Control4 (NASDAQ:CTRL) is reporting record annual and quarterly revenues. For the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, the company earned $68.3 million, compared to revenue of $57.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2016, representing quarterly year-over-year growth of 19 percent. Meanwhile, total revenue for the twelve months ended December 31, 2017 grew 17 percent year-over-year, from $208.8 million to $244.7 million (including $12.6 million from the sale of Triad Speaker products which was acquired in February 2017).
The record revenues are also resulting in strong profits. The company reported net Income for the year was $16.0 million compared to $13.0 million for 2016. For the fourth quarter of 2017, Control4 netted $6.1 million compared to $4.0 million the previous year. The company reports it has unrestricted cash and net investments of $86.0 million..
“We closed 2017 with momentum reflected in our strong fourth quarter performance, as we have remained focused on operational improvements and new opportunities designed to increase customer and dealer satisfaction,” says Martin Plaehn, chairman and chief executive officer of Control4. “We continue to execute on our strategies, which include enhancing our award-winning connected home solutions, strengthening our dealer presence around the globe, delivering tools and services to enhance dealer productivity and improve the homeowner experience, and expanding our partner and interoperability ecosystem —all of which contribute to a strengthening of the Control4 family of brands.”
On February 6, 2018, the company’s Board of Directors approved the expansion of a share buy-back program enabling it to repurchase up to $20 million in Control4 stock from time to time in the open market during open trading windows between now and the end of May 2019.
Lastly, the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that reduces the corporate income tax rate to 21 percent will require the company to conduct a one-time revaluation of its deferred tax assets and liabilities. Control4 expects its tax valuation allowance to decrease by approximately $9.0 million.
Ihiji Acquisition Impact, Plans
Speaking to investors, Plaehn touched on the recent acquisition of Ihiji, noting the Ihiji team has already been incorporated into Control4's networking group, and he does not see a significant impact on revenues or expenses from the buyout, which was announced on January 3. He says the plan is to develop “a unified remote management platform by combining Ihiji's Invision with Control4's backpack which we expect to deliver later this year.”
Plaehn envisions “a single integrated monitoring and service experience that provides all dealers with complete visibility and control at the network level which includes management support of thousands of third-party products, as well as all Control4 and Pakedge smart home equipment.”
For now, existing Ihiji dealers are being encouraged to continue to use the Invision platform.
“Later this year, progress releases towards the new unified service platform will be made to all Ihiji Control4 Pakedge dealers and all their installed customers through the software update process for supported service appliance devices,” he says.
