Ting Fiber and Wavelo delivered standout performances for parent company Tucows in Q1 2023, with CEO Elliot Noss stating the former is set to kick its growth into high gear with new funding it secured last week.
In early May, Ting officially completed a debt syndication for $239 million set to mature in April 2053. The debt holds an effective interest rate of 8.2 percent. In Noss’ view, this infusion of cash positions Ting to shift from growth to execution mode.
“With financing behind us, we now are able to focus on running the business more efficiently and loading the network more effectively—each of which has positive outcomes for our capital stack,” he said.
The funding will be funneled into further expanding fiber offerings across the nation, though Noss acknowledged that it’s challenging to say just where these markets will be without giving strategy away. But he added the debt syndication is a vote of confidence in its business.
“The lenders in this segment are typically insurance companies looking for good returns with great security,” explained Noss. “From a lender's perspective, thinking about an ISP customer relative to credit card debt or student debt sounds like a good bet.”
Noss did update investors on projects already underway. Micro-trenching is continuing in both Alexandria, Virginia and Centennial, Colorado. Alexandria was activated for its initial wave of fiber service in March 2023. A fresh partner market in Colorado Springs is green-lit with marketing efforts underway. Noss anticipates that the first serviceable addresses there will go live by Q3. The majority of Ting fiber projects in Culver City, California are built out and Noss anticipates that large swaths of that footprint will launch within months.
Next on Ting’s plate are coaxial to fiber updates, which will account for $1.25 to $1.75 billion. The goal from there is to reach 400,000 homes directly and another half a million homes in markets where it has partnerships.
“This financing nearly completes the capital stack for our fiber build,” said Noss.
Financials
Consolidated Tucows revenue of $80.4 million was roughly flat year on year. Its net loss grew from $3 million to $19.1 million, primarily due to spending on its fiber builds. Ting revenue grew 21 percent year over year to $11.9 million. Wavelo’s revenue increased 7 percent from Q1 2022 to Q1 2023 to $7.3 million.
Ting now has 102,000 serviceable addresses via their infrastructure alone, with another nearly 20,000 passings in partner markets, Noss said. Over Q1 they added 2,200 net subscribers, bringing the company’s total to 36,700.