Research Solutions Reports Fiscal Third Quarter 2024 Results

Reports 17% Revenue Increase, ARR of $16.6 Million
Positive Net Income and Record Adjusted EBITDA

HENDERSON, Nev., May 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Research Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: RSSS), a trusted partner providing cloud-based workflow solutions to accelerate research for R&D-driven organizations, reported financial results for its fiscal third quarter ended March 31, 2024.

Fiscal Third Quarter 2024 Summary (compared to prior-year quarter)

• Total revenue of $12.1 million, a 17% increase.
• Platform revenue up 76% to $4.0 million. Annual Recurring Revenue ("ARR") up 82% to $16.6 million, which includes approximately $11.7 million of B2B recurring revenue and $4.9M of B2C recurring revenue.
• Gross profit up 36%. Total gross margin improved 630 basis points to 45.2%.
  Net income of $76,000 or $0.00 per diluted share, compared to $237,000 or $0.01 per diluted share.
• Adjusted EBITDA of $961,000, a Company quarterly record, compared to $559,000.
• Quarterly cash flow from operations of over $2 million, also a Company quarterly record, compared to $0.8 million.

"Our third quarter performance reflects the first full quarter of contribution from Scite and continued progress integrating Scite and ResoluteAI within our Article Galaxy platform. While we realized some anticipated churn in ResoluteAI ARR in the quarter, we experienced strong growth in both Scite B2B and B2C ARR, closing some large cross-sell opportunities with existing customers," said Roy W. Olivier, President and CEO of Research Solutions. "During the quarter we launched two new product offerings, Technology Landscape and Clinical Trial Landscape, both of which harness our ability to simultaneously search across multiple datasets, extracting and synthesizing insights into use case specific outputs as part of our strategy to deliver workflows that save time for our customers. The highly specialized value proposition for our product offerings continues to grow as we serve as a critical piece of the research process, giving users the opportunity to effectively discover, acquire and manage the most relevant content all in one place. Overall, we believe our offerings and expanded addressable market will deliver meaningful growth and long-term value for our shareholders."

Fiscal Third Quarter 2024 Results

Total revenue was $12.1 million, a 17% increase from $10.3 million in the year-ago quarter primarily driven by increased platform revenue from the prior-year period which included a full quarter of revenue from the acquisitions of ResoluteAI and Scite.

Platform subscription revenue for the quarter was $4.0 million, a 76% year-over-year increase. The increase was primarily due to the acquisitions of ResoluteAI and Scite, as well as organic growth in the core Article Galaxy platform. The quarter ended with annual recurring revenue of $16.6 million, up 82% year-over-year (see the company's definition of annual recurring revenue below).

Transaction revenue was $8.2 million, compared to $8.1 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2023. This quarter represents the first comparable period following the acquisition of contracts from FIZ Karlsruhe, which was effective January 1, 2023. The transaction active customer count for the quarter was 1,426, compared to 1,417 customers in the prior-year quarter (see the company's definition of active customer accounts and transactions below).

Total gross margin improved 630 basis points from the prior-year quarter to 45.2%. The increase was primarily driven by the continued revenue mix shift to the higher-margin Platforms business, as well as a modest increase in margins in the transactions business.

Total operating expenses were $5.4 million, compared to $3.9 million in the third quarter of 2023. The increase was primarily related to the additional expense base associated with the acquisitions of ResoluteAI and Scite.

Net income in the third quarter was $76,000, or $0.00 per share on a fully diluted basis, compared to $237,000, or $0.01 per diluted share, in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted EBITDA was $961,000, compared to $559,000 in the year-ago quarter (see definition and further discussion about the presentation of Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP term, below).

Conference Call

Research Solutions President and CEO Roy W. Olivier and CFO Bill Nurthen will host the conference call, followed by a question and answer period.

Date: Thursday, May 9, 2024
Time: 5:00 p.m. ET (2:00 p.m. PT)
Dial-in number: 1-785-424-1699
Conference ID: RESEARCH

The conference call will be broadcast live and available for replay until June 9, 2024 by dialing 1-412-317-6671 and using the replay ID 11155728, and via the investor relations section of the company's website at http://researchsolutions.investorroom.com/.

Fiscal Third Quarter Financial and Operational Summary Tables vs. Prior-Year Quarter

Active Customer Accounts, Transactions and Annual Recurring Revenue

The company defines active customer accounts as the sum of the total quantity of customers per month for each month in the period divided by the respective number of months in the period. The quantity of customers per month is defined as customers with at least one transaction during the month.

A transaction is an order for a unit of copyrighted content fulfilled or managed in the Platform.

The company defines annual recurring revenue ("ARR") as the value of contracted Platform subscription recurring revenue normalized to a one-year period. For B2C ARR, this includes the annualized value of monthly subscriptions, meaning their monthly value multiplied by twelve.

Use of Non-GAAP Measure - Adjusted EBITDA

Research Solutions' management evaluates and makes operating decisions using various financial metrics. In addition to the company's GAAP results, management also considers the non-GAAP measure of Adjusted EBITDA. Management believes that this non-GAAP measure provides useful information about the company's operating results.

The tables below provide a reconciliation of this non-GAAP financial measure with the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income (loss), plus interest expense, other income (expense), foreign currency transaction loss, provision for income taxes, depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation, gain on sale of discontinued operations, and other potential adjustments that may arise. Set forth below is a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income (loss):

About Research Solutions
Research Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: RSSS) provides cloud-based technologies to streamline the process of obtaining, managing, and creating intellectual property. Founded in 2006 as Reprints Desk, the company was a pioneer in developing solutions to serve researchers. Today, more than 70 percent of the top pharmaceutical companies, prestigious universities, and emerging businesses rely on Article Galaxy, the company's SaaS research platform, to streamline access to the latest scientific research and data with 24/7 customer support. For more information and details, please visit www.researchsolutions.com.

Important Cautions Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release may contain "forward-looking statements" regarding future events and our future results. All statements other than statements of historical facts are statements that could be deemed to be forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts, and projections about the markets in which we operate and the beliefs and assumptions of our management. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "targets," "goals," "projects", "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "endeavors," "strives," "may," or variations of such words, and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict, estimate or verify. Therefore, actual results may differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include those factors described in the Company's most recent annual report on Form 10-K, as such may be amended or supplemented by subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, or other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Examples of forward-looking statements in this release include statements regarding additional customers, potential acquisitions and the Company's prospects for growth, profitability, and cash flow. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are made only as of the date hereof, and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements. For more information, please refer to the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE Research Solutions, Inc.

For further information: Steven Hooser or John Beisler, Three Part Advisors, (214) 872-2710, [email protected]; [email protected].

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.