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8-K - 8-K - UNITED STATES CELLULAR CORPusm-20210218.htm

Exhibit 99.1   NEWS RELEASE
usmnewsrelease1.jpg
As previously announced, UScellular will hold a teleconference on February 19, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. CST. Listen to the call live via the Events & Presentations page of investors.uscellular.com.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
UScellular reports fourth quarter and full year 2020 results
2020 results provide strong foundation for 2021
Provides guidance for 2021

CHICAGO (February 18, 2021) — United States Cellular Corporation (NYSE:USM) reported total operating revenues of $1,073 million for the fourth quarter of 2020, versus $1,052 million for the same period one year ago. Net income attributable to UScellular shareholders and related diluted earnings per share were $5 million and $0.06, respectively, for the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to $18 million and $0.20, respectively, in the same period one year ago.
UScellular reported total operating revenues of $4,037 million and $4,022 million for the years ended 2020 and 2019, respectively. Net income attributable to UScellular shareholders and related diluted earnings per share were $229 million and $2.62, respectively, for the year ended 2020 compared to $127 million and $1.44, respectively, for the year ended 2019.
“UScellular met the challenges of 2020 successfully, as we closed out the year with strong results - a testament to the essential nature of our services, our talented and resilient team, and our unwavering commitment to keeping our customers connected," said Laurent Therivel, UScellular President and CEO.
“2020 was a strong year for UScellular. Notwithstanding the challenges of the pandemic, we maintained high levels of customer satisfaction and grew retail net additions. Growth in operating revenue, combined with maintaining operational and cost discipline, contributed to an increase in full year profitability. Our network modernization program and investments in 5G continued, and despite significant increases in data usage, we were able to keep system expenses in check.
"I look forward to building on the momentum of 2020 as we move into the new year. Connecting our customers, especially in underserved areas, with the highest-quality network is one of our top priorities and remains a key competitive differentiator. We will be focused on market share expansion, ramping up business opportunities that utilize 5G and IoT, enhancing our digital experience, and continuing our network modernization programs.”
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2021 Estimated Results

UScellular’s current estimates of full-year 2021 results are shown below. Such estimates represent management’s view as of February 18, 2021 and should not be assumed to be current as of any future date. UScellular undertakes no duty to update such estimates, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. There can be no assurance that final results will not differ materially from estimated results.
 2021 Estimated ResultsActual Results for
the Year Ended
December 31, 2020
(Dollars in millions)  
Service revenues$3,025-$3,125$3,067
Adjusted OIBDA1
$800-$950$876
Adjusted EBITDA1
$975-$1,125$1,063
Capital expenditures$775-$875$940
The following table provides a reconciliation of Net income to Adjusted OIBDA and Adjusted EBITDA for 2021 estimated results and actual results for the year ended December 31, 2020. In providing 2021 estimated results, UScellular has not completed the below reconciliation to Net income because it does not provide guidance for income taxes. Although potentially significant, UScellular believes that the impact of income taxes cannot be reasonably predicted; therefore, UScellular is unable to provide such guidance.
 2021 Estimated Results Actual Results for
the Year Ended
December 31, 2020
(Dollars in millions)  
Net income (GAAP)N/A$233
Add back or deduct:  
Income tax expenseN/A17 
Income before income taxes (GAAP)$135-$285$250
Add back: 
Interest expense135 112 
Depreciation, amortization and accretion expense685 683 
EBITDA (Non-GAAP)1
$955-$1,105$1,045
Add back or deduct: 
(Gain) loss on asset disposals, net20 25 
(Gain) loss on license sales and exchanges, net— (5)
(Gain) loss on investments— (2)
Adjusted EBITDA (Non-GAAP)1
$975-$1,125$1,063
Deduct: 
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated entities170 179 
Interest and dividend income
Adjusted OIBDA (Non-GAAP)1
$800-$950$876
1EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted OIBDA are defined as net income adjusted for the items set forth in the reconciliation above. EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted OIBDA are not measures of financial performance under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the United States (GAAP) and should not be considered as alternatives to Net income or Cash flows from operating activities, as indicators of cash flows or as measures of liquidity. UScellular does not intend to imply that any such items set forth in the reconciliation above are non-recurring, infrequent or unusual; such items may occur in the future. Management uses Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted OIBDA as measurements of profitability, and therefore reconciliations to Net income are deemed appropriate. Management believes Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted OIBDA are useful measures of UScellular’s operating results before significant recurring non-cash charges, gains and losses, and other items as presented above as they provide additional relevant and useful information to investors and other users of UScellular’s financial data in evaluating the effectiveness of its operations and underlying business trends in a manner that is consistent with management’s evaluation of business performance. Adjusted EBITDA shows adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and accretion, and gains and losses, while Adjusted OIBDA reduces this measure further to exclude Equity in earnings of unconsolidated entities and Interest and dividend income in order to more effectively show the performance of operating activities excluding investment activities. The table above reconciles EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted OIBDA to the corresponding GAAP measure, Net income or Income before income taxes. Additional information and reconciliations related to Non-GAAP financial measures for December 31, 2020, can be found on UScellular’s website at investors.uscellular.com.
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Conference Call Information
UScellular will hold a conference call on February 19, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. Central Time.
Access the live call on the Events & Presentations page of investors.uscellular.com or at
https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/1145/40052
Access the call by phone at 833/968-2187 (US/Canada), conference ID: 5593349

Before the call, certain financial and statistical information to be discussed during the call will be posted to investors.uscellular.com. The call will be archived on the Events & Presentations page of investors.uscellular.com.
About UScellular
United States Cellular Corporation provides a comprehensive range of wireless products and services, excellent customer support, and a high-quality network to customers with 5.0 million connections in 21 states. The Chicago-based company had 5,300 full- and part-time associates as of December 31, 2020. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2020, Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. owned 82 percent of UScellular. For more information about UScellular, visit uscellular.com.
Contacts
Jane W. McCahon, Senior Vice President - Corporate Relations and Corporate Secretary of TDS
jane.mccahon@tdsinc.com
Julie D. Mathews, IRC, Director - Investor Relations of TDS
julie.mathews@tdsinc.com
Safe Harbor Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: All information set forth in this news release, except historical and factual information, represents forward-looking statements. This includes all statements about the company’s plans, beliefs, estimates, and expectations. These statements are based on current estimates, projections, and assumptions, which involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Important factors that may affect these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: intense competition; the ability to obtain or maintain roaming arrangements with other carriers on acceptable terms; the ability to obtain access to adequate radio spectrum to meet current or anticipated future needs, including participation in FCC auctions; the ability to attract people of outstanding talent throughout all levels of the organization; UScellular's smaller scale relative to larger competitors; changes in demand, consumer preferences and perceptions, price competition, or churn rates; advances in technology; impacts of costs, integration problems or other factors associated with acquisitions, divestitures or exchanges of properties or wireless spectrum licenses and/or expansion of UScellular's businesses; the ability of the company to successfully construct and manage its networks; difficulties involving third parties; uncertainties in UScellular’s future cash flows and liquidity and access to the capital markets; the ability to make payments on UScellular indebtedness or comply with the terms of debt covenants; conditions in the U.S. telecommunications industry; the value of assets and investments; the state and federal regulatory environment; pending and future litigation; potential conflicts of interests between TDS and UScellular; cyber-attacks or other breaches of network or information technology security; disruption in credit or other financial markets; deterioration of U.S. or global economic conditions; the impact, duration and severity of public health emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Investors are encouraged to consider these and other risks and uncertainties that are more fully described under “Risk Factors” in the most recent filing of UScellular's Form 10-K.
For more information about UScellular, visit: www.uscellular.com
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United States Cellular Corporation
Summary Operating Data (Unaudited)
As of or for the Quarter Ended12/31/20209/30/20206/30/20203/31/202012/31/2019
Retail Connections     
Postpaid     
Total at end of period4,412,000 4,401,000 4,372,000 4,359,000 4,383,000 
Gross additions171,000 168,000 129,000 132,000 170,000 
Feature phones2,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 2,000 
Smartphones117,000 98,000 82,000 88,000 128,000 
Connected devices52,000 66,000 44,000 42,000 40,000 
Net additions (losses)11,000 28,000 12,000 (26,000)(12,000)
Feature phones(9,000)(8,000)(8,000)(10,000)(11,000)
Smartphones12,000 8,000 11,000 (10,000)13,000 
Connected devices8,000 28,000 9,000 (6,000)(14,000)
ARPU1
$47.51 $47.10 $46.24 $47.23 $46.57 
ARPA2
$124.87 $123.27 $120.70 $122.92 $120.99 
Churn rate3
1.21 %1.06 %0.89 %1.21 %1.38 %
Handsets1.01 %0.88 %0.71 %0.95 %1.11 %
Connected devices2.64 %2.35 %2.24 %3.11 %3.44 %
Prepaid
Total at end of period499,000 506,000 496,000 494,000 506,000 
Gross additions56,000 65,000 62,000 57,000 63,000 
Net additions (losses)(8,000)11,000 2,000 (12,000)(3,000)
ARPU1
$35.15 $35.45 $34.89 $34.07 $34.11 
Churn rate3
4.24 %3.59 %4.05 %4.67 %4.40 %
Total connections at end of period4
4,968,000 4,962,000 4,919,000 4,903,000 4,941,000 
Market penetration at end of period
Consolidated operating population31,314,000 31,314,000 31,292,000 31,292,000 30,740,000 
Consolidated operating penetration5
16 %16 %16 %16 %16 %
Capital expenditures (millions)$320 $216 $168 $236 $243 
Total cell sites in service6,797 6,758 6,673 6,629 6,578 
Owned towers4,271 4,246 4,208 4,184 4,166 
Due to rounding, the sum of quarterly results may not equal the total for the year.
1Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) - metric is calculated by dividing a revenue base by an average number of connections and by the number of months in the period. These revenue bases and connection populations are shown below:
Postpaid ARPU consists of total postpaid service revenues and postpaid connections.
Prepaid ARPU consists of total prepaid service revenues and prepaid connections.
2Average Revenue Per Account (ARPA) - metric is calculated by dividing total postpaid service revenues by the average number of postpaid accounts and by the number of months in the period.
3Churn rate represents the percentage of the connections that disconnect service each month. These rates represent the average monthly churn rate for each respective period.
4Includes reseller and other connections.
5Market penetration is calculated by dividing the number of wireless connections at the end of the period by the total estimated population of consolidated operating markets.
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United States Cellular Corporation
Consolidated Statement of Operations Highlights
(Unaudited)
 
 Three Months Ended
December 31,
 Year Ended
December 31,
 2020 2019 2020 vs. 2019 2020 2019 2020 vs. 2019
(Dollars and shares in millions, except per share amounts)      
Operating revenues      
Service$776 $763 %$3,067 $3,035 %
Equipment sales297 289 %970 987 (2)%
Total operating revenues1,073 1,052 %4,037 4,022 
Operating expenses      
System operations (excluding Depreciation, amortization and accretion reported below)202 188 %782 756 %
Cost of equipment sold319 305 %1,011 1,028 (2)%
Selling, general and administrative374 378 (1)%1,368 1,406 (3)%
Depreciation, amortization and accretion168 178 (6)%683 702 (3)%
(Gain) loss on asset disposals, net11 91 %25 19 36 %
(Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net — N/M (1)N/M
(Gain) loss on license sales and exchanges, net(5)— N/M(5)— N/M
Total operating expenses1,069 1,055 %3,864 3,910 (1)%
Operating income (loss)4 (3)N/M173 112 54 %
Investment and other income (expense)      
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated entities42 38 11 %179 166 %
Interest and dividend income2 (44)%8 17 (54)%
Gain (loss) on investments(1)— N/M2 — N/M
Interest expense(35)(23)(53)%(112)(110)(2)%
Total investment and other income8 18 (58)%77 73 %
Income before income taxes12 15 (20)%250 185 35 %
Income tax expense (benefit)5 (3)N/M17 52 (68)%
Net income7 18 (64)%233 133 76 %
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests, net of tax2 — N/M4 (30)%
Net income attributable to UScellular shareholders$5 $18 (70)%$229 $127 81 %
Basic weighted average shares outstanding86 86 86 86 
Basic earnings per share attributable to UScellular shareholders$0.06 $0.21 (70)%$2.66 $1.47 81 %
Diluted weighted average shares outstanding88 88 87 88 (1)%
Diluted earnings per share attributable to UScellular shareholders$0.06 $0.20 (70)%$2.62 $1.44 82 %
N/M - Percentage change not meaningful
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United States Cellular Corporation
Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows
(Unaudited)
Year Ended December 31,20202019
(Dollars in millions)  
Cash flows from operating activities
Net income$233 $133 
Add (deduct) adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash flows from operating activities  
Depreciation, amortization and accretion683 702 
Bad debts expense72 107 
Stock-based compensation expense32 41 
Deferred income taxes, net130 (4)
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated entities(179)(166)
Distributions from unconsolidated entities189 161 
(Gain) loss on asset disposals, net25 19 
(Gain) loss on sale of business and other exit costs, net (1)
(Gain) loss on license sales and exchanges, net(5)— 
(Gain) loss on investments(2)— 
Other operating activities2 
Changes in assets and liabilities from operations
Accounts receivable(8)(46)
Equipment installment plans receivable(54)(97)
Inventory16 (20)
Accounts payable145 (69)
Customer deposits and deferred revenues2 (8)
Accrued taxes(57)(23)
Other assets and liabilities13 (9)
Net cash provided by operating activities1,237 724 
Cash flows from investing activities
Cash paid for additions to property, plant and equipment(989)(650)
Cash paid for licenses(171)(266)
Cash received from investments1 29 
Cash paid for investments(3)(11)
Cash received from divestitures and exchanges26 41 
Advance payments for license acquisitions(30)(5)
Other investing activities3 (2)
Net cash used in investing activities(1,163)(864)
Cash flows from financing activities
Issuance of long-term debt1,125 — 
Repayment of long-term debt(108)(116)
Common Shares reissued for benefit plans, net of tax payments(11)(9)
Repurchase of Common Shares(23)(21)
Payment of debt issuance costs(38)(1)
Distributions to noncontrolling interests(6)(4)
Payments to acquire additional interest in subsidiaries(11)— 
Other financing activities(2)(1)
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities926 (152)
Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash1,000 (292)
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash
Beginning of period291 583 
End of period$1,291 $291 
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United States Cellular Corporation
Consolidated Balance Sheet Highlights
(Unaudited)
ASSETS
December 31,20202019
(Dollars in millions)  
Current assets  
Cash and cash equivalents$1,271 $285 
Short-term investments3 — 
Accounts receivable, net998 1,010 
Inventory, net146 162 
Prepaid expenses51 50 
Income taxes receivable125 46 
Other current assets29 20 
Total current assets2,623 1,573 
Assets held for sale2 — 
Licenses2,629 2,471 
Investments in unconsolidated entities435 447 
Property, plant and equipment, net2,466 2,207 
Operating lease right-of-use assets924 900 
Other assets and deferred charges602 566 
Total assets$9,681 $8,164 
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United States Cellular Corporation
Consolidated Balance Sheet Highlights
(Unaudited)
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
December 31,20202019
(Dollars in millions, except per share amounts)  
Current liabilities  
Current portion of long-term debt$2 $
Accounts payable387 304 
Customer deposits and deferred revenues151 148 
Accrued taxes48 30 
Accrued compensation82 76 
Short-term operating lease liabilities116 105 
Other current liabilities85 79 
Total current liabilities871 750 
Liabilities held for sale1 — 
Deferred liabilities and credits  
Deferred income tax liability, net633 507 
Long-term operating lease liabilities875 865 
Other deferred liabilities and credits376 319 
Long-term debt, net2,489 1,502 
Noncontrolling interests with redemption features
10 11 
Equity  
UScellular shareholders’ equity  
Series A Common and Common Shares, par value $1.00 per share88 88 
Additional paid-in capital1,651 1,629 
Treasury shares(67)(70)
Retained earnings2,739 2,550 
Total UScellular shareholders’ equity4,411 4,197 
Noncontrolling interests15 13 
Total equity4,426 4,210 
Total liabilities and equity$9,681 $8,164 
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United States Cellular Corporation
Financial Measures and Reconciliations
(Unaudited)

Free Cash Flow
 Three Months Ended
December 31,
Year Ended
December 31,
 2020201920202019
(Dollars in millions)
Cash flows from operating activities (GAAP)$288 $37 $1,237 $724 
Less: Cash paid for additions to property, plant and equipment299 210 989 650 
Free cash flow (Non-GAAP)1
$(11)$(173)$248 $74 
1Free cash flow is a non-GAAP financial measure which UScellular believes may be useful to investors and other users of its financial information in evaluating liquidity, specifically, the amount of net cash generated by business operations after deducting Cash paid for additions to property, plant and equipment.

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