OTC Markets Group Reports Second Quarter 2024 Results

Second Quarter 2024 Highlights:

• Gross revenues of $27.6 million for the quarter, up 1% versus the prior year period
• Operating income of $8.1 million for the quarter, down 2% versus the prior year period
• Operating profit margin of 30.4%, versus 31.4% for the prior year period
• Net income of $6.7 million, down 3% versus the prior year period, and quarterly diluted GAAP EPS of $0.56, down 2%
• Total cash returned to shareholders during the quarter of $2.2 million in the form of dividends
• Announcing third quarter 2024 dividend of $0.18 per share
• 569 OTCQX^® and 1,085 OTCQB^® companies at quarter end
• 12 graduates to a national securities exchange during the quarter
• 114 subscribers to OTC Link ECN as of June 30, 2024, up 10 versus June 30, 2023
• Approximately 35,000 average daily trades during the quarter versus approximately 32,000 during the prior year period
• In May 2024, OTC Markets Group announced the expected launch of OTC Overnight, an upcoming new offering for overnight trading in OTC equity securities
  

NEW YORK, Aug. 07, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM), operator of regulated markets for trading 12,000 U.S. and international securities, today announced its financial results for the second quarter of 2024.

“We continue to progress towards launching OTC Overnight, to facilitate trading from 8pm to 4am eastern time, Sunday through Thursday,” said R. Cromwell Coulson, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Overnight trading functionality will allow our broker-dealers to better support investor needs and benefit from existing connectivity to our mission critical systems. This new offering underscores the importance of our markets for global trading.”

“Our business saw modest increases in both revenues and expenses in the second quarter of 2024,” said Antonia Georgieva, Chief Financial Officer. “OTC Link revenues increased as a result of higher trading volumes, while Market Data Licensing saw growth in certain products offsetting declines in others. Corporate Services continued to face declining numbers of customers as many of our smaller and more financially vulnerable companies were still navigating a challenging economic environment. We will continue to support our subscribers and work towards creating sustainable, long-term value per share.”

Second Quarter 2024 compared to Second Quarter 2023

Financial Highlights

• Gross revenues of $27.6 million, up 1% over the prior year quarter.   Revenues less transaction-based expenses remained flat to the prior year quarter.
• OTC Link revenues up 12%, relative to the prior year quarter. Transaction-based revenues from OTC Link ECN and OTC Link NQB up 19% due to higher volume of shares traded on those platforms.   Contributing to the overall increase in OTC Link revenues was a 130% increase in certain connectivity revenue and a 15% increase in revenue from OTC Link ATS messages, with fee increases offsetting a lower number of messages.
• Market Data Licensing revenues up 1%. A 35% increase in revenues from Blue Sky data products and a 10% increase in revenues from internal system licenses, delayed data licenses, and certain other data services served as an offset to a 13% reduction in revenues from non-professional users, due to a commensurate decrease in the number of non-professional users of our market data and a 22% decline in revenue from EDGAR Online, due to subscriber cancellations. Pro-user revenues were flat to the prior year quarter.
• Corporate Services revenues down 3% quarter over quarter, driven by a 6% decrease in revenues from the OTCQB market and a 7% decrease in revenues from our Disclosure & News Service^® (DNS) product, in each case reflecting a lower number of companies subscribing, which more than offset the impact of pricing increases.   OTCQX revenues increased 2%, with pricing increases balancing out a lower number of companies on the OTCQX market.
• Operating expenses increased 1% over the prior year quarter, primarily driven by a 3% increase in compensation and benefits costs, reflecting certain one-time costs, and a 50% increase in general, administrative and other expenses. These increases were partially offset by an 8% reduction each in IT infrastructure and information services costs and in professional and consulting costs, primarily due to the elimination of certain one-time integration costs related to EDGAR Online that were unique to the prior year quarter.
• Operating income and net income decreased 2% to $8.1 million and 3% to $6.7 million, respectively.
• Adjusted EBITDA, which excludes non-cash, stock-based compensation expense, decreased 1% to $10.3 million, or $0.85 per adjusted diluted share.
  

Dividend Declaration – Quarterly Cash Dividend

OTC Markets Group announced today that its Board of Directors authorized and approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.18 per share of Class A Common Stock. The quarterly cash dividend is payable on September 19, 2024, to stockholders of record on September 5, 2024.   The ex-dividend date is September 4, 2024.

Stock Buyback Program

The Company is authorized to purchase shares from time to time on the open market, from employees, and through block trades, in compliance with applicable law. The Company did not repurchase any shares during the second quarter of 2024.

On March 4, 2024, the Board of Directors refreshed the Company’s stock repurchase program, giving the Company authorization to repurchase up to 300,000 shares of the Company’s Class A Common Stock.   

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In addition to disclosing results prepared in accordance with GAAP, the Company also discloses certain non-GAAP results of operations, including adjusted EBITDA and adjusted diluted earnings per share that either exclude or include amounts that are described in the reconciliation table of GAAP to non-GAAP information provided at the end of this release. Non-GAAP financial measures do not replace and are not superior to the presentation of GAAP financial results but are provided to improve overall understanding of the Company’s current financial performance. Management believes that this non-GAAP information is useful to both management and investors regarding certain additional financial and business trends related to the operating results. Management uses this non-GAAP information, along with GAAP information, in evaluating its historical operating performance.

Second Quarter 2024 Conference Call

The Company will host a conference call and webcast on Thursday, August 8, 2024, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, during which management will discuss the financial results in further detail. The call and webcast may be accessed as follows:

Webcast:
The conference webcast and management presentation can be accessed at the following link (replay available until August 7, 2025):
https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/pqtpnn92

Live Call:
Participants intending to ask a question during the live call and Q&A session should also register in advance at:
https://register.vevent.com/register/BI08f1a04768ed467fa745746ee8d08f21   

Upon registration, participants will receive a dial-in number along with a unique PIN number that can be used to access the live call. Live call participants may also select a “Call Me” option.

The Quarterly Report, earnings release, transcript of the earnings call, and management presentation will also be available in the Investor Relations section of the corporate website at www.otcmarkets.com/investor-relations/overview.

About OTC Markets Group Inc.

OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM) operates regulated markets for trading 12,000 U.S. and international securities. Our data-driven disclosure standards form the foundation of our three public markets: OTCQX^® Best Market, OTCQB^® Venture Market and Pink^® Open Market.

Our OTC Link^® Alternative Trading Systems (ATSs) provide critical market infrastructure that broker-dealers rely on to facilitate trading. Our innovative model offers companies more efficient access to the U.S. financial markets.

OTC Link ATS, OTC Link ECN, and OTC Link NQB are each an SEC regulated ATS, operated by OTC Link LLC, a FINRA and SEC registered broker-dealer, member SIPC.

To learn more about how we create better informed and more efficient markets, visit www.otcmarkets.com.

Investor Contact:

Antonia Georgieva
Chief Financial Officer
Phone: (212) 220-2215
Email: ir@otcmarkets.com

Media Contact:

OTC Markets Group Inc.
Phone: (212) 896-4428
Email: media@otcmarkets.com