Accounts payable
( 7,580 )
( 22,276 )
Accrued expenses and other long-term liabilities
1,624
( 16,255 )
Deferred revenue
( 20,087 )
( 7,793 )
Net cash used in operating activities
( 11,527 )
( 3,052 )
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchases of property and equipment
( 14,428 )
( 6,620 )
Purchases of software licenses
( 462 )
—
Net cash used in investing activities
( 14,890 )
( 6,620 )
Cash flows from financing activities:
Borrowings under revolving line of credit
44,106
67,000
Principal payments on revolving line of credit
( 44,106 )
( 57,000 )
Proceeds from issuance of term debt
342,300
—
Principal payments of term debt
( 236,270 )
( 90,044 )
Payment of debt issuance costs
( 5,985 )
( 1,572 )
Proceeds from issuance of preferred stock and warrant liabilities
—
53,350
Payment of preferred stock liability
( 56,850 )
—
Proceeds from the exercise of stock options
17
15
Payment of tax obligations related to vested stock awards and units
( 3,035 )
( 3,912 )
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities
40,177
( 32,163 )
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents
( 297 )
( 926 )
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
13,463
( 42,761 )
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, beginning of year
26,630
67,262
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, end of period
$
40,093
$
24,501
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RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (continued)
(in thousands)
(unaudited)
Nine months ended
September 30,
September 30,
2024
2023
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:
Interest paid
$
22,851
$
18,606
Income taxes paid
$
12,807
$
9,721
Income tax refunds received
$
1,294
$
1,160
Supplemental disclosure of non-cash investing activities:
Capital expenditures incurred, but not yet paid
$
3,946
$
2,505
Inventory transfers to property and equipment
$
1,297
$
1,524
Supplemental disclosure of non-cash financing activities:
Fair value of vested restricted and performance-based stock grants
$
10,454
$
13,454
See notes to the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
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RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
(unaudited)
(1) BASIS OF PRESENTATION
Business
Ribbon Communications Inc. ("Ribbon" or the "Company") is a leading global provider of communications technology to service providers and enterprises. The Company provides a broad range of software and high-performance hardware products, network solutions, and services that enable the secure delivery of data and voice communications, and high-bandwidth networking and connectivity for residential consumers and for small, medium, and large enterprises and industry verticals such as finance, education, government, utilities, and transportation. Ribbon’s mission is to create a recognized global technology leader providing cloud-centric solutions that enable the secure exchange of information, with unparalleled scale, performance, and elasticity. The Company is headquartered in Plano, Texas, and has a global presence with research and development, or sales and support locations in over thirty countries around the world.
Basis of Presentation
In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring items, necessary for their fair presentation with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP") and with the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC").
Interim results are not necessarily indicative of results for a full year or any future interim period. The information included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q should be read in conjunction with the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, as amended (the "Annual Report"), which was filed with the SEC on February 28, 2024.
Operating Segments
The Company’s chief operating decision maker (the "CODM") is its president and chief executive officer. The CODM assesses the Company’s performance based on the performance of two separate organizations within Ribbon: the Cloud and Edge segment ("Cloud and Edge") and the IP Optical Networks segment ("IP Optical Networks").
Significant Accounting Policies
The Company’s significant accounting policies are disclosed in Note 2 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in the Annual Report. There were no material changes to the significant accounting policies during the nine months ended September 30, 2024.
Principles of Consolidation
The condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Ribbon and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. Intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation.
Use of Estimates and Judgments
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting periods. Significant estimates and judgments relied upon in preparing these condensed consolidated financial statements include revenue recognition for multiple element arrangements, inventory valuations, assumptions used to determine the fair value of stock-based compensation and the Preferred Stock and Warrants, intangible asset and goodwill valuations,
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RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
(unaudited)
including impairments, warranty accruals, legal contingencies and recoverability of Ribbon’s net deferred tax assets and the related valuation allowances. Ribbon regularly assesses these estimates and records changes in estimates in the period in which they become known. Ribbon bases its estimates on historical experience and various other assumptions that it believes to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Restricted Cash
The Company classifies as restricted cash all cash pledged as collateral to secure long-term obligations and all cash otherwise limited in use by contractual provisions. At September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company had $ 2.9 million and $ 0.1 million of restricted cash, respectively, representing restricted short-term bank deposits pledged to secure certain guarantees and surety bonds as security for the Company’s obligations under tenders, and contracts.
Transfers of Financial Assets
The Company’s IP Optical Networks segment maintains customer receivables factoring agreements with a number of financial institutions. Under the terms of these agreements, the Company may transfer receivables to the financial institutions, on a non-recourse basis, provided that the financial institutions approve the receivables in advance. The Company maintains credit insurance policies from major insurance providers or obtains letters of credit from the customers for a majority of its factored trade receivables. The Company accounts for the factoring of its financial assets as a sale of the assets and records the factoring fees, when incurred, as a component of interest expense in the condensed consolidated statements of operations, and the proceeds from the sales of receivables are included in cash from operating activities in the condensed consolidated statements of cash flows.
Factoring of accounts receivable and associated fees for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023 were as follows (in thousands):
Three months ended
Nine months ended
September 30,
September 30,
September 30,
September 30,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Accounts receivable sold
$
26,635
$
24,701
$
73,597
$
73,028
Less factoring fees
( 532 )
( 752 )
( 1,466 )
( 2,022 )
Net cash proceeds
$
26,103
$
23,949
$
72,131
$
71,006
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In December 2023, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the "FASB") issued ASU 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures (“ASU 2023-09”), which increases the disclosure requirements around rate reconciliation information and certain types of income taxes companies are required to pay. ASU 2023-09 will be effective for the Company beginning with its 2025 annual financial statements, with early adoption permitted. The Company expects the adoption of the standard will require certain additional income tax disclosures.
In November 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures (“ASU 2023-07”), which improves reportable segment disclosure requirements, including enhancement of the disclosures of significant segment expenses and interim disclosure requirements, to enable investors to better understand an entity's overall performance and assess potential future cash flows. ASU 2023-07 will be effective for the Company beginning with its 2024 annual financial statements and interim financial statements thereafter and will be applied retrospectively for all periods presented in the financial statements. The Company’s adoption of this standard will require certain additional segment disclosures.
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RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
(unaudited)
(2) EARNINGS (LOSS) PER SHARE
Basic earnings (loss) per share is computed by dividing net income (loss) by the weighted average number of shares outstanding during the period. For periods in which the Company reports net income, diluted net earnings per share is determined by using the weighted average number of common and dilutive common equivalent shares outstanding during the period, unless the effect is antidilutive.
The shares used to compute loss per share were as follows (in thousands):
Three months ended
Nine months ended
September 30,
September 30,
September 30,
September 30,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Weighted average shares outstanding—basic
174,613
171,190
173,615
169,955
Potential dilutive common shares
—
—
—
—
Weighted average shares outstanding—diluted
174,613
171,190
173,615
169,955
Options to purchase the Company’s common stock and unvested restricted and performance-based stock units aggregating 8.1 million and 14.4 million shares were excluded from the computation of diluted loss per share for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively, because their effect would have been antidilutive.
On March 28, 2023, the Company issued 55,000 shares of newly designated Series A Preferred Stock (the "Preferred Stock") to investors in a private placement offering at a price of $ 970 per share, along with 4.9 million warrants (the "Warrants") to purchase shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $ 0.0001 per share (the "Private Placement"), at the exercise price of $ 3.77 per share. The proceeds from the Private Placement were approximately $ 53.4 million, including approximately $ 10 million from existing related party stockholders (See Note 11).
On June 25, 2024, the Company redeemed the Preferred Stock with a portion of the proceeds from its refinancing of the 2020 Credit Facility at a rate of 103 % for a total of approximately $ 63.5 million. The Warrants remain outstanding and without modification. See Note 9 for a description of the refinancing of the 2020 Credit Facility.
As of September 30, 2024 and 2023, the potential number of dilutive shares from the Warrants totaled 4.9 million shares. However, there was no impact on weighted average shares outstanding from these Warrants for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023 as the average share price of the Company’s common stock was below the exercise price of $ 3.77 per share and their effect would have been antidilutive.
Dividends accrued on the Preferred Stock were not an adjustment to net income (loss) used for the calculation of diluted earnings (loss) per share as these dividends were included in the fair value adjustment of the Preferred Stock which was reflected in Other (expense) income, net until the redemption of the Preferred Stock on June 25, 2024.
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RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
(unaudited)
(3) INVENTORY
Inventory at September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023 consisted of the following (in thousands):
September 30,
December 31,
2024
2023
On-hand final assemblies and finished goods inventories
$
94,269
$
93,077
Deferred cost of goods sold
2,409
3,269
96,678
96,346
Less noncurrent portion (included in Other assets)
( 19,362 )
( 18,825 )
Current portion
$
77,316
$
77,521
(4) INTANGIBLE ASSETS AND GOODWILL
The Company’s intangible assets at September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023 consisted of the following (in thousands):
Weighted
average
amortization
Net
period
Accumulated
carrying
September 30, 2024
(years)
Cost
amortization
value
Developed technology
7.84
$
340,380
$
257,078
$
83,302
Customer relationships
11.86
268,140
154,346
113,794
Trade names
3.88
5,000
4,969
31
Software licenses
3.00
5,748
3,553
2,195
9.50
$
619,268
$
419,946
$
199,322
Weighted
average
amortization
Net
period
Accumulated
carrying
December 31, 2023
(years)
Cost
amortization
value
Developed technology
7.84
$
340,380
$
239,066
$
101,314
Customer relationships
11.86
268,140
134,743
133,397
Trade names
3.88
5,000
4,901
99
Software licenses
3.00
5,436
2,159
3,277
9.51
$
618,956
$
380,869
$
238,087
Estimated future amortization expense for the Company’s intangible assets at September 30, 2024 was as follows (in thousands):
Years ending December 31,
Remainder of 2024
$
11,785
2025
44,192
2026
39,143
2027
33,979
2028
23,400
2029
18,379
Thereafter
28,444
$
199,322
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RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
(unaudited)
There were no changes to the carrying value of the Company’s goodwill in the nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023. The components of goodwill at both September 30, 2024 and 2023 were as follows (in thousands):
Cloud and
IP Optical
Edge
Networks
Total
Goodwill
$
392,302
$
191,996
$
584,298
Accumulated impairment losses
( 167,406 )
( 116,000 )
( 283,406 )
$
224,896
$
75,996
$
300,892
(5) FAIR VALUE HIERARCHY
The carrying amounts of the Company’s cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable and borrowings under a revolving credit facility in the condensed consolidated balance sheets approximates fair value due to the immediate or short-term nature of these financial instruments. Ribbon’s term debt balance as of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023 of $ 349.1 million and $ 235.4 million, respectively, had a fair value of approximately $ 330.4 million and $ 235.1 million, respectively. The Company’s Warrant liability had a fair value of $ 5.6 million and $ 5.3 million as of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively. The Company’s Preferred Stock had a fair value of $ 53.3 million as of December 31, 2023 and was fully redeemed on June 25, 2024.
Fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants. As such, fair value is a market-based measurement that should be determined based on assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or a liability. The three-tier fair value hierarchy is based on the level of independent, objective evidence surrounding the inputs used to measure fair value. A financial instrument’s categorization within the fair value hierarchy is based upon the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The fair value hierarchy is as follows:
Level 1. Level 1 applies to assets or liabilities for which there are quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. The Company had no assets or liabilities fair valued using Level 1 input at September 30, 2024 or December 31, 2023.
Level 2. Level 2 applies to assets or liabilities for which there are inputs that are directly or indirectly observable in the marketplace, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets or quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in markets with insufficient volume or infrequent transactions (less active markets). At December 31, 2023, the Company determined the fair value of its defined benefit plans’ assets using Level 2 input. There were no significant changes to the Company’s defined benefit plans’ assets during the nine months ended September 30, 2024 that required the calculation of their fair value as of September 30, 2024.
Level 3. Level 3 applies to assets or liabilities for which there are unobservable inputs to the valuation methodology that are significant to the measurement of the fair value of the assets or liabilities. Level 3 input was used to determine the fair value of the Company’s Warrants at September 30, 2024 and the fair value of the Company’s Preferred Stock and Warrants at December 31, 2023.
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RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
(unaudited)
(6) ACCRUED EXPENSES AND OTHER
Accrued expenses at September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023 consisted of the following (in thousands):
September 30,
December 31,
2024
2023
Employee compensation and related costs
$
36,982
$
33,682
Professional fees
19,232
19,702
Taxes payable
13,538
8,383
Other
33,190
29,920
$
102,942
$
91,687
(7) WARRANTY ACCRUALS
The changes in the Company’s accrual balance in the nine months ended September 30, 2024 were as follows (in thousands):
Balance at January 1, 2024
$
12,243
Current period provisions
4,281
Settlements
( 3,959 )
Balance at September 30, 2024
$
12,565
(8) RESTRUCTURING AND FACILITIES CONSOLIDATION INITIATIVES
The Company recorded restructuring and related expense aggregating $ 3.8 million and $ 2.7 million in the three months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively and $ 8.8 million and $ 13.9 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Restructuring and related expense includes restructuring expense (primarily severance and related costs), estimated future variable lease costs for vacated properties with no intent or ability of sublease, and accelerated rent amortization expense.
For restructuring events that involve lease assets and liabilities, the Company applies lease reassessment and modification guidance and evaluates the right-of-use assets for potential impairment. If the Company plans to exit all or distinct portions of a facility and does not have the ability or intent to sublease, the Company will accelerate the amortization of each of those lease components through the vacate date. The accelerated amortization is recorded as a component of Restructuring and related expense in the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of operations. Related variable lease expenses will continue to be expensed as incurred through the vacate date, at which time the Company will reassess the liability balance to ensure it appropriately reflects the remaining liability associated with the premises and record a liability for the estimated future variable lease costs.
Accelerated amortization of lease assets is recognized from the date that the Company commences the plan to fully or partially vacate a facility, for which there is no intent or ability to enter into a sublease, through the final vacate date. Accelerated amortization of lease assets that are included as a component of restructuring and related expense are excluded from the restructuring accrual activity tables below, as the liability for lease payments for these facilities is included as a component of current and noncurrent Operating lease liabilities in the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheets at September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023 (see Note 16). The Company may incur additional future expense if it is unable to sublease other locations included in the Company’s facilities consolidation initiatives.
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RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
(unaudited)
Restructuring and related expense for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023 was comprised of the following (in thousands):
Three months ended
Nine months ended
September 30,
September 30,
September 30,
September 30,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Severance and related costs
$
2,289
$
804
$
4,264
$
9,355
Variable and other facilities-related costs
1,505
1,653
4,515
3,784
Accelerated amortization of lease assets due to cease-use
—
223
—
785
$
3,794
$
2,680
$
8,779
$
13,924
The CODM approved workforce reductions in 2024 for certain of the Company’s operating locations to correspond with the current sales levels in those areas. The Company recorded $ 2.2 million in the three months ended September 30, 2024 related to these actions. Any potential positions eliminated in countries outside of the United States are subject to local law and consultation requirements.
2023 Restructuring Plan
On February 22, 2023, the Company’s Board of Directors approved a strategic restructuring program (the "2023 Restructuring Plan") to streamline the Company’s operations in order to support the Company’s investment in critical growth areas. The 2023 Restructuring Plan includes, among other things, charges related to a workforce reduction. Any potential positions eliminated in countries outside the United States are subject to local law and consultation requirements.
In connection with the 2023 Restructuring Plan, the Company recorded restructuring and related expense of $ 0.1 million and $ 2.1 million in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, respectively, consisting entirely of severance related costs. A summary of the 2023 Restructuring Plan accrual activity for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 is as follows (in thousands):
Balance at
Initiatives
Net transfer to
Balance at
January 1,
charged to
Cash
operating lease
September 30,
2024
expense
payments
accounts
2024
Severance
$
671
$
2,027
$
( 2,399 )
$
—
$
299
2022 Restructuring Plan
On February 14, 2022, the Company’s Board of Directors approved a strategic restructuring program (the "2022 Restructuring Plan") to streamline the Company’s operations in order to support the Company’s investment in critical growth areas. The 2022 Restructuring Plan includes, among other things, charges related to a consolidation of facilities and a workforce reduction. Any positions eliminated in countries outside the United States are subject to local law and consultation requirements.
The Company recorded restructuring and related expense of $ 1.5 million and $ 4.5 million in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024, respectively, in connection with the 2022 Restructuring Plan for variable and other facilities-related costs. A summary of the 2022 Restructuring Plan accrual activity for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 is as follows (in thousands):
Balance at
Initiatives
January 1,
charged to
Cash
Balance at
2024
expense
payments
September 30, 2024
Variable and other facilities-related costs
$
468
4,514
( 4,613 )
$
369
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RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
(unaudited)
Balance Sheet Classification
The current portions of accrued restructuring were $ 2.7 million and $ 1.1 million at September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively, and are included as components of Accrued expenses in the condensed consolidated balance sheets. The long-term portions of accrued restructuring are included as components of Other long-term liabilities in the condensed consolidated balance sheets. The long-term portions of accrued restructuring were $ 0.9 million and $ 1.1 million at September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively.
(9) DEBT
2024 Credit Facility
On June 21, 2024, the Company entered into a Senior Secured Credit Facilities Credit Agreement (the “2024 Credit Facility” and “2024 Credit Agreement”) as guarantor, with the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Ribbon Communications Operating Company, Inc., as the borrower (the “Borrower”), HPS Investment Partners, LLC ("HPS"), as administrative agent, and HPS and WhiteHorse Capital Management, LLC ("WhiteHorse" and, together with HPS, the "Lenders"), pursuant to which the Lenders provided the Company with a $ 385 million senior secured credit facility comprised of (i) a $ 350 million term loan (the “2024 Term Loan”) and (ii) a $ 35 million revolving credit facility (the “2024 Revolver”), including a $ 20 million sublimit for letters of credit. The proceeds received from the 2024 Term Loan were used to (a) repay 100 % of the amounts outstanding under the 2020 Credit Facility, (b) redeem in full the Preferred Stock and (c) pay fees and expenses related to the 2024 Credit Facility. The excess proceeds are being used by the Company for working capital and other general corporate purposes.
The 2024 Term Loan and the 2024 Revolver bear interest, at the Borrower’s option, at either the Alternate Base Rate (“ABR”) or Term Secured Overnight Financing Rate ("SOFR") with an Applicable Margin for each (all as defined in the 2024 Credit Agreement). Margins for the first six months are 5.25 % per annum for ABR Loans and 6.25 % per annum for SOFR Loans. Thereafter, margins vary based on the Company’s Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio, ranging from 4.75 % to 5.25 % per annum for ABR Loans and 5.75 % to 6.25 % per annum for SOFR Loans. The 2024 Term Loan and the 2024 Revolver will both mature on June 21, 2029. The 2024 Term Loan is being repaid in equal quarterly installments: approximately $ 0.9 million beginning with the third quarter of 2024 through the second quarter of 2025; approximately $ 2.2 million beginning with the third quarter of 2025 and ending with the second quarter of 2027; and approximately $ 4.4 million quarterly thereafter, with the remaining principal balance of approximately $ 298.4 million due on the maturity date of June 21, 2029. In connection with the establishment of the 2024 Credit Facility, $ 7.7 million of original issue discount was withheld by the Lenders and the Company incurred $ 6.1 million of debt issuance costs for a total of $ 13.8 million that is being amortized to Interest expense, net over the term of the 2024 Credit Facility.
The 2024 Credit Facility requires compliance with a Maximum Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio (the "Financial Covenant"), as defined in the 2024 Credit Facility, which is tested on a quarterly basis. The Company was in compliance with the Financial Covenant as of September 30, 2024.
The indebtedness and other obligations under the 2024 Credit Facility are irrevocably and unconditionally guaranteed on a joint and several basis by the Company and its subsidiaries (together, the "Guarantors"). The 2024 Credit Facility is secured on a first-priority basis by a lien on substantially all assets of the Borrower and the Guarantors.
2020 Credit Facility
On June 21, 2024, the Company used the proceeds from the 2024 Credit Facility to, among other things, repay all amounts outstanding under its Senior Secured Credit Facilities Credit Agreement, dated March 3, 2020 (as amended, the "2020 Credit Facility"), by and among the Company, as a guarantor, Ribbon Communications Operating Company, Inc.,
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RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
(unaudited)
as the borrower (the "Borrower"), Citizens Bank, N.A., Santander Bank, N.A., and others as lenders ("2020 Credit Facility Lenders"). The Company wrote off $ 2.0 million of debt issuance costs in conjunction with the early extinguishment of the 2020 Credit Facility.
The 2020 Credit Facility had a maturity date of March 2025 and originally provided for $ 500 million of commitments from the 2020 Credit Facility Lenders to the Borrower, comprised of $ 400 million in term loans (the "2020 Term Loan Facility") and a $ 100 million facility available for revolving loans (the "2020 Revolving Credit Facility"). Under the 2020 Revolving Credit Facility, a $ 30 million sublimit was originally available for letters of credit and a $ 20 million sublimit was available for swingline loans.
The indebtedness and other obligations under the 2020 Credit Facility were unconditionally guaranteed on a senior secured basis by the Company, Edgewater Networks, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, and GENBAND Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company (together, the "2020 Credit Facility Guarantors"). The 2020 Credit Facility was secured by first-priority liens on substantially all of the assets of the Borrower and the 2020 Credit Facility Guarantors, including substantially all of the assets of the Company.
The 2020 Credit Facility required compliance with certain financial covenants, including a minimum Consolidated Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio and a maximum Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio (each as defined in the 2020 Credit Facility, and each tested on a quarterly basis).
On March 24, 2023, the Company entered into the Sixth Amendment to the 2020 Credit Facility (the “Sixth Amendment”) effective March 30, 2023. The Sixth Amendment, among other things, increased the Maximum Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio (as defined in the 2020 Credit Facility), for the first, second and third quarters of 2023 to 4.50 :1.00. In the fourth quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024, the Maximum Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio declined to 4.25 :1.00 and 4.00 :1.00, respectively. Also, the Sixth Amendment reduced the minimum Consolidated Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio (as defined in the 2020 Credit Facility) to 1.10 :1.00 through the first quarter of 2024. The Sixth Amendment reduced the maximum borrowings allowed under the 2020 Revolving Credit Facility from $ 100 million to $ 75 million and the sublimit available for letters of credit was reduced from $ 30 million to $ 20 million. In addition, the Sixth Amendment replaced LIBOR with SOFR as the alternative rate available to the Company for calculating interest owed under the 2020 Credit Facility with the margin fixed at 4.5 %. In conjunction with the Sixth Amendment, the Company made a $ 75 million prepayment that was applied to the final payment due upon maturity in March 2025. The $ 75 million prepayment was almost entirely funded with the net proceeds from the Private Placement and the sales of the Company’s interest rate swap. Debt issuance costs associated with the Sixth Amendment totaled $ 1.7 million and were being amortized on a straight-line basis over the remaining life of the 2020 Credit Facility and were written off in conjunction with the early extinguishment of the 2020 Credit Facility on June 21, 2024.
The Company’s interest rates for the nine months ended September 30, 2023 under the 2020 Term Loan benefited from a hedge instrument that was in place, specifically a fixed rate swap, until it was sold in March 2023 (see Note 10). Following the sale of the fixed rate swap in March 2023, the Company’s interest rate was based upon U.S. dollar SOFR plus a fixed margin of 4.5 %. The Company was in compliance with all covenants of the 2020 Credit Facility at December 31, 2023, including the Consolidated Net Leverage Ratio calculation that considered the Company’s debt to include Preferred Stock.
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RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
(unaudited)
The Company had the following outstanding borrowings, unamortized debt issuance costs and original issue discount, letters of credit, interest rates, and remaining borrowing capacity under the 2024 Credit Facility and the 2020 Credit Facility as of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively:
September 30,
December 31,
2024
2023
Current portion of Term Debt
$
4,813
$
35,102
Long-term Debt, net of Current:
Long-term Debt, net of Current (Face Amount)
$
344,312
$
200,293
Original Issue Discount
( 6,611 )
—
Unamortized Debt Issuance Costs - Contra-Liability
( 5,273 )
( 2,811 )
Long-term Debt, net of Current
$
332,428
$
197,482
Total Face Amount of Borrowings
$
349,125
$
235,395
Unamortized Original Issue Discount and Debt Issuance Costs:
Other Assets
1,183
557
Long-Term Debt - Contra Liability
11,884
2,811
Total Unamortized Original Issue Discount and Debt Issuance Costs
$
13,067
$
3,368
Letters of Credit Outstanding
$
—
$
2,711
Remaining Borrowing Capacity
$
35,000
$
72,289
Average Interest Rates:
Term Loan
11.2
%
10.0
%
Letters of Credit
—
%
4.5
%
The Company’s debt maturities as of September 30, 2024 were as follows:
Years ending December 31,
Remainder of 2024
$
875
2025
6,125
2026
8,750
2027
13,125
2028
17,500
2029
302,750
$
349,125
Letters of Credit and Other Guarantees
The Company uses letters of credit, bank guarantees, and surety bonds in the course of its business. At September 30, 2024, the Company had $ 10.4 million of letters of credit, bank guarantees, and surety bonds outstanding (collectively, "Guarantees") under various uncommitted facilities and no letters of credit outstanding under the 2024 Credit Facility. At December 31, 2023, the Company had Guarantees aggregating $ 7.9 million, comprised of the $ 2.7 million of letters of credit under the 2020 Credit Facility described above and $ 5.2 million of Other Guarantees. At September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company had cash collateral of $ 2.9 million and $ 0.1 million, respectively, supporting the Guarantees, which are reported in Restricted cash in the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheets.
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RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
(unaudited)
(10) DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS AND HEDGING ACTIVITIES
The Company is exposed to financial market risk related to foreign currency fluctuations and changes in interest rates. These exposures are actively monitored by management. To manage the volatility related to the exposure to changes in interest rates, the Company may enter into derivative financial instruments. Management’s objective has been to reduce, where it is deemed appropriate to do so, fluctuations in earnings and cash flows associated with changes in interest rates. Ribbon’s policies and practices are to use derivative financial instruments only to the extent necessary to manage exposures. Ribbon does not hold or issue derivative financial instruments for trading or speculative purposes.
The Company records derivatives on the balance sheet at fair value. The accounting for changes in the fair value of derivatives depends on the intended use of the derivative, whether the Company has elected to designate a derivative in a hedging relationship and apply hedge accounting and whether the hedging relationship has satisfied the criteria necessary to apply hedge accounting. Derivatives designated and qualifying as a hedge of the exposure to changes in the fair value of an asset, liability, or firm commitment attributable to a specific risk, such as interest rate risk, are considered fair value hedges. Derivatives designated and qualifying as a hedge of the exposure to variability in expected future cash flows, or other types of forecasted transactions, are considered cash flow hedges. Derivatives may also be designated as hedges of the foreign currency exposure of a net investment in a foreign operation. Hedge accounting generally provides for the matching of the timing of gain or loss recognition on the hedging instrument with the recognition of the changes in the fair value of the hedged asset or liability that are attributable to the hedged risk in a fair value hedge, or the earnings effect of the hedged forecasted transactions in a cash flow hedge. The Company may enter into derivative contracts that are intended to economically hedge certain of its risk even though hedge accounting does not apply or the Company elects not to apply hedge accounting.
Cash Flow Hedge of Interest Rate Risk
The 2024 Term Loan Facility and the 2020 Term Loan Facility had outstanding balances of $ 349.1 million and $ 235.4 million at September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively. The 2024 Revolving Credit Facility and the 2020 Revolving Credit Facility were undrawn at September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively. Borrowings under the 2024 Credit Facility and the 2020 Credit Facility have variable interest rates based on SOFR (see Note 9). As a result of exposure to interest rate movements, during March 2020, the Company entered into an interest rate swap arrangement, which effectively converted its $ 400 million term loan with its variable interest rate based upon one-month LIBOR to an aggregate fixed rate of 0.904 %, plus a leverage-based margin as defined in the 2020 Credit Facility.
On July 22, 2022, the Company sold $ 30 million of the notional amount of its interest rate swap back to its counterparty for $ 1.5 million, reducing the notional amount of this swap to $ 370 million. On August 16, 2022, the Company sold another $ 30 million of the notional amount of its interest rate swap back to its counterparty for $ 1.6 million, reducing the notional amount to $ 340 million, which approximated the current level of our term loan debt then outstanding. The gain in accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income related to the $ 60 million notional amount sold of $ 3.1 million was being released into earnings on a straight line basis over the remaining term of the 2020 Credit Facility as a decrease to interest expense until it was refinanced on June 21, 2024, the amortization of which totaled $ 0.4 million and $ 0.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The remaining unamortized gain in accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income of approximately $ 0.5 million was written off to interest expense in conjunction with the refinancing of the 2020 Credit Facility on June 21, 2024. See Note 9 for a description of the refinancing.
On March 24, 2023, the Company received $ 9.4 million, consisting of $ 0.4 million of interest and $ 9.0 million for the sale of $ 170 million of its $ 340 million notional amount interest rate swap back to its counterparty, reducing the notional amount to $ 170 million. On March 27, 2023, the Company received $ 9.8 million, consisting of $ 0.4 million of interest and $ 9.4 million for the sale of the remaining $ 170 million of its interest rate swap back to its counterparty. The portion of the gain in accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income related to the term loan debt prepaid on the date of
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RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
(unaudited)
the final sale of our swap totaled $ 7.3 million and was released into earnings immediately as Other expense, net. The portion of the gain in accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income related to our remaining term loan debt balance was $ 12.0 million and was being released into earnings on a straight line basis over the remaining term of the 2020 Credit Facility as a decrease to interest expense until it was refinanced on June 21, 2024, the amortization of which totaled $ 3.0 million and $ 3.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The remaining unamortized gain in accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income of $ 4.4 million was written off to interest expense in conjunction with the refinancing of the 2020 Credit Facility on June 21, 2024. See Note 9 for a description of the refinancing.
The Company’s objectives in using interest rate derivatives have been to add stability to interest expense and to manage its exposure to interest rate movements. To accomplish these objectives, the Company has used an interest rate swap as part of its interest rate risk management strategy. Interest rate swaps designated as cash flow hedges involve the receipt of variable amounts from a counterparty in exchange for the Company making fixed-rate payments over the life of the related agreements without exchange of the underlying notional amount.
The effective portion of changes in the fair value of designated derivatives that qualify as cash flow hedges is recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income in the condensed consolidated balance sheet and is subsequently reclassified into earnings in the period that the hedged forecasted transactions affect earnings. During the nine months ended September 30, 2023, such a derivative was used to hedge the variable cash flows associated with the outstanding borrowings under the 2020 Credit Facility and the Company accounted for this derivative as an effective hedge until the final portion of the swap was sold on March 27, 2023. Any ineffective portion of the change in the fair value of the derivative would have been recognized directly in earnings. However, there was no hedge ineffectiveness recorded over the life of the swap.
Amounts reported in accumulated other comprehensive income related to the Company’s derivative are reclassified to interest expense as interest is accrued on the Company’s variable-rate debt. The impact of the Company’s derivative financial instrument on its condensed consolidated statements of comprehensive (loss) income for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023 was as follows, net of tax (in thousands):
Three months ended
Nine months ended
September 30,
September 30,
September 30,
September 30,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Gain (loss) recognized in other comprehensive income (loss) on swap, net of tax
$
—
$
—
$
—
$
( 2,715 )
Amount reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income to other expense, net upon sale of swap, net of tax
—
—
—
( 5,099 )
Amount reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income to interest expense
—
( 1,322 )
( 6,019 )
( 5,829 )
Unrealized gain (loss) on interest rate swap, net of reclassifications and amortization
$
—
$
( 1,322 )
$
( 6,019 )
$
( 13,643 )
The Company had no derivative assets or liabilities at September 30, 2024 or December 31, 2023.
(11) PREFERRED STOCK AND WARRANTS
On March 28, 2023, the Company issued 55,000 shares of Preferred Stock to investors in the Private Placement at a price of $ 970 per share, along with 4,858,090 Warrants with an exercise price of $ 3.77 per share.
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RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
(unaudited)
On June 25, 2024, the Company redeemed the Preferred Stock with a portion of the proceeds from the refinancing of the 2020 Credit Facility at a rate of 103 % for a total of approximately $ 63.5 million. The Warrants remain outstanding and without modification. See Note 9 for a description of the refinancing of the 2020 Credit Facility.
The Company accounted for the Preferred Stock until it was redeemed and continues to account for the Warrants as liability-classified instruments based on an assessment of their specific terms in accordance with ASC Topic 480, Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity . The fair value option was elected for the Preferred Stock, as the Company considered fair value to best reflect its expected future economic value. These liabilities are remeasured to fair value at each reporting date using the same valuation methodology applied upon issuance using current input assumptions.
The value of the Preferred Stock was calculated quarterly through March 31, 2024 using the Black-Derman-Toy (BDT) stochastic yield lattice model to capture the optimal timing of repayment, increasing dividend rate and other features and the value of the Warrants is calculated quarterly using the Black-Scholes Pricing Model.
Changes in the fair value of the Preferred Stock and the Warrants are reported as Other expense, net in the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of operations.
The Company determined the fair value of the Warrants using Level 3 input. The key assumptions into the model utilized was as follows as of September 30, 2024:
Warrants
(Black-Scholes)
Stock price
$
3.25
Strike price
$
3.77
Risk-free rate
3.59
%
Volatility
61.4
%
Dividend yield
0.0
%
Time to expiration (years)
2.5
Fair value of Warrant per share
$
1.15
The changes in the Company’s Preferred Stock and Warrant liabilities for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 were as follows (in thousands):
Preferred stock
liability
Balance at January 1, 2024
$
53,337
Payable in-kind dividends
2,743
Reversal of fair value adjustments
5,605
Call premium (3%)
1,851
Redemption (June 25, 2024)
( 63,536 )
Balance at September 30, 2024
$
—
Warrant liability
Balance at January 1, 2024
$
5,295
Fair value change
292
Balance at September 30, 2024
$
5,587
The Preferred Stock, redeemed on June 25, 2024, was subordinate to the Company’s indebtedness and senior to the Company’s common stock or other equity. Holders of the Preferred Stock were entitled to cumulative dividends that accrued quarterly. Dividends were payable in-kind during the first year at a rate of 9.25 %. At the Company’s option, the
23
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RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
(unaudited)
dividends were payable in-kind or in cash during the second year at a rate of 9.75 %. Dividends thereafter were to be payable in cash at a rate of 12.00 %. The proceeds from the Preferred Stock issuance were approximately $ 53.4 million, including $ 10.0 million from existing related party stockholders. Offering costs paid by the Company of approximately $ 3.5 million were recorded in Other expense, net in the year ended December 31, 2023. The net proceeds from the Private Placement were used for the repayment of debt. The Preferred Stock was redeemable on or after the first and second anniversaries of the closing date at a rate of 103 % and 102 %, respectively.
The Warrants, which expire March 30, 2027, are immediately exercisable and upon an event such as a merger, consolidation, asset sale or similar change of control, may be exercised and the holders may vote the underlying shares of common stock. In connection with the Private Placement, the Company provided the investors with certain registration rights relating to the Preferred Stock, the Warrants and the shares of the Company’s common stock underlying the Warrants, that required the Company to file a registration statement on Form S-3 with the SEC within 30 days following the closing date of the Private Placement. The registration requirement was completed on May 19, 2023.
(12) REVENUE RECOGNITION
The Company derives revenue from two primary sources: products and services. Product revenue includes the Company’s hardware and software that function together to deliver the products’ essential functionality. Software and hardware are also sold on a standalone basis. Services include customer support (software updates, upgrades and technical support), consulting, design services, installation services and training. Generally, contracts with customers contain multiple performance obligations, consisting of products and services. For these contracts, the Company accounts for individual performance obligations separately if they are considered distinct.
When an arrangement contains more than one performance obligation, the Company will allocate the transaction price to each performance obligation on a relative standalone selling price basis. The Company utilizes the observable price of goods and services when they are sold separately to similar customers in order to estimate standalone selling price.
The Company’s software licenses typically provide a perpetual right to use the Company’s software. The Company also sells term-based software licenses that expire and Software-as-a-Service ("SaaS")-based software which are referred to as subscription arrangements. The Company does not customize its software nor are installation services required, as the customer has a right to utilize internal resources or a third-party service company. The software and hardware are delivered before related services are provided and are functional without professional services or customer support. The Company has concluded that its software licenses are functional intellectual property that are distinct, as the user can benefit from the software on its own. Product revenue is typically recognized upon transfer of control or when the software is made available for download, as this is the point the user of the software can direct the use of, and obtain substantially all of the remaining benefits from, the functional intellectual property. The Company begins to recognize software revenue related to the renewal of subscription software licenses at the start of the subscription period.
The Company offers warranties on its products. Certain of the Company’s warranties are considered to be assurance-type in nature, ensuring the product is functioning as intended. Assurance-type warranties do not represent separate performance obligations. The Company also sells separately-priced maintenance service contracts which qualify as service-type warranties and represent separate performance obligations. The Company does not allow and has no history of accepting product returns.
Services revenue includes revenue from customer support and other professional services. Customer support includes software updates on a when-and-if-available basis, telephone support, integrated web-based support and bug fixes or patches. The Company sells its customer support contracts at a percentage of list or net product price. Customer support revenue is recognized ratably over the term of the customer support agreement, which is typically one year .
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RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
(unaudited)
The Company’s professional services include consulting, technical support, resident engineer services, design services and installation services. Because control transfers over time, revenue is recognized based on progress toward completion of the performance obligation. The method to measure progress toward completion requires judgment and is based on the nature of the products or services to be provided. The Company generally uses the input method to measure progress for its contracts because it believes such method best depicts the transfer of assets to the customer, which occurs as the Company incurs costs for the contracts. However, in some instances, the Company uses the output method because it best depicts the transfer of asset to the customer. Under the cost-to-cost measure of progress, the progress toward completion is measured based on the ratio of costs incurred to date to the total estimated costs at completion of the performance obligation. When the measure of progress is based upon expended labor, progress toward completion is measured as the ratio of labor time expended to date versus the total estimated labor time required to complete the performance obligation. Revenue is recorded proportionally as costs are incurred or as labor is expended. Costs to fulfill these obligations include internal labor as well as subcontractor costs.
Customer training includes courses offered by the Company. The related revenue is typically recognized as the training services are performed.
The Company’s typical performance obligations include the following:
When Performance Obligation is Typically
Performance Obligation
Satisfied
When Payment is Typically Due
Software and Product Revenue
Software licenses (perpetual or term)
Upon transfer of control; typically, when made available for download (point in time)
Generally, within 30 days of invoicing except for term licenses, which may be paid for over time
Software licenses (subscription)
Upon activation of hosted site (over time)
Generally, within 30 days of invoicing
Hardware
When control of the hardware passes to the customer; typically, upon delivery (point in time)
Generally, within 30 days of invoicing
Software upgrades
Upon transfer of control; typically, when made available for download (point in time)
Generally, within 30 days of invoicing
Customer Support Revenue
Customer support
Ratably over the course of the support contract (over time)
Generally, within 30 days of invoicing
Professional Services
Other professional services (excluding training services)
As work is performed (over time)
Generally, within 30 days of invoicing (upon completion of services)
Training
When the class is taught (point in time)
Generally, within 30 days of services being performed
Significant Judgments
The Company’s contracts with customers often include promises to transfer multiple products and services to the customer. Determining whether products and services are considered distinct performance obligations that should be accounted for separately versus together may require significant judgment.
Judgment is required to determine the standalone selling price ("SSP") for each distinct performance obligation. The Company typically has more than one SSP for individual products and services due to the stratification of those products
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RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
(unaudited)
and services by customers and circumstances. In these instances, the Company may use information such as the size of the customer and geographic region in determining the SSP.
Deferred Revenue
Deferred revenue is a contract liability representing amounts collected from or invoiced to customers in excess of revenue recognized. This results primarily from the billing of annual customer support agreements where the revenue is recognized over the term of the agreement. The value of deferred revenue will increase or decrease based on the timing of recognition of revenue.
Disaggregation of Revenue
The Company disaggregates its revenue from contracts with customers based on the nature of the products and services and the geographic regions in which each customer is domiciled. The Company’s revenue for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023 was disaggregated as follows:
Service revenue
Product
Service revenue
(professional
Three months ended September 30, 2024
revenue
(maintenance)
services)
Total revenue
United States
$
58,198
$
33,670
$
17,690
$
109,558
Europe, Middle East and Africa
24,708
17,918
7,141
49,767
Asia Pacific
25,590
10,262
2,388
38,240
Other
3,655
7,169
1,849
12,673
$
112,151
$
69,019
$
29,068
$
210,238
Service revenue
Product
Service revenue
(professional
Three months ended September 30, 2023
revenue
(maintenance)
services)
Total revenue
United States
$
40,162
$
33,454
$
12,440
$
86,056
Europe, Middle East and Africa
31,969
18,268
8,120
58,357
Asia Pacific
32,070
10,016
3,043
45,129
Other
4,300
7,534
1,785
13,619
$
108,501
$
69,272
$
25,388
$
203,161
Service revenue
Product
Service revenue
(professional
Nine months ended September 30, 2024
revenue
(maintenance)
services)
Total revenue
United States
$
120,173
$
99,156
$
42,812
$
262,141
Europe, Middle East and Africa
99,636
53,105
23,027
175,768
Asia Pacific
68,304
30,262
7,912
106,478
Other
10,781
22,397
4,957
38,135
$
298,894
$
204,920
$
78,708
$
582,522
Service revenue
Product
Service revenue
(professional
Nine months ended September 30, 2023
revenue
(maintenance)
services)
Total revenue
United States
$
131,774
$
100,417
$
35,135
$
267,326
Europe, Middle East and Africa
88,235
56,393
22,374
167,002
Asia Pacific
89,495
29,552
8,456
127,503
Other
9,662
23,126
5,319
38,107
$
319,166
$
209,488
$
71,284
$
599,938
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RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
(unaudited)
The Company’s product revenue from indirect sales through its channel partner program and from its direct sales program for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023 was as follows (in thousands):
Three months ended
Nine months ended
September 30,
September 30,
September 30,
September 30,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Indirect sales through channel partner program
$
38,000
$
35,950
$
114,958
$
109,454
Direct sales
74,151
72,551
183,936
209,712
$
112,151
$
108,501
$
298,894
$
319,166
The Company’s product revenue from sales to enterprise customers and from sales to service provider customers for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023 was as follows (in thousands):
Three months ended
Nine months ended
September 30,
September 30,
September 30,
September 30,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Sales to enterprise customers
$
40,002
$
32,044
$
115,912
$
97,163
Sales to service provider customers
72,149
76,457
182,982
222,003
$
112,151
$
108,501
$
298,894
$
319,166
The Company’s product revenue and service revenue components by segment for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023 were as follows (in thousands):
Three months ended
Nine months ended
September 30,
September 30,
September 30,
September 30,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Product revenue:
Cloud and Edge
$
53,455
$
42,305
$
124,554
$
137,496
IP Optical Networks
58,696
66,196
174,340
181,670
Total product revenue
$
112,151
$
108,501
$
298,894
$
319,166
Service revenue:
Maintenance:
Cloud and Edge
$
53,595
$
55,004
$
159,454
$
164,848
IP Optical Networks
15,424
14,268
45,466
44,640
Total maintenance revenue
69,019
69,272
204,920
209,488
Professional services:
Cloud and Edge
21,028
18,456
56,294
53,157
IP Optical Networks
8,040
6,932
22,414
18,127
Total professional services revenue
29,068
25,388
78,708
71,284
Total service revenue
$
98,087
$
94,660
$
283,628
$
280,772
Revenue Contract Balances
The timing of revenue recognition, billings and cash collections results in billed accounts receivable; unbilled receivables, which are contract assets; and customer advances and deposits, which are contract liabilities, in the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheets. Amounts are billed as work progresses in accordance with agreed-upon contractual terms, either at periodic intervals or upon achievement of contractual milestones. Completion of services and billing may occur subsequent to revenue recognition, resulting in contract assets. The Company may receive advances or deposits from its customers before revenue is recognized, resulting in contract liabilities that are
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RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
(unaudited)
classified as deferred revenue. These assets and liabilities are reported in the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheets on a contract-by-contract basis as of the end of each reporting period. Changes in the contract asset and liability balances during the nine months ended September 30, 2024 were not materially impacted by any factors other than billing and revenue recognition. Nearly all of the Company’s deferred revenue balance is related to services revenue, primarily customer support contracts. Unbilled receivables stem primarily from engagements where services have been performed; however, billing cannot occur until services are completed.
In some arrangements, the Company allows customers to pay for term-based software licenses and products over the term of the software license. The Company also sells SaaS-based software under subscription arrangements, with payment terms over the term of the SaaS agreement. Amounts recognized as revenue in excess of amounts billed are recorded as unbilled receivables. Unbilled receivables that are anticipated to be invoiced in the next twelve months are included in Accounts receivable on the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheets. The changes in the Company’s accounts receivable, unbilled receivables and deferred revenue balances for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 were as follows (in thousands):
Unbilled
Deferred
Deferred
Accounts
accounts
revenue
revenue
receivable
receivable
(current)
(long-term)
Balance at January 1, 2024
$
186,938
$
81,483
$
113,381
$
19,218
Increase (decrease), net
( 12,435 )
( 6,803 )
( 17,620 )
( 2,467 )
Balance at September 30, 2024
$
174,503
$
74,680
$
95,761
$
16,751
The Company recognized approximately $ 95 million of revenue in the nine months ended September 30, 2024 that was recorded as deferred revenue at December 31, 2023 and approximately $ 92 million of revenue in the nine months ended September 30, 2023 that was recorded as deferred revenue at December 31, 2022. Of the Company’s deferred revenue reported as long-term in its condensed consolidated balance sheet at September 30, 2024, the Company expects that approximately $ 3 million will be recognized as revenue in 2025 , approximately $ 7 million will be recognized as revenue in 2026 and approximately $ 7 million will be recognized as revenue in 2027 and beyond.
All freight-related customer invoicing is recorded as revenue, while the shipping and handling costs that occur after control of the promised goods or services transfer to the customer are reported as fulfillment costs, a component of Cost of revenue - product in the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of operations.
Deferred Commissions Cost
Sales commissions earned by the Company’s employees are considered incremental and recoverable costs of obtaining a contract with a customer. These costs have been deferred on our condensed consolidated balance sheet and are being amortized over the expected life of the customer contract, which is generally five years . At both September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company had $ 3 million of deferred sales commissions capitalized.
(13) OPERATING SEGMENT INFORMATION
The Company has two reportable segments, which are intended to align with the manner in which the business is managed: Cloud and Edge, and IP Optical Networks.
The Cloud and Edge segment provides secure and reliable software and hardware products, solutions and services for enabling Voice over Internet Protocol ("VoIP") communications, Voice over Long-Term Evolution ("VoLTE") and Voice Over 5G ("VoNR") communications, and Unified Communications and Collaboration ("UC&C") within service provider and enterprise networks and from the cloud. The Cloud and Edge products are increasingly software-centric and cloud-native for deployment on private, public or hybrid cloud infrastructures, in data centers, on enterprise premises
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RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
(unaudited)
and within service provider networks. Ribbon’s Cloud and Edge product portfolio consists primarily of its Session Border Controller ("SBC") products and its Network Transformation products.
The IP Optical Networks segment provides high-performance, secure solutions for IP networking and optical transport, supporting wireless networks including 5G, metro and edge aggregation, core networking, data center interconnect, legacy transformation and transport solutions for wholesale carriers. This portfolio is offered to service provider, enterprise and industry verticals with critical transport network infrastructures including utilities, government, defense, transportation, and education and research.
The Company has not provided segment asset information as such information is not provided to the CODM and accordingly, asset information is not used in assessing segment performance. Segment revenue and expenses included in the tables below represent direct revenue and expense attributable to each segment. Please see Note 4 for information regarding the allocation of goodwill between segments.
The CODM utilizes revenue and adjusted gross profit to measure and assess each segment’s performance. The Company calculates adjusted gross profit by excluding from cost of revenue: amortization of acquired technology, stock-based compensation, and may also exclude other items in future periods that the Company believes are not part of the Company’s core business. Adjusted gross profit is not a financial measure determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP, may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies, and should not be considered a substitute for gross profit or other results reported in accordance with U.S. GAAP. See below for a reconciliation of adjusted gross profit to gross profit which is the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP measure.
The tables below provide revenue, adjusted gross profit and depreciation expense by reportable segment for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023 (in thousands):
Three months ended
Nine months ended
September 30,
September 30,
September 30,
September 30,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Segment revenue:
Cloud and Edge
$
128,078
$
115,765
$
340,302
$
355,501
IP Optical Networks
82,160
87,396
242,220
244,437
Revenue
$
210,238
$
203,161
$
582,522
$
599,938
Three months ended
Nine months ended
September 30,
September 30,
September 30,
September 30,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Segment adjusted gross profit:
Cloud and Edge
$
86,661
$
78,455
$
226,726
$
231,729
IP Optical Networks
29,634
32,862
93,390
78,613
Total segment adjusted gross profit
116,295
111,317
320,116
310,342
Stock-based compensation expense
( 355 )
( 657 )
( 1,271 )
( 1,982 )
Amortization of acquired technology
( 6,323 )
( 7,157 )
( 19,406 )
( 21,985 )
Gross profit
$
109,617
$
103,503
$
299,439
$
286,375
Three months ended
Nine months ended
September 30,
September 30,
September 30,
September 30,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Segment depreciation expense:
Cloud and Edge
$
2,324
$
2,426
$
6,981
$
7,402
IP Optical Networks
1,037
1,118
3,150
3,201
Depreciation expense
$
3,361
$
3,544
$
10,131
$
10,603
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RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
(unaudited)
(14) MAJOR CUSTOMERS
The following customer contributed 10% or more of the Company’s revenue in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023:
Three months ended
Nine months ended
September 30,
September 30,
September 30,
September 30,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Verizon Communications Inc.
15
%
11
%
13
%
11
%
At September 30, 2024, Verizon Communications Inc. accounted for just over 10% of the Company’s accounts receivable balance. At December 31, 2023, no customer accounted for 10% or more of the Company’s accounts receivable balance. The Company performs ongoing credit evaluations of its customers and generally does not require collateral on accounts receivable. The Company maintains an allowance for doubtful accounts and such losses have historically been within management’s expectations.
(15) STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION PLANS
The Company grants stock-based compensation to employees, officers and non-employee directors, as well as consultants and advisors of the Company and its subsidiaries under its Amended and Restated 2019 Incentive Award Plan which provides for the award of stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock awards ("RSAs"), performance-based stock awards, restricted stock units ("RSUs"), performance-based stock units ("PSUs") and other stock- or cash-based awards.
Executive Equity Arrangements
Inducement Awards
In connection with his appointment as President and Chief Executive Officer of Ribbon on March 16, 2020, the Company awarded Bruce McClelland sign-on equity grants, comprised of RSUs and a PSU grant with both market and service conditions. The market conditions surrounding the PSUs granted were not met by the expiration date of September 1, 2024 and therefore the associated shares have been cancelled.
Performance-Based Stock Grants
In addition to granting RSAs and RSUs to its executives and certain of its employees, the Company also grants PSUs to certain of its executives and certain other employees. Vesting periods for RSAs, RSUs, and PSUs granted range from one to three years . PSUs granted consist of 60 % that have both performance and service conditions (the "Performance PSUs") and 40 % that have both market and service conditions (the "Market PSUs"). Each Performance PSU is comprised of three consecutive fiscal year performance periods beginning in the year of grant, with one-third of the Performance PSUs attributable to each fiscal year performance period. The Market PSUs have one three-year performance period, beginning January 1 in the year of grant and ending on December 31, three years thereafter. The number of shares of common stock underlying the PSUs that can be earned will not exceed 200 % of the Performance or Market PSUs. Shares subject to PSUs that fail to be earned will be forfeited.
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RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
(unaudited)
Restricted Stock Units
The activity related to the Company’s RSUs for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 was as follows:
Weighted
Average
Grant Date
Shares
Fair Value
Unvested balance at January 1, 2024
7,091,368
$
3.18
Granted
1,423,228
$
3.22
Vested
( 3,444,670 )
$
3.47
Forfeited
( 326,985 )
$
3.18
Unvested balance at September 30, 2024
4,742,941
$
2.99
The total grant date fair value of shares of restricted stock underlying RSUs that vested during the nine months ended September 30, 2024 was $ 11.9 million.
Performance-Based Stock Units
The activity related to the Company’s PSUs for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 was as follows:
Weighted
Average
Grant Date
Shares
Fair Value
Unvested balance at January 1, 2024
6,297,931
$
2.07
Granted
1,338,985
$
4.32
Vested
( 288,672 )
$
3.14
Forfeited
( 4,035,835 )
$
1.33
Unvested balance at September 30, 2024
3,312,409
$
3.79
The total grant date fair value of shares of restricted stock underlying PSUs that vested during the nine months ended September 30, 2024 was $ 0.9 million.
Stock-Based Compensation
The condensed consolidated statements of operations include stock-based compensation for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023 as follows (in thousands):
Three months ended
Nine months ended
September 30,
September 30,
September 30,
September 30,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Product cost of revenue
$
64
$
121
$
234
$
385
Service cost of revenue
291
536
1,037
1,597
Research and development
745
1,259
2,429
3,821
Sales and marketing
1,108
1,402
3,219
5,673
General and administrative
1,837
1,632
5,142
5,438
$
4,045
$
4,950
$
12,061
$
16,914
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RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
(unaudited)
At September 30, 2024, there was $ 15.1 million, net of expected forfeitures, of unrecognized stock-based compensation expense related to unvested RSUs and PSUs. This expense is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of approximately one year .
(16) LEASES
The Company has operating leases for corporate offices and research and development facilities and has historically had finance leases for certain equipment. Operating leases are reported separately in the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheets. Assets acquired under finance leases, if any, are included in Property and equipment, net, in the condensed consolidated balance sheets.
The Company determines if an arrangement is a lease at inception. A contract is determined to contain a lease component if the arrangement provides the Company with a right to control the use of an identified asset. Lease agreements may include lease and non-lease components. In such instances for all classes of underlying assets, the Company does not separate lease and non-lease components but rather, accounts for the entire arrangement under leasing guidance. Leases with an initial term of 12 months or less are not recorded on the balance sheet and lease expense for these leases is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term.
Right-of-use assets and lease liabilities are initially measured based on the present value of the future minimum fixed lease payments (i.e., fixed payments in the lease contract) over the lease term at the commencement date. As the Company’s existing leases do not have a readily determinable implicit rate, the Company uses its incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at the commencement date in determining the present value of future minimum fixed lease payments. The Company calculates its incremental borrowing rate to reflect the interest rate that it would have to pay to borrow on a collateralized basis an amount equal to the lease payments in a similar economic environment over a similar term and considers its historical borrowing activities and market data from entities with comparable credit ratings in this determination. The measurement of the right-of-use asset also includes any lease payments made prior to the commencement date (excluding any lease incentives) and initial direct costs incurred. The Company assessed its right-of-use assets for impairment as of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023 and determined no impairment has occurred.
Lease terms may include options to extend or terminate the lease and the Company incorporates such options in the lease term when it has the unilateral right to make such an election and it is reasonably certain that the Company will exercise that option. In making this determination, the Company considers its prior renewal and termination history and planned usage of the assets under lease, incorporating expected market conditions.
For operating leases, lease expense for minimum fixed lease payments is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. The expense for finance leases includes both interest and amortization expense components, with the interest component calculated based on the effective interest method and the amortization component calculated based on straight-line amortization of the right-of-use asset over the lease term. Lease contracts may contain variable lease costs, such as common area maintenance, utilities and tax reimbursements that vary over the term of the contract. Variable lease costs are not included in minimum fixed lease payments and as a result, are excluded from the measurement of the right-of-use assets and lease liabilities. The Company expenses all variable lease costs as incurred.
Certain leased facilities are being partially or fully vacated as part of the 2022 Restructuring Plan and for some of those facilities, the Company has no plans to enter into sublease agreements. Accordingly, the Company accelerated the amortization of those lease assets through the planned cease-use date of each facility, resulting in additional amortization expense $ 0.2 million and $ 0.8 million, respectively, in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023. No such accelerated amortization was recorded in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024. The Company did no t record estimated future variable lease costs in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 or 2023 related to the 2022 Restructuring Plan.
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RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
(unaudited)
All incremental accelerated amortization and accruals for estimated future variable costs are included in Restructuring and related expense in the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of operations. At September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company had accruals of $ 1.2 million and $ 1.5 million, respectively, for all future anticipated variable lease costs related to these facilities. The Company may incur additional future expense if it is unable to sublease other locations included in the Facilities Initiative.
The Company leases its corporate offices and other facilities under operating leases, which expire at various times through 2033.
The Company’s right-of-use lease assets and lease liabilities at September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023 were as follows (in thousands):
September 30,
December 31,
Classification
2024
2023
Assets:
Operating lease assets
Operating lease right-of-use assets
$
30,732
$
39,783
Liabilities:
Current Operating
Operating lease liabilities
$
10,644
$
15,739
Non-Current Operating
Operating lease liabilities, net of current
33,249
38,711
Total Operating lease liabilities
$
43,893
$
54,450
The components of lease expense for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023 were as follows (in thousands):
Three months ended
Nine months ended
September 30,
September 30,
September 30,
September 30,
2024
2023
2024
2023
Operating lease cost*
$
4,165
$
4,708
$
12,471
$
14,205
Short-term lease cost
3,362
3,454
10,216
10,544
Variable lease costs (costs excluded from minimum fixed lease payments)**
814
819
2,497
2,525
Sublease income
( 209 )
( 282 )
( 686 )
( 1,105 )
Net lease cost
$
8,132
$
8,699
$
24,498
$
26,169
*
No accelerated amortization was recorded in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024. Operating lease costs for three and nine months ended September 30, 2023 included $ 0.2 million and $ 0.8 million, respectively, of accelerated amortization for certain assets partially or fully vacated with no intent or ability to sublease.
**
No variable lease costs were accrued in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024 or 2023 for future estimated variable expenses related to certain assets partially or fully vacated with no intent or ability to sublease.
Cash flows related to the Company’s leases included in the measurement of operating lease liabilities were classified as operating cash flows and totaled $ 14.0 million and $ 14.3 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
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RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
(unaudited)
Other information related to the Company’s leases as of September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023 was as follows:
September 30,
December 31,
2024
2023
Weighted average remaining lease term (years):
Operating leases
5.44
5.50
Weighted average discount rate:
Operating leases
7.20
%
6.34
%
Future minimum fixed lease payments under noncancelable leases at September 30, 2024 were as follows (in thousands):
Operating
leases
Remainder of 2024
$
4,585
2025
11,118
2026
9,313
2027
7,987
2028
6,452
2029 and beyond
13,164
Total lease payments
52,619
Less: interest
( 8,726 )
Present value of lease liabilities
$
43,893
(17) INCOME TAXES
The Company recorded income tax provisions of $ 6.5 million and $ 11.5 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. These amounts reflect the Company’s estimates of the effective rates expected to be applicable for the respective full years, adjusted for any discrete events, which are recorded in the period in which they occur. These estimates are reevaluated each quarter based on the Company’s estimated tax expense for the full fiscal year. The estimated effective tax rate includes the impact of valuation allowances in various jurisdictions. The Company intends to continue to maintain a valuation allowance on its deferred tax assets until there is sufficient evidence to support the reversal of all or some portion of the respective allowances.
(18) RELATED PARTIES
The Company recognized revenue from its largest stockholder of $ 1.4 million and $ 1.3 million in the three months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively, and $ 4.4 million and $ 7.1 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Also, certain related party stockholders participated in the Private Placement (See Note 11).
(19) COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Liabilities for Royalty Payments to the IIA
Prior to the Company’s acquisition of ECI Telecom Group Ltd. ("ECI"), ECI had received research and development grants from the Office of the Innovation Authority of the Israeli Ministry of Economics (the "IIA"). The Company assumed ECI’s contract with the IIA, which requires the Company to pay royalties to the IIA on proceeds from the sale of products which the Israeli government has supported by way of research and development grants. The
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RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
(unaudited)
royalties for grants prior to 2017 were calculated at the rates of 1.3 % to 5.0 % of the aggregated proceeds from the sale of such products developed at certain of the Company’s R&D centers, up to an amount not exceeding 100 % of such grants plus interest at LIBOR. Effective for grants approved in 2017 and subsequently, interest was calculated at the higher of LIBOR plus 1.5 % to 2.75 %. At September 30, 2024, the Company had $ 1.6 million of unpaid royalties accrued. The Company’s maximum possible future royalties commitment at September 30, 2024 was $ 19.8 million, including interest of $ 1.2 million, is based upon estimates of future product sales and the grants received from the IIA not yet repaid.
Litigation
The Company is often a party to disputes and legal proceedings that it considers routine and incidental to its business, including those described below. The Company believes that it has meritorious defenses to the allegations made in the pending cases and intends to vigorously defend these lawsuits; however, the Company is currently unable to forecast the ultimate outcome of these or similar matters. Since it is difficult to predict the outcome of legal proceedings, it is possible that the ultimate outcomes could materially and adversely affect the Company’s business, financial position, results of operations or cash flows. Accordingly, with respect to these proceedings, the Company is currently unable to reasonably estimate the possible loss or range of possible loss.
Miller Complaint. On November 8, 2018, Ron Miller, a purported stockholder of the Company, filed a Class Action Complaint (the "Miller Complaint") in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts (the "Massachusetts District Court") against the Company and three of its former officers (collectively, the "Defendants"), claiming to represent a class of purchasers of Sonus common stock during the period from January 8, 2015 through March 24, 2015 and alleging violations of the federal securities laws. Similar to a previous complaint entitled Sousa et al. vs. Sonus Networks, Inc. et al., which was dismissed with prejudice by an order dated June 6, 2017, the Miller Complaint claims that the Defendants made misleading forward-looking statements concerning Sonus’ expected fiscal first quarter of 2015 financial performance, which statements were also the subject of an August 7, 2018 Securities and Exchange Commission Cease and Desist Order, whose findings the Company neither admitted nor denied. The Miller plaintiffs are seeking monetary damages.
After the Miller Complaint was filed, several parties filed and briefed motions seeking to be selected by the Massachusetts District Court to serve as a Lead Plaintiff in the action. On June 21, 2019, the Massachusetts District Court appointed a group as Lead Plaintiffs and the Lead Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint on July 19, 2019. On August 30, 2019, the Defendants filed a motion to dismiss the Miller Complaint and, on October 4, 2019, the Lead Plaintiffs filed an opposition to the motion to dismiss. There was an oral argument on the motion to dismiss on February 12, 2020, and on October 20, 2022 the court denied the motion to dismiss. In June 2023, the Defendants agreed to a settlement in principle with the named plaintiffs, and final approval of the settlement was provided by the court on April 24, 2024. The settlement provided a release of all claims asserted in the litigation to all Defendants, who continue to deny liability. The $ 4.5 million settlement amount was funded by the provider of the Company’s Directors and Officers liability insurance policy.
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RIBBON COMMUNICATIONS INC.
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
(unaudited)
Charter Complaint. On September 19, 2022, Charter Communications Operating, LLC (“Charter”) filed two complaints against two of our subsidiaries (Sonus Networks, Inc. and Ribbon Communications Operating Company, Inc.) alleging breach of contract with respect to indemnification obligations purportedly owed to Charter in connection with Charter’s legal dispute with Sprint Communications Company L.P., which was settled by Charter in March 2022. One complaint was filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, in New York County; the second complaint was filed by Charter as well as co-plaintiffs Charter Communications Holding Company, LLC and Bright House Networks, LLC, in the Superior Court of the State of Delaware in and for New Castle County. In both complaints, Charter is seeking monetary damages. The Company filed its answer to the first complaint file in New York on December 7, 2022 and to the second complaint filed in Delaware on January 9, 2023. Discovery is on-going and the court in the Delaware complaint has set a new trial date of June 2025.
WideOpenWest Complaint. On August 9, 2023, WideOpenWest, Inc. and WideOpenWest Finance, LLC (collectively, “WOW”) filed a complaint against Ribbon alleging breach of contract with respect to indemnification obligations purportedly owed to WOW in connection with WOW’s legal dispute with Sprint Communications Company L.P., which was settled by WOW in the second quarter of 2023. The complaint was filed in the 429th Judicial District of the District Court of the State of Texas, in Collin County, Texas and has since been transferred to the 493rd Judicial District Court in Collin County. In the complaint, WOW is seeking monetary damages. The Company filed its answer to the complaint on October 5, 2023. On October 14, 2024, the Company and WOW agreed to settle this matter. In connection with the settlement, the Company will pay WOW a total of $ 5.0 million, with $ 2.0 million paid at the time of settlement and the remaining $ 3.0 million paid over the next 18-months in equal quarterly installments.
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Text extracted from the filing as submitted to EDGAR. Formatting, tables and exhibits are simplified for reading; the original document is authoritative for anything you rely on.