Syniverse Reports Fourth Quarter 2008 Results

Syniverse Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SVR), a leading provider of technology and business solutions for the global telecommunications industry, today reported results for fourth quarter 2008.

• Total revenue for fourth quarter 2008 was $125.9 million, a 24.1% increase compared to fourth quarter 2007.
• Net revenue, which excludes off-network database queries, was $125.0 million, a 24.7% increase compared to fourth quarter 2007.
• Net income was $17.3 million, or $0.25 per diluted share, 3.8% and 3.2% increases respectively compared to fourth quarter 2007.
• Cash net income, a non-GAAP financial measure described below, was $26.7 million, or $0.39 per diluted share, a 26.4% and 25.7% increase respectively compared to fourth quarter 2007.
• Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP financial measure described below, was $55.3 million, a 27.6% increase compared to fourth quarter 2007.
• Operating free cash flow, a non-GAAP financial measure described below, was $42.6 million in the fourth quarter 2008 and totaled $128.6 million for the full year.

"Syniverse capped off a record year with revenues exceeding $500 million,” said Tony Holcombe, President and CEO. "Not only did we continue to benefit from ongoing growth in the global mobile industry, but we also significantly increased our number of global customers. We have a strong business model and solid financials that position us for continued leadership in our sector.”

The company added almost 100 new customers in 2008 and boasts a 98 percent customer retention rate.

David Hitchcock, Executive Vice President and CFO, said the company’s record numbers can be attributed in large part to strong growth in technology interoperability driven by increases in revenues from its messaging and mobile data products. He also said the organization is well-positioned for 2009.

"Syniverse continued to generate significant free cash flow in the fourth quarter, ending the quarter with $165.6 million in cash,” Hitchcock said. "We also took steps in 2008 to increase the efficiency of our business, and we will see the benefits of this cost management program throughout 2009.”

Please refer to the information set forth below under the captions "Non-GAAP Measures” and "Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures to GAAP” for an explanation of non-GAAP financial measures as well as a reconciliation of such non-GAAP financial measures to GAAP financial measures.

Fourth Quarter 2008 Service Line Revenue

Technology Interoperability Services

Technology interoperability services revenues were $80.1 million in the quarter, a 49.4% increase compared to fourth quarter 2007. The increase includes $12.6 million of revenues attributable to BSG Wireless, which was included in Syniverse’s income statement beginning on January 1, 2008. Excluding revenues from BSG Wireless, technology interoperability revenue grew 25.9%, driven by increases in messaging, mobile data services and advanced wireless services in Asia Pacific.

Network Services

Network services revenues were $30.1 million in the quarter, a 3.2% decrease compared to fourth quarter 2007. Increases in SS7 transport and data networking were offset by declines in other parts of the segment.

Number Portability Services

Number portability services revenues were $7.8 million in the quarter, an 11.5% increase compared to fourth quarter 2007. Results were driven by increased porting volumes in 2008.

Call Processing Services

Call processing services revenues were $6.5 million in the quarter, a 14.9% decrease compared to fourth quarter 2007. This decrease was primarily due to declines in signaling solutions and legacy fraud-related services.

Enterprise Solutions

Enterprise solutions revenues were $0.4 million in fourth quarter 2008.

Off-Network Database Queries (Pass-Through)

Pass-through revenues for fourth quarter 2008 were $0.9 million.

Fourth Quarter 2008 Business Highlights

• Verizon Wireless and Syniverse announced a three-year contract extension for ongoing data clearing and roaming services.
• The successful integration of BSG Wireless continues on track. Customers in both EMEA and North America were upgraded to a more efficient processing platform.
• Run-rate cost synergies related to the BSG acquisition totaled $5.2 million on Dec. 31, 2008.
• Syniverse launched its comprehensive roaming hub services to help mobile operators solve the business and technical complexities of wireless roaming.

Outlook

The company provided the following outlook for 2009:

With the continuing successful integration of BSG Wireless, Syniverse expects to realize approximately $12 million of annualized run-rate cost savings by the end of 2009. Approximately $5.2 million of the expected cost savings have been realized in 2008, with the remainder to be realized in 2009. Expected Adjusted EBITDA and cash net income have been adjusted to exclude the one-time costs related to integrating the businesses and the duplicative costs that are expected to be eliminated by the end of 2009. For periods beginning on Jan. 1, 2009, cash net income assumes a long-term effective tax rate of 37.5%; for periods through Dec. 31, 2008, the long-term effective tax rate assumption was 39%.

Non-GAAP Measures

Syniverse's cash net income is determined by first calculating adjusted net income. Adjusted net income is calculated by (i) adding the following items to net income: provision for income taxes, restructuring, SFAS 123R non-cash compensation, purchase accounting amortization and BSG Wireless transition expenses; (ii) adjusting the resulting pre-tax sum for a provision for income taxes at an assumed long-term tax rate of 39% (37.5% for all periods subsequent to Jan. 1, 2009), which excludes the effect of our net operating losses; and (iii) adding to that sum the cash benefit of our tax-deductible goodwill. The cash benefit is a result of the differing treatments of approximately $362 million of goodwill on our balance sheet, which primarily is the result of acquisitions that we made from Verizon in February 2002 and IOS North America in September 2004. Specifically, while this goodwill is not amortized for GAAP purposes, the amortization of goodwill is nonetheless deductible in calculating our taxable income and, hence, reduces actual cash tax liabilities.

Syniverse's Adjusted EBITDA is determined by adding the following items to net income: interest expense, net, provision for income taxes, depreciation and amortization, restructuring, SFAS 123R non-cash compensation, and BSG Wireless transition expenses.

Syniverse's operating free cash flow is determined by adding the following items to (or subtracting them from) net cash provided by operating activities: (capital expenditures), (cash received in legal settlement), change in working capital due to ITHL contingent payment and change in working capital due to payment of BSG pre-acquisition contractual obligation.

A reconciliation of adjusted net income, cash net income and Adjusted EBITDA to net income, the closest GAAP financial measure, is presented in the financial tables below under the heading "Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures to GAAP.” A reconciliation of operating free cash flow to net cash provided by operating activities, the closest GAAP measure, is presented in the financial tables below under the heading "Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Measures to GAAP.”

We present adjusted net income, cash net income and related per-share amounts because we believe they provide useful information regarding our operating results in addition to our GAAP measures. We believe that adjusted net income provides our investors with valuable insight into our profitability exclusive of certain adjustments. In addition, cash net income provides further insight into the cash impact resulting from the different treatments of goodwill for financial reporting and tax purposes. We rely on adjusted net income and cash net income as primary measures of Syniverse’s earnings exclusive of these certain and other non-cash charges.

We present Adjusted EBITDA and operating free cash flow because we believe that Adjusted EBITDA and operating free cash flow provide useful information regarding our continuing operating results. We rely on Adjusted EBITDA and operating free cash flow as primary measures to review and assess the operating performance of our management team in connection with our executive compensation and bonus plans. We also review Adjusted EBITDA and operating free cash flow to compare our current operating results with corresponding periods and with the operating results of other companies in our industry. In addition, we utilize Adjusted EBITDA and operating free cash flow as an assessment of our overall liquidity and our ability to meet our debt service obligations.

We believe that the disclosure of Adjusted EBITDA, operating free cash flow, adjusted net income and cash net income is useful to investors as these non-GAAP measures form the basis of how our management team reviews and considers our operating results. By disclosing these non-GAAP measures, we believe that we create for investors a greater understanding of, and an enhanced level of transparency into, the means by which our management team operates our company. We also believe these measures can assist investors in comparing our performance to that of other companies on a consistent basis without regard to certain items that do not directly affect our ongoing operating performance or cash flows.

Adjusted EBITDA, operating free cash flow, adjusted net income and cash net income have limitations as analytical tools, and you should not rely upon them, or consider them in isolation or as a substitute for GAAP measures, such as net income, cash flows from operating activities and other consolidated income or other cash flows statement data prepared in accordance with GAAP. In addition, these non-GAAP measures may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies. Because of these limitations, Adjusted EBITDA and operating free cash flow should not be considered as measures of discretionary cash available to us to invest in the growth of our business. Adjusted net income and cash net income also should not be considered as a replacement for, or a measure that should be used or analyzed in lieu of, net income. We attempt to compensate for these limitations by relying primarily upon our GAAP results and using Adjusted EBITDA, operating free cash flow, adjusted net income and cash net income as supplemental information only.

Fourth Quarter 2008 Earnings Call

Syniverse will host a conference call today at 4:30 p.m. ET to discuss these results. To participate on this call, U.S. callers may dial toll free 1-800-901-5247; international callers may dial direct (+1) 617-786-4501. The passcode for this call is 79485194. This event also will be webcast live over the Internet in listen-only mode at www.syniverse.com/investorevents. The accompanying slides for the conference call have been posted to the Syniverse website at www.syniverse.com. A replay of this call will be available beginning at approximately 7:30 p.m. ET on Feb. 10 and will remain available through Feb. 24 at 11:59 p.m. ET. To access the replay, U.S. callers may dial toll free 1-888-286-8010; international callers may dial direct (+1) 617-801-6888. The replay passcode is 62057126.

About Syniverse

Syniverse Technologies (NYSE:SVR) provides solutions that allow more than 600 communications companies in over 120 countries to provide seamless mobile services by making it possible for disparate technologies and standards to interoperate. Syniverse's flexibility and customer focus permit its customers to quickly react to market changes and demands, enabling the delivery of everything from voice calls to sophisticated data and video services wherever and whenever subscribers need them. With more than 20 years in the industry, Syniverse is headquartered in Tampa, Florida, U.S.A., and has offices in major cities around the globe. Syniverse is ISO 9001:2000 certified and TL 9000 approved, adhering to the principles of customer focus and quality improvement practices. More information is available at www.syniverse.com.

Cautionary Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain of the statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements” for purposes of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934, and as such may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Syniverse to be materially different from the future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation: statements regarding Syniverse’s ability to continue to report positive results in future periods and/or to continue to experience organic growth; Syniverse’s ability to realize the benefits of investments that it has made in its people and technology; Syniverse’s ability to continue to realize a positive global renewal rate; Syniverse’s ability to successfully and timely integrate BSG Wireless, and to realize the anticipated cost savings of that integration when and in the amounts anticipated; Syniverse’s ability to realize the benefits of the cost management program begun in 2008; Syniverse’s positioning in a worsening global economy; Syniverse’s ability to reduce its long-term effective tax rate; and Syniverse’s guidance for 2009, as contained under the caption "Outlook,” including, without limitation, expected net revenues, net income, adjusted EBITDA, cash net income and operating free cash flow for 2009, as well as the assumptions, estimates, and judgments applied in creating such guidance.

These forward-looking statements are based upon information presently available to the Company’s management and are inherently subjective, uncertain and subject to change, due to any number of risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, those other risks and factors discussed in Syniverse’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007 under the captions "Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Forward-Looking Statements” and "Risk Factors” and otherwise in Syniverse’s reports and filings that it makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, since those statements speak only as of the date that they are made. Syniverse has no obligation and does not undertake to publicly update, revise or correct any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this Press Release, or after the respective dates on which such statements otherwise are made, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as otherwise may be required by law.