Atento Reports Fiscal 2021 Third Quarter and 9M Results

  • Sales (Total Annual Value) increase 34% YTD, growing 77% in US and EMEA
  • Consolidated Revenues increase 4.1% in Q3 on Multisector growth in US and strong TEF sales in Brazil  
  • Strong Consolidated EBITDA in Q3, up 14.7% to $51 million, with margin expanding to 13.9%
    Reiterating FY 2021 guidance

NEW YORK, November 15, 2021 – Atento S.A. (NYSE: ATTO) (“Atento” or the “Company”), the largest provider of customer relationship management and business-process outsourcing services in Latin America, and among the top five providers globally, today announced its third quarter and first nine months operating and financial results for the periods ending September 30, 2021. All comparisons in this announcement are year-over-year (YoY) and in constant-currency (CCY), unless otherwise noted.   

Strong Sales (TAV) growth and solid revenue increase

  • Sales (Total Annual Value) increased 34% YTD and grew a total of 77% in US and EMEA
  • Q3 2021 revenues grew 4.1% in CCY and 4.5% on a reported basis, fueled by strong multisector growth in the Americas region, mainly in the US, and higher Telefónica revenues in Brazil
  • Hard-currency revenues at 25% of total revenues in 9M 2021, up from 22% in 9M 2020
  • US revenues of $29.2 million in Q3 and $84.1 million YTD, a 40.5% increase compared to 9M 2020
  • Multisector revenues grew 3.4% in Q3, mainly in tech, public services and born-digital. In 9M 2021, Multisector revenues reached 67.5% of total revenues

Sustainable EBITDA and margin expansion leading to improved capital structure

  • Consolidated EBITDA increased 14.7% to $51.3 million in Q3
  • EBITDA margin reached record level for Q3 at 13.9%, a 1.2 p.p. increase from 12.7% in Q3 2020
  • EBITDA in hard currencies at 28% of total YTD, on strong US growth
  • US EBITDA of $5.8 million in Q3 and $15.4 million in 9M 2021, up 117.9% YTD and already 11% of total, with EBITDA Margin at 20.0% in Q3 21 and 18.3% YTD, 6.5 p.p. higher than last year
  • Net leverage at 2.8x, down from 3.0x in Q2 2021 and within 2021 guidance range of 2.5 to 3.0x
  • Solid cash position of $145.7 million
  • Recurring Net Income of $2.0 million, with Recurring EPS of $0.14

Implementing robust ESG Plan to reinforce current practices and expand scope

  • Expanding Atento@home model and implementation of Cloud strategy, in support of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030
  • Diversity and inclusion practices continue to be company strengths and priority to remain a top Employer in sector

October 2021 Cyber attack

  • Early detection, robust protocols and a rapid response enabled effective response to October cyberattack, with majority of services now restored

Summarized Consolidated Financials

($ in millions except EPS)

Q3 2021

Q3 2020

CCY
Growth
(1)

YTD 2021

YTD 2020

CCY
Growth
(1)

Income Statement (6)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revenue

368.6

352.7

4.1%

1,122.0

1,042.7

9.7%

EBITDA (2)

51.3

44.8

14.7%

141.1

107.8

35.6%

      EBITDA Margin

13.9%

12.7%

1.2p.p.

12.6%

10.3%

2.2 p.p.

Net Income(3)

(11.7)

(13.1)

-13.8%

(46.6)

(38.9)

20.8%

Recurring Net Income (2)

2.0

(1.2)

N.M.

(6.4)

(14.6)

63.0%

Earnings Per Share on the reverse split basis (2) (3) (5)

($0.83)

($0.93)

-14.0%

($3.31)

($2.75)

21.0%

Recurring EPS on the reverse split basis (2) (5)

$0.14

($0.09)

N.M.

$0.45

($1.04)

62.9%

Cash Flow, Debt and Leverage

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net Cash Used in Operating Activities

26.8

10.7

 

41.1

68.2

 

Cash and Cash Equivalents

145.7

196.6

 

 

 

 

Net Debt (4)

550.1

514.2

 

 

 

 

Net Leverage (4)

2.8x

4.0x

 

 

 

 

(1) Unless otherwise noted, all results are for Q3; all revenue growth rates are on a constant currency basis, year-over-year; (2) EBITDA, Recurring Net Income/Recurring Earnings per Share (EPS) are Non-GAAP measures; (3) Reported Net Income and Earnings per Share (EPS) include the impact of non-cash foreign exchange gains/losses on intercompany balances; (4) Includes IFRS 16 impact in Net Debt and Leverage; (5) Earnings per share and Recurring Earnings per share in the reverse split basis is calculated with weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding. (6) The following selected financial information are unaudited.

Message from the CEO and CFO

It is gratifying to report such strong Q3 2021 results. We maintained a steady and profitable growth trajectory, delivering Atento’s best third-quarter EBITDA and Free Cash Flow since initiating our Three Horizon Plan in early 2019. Further, solid revenue growth and a still expanding EBITDA margin resulted in record Free Cash Flow in a Q3 perspective.

As we further penetrated the US market under the third phase of our growth plan, revenues there rose to $29.2 million in Q3 and drove 9M 2021 40% higher to $84.1 million. The increase led Atento’s nine-month hard currency revenue and EBITDA to grow 21% and 125%, respectively. Also, during the first nine months, the total annual value of our US Nearshore and EMEA sales increased 77%, driving a 34% increase on a consolidated basis. We added 14 new clients as well, with revenue from fast-growing media, tech and born-digital clients now representing more than 11% of Atento’s consolidated revenue, an increase of nearly three percentage points over last year’s nine-month period.

We are also exceptionally proud of our IT team’s response to last month’s cyberattack against our Brazil operations. As always, clients were our immediate priority and every decision taken at the time was to protect them. Early detection, robust protocols and a rapid response enabled us to effectively isolate and ringfence the attack, allowing Atento to resume the majority of affected services within two weeks while also preventing the attack from reaching client systems.

Following the recent appointment of an ESG director, we are proceeding with a robust sustainability strategy and plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 while continuing to lead our sector on the social front. Over 32% of Atento’s energy supply now comes from renewable sources, while we reduced water consumption by 26% between 2019 and 2020. And as we move more of our operations to the Cloud and transition additional employees to the Atento@Home model, who now number over 80,000, we expect to accelerate Atento’s progress toward carbon neutrality. Diversity & Inclusion remains at the heart of our company’s culture. We are proud to say that approximately 64% of our colleagues and 53% of Atento’s managers are women. Fifty-five percent of our employees are under the age of 30, and for many of them a position at Atento is their first formal job, giving them access to training and benefits such as healthcare.

Looking ahead to the remainder of the year, we continue tracking well to full-year guidance, with nine-month revenue growth exceeding guidance while Atento’s EBITDA margin and leverage are already within our target range. Our strong performance year-to-date also reinforces our confidence in meeting the ambitious 2022 performance targets we set in 2019. The renewed operational and financial strength of our company, combined with our expanding talent base and portfolio of innovative technological solutions, mean Atento is well positioned to capitalize on accelerating demand for high-value CX among companies around the world that continue to rapidly digitize their businesses.

Carlos López-Abadía                                                   José Azevedo

Chief Executive Officer                                               Chief Financial Officer

 

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