MIRA INFORM REPORT

                                                                                   

 

Report Date :

06.05.2013

 

IDENTIFICATION DETAILS

 

Name :

VONAGE HOLDINGS CORPORATION

 

 

Formerly Known As :

 

 

 

Registered Office :

23 Main Street, Holmdel, NJ 07733

 

 

Country :

United States

 

 

Financials (as on) :

 

 

 

Date of Incorporation :

 

 

 

Com. Reg. No.:

 

 

 

Legal Form :

 

 

 

Line of Business :

 

 

 

No. of Employees :

983 (for the group)

 

RATING & COMMENTS

 

MIRA’s Rating :

A

 

RATING

STATUS

PROPOSED CREDIT LINE

56-70

A

Financial & operational base are regarded healthy. General unfavourable factors will not cause fatal effect. Satisfactory capability for payment of interest and principal sums

Fairly Large

 

Status :

Good

 

 

Payment Behaviour :

Regular

 

 

Litigation :

Clear

 

 

NOTES :

Any query related to this report can be made on e-mail: infodept@mirainform.com while quoting report number, name and date.

 

ECGC Country Risk Classification List – March 31st, 2013

 

Country Name

Previous Rating

(31.12.2012)

Current Rating

(31.03.2013)

United States

A1

A1

 

Risk Category

ECGC Classification

 

Insignificant

 

A1

Low

 

A2

Moderate

 

B1

High

 

B2

Very High

 

C1

Restricted

 

C2

Off-credit

 

D

 


 

ECONOMIC OVERVIEW

 

The US has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world, with a per capita GDP of $49,800. In this market-oriented economy, private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions, and the federal and state governments buy needed goods and services predominantly in the private marketplace. US business firms enjoy greater flexibility than their counterparts in Western Europe and Japan in decisions to expand capital plant, to lay off surplus workers, and to develop new products. At the same time, they face higher barriers to enter their rivals' home markets than foreign firms face entering US markets. US firms are at or near the forefront in technological advances, especially in computers and in medical, aerospace, and military equipment; their advantage has narrowed since the end of World War II. The onrush of technology largely explains the gradual development of a "two-tier labor market" in which those at the bottom lack the education and the professional/technical skills of those at the top and, more and more, fail to get comparable pay raises, health insurance coverage, and other benefits. Since 1975, practically all the gains in household income have gone to the top 20% of households. Since 1996, dividends and capital gains have grown faster than wages or any other category of after-tax income. Imported oil accounts for nearly 55% of US consumption. Crude oil prices doubled between 2001 and 2006, the year home prices peaked; higher gasoline prices ate into consumers' budgets and many individuals fell behind in their mortgage payments. Oil prices climbed another 50% between 2006 and 2008, and bank foreclosures more than doubled in the same period. Besides dampening the housing market, soaring oil prices caused a drop in the value of the dollar and a deterioration in the US merchandise trade deficit, which peaked at $840 billion in 2008. The sub-prime mortgage crisis, falling home prices, investment bank failures, tight credit, and the global economic downturn pushed the United States into a recession by mid-2008. GDP contracted until the third quarter of 2009, making this the deepest and longest downturn since the Great Depression. To help stabilize financial markets, in October 2008 the US Congress established a $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The government used some of these funds to purchase equity in US banks and industrial corporations, much of which had been returned to the government by early 2011. In January 2009 the US Congress passed and President Barack OBAMA signed a bill providing an additional $787 billion fiscal stimulus to be used over 10 years - two-thirds on additional spending and one-third on tax cuts - to create jobs and to help the economy recover. In 2010 and 2011, the federal budget deficit reached nearly 9% of GDP. In 2012 the federal government reduced the growth of spending and the deficit shrank to 7.6% of GDP. Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan required major shifts in national resources from civilian to military purposes and contributed to the growth of the budget deficit and public debt. Through 2011, the direct costs of the wars totaled nearly $900 billion, according to US government figures. US revenues from taxes and other sources are lower, as a percentage of GDP, than those of most other countries. In March 2010, President OBAMA signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a health insurance reform that will extend coverage to an additional 32 million American citizens by 2016, through private health insurance for the general population and Medicaid for the impoverished. Total spending on health care - public plus private - rose from 9.0% of GDP in 1980 to 17.9% in 2010. In July 2010, the president signed the DODD-FRANK Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, a law designed to promote financial stability by protecting consumers from financial abuses, ending taxpayer bailouts of financial firms, dealing with troubled banks that are "too big to fail," and improving accountability and transparency in the financial system - in particular, by requiring certain financial derivatives to be traded in markets that are subject to government regulation and oversight. In December 2012, the Federal Reserve Board announced plans to purchase $85 billion per month of mortgage-backed and Treasury securities in an effort to hold down long-term interest rates, and to keep short term rates near zero until unemployment drops to 6.5% from the December rate of 7.8%, or until inflation rises above 2.5%. Long-term problems include stagnation of wages for lower-income families, inadequate investment in deteriorating infrastructure, rapidly rising medical and pension costs of an aging population, energy shortages, and sizable current account and budget deficits - including significant budget shortages for state governments.

 

Source : CIA


 

Company Name and Address

 

Company name:            VONAGE HOLDINGS CORPORATION

Address:                       23 Main Street, Holmdel, NJ 07733 - USA

Telephone:                    +1 732-528-2600

Fax:                              +1 732-834-0189

Website:                       www.vonage.com

 

 

Company Summary

 

Corporate ID#:               3230864

State:                           Delaware

Judicial form:                 Public Company (NYSE = VG)

Date incorporated:          05-17-2000

Stock:                           212,021,239 shares (as of 04-30-2013)

Value:                           USD 0.001= par value

Name of manager:          Marc P. LEFAR

 

 

ACTIVITIES & OPERATIONS

 

Business:

 

Vonage Holdings Corp. provides communications services that connect individuals through cloud-connected devices worldwide.

 

The company offers voice and messaging services through session initiation protocol based voice over Internet protocol network.

 

It provides home telephone replacement services to residential, small office, and home office customers through various service plans with a range of basic features, including call waiting, caller ID with name, call forwarding, and voicemail. The company’s primary residential product includes Vonage World plan, which offers local calling; calling to landline phones in various cities and locations in approximately 60 countries; and calling to mobile phones. It also offers area code selection, virtual phone number, and personalized Web-enabled voicemail services; mobile and other connected device services comprising Vonage Mobile, a mobile application  that provides free calling and messaging between users who have the application, as well as international calling to approximately 200 countries to other phone; and devices that facilitate customers to use the Internet connection for their computers and telephones at the same time.

 

As of February 19, 2013, the company had approximately 2.4 million subscriber lines.

 

Vonage Holdings Corp. was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Holmdel, New Jersey.

 

Staff:                 983 (for the group)

 

 

Operations & branches:

 

At the headquarters, we find the corporate headquarters, on lease.

 

 

SHAREHOLDERS & MANAGERS

 

Shareholders:

 

The Company is listed with the NYSE under symbol VG.

 

62% of the stock is held by institutional and mutual fund owners including:

 

Wellington Management Company, LLP

9.26%

Vanguard Group, Inc. (The)

5.10%

Vanguard Explorer Fund, Inc.

4.71%

LSV Asset Management

4.26%

Raging Capital Management, LLC

3.73%

 

Management:

 

Marc LEFAR is the CEO.

He has been the Chief Executive Officer of Vonage Holdings Corporation since July 29, 2008. Mr. Lefar serves as Senior Advisor of WWC Capital Group, LLC. He founded Marketing Insights. He served as the Chief Marketing Officer of AT&T Mobility LLC (Formerly, Cingular Wireless LLC).

 

He was responsible for all aspects of AT&T Mobility's brand and marketing direction and execution. He directed marketing strategy and programs, brand development, advertising, ... service packages and offerings, new product development, market research, and customer communications. He was with AT&T Mobility from 2003 to 2007. He served as Chief Marketing Officer of Wireless at AT&T Inc. since January 15, 2007. Mr. Lefar began his career at Procter & Gamble initially in finance then brand management, helping to drive the success of well-known brands including Jif peanut butter, Duncan Hines baking mixes, and Crisco cooking oil. During the 18 years, Mr. Lefar has developed a unique blend of marketing, financial, and operational expertise. He has extensive experience in the telecommunications industry, beginning with GTE Wireless, where he held local and regional management leadership positions before becoming Vice President of Marketing. In that role, he was responsible for strategy development, voice and data product management, advertising, pricing, and promotion. After GTE's merger with Verizon Wireless, he served as Vice President of Wireless Internet, Data Services and E-enablement, leading the development and launch of Verizon's first national Internet service.

 

His organization led the evaluation of new applications and managed the relationship with strategic data partners. He was also responsible for the design and functionality of the on-line retail store and customer self-service offerings. Mr. Lefar joined Cable & Wireless Global as Chief Marketing Officer where he was responsible for marketing strategy and plan implementation. He served as an Executive Vice President of Marketing and Value-Added Services at Cable & Wireless Global. He played a lead role in its growth strategies and the resulting acquisitions of Digital Island and Exodus Communications. Mr. Lefar served as Senior Advisor to Outcome Capital, LLC, an investment banking group in Washington D.C.

 

He has been a Director of Vonage Holdings Corporation since August 2008.

 

He serves as a Member of Advisory Board at Air2web Inc. and Local Solution's Network.

He has been a Member of Strategic Advisory Board at NeoMedia Technologies Inc. since October 5, 2007. Mr. Lefar earned recognition as one of Advertising Age's Power Players, received the Marketing Top 50 Award, and lead Cingular Wireless to be a recipient of the accredited Gold Effie award.

 

Mr. Lefar holds a BS in Commerce from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia.

 

David PEARSON is Executive Vice President and CFO, effective May 1, 2013.

 

 

Subsidiaries & Partnership:    

 

Vonage Worldwide Inc.

 

Delaware

Vonage Network LLC

 

Delaware

Vonage America Inc.

 

Delaware

Vonage Marketing LLC

 

Delaware

Novega Venture Partners, Inc.

 

Delaware

Vonage International Inc.

 

Delaware

Vonage Canada Corp.

 

Nova Scotia, Canada

Vonage A/S

 

Denmark

Vonage B.V.

 

The Netherlands

Vonage Limited

 

United Kingdom

Vonage Singapore Pte. Ltd.

 

Singapore

Vonage Limited

 

Hong Kong

Vonage Australia Pty. Ltd.

 

Australia

Vonage India Private Limited

 

India

Vonage Applications Inc.

 

Delaware

Vonage Apps. Ltd.

 

Israel

DSP LLC

 

Delaware

Intellectual Property Asset Management, LLC

 

Delaware

Vonage Foundation                           

 

Delaware (Non-Profit)

 

 

FINANCIALS

 

On May 1, 2013, Vonage Holdings Corporation announced unaudited consolidated financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2013. For the quarter, the company reported revenues of $209.087 million against $215.903 million a year ago. Income from operations was $22.474 million against $20.533 million a year ago.

 

Income before income tax expense was $21.015 million against $18.844 million a year ago. Net income was $13.047 million or $0.06 per diluted share against $13.921 million or $0.06 per diluted share a year ago. Net cash provided by operating activities was $9.752 million against $11.119 million a year ago. Adjusted EBITDA was $34.431 million against $31.800 million a year ago. Capital expenditures was $2.031 million against $2.033 million a year ago. Capital expenditures, intangible asset purchases and development of software assets was $4.344 million against $9.033 million a year ago. Free cash flow in the first quarter was $5 million, up from $2 million in the year ago quarter, due primarily to lower CapEx. Free cash flow declined from $49 million sequentially reflecting seasonality in working capital due to timing of vendor payments and certain recurring payments in the first quarter, including annual maintenance renewals and compensation related payments. The company expects its ongoing investment in international expansion and mobile to be in the range of $5-10 million per quarter. For mobile, the investment will include development and general and administrative expenses as the company strengthens the capabilities of its mobile platform and prepares for the launch of its roaming service. It also includes investment in digital marketing behind the enhanced Global Calling Card platform.

 

For international expansion, the investment will include general and administrative expenses for the build-out of Vonage's management team and systems as the Company establishes its new business in Brazil. expect to spend an incremental $5 million to $7 million in support of the nationwide launch of BasicTalk. The company may choose to increase or reduce the level of investment depending on progress and success of the company's initiatives. The company continues to expect 2013 capital and software expenditures to be in the range of $30 million to $35 million.

 

On attachment:

- 10K 2012

- 1st 10Q 2013

 

Banks:  JPMorgan Chase Bank

           

 

LEGAL FILINGS

 

Legal filings & complaints:

 

State: New Jersey

Case number: 3:11-cv-06187-AET-TJB

Plaintiff: VONAGE HOLDINGS CORP.

Defendant: HARTFORD FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY
Anne E. Thompson, presiding
Tonianne J. Bongiovanni, referral
Date filed: 10/20/2011
Date of last filing: 03/22/2013

Cause: Insurance contract

 

State: Delaware

Case number: 1:11-cv-00723-GMS

Plaintiff: Bear Creek Technologies Inc.

Defendant: Vonage Holdings Corporation et al
Gregory M. Sleet, presiding
Date filed: 08/17/2011
Date of last filing: 04/10/2013

Cause: Patent infringement

 

Secured debts summary (UCC):   None

 

 

COMPANY CREDIT HISTORY

 

Domestic credit history:

 

Domestic credit history appears as follow:

 

National Credit Bureaus gave a correct credit rating.

 

According to our credit analysts, during the last 6 months, domestic payments were made with an average of 2 to 5 days beyond terms.

 

 

Other comments:

 

The Company maintains is developing a regular business.

The Company is in good standing.

This means that all local and federal taxes were paid on due date.

The risk is low.

 

 

Our opinion:

 

A business connection may be conducted.

 

FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES

 

Currency

Unit

Indian Rupees

US Dollar

1

Rs.53.95

UK Pound

1

Rs.70.50

Euro

1

Rs.83.81

 

 

INFORMATION DETAILS

 

Report Prepared by :

NIT

 

 

RATING EXPLANATIONS

 

RATING

STATUS

 

 

PROPOSED CREDIT LINE

>86

Aaa

Possesses an extremely sound financial base with the strongest capability for timely payment of interest and principal sums

 

Unlimited

71-85

Aa

Possesses adequate working capital. No caution needed for credit transaction. It has above average (strong) capability for payment of interest and principal sums

 

Large

56-70

A

Financial & operational base are regarded healthy. General unfavourable factors will not cause fatal effect. Satisfactory capability for payment of interest and principal sums

 

Fairly Large

41-55

Ba

Overall operation is considered normal. Capable to meet normal commitments.

 

Satisfactory

26-40

B

Capability to overcome financial difficulties seems comparatively below average.

 

Small

11-25

Ca

Adverse factors are apparent. Repayment of interest and principal sums in default or expected to be in default upon maturity

 

Limited with full security

<10

C

Absolute credit risk exists. Caution needed to be exercised

 

 

Credit not recommended

--

NB

New Business

 

--

 

This score serves as a reference to assess SC’s credit risk and to set the amount of credit to be extended. It is calculated from a composite of weighted scores obtained from each of the major sections of this report. The assessed factors and their relative weights (as indicated through %) are as follows:

 

Financial condition (40%)            Ownership background (20%)                 Payment record (10%)

Credit history (10%)                    Market trend (10%)                                Operational size (10%)

 

PRIVATE & CONFIDENTIAL : This information is provided to you at your request, you having employed MIPL for such purpose. You will use the information as aid only in determining the propriety of giving credit and generally as an aid to your business and for no other purpose. You will hold the information in strict confidence, and shall not reveal it or make it known to the subject persons, firms or corporations or to any other. MIPL does not warrant the correctness of the information as you hold it free of any liability whatsoever. You will be liable to and indemnify MIPL for any loss, damage or expense, occasioned by your breach or non observance of any one, or more of these conditions

This report is issued at your request without any risk and responsibility on the part of MIRA INFORM PRIVATE LIMITED (MIPL) or its officials.