ALi Corporation (3041 TT) today held its 2016 fourth quarter earnings conference call. Its fourth-quarter revenue reached NT$831 million, representing a 5% increase on a quarter-over-quarter basis, thanks to growing revenue in the free-to-air STB segment and stable contribution from the Pay-TV operator STB segment. The gross profit was NT$298 million. The gross margin remained at 36%, about the same level as the previous quarter. The operating expense was NT$381 million, down from NT$398 million in the previous quarter. As a result, the operating loss narrowed down to -NT$84 million, from -NT$114 million in the third quarter.
ALi in the fourth quarter wrote off goodwill of NT$319 million arising from its acquisition of Abilis Systems. The amount of goodwill written off represents only 5% of its total assets. After the write-off, there will be zero outstanding amount of goodwill on its balance sheet and ALi will be exempt from any periodic impairment examination in each financial reporting period. The goodwill impairment charge is a non-cash expense and the write-off has no impact on its cash position. ALi’s balance sheet remains strong with $3,565 million net cash, NT$4,679 million liquid assets and NT$5,777 total assets.
Additionally, the company announced 2016 consolidated annual revenue of NT$3,401 million, consolidated gross profit of NT$1,246 million with consolidated gross profit margin of 37%, consolidated operating loss of NT$378 million, net loss of NT$575 million, and basic earnings per share of -NT$1.95 for the whole year ended Dec 31st ,2016.
In the fourth quarter, free-to-air STB, Pay-TV operator STB and others (non-STB) accounted for 60-65%, 30-35%, and 5-10% of the total consolidated revenue, respectively. In FY 2016, free-to-air STB, Pay-TV operator STB and others (non-STB) accounted for 55-60%, 35-40%, and 5-10% of the total consolidated revenue, respectively.
ALi also announced the Board of Directors has decided to launch a share buyback program to repurchase a maximum of 3.1 million shares of common stock (approximately 1.0% of total outstanding shares). The share buyback is expected to commence on March 20, 2017 and end on May 19, 2017 with a price range NT$13.5~NT$24.1.
