Think Research Corporation Announces September 30, 2021 Third Quarter Financial Results

• Achieved strong quarterly revenue of $10.1 million, an increase of 153% compared to the same period in the prior year.
• Adjusted EBITDA¹ (as defined herein) was ($3.4) million compared to $0.6 million for the same period in the prior year.
• Management estimates Expected Cost Savings (as defined herein) of at least $5.8 million, related to acquisitions completed by the Company during the last 12 months.

TORONTO, ON – November 29, 2021 – Think Research Corporation (TSX.V:THNK) (“Think” or the “Company”), a healthcare technology company focused on transforming healthcare through integrated digital health software solutions, today reported 2021 third quarter unaudited financial results.

Additional information concerning the Company, including its unaudited interim financial statements and related Management’s Discussion and Analysis (“MD&A”) for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021, can be found under the Company’s profile on SEDAR and on the Company’s website.

Think’s CEO, Sachin Aggarwal said, “We are pleased with our third quarter revenue growth, and we continue to benefit from synergies from integrating recent acquisitions. We are currently integrating BioPharma and expect that the digitization of patient enrollment and study data should       improve results going forward. Our strategic acquisitions have been accretive to our growth strategy and with the BioPharma transaction, we will add significant scale to our existing operations and expand our reach into the complementary contract pharmaceutical research space.

Our acquisitions, together with our recent organic growth announcements in our core software business, will further strengthen Think’s position as a leader in the delivery of knowledge-based health technology and aligns with our mission to ensure everyone gets the best possible care.”

Financial Highlights – Three months ended September 30, 2021 (unaudited)

• Achieved revenue of $10.1 million, an increase of 153% compared to the same period in the prior year.
• Adjusted EBITDA¹ was $(3.4) million compared to $0.6 million for the same period in the prior year.
• Net income was $(10.8) million compared to $(0.3) million for the same period in the prior year. The decrease was primarily due to higher expenses related to acquisitions, higher expenses to support continued business growth, higher non-cash stock-based compensation and amortization on acquired intangibles, partially offset by higher revenue.
• The results of Q3 2021 were negatively affected by the effects of COVID-19, leading to an impact on revenue, gross profit, and EBITDA; due to spikes in COVID-19 virulence during the time period, some revenue trajectories were negatively affected due to patient cancellations and no-shows for clinical procedures and studies. In particular, this impacted BioPharma which derives its revenue from research studies that require minimum patient enrollment. Because of enrollee cancellations, certain studies had to be redone which also resulted in lower margins.

Financial Highlights – Nine months ended September 30, 2021 (unaudited)

• Achieved record revenue of $28.7 million, an increase of 110% compared to the same period in the prior year.
• Adjusted EBITDA¹ was $(6.4) million compared to $(2.1) million for the same period in the prior year.
• Net income was $(21.5) million compared to $(5.0) million for the same period in the prior year. Net income was affected by the same factors noted in reference to net income for the three months ended September 30, 2021.

Fiscal 2022 pro forma Revenue and pro forma Adjusted EBITDA

• Based on the Company’s unaudited financial results, including all acquisitions for the current fiscal year to date, management reiterates its previously announced pro forma Revenue¹ target of between $90 million and $100 million and a pro forma Adjusted EBITDA¹ target of between $7 million and $10 million, in each case for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022. 

Cost and Revenue Synergies

• On August 23, 2021, the Company announced that it expected approximately $3.0 million in cost savings from synergies implemented during Q3 of 2021. These savings are expected to positively impact EBITDA beginning in Q4 of 2021.
• Management reiterates that the recurring annual cost savings totaling approximately $2.8 million related to BioPharma, as previously announced by the Company on July 15, 2021, are in progress and expected to be at a full run-rate by fiscal 2022, based on headcount reduction efficiency savings and vendor cost reductions achieved largely using superior technology.
• Based on the above, management is targeting at least $5.8 million in expected recurring annual cost savings related to acquisitions completed by the Company during the last 12 months.

Business Highlights

• On September 10, 2021, the Company settled and replaced its existing credit facility with a new credit facility (the “New Credit Facility”) with the Bank of Nova Scotia. The New Credit Facility includes a $22 million revolving credit facility, a $6 million revolving acquisition facility, and a $10 million uncommitted accordion that can be allocated to either the revolving credit facility or the revolving acquisition facility at the Company’s discretion. The New Credit Facility represents a two-year committed agreement that expires on September 10, 2023, with an option to extend the term by an additional year at the lender’s discretion.
• On September 10, 2021, the Company acquired all the issued and outstanding shares of BioPharma, a leading contract research organization (“CRO”) to pharmaceutical companies globally.
• On November 4, 2021, the Company acquired certain assets of Pharmapod Limited (“Pharmapod”), through a receivership process in Ireland. Pharmapod operates a software-as-a-service (“SaaS“) electronic data capture solution that reports medication errors to improve patient safety and simplify pharmacy reporting. Pharmapod services more than 9,000 pharmacies throughout Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Australia, including over 7,400 pharmacies in Canada, representing 65% of all Canadian retail pharmacies.² Pharmapod also services a certified US retail online pharmacy, with fulfillment locations throughout the continental United States.
• On November 15, 2021, Think announced that it had been awarded a five year, $5.2 million Ontario-wide contract through the Better Access Alliance (the “Alliance”). As a part of the Alliance, Think will deploy software across the province of Ontario through a SaaS-model connecting patients to health information and to receive guidance throughout their healthcare journey. Think will be providing VirtualCare™ software as well as a service provider directory, so that patients can find and connect with healthcare services and healthcare practitioners. This deployment builds upon Think’s existing footprint across Ontario as the prime vendor supporting the Province’s eServices/eReferrals products.

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Notes:

1. Represents a non-IFRS financial measure. For the relevant definitions of each non-IFRS financial measure, see the “Cautionary Note Regarding Non-IFRS Financial Measures” section of this press release. Management believes non-IFRS measures, including EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, pro forma Revenue, pro forma Adjusted EBITDA, Expected Cost Savings provide supplementary information to IFRS measures in assessing the performance of the business. Non-IFRS measures included in this press release are not standardized measures under IFRS, the financial reporting framework used to prepare the Company’s financial statements and may not be comparable to similar financial measures disclosed by other issuers.
2. Estimates from Pharmapod’s then current management team and total number of licensed pharmacies in Canada as reported by NAPRA.

Conference Call Notification 

Think will be holding a conference call via webcast on November 29, 2021, at 9:00 a.m. EST, hosted by CEO Sachin Aggarwal and CFO Jae Cornelssen, with a Q&A session to follow. To register for the conference call, please click here.

Conference call dial-in: 

Toronto: 1-647-792-1240

North American Toll-Free: 1-800-437-2398

Conference ID: 1980393 

About Think Research Corporation

Think is an industry leader in delivering knowledge-based digital healthcare software solutions. The Company’s focused mission is to organize the world’s health knowledge so everyone gets the best care. Its evidence-based healthcare technology solutions support the clinical decision-making process, standardize care, and improve patient outcomes. For over a decade, Think’s cloud-based, EMR-agnostic digital tools have empowered clinicians around the world and positively impacted millions of patients across the continuum of care – including primary physician care, acute care hospitals and surgical suites as well as community and seniors care. Think is proud to serve as a trusted health system partner to a rapidly growing, global client base that spans five continents and more than 13,000 healthcare facilities, with a clinical audience of over 300,000 doctors, nurses, and pharmacists.

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Canadian securities laws and are based on certain assumptions and reflect the Company’s current expectations with respect to such matters. Forward-looking statements are provided for the purposes of assisting the reader in understanding the Company and its business, operations, prospects and risks at a point in time in the context of historical and possible future developments and the reader is cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. Statements containing forward-looking information are not historical facts, but instead represent management expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events or circumstances. Such forward-looking statements are      necessarily based on a number of opinions, estimates and assumptions, including but not limited to those assumptions described under the heading “Caution Regarding Forward Looking Information’” in the Company’s Management’s Discussion & Analysis for the Three and Nine months ended September 30, 2021. Forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, statements regarding: the expected cost savings to be realized from the Company’s acquisitions any synergies and the expected periods in which such savings will be realized, the expected effects of the integration of BioPharma on the Company’s results, the expansion of the Company as a result of the acquisition of BioPharma, the services to be provided by the Company to the Alliance, the operations, business, financial condition, expected financial results, performance, prospects, opportunities, priorities, targets, goals, ongoing objectives, strategies, and the competitive strengths and outlook of the Company. Forward-looking statements include statements that are predictive in nature, depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, or include words such as “expects”, “anticipates”, “plans”, “believes”, “estimates”, “seeks”, “intends”, “targets”, “projects”, “forecasts”, “committed” or negative versions thereof and other similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as “may”, “will”, “should”, “would” and “could”.

By its nature, this information is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific and which give rise to the possibility that expectations, forecasts, predictions, projections or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that assumptions may not be correct and that objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved. A variety of risks and assumptions, many of which are beyond the Company’s control, affect the operations, performance and results of the Company, and could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations of estimated or anticipated events or results. These risks and assumptions include, but are not limited to: the impact or unanticipated impact of general economic, political and market factors in North America and internationally, fluctuations in interest rates, inflation and foreign exchange rates, monetary policies, business investment and the health of local and global equity and capital markets, changes in technology, management of market liquidity and funding risks, risks associated with financial instruments, changes in accounting policies and methods used to report financial condition (including uncertainties associated with significant judgments, estimates and assumptions), reliance on third party services, the effect of applying future accounting changes, privacy and confidentiality risks, product and service defects, medical liability claims, business competition, operational and reputational risks, technological changes, cybersecurity risks, changes in government regulation and legislation, changes in tax laws, unexpected judicial or regulatory proceedings, catastrophic events, man-made disasters, terrorist attacks, wars and other conflicts, or an outbreak of a public health pandemic or other public health crises (such as COVID-19), the Company’s ability to complete strategic transactions, integrate acquisitions and implement other growth strategies, and the Company’s success in anticipating and managing the foregoing factors.

The reader is cautioned to consider these and other factors, uncertainties and potential events carefully and not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Information contained in forward-looking statements is based upon certain material assumptions that were applied in drawing a conclusion or making a forecast or projection, including management’s perceptions of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other considerations that are believed to be appropriate in the circumstances and that the list of factors in the previous paragraph, collectively, are not expected to have a material impact on the Company. While the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to management, they may prove to be incorrect.

Other than as specifically required by applicable Canadian law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, whether as a result of new information, future events or results, or otherwise.

Additional information about the risks and uncertainties of the Company’s business and material factors or assumptions on which information contained in forward‐looking statements is based is provided in its disclosure materials, including the Company’s most recently filed annual information form and any subsequently-filed interim MD&A, which are available under our profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Financial Outlook

The Company and its management believe that the Expected Cost Savings, pro forma revenue and pro forma Adjusted EBITDA contained in this press release are reasonable as of the date hereof. The Company cautions that such measures are based on management’s current views, strategies, expectations, assumptions and forecasts, based on information currently available to the Company and on assumptions the Company believes are reasonable. These measures have been calculated using accounting policies that are consistent with the Company’s current accounting policies. These measures may be considered to be in the nature of a “financial outlook” under applicable securities laws. These measures and any other financial outlook included herein have been approved by management of the Company as of the date hereof. Such financial outlook have been provided for the purposes of presenting information about management’s current expectations and goals relating to the development of the business of the Company, the integration of its recently acquired entities, including BioPharma and Pharmapod, integration of other acquisitions, and new sales and business development activities, and should not be relied on for other purposes.

However, because financial outlook is highly subjective and subject to numerous risks and assumptions, including the assumptions set out below and those risks and assumptions disclosed in the “Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” in this press release. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the financial outlook prove incorrect, actual cost savings, revenue and Adjusted EBITDA may vary materially from the Expected Cost Savings, target revenue and target Adjusted EBITDA described herein. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended, and certain of these risks and uncertainties are beyond the Company’s control. Consequently, all of the financial outlook is qualified by these cautionary statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any financial outlook, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.

The financial outlook contained in this press release is based on the following key assumptions, in addition to those assumptions disclosed in the “Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements”:

• The technology portion of the business of the Company, including acquired companies and excluding any acquired clinics, grows at a compound annual growth rate of approximately 9%, using 2020 as a base year, largely driven through strong organic growth;
• Clinic 360 Inc. continues to have strong results largely driven off of increased demand due to the backlog created in the healthcare system due to COVID-19, which demand is expected to continue through fiscal 2022, in addition to renovations completed in fiscal 2021 which are expected to increase revenue and EBITDA;
• Capital expenditures for the business continue to be minimal, except for the recently completed renovations for Clinic 360 Inc. completed in Q2 of fiscal 2021;
• BioPharma revenue increases as a result of expanding electronic data capture as a SaaS offering to pharmacy clients for the continuous analysis of stored data, virtual visits are adopted using telemedicine software of the Company, and other revenue synergies are created as a result of cross-selling opportunities and gaining larger share of customer wallet;
• Management anticipates that the trend towards digitalization will continue to be a strong driver in adoption of healthcare technology providing a positive backdrop for growth;
• The CRO industry grows at an estimated 7.8% CAGR, based on data from Global Market Insights;
• No significant churn occurs with any existing customers of the Company;
• All aspects of the Company remain open and are not shutdown by the effects of COVID-19 having a negative impact on the business; and
• EBITDA and margins naturally increase as revenue increases and general overhead costs remain fixed.

Cautionary Note Regarding Non-IFRS Financial Measures

This press release makes reference to certain non-International Financial Reporting Standards measures including: EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, pro forma Revenue, pro forma Adjusted EBITDA and Expected Cost Savings. These measures are not recognized measures under International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”), do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. Rather, these non-IFRS measures provide additional information to complement those IFRS measures in the Company’s financial statements, providing investors further insight into the Company’s results of operations from management’s perspective. The Company’s definitions of non-IFRS measures used in this press release may not be the same as the definitions for such measures used by other companies in their reporting. Non-IFRS measures have limitations as analytical tools and should not be considered in isolation nor as a substitute for analysis of the Company’s financial information reported under IFRS. The Company uses non-IFRS financial measures, including those set out in this press release, to provide investors with supplemental measures of its operating performance and to eliminate items that have less bearing on operating performance or operating conditions, highlighting trends in the Company’s core business that may not otherwise be apparent when relying solely on IFRS financial measures. Specifically, the Company believes that these non-IFRS measures, when viewed with the Company’s results under IFRS and the accompanying reconciliations, provide useful information about the Company’s business without regard to potential distortions. 

“EBITDA” means net income (loss) before amortization and depreciation expenses, finance and interest costs, and provision for income taxes.

“Adjusted EBITDA” adjusts EBITDA for non-cash stock-based compensation expense, gains or losses arising from redemption of securities issued by the Company, asset impairment charges, gains or losses from disposals of property and equipment, foreign exchange gains or losses, business acquisition costs, and restructuring charges. The Company believes that EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA provide useful information to investors in understanding Think’s operating results, because such measures are consistent with the indicators management uses internally to measure the Company’s performance.

Reconciliation of Net Loss to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA

Notes:

1. “Acquisition, restructuring and other” relate to costs incurred in connection with business combinations, reorganization of the Company’s capital structure and workforce, and legal, advisory and banking expenses.
2. “Stock-based compensation” relates to stock-based compensation expense recognized for equity awards issued under the Company’s Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan.
3. “Foreign exchange loss (gain)” relates to foreign exchange fluctuations. 

“pro forma Revenue” means revenue for the twelve months ended with respect to the fiscal period being referenced, adjusted for the impact of revenue earned by companies, as if the Company had acquired such companies at the beginning of the fiscal period.

“pro forma Adjusted EBITDA” means Adjusted EBITDA for the twelve months ended with respect to the fiscal period being referenced, adjusted for the impact of Adjusted EBITDA earned by companies and cost savings, as if the Company had acquired such companies at the beginning of the fiscal period.

“Expected Cost Savings” means cost savings related to headcount reduction, including salary and benefits from recently completed acquisitions over the last twelve months. 

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibilities for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For further information:

Mark Sakamoto, Executive Vice President

Think Research Corporation

Direct: 416.388.7119

Email: Mark.Sakamoto@thinkresearch.com