Think Research Corporation Announces Third Quarter 2023 Results

• Annual Recurring Revenue increased by 71% to $24.6 million
• Higher Margin Software & Data Revenue represents 56% of total revenue for Q3/23

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / November 27, 2023 / Think Research Corporation (TSX.V:THNK) ("Think" or the "Company"), a company focused on transforming healthcare through digital health software solutions, is pleased to announce Third Quarter 2023 results. The Company's Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) along with unaudited consolidated interim financial statements for Q3 2023 are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on Think's website.

Think's three core business lines, including Software and Data Solutions (SaaS solutions), Clinical Research (clinical trial studies) and Clinical Services (physical clinics), collectively drive its financial performance and results.

Sachin Aggarwal, Chief Executive Officer of Think Research said, "We are pleased with the 71% growth of recurring revenue in our Software & Data Division. This division continues to be a major focus of operations and now represents more than 55% of total revenue. That being said, unusual and unexpected delays and cancellations within the Clinical Research Division have disrupted the rapid performance improvements that we have reported in the previous three quarters and set back this forward progress in the current period. However, we have acted quickly to mitigate the impacts in this division, while continuing to focus on growing our high-margin recurring revenue operations in order to regain our earnings momentum."

Think's Software and Data solutions are increasingly relied upon by acute care and community care doctors, nurses and pharmacists to support their practices. Think solutions now reach more than 331,000 clinicians. In certain jurisdiction-wide deployments, Think's platform connects clinicians to the healthcare networks that employ them, to patients for virtual care, and to each other for referrals.

Think currently licenses its solutions to approximately 16,000 facilities with over 3 million patients and residents annually receiving better care due to the essential data that Think produces, manages and delivers.

Business Outlook

Think's primary revenue stream of Software and Data solutions is built on recurring multi-year contracted commitments. Steady annual recurring revenue growth in the segment comes from SaaS contracts with pharmacies, health networks, long-term care facilities, and pharmaceutical companies. From time-to-time, the Company generates step-function increases in recurring revenue by way of platform-type agreements with governmental agencies and large enterprise clients. Examples of such agreements are with the Province of Nova Scotia and the Province of Ontario. The primary solutions drivers for ongoing recurring revenue growth are Pharmapod, the Learning Management System (LMS) platform, and the Digital Front Door (DFD) platform.

Think's Software and Data solutions are currently solving urgent short-term healthcare service conditions, as well as looming long-term demographic challenges for health systems in Canada and abroad, including:

• Rapid changes in medical research and treatment options;
• Limited access to primary care and critically long wait times in emergency rooms;
• Increasing demand for health care services as populations age and people live longer, with increasing health complexity; and
• A long-term shortage of healthcare workers, including doctors, nurses and pharmacists, and a flight of these critical healthcare workers to higher paying urban jurisdictions.

As a result, Think's sales pipeline for its SaaS solutions shows significant revenue growth potential in the Canadian market and internationally.

The Company plans to grow predictable and recurring revenue with improving margins by becoming an essential data solutions provider for healthcare systems globally so they can deliver the best outcomes for patients. DFD solution can provide additional capacity for healthcare systems through third-party care providers, such as doctors, nurses and care navigators from outside the client's network.

To fulfill this objective, Think's focus is to:

• Execute long-term agreements with new flagship enterprise and government customers for Think's core suite of Software and Data solutions, including its Digital Front Door, Learning Management System ("LMS"), and Pharmapod solutions;
• Add more users to current customer agreements by promoting further adoption and usage. Currently, more than 331,000 clinicians, including doctors, nurses and pharmacists, can access Think's solutions;
• Extend the functionality of Think's platform through internal development including the continuing expansion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and through partnerships with care and technology providers. As more functionality is added and as useability continues to evolve, more users and care providers are onboarding. Over time, Think's solutions become more essential to health systems and customers;
• Manage expenses to maximize margins and future earnings as recurring revenue grows.

Think's rapid improvements in financial performance, including three sequential quarters of positive Adjusted EBITDA prior to Q3 2023, helped to offset higher financing charges related to Think's floating interest rate associated with its long-term debt. The rapid strengthening of the Software and Data Division's performance helped to offset the revenue declines in the Clinical Research Division that were caused by unexpected delays and research cancellations during Q3, and out of the control of Management. Although Think's ARR is growing, it has yet to sufficiently scale to cover unexpected performance variances within its other divisions, and Think is focused on streamlining costs to help minimize the impacts of revenue volatility. The Company's path to consistently generate sufficient positive cash flow from operations to cover all non-operating expenses was disrupted this quarter by the decline in revenue in the Clinical Research Division. However, with a solid pipeline of SaaS opportunities and ongoing rationalization of operations in the Clinical Research and Clinical Services Divisions, Management is actively mobilizing to restore the Company on its previous path towards positive cash flow.

Notable Contracts and Events in Q3 and YTD 2023

• On March 7, 2023, Think announced a minimum 5-year SaaS and services agreement with a new customer that is expected to total more than $40 million over its term. On November 2, 2023, Think announced that this new customer is the government of Nova Scotia for the Province's YourHealthNS Initiative. Through this agreement, Think will provide the Digital Front Door to help Nova Scotia address its urgent healthcare access and delivery challenges.
• On July 18, 2023 Think announced that its Pharmapod system was selected by Neighbourly Pharmacy, Canada's largest and fastest-growing network of community pharmacies, to manage medication safety for its approximately 300 locations across the country. On October 5, 2023, Think announced that Pharmapod had also been selected by a major long-term care pharmacy chain and will be rolled out in over 400 additional long-term care homes to also help them manage medication safety.
• On August 16, 2023, Think announced that it had received a $1.5 million non-convertible loan from Beedie Capital to use for working capital.
• On September 12, 2023 Think announced that it is a technology partner supporting the Ontario Ministry of Health's roll-out of its One Stop Talk/Parlons Maintenant (OST/PM) service to simplify navigation and increase availability of mental health services for children and youth throughout Ontario.
• On September 29, 2023, Think announced that it would use the proceeds of a $3M million advance on its $25 million convertible loan facility from Beedie Capital to pay deferred consideration for prior period acquisitions to avoid dilution to shareholders and for general working capital purposes. On November 10, 2023, Think announced that it drew down $2M of an additional tranche of up to $5 million of the convertible loan facility for general working capital purposes.

Financial Highlights for Q3 and YTD 2023

The Company recorded revenue of $19.2 million for Q3 2023, an increase of $0.8 million or 4% compared to $18.4 million for the third quarter of 2022. Year to date revenue of $63.5 million was up $6.5 million or 11% from $57.0 million in the first nine months of the prior year. This year-over-year growth reflects the impact of organic growth in Software and Data Solutions revenue that was offset by a decline in Clinical Services revenue, while Clinical Research revenue remained relatively flat year over year. The sequential $3.3 million, or 15% decline, in revenue for Q3 of 2023 compared to $22.5 million in Q2 related to a $3.2 million decline in Think's Clinical Research business, which was the result of the Company's study sponsor clients rescheduling or cancelling contracts during the quarter for reasons unrelated to Think.

Annual Recurring Revenue, ("ARR") reached $24.6 million at the end of September 2023, representing growth of 71% compared to $14.4 million at the end of September 2022. This growth in ARR stemmed primarily from signing the minimum 5-year SaaS agreement with the Province of Nova Scotia, along with a steady conversion of multi-year licences for Think's SaaS solutions. Think's Net Retention Rate for ARR, defined as the total of retained revenue from existing customers over a one-year period, was 105% on September 30, 2023.

Gross profit of $8.7 million for Q3 2023 was flat compared to $8.7 million in Q3 2022, while year-to-date gross profit of $31.8 million represents an increase of $4.6 million or 17% compared to gross profit of $27.2 million in the year-to-date the prior year. Relative to the immediately preceding quarter, gross profit declined by 26%. The flat year over year performance and the quarter over quarter decline reflects the high fixed cost nature of cost of sales in Think's Clinical Research business. Gross margin of 45% in Q3 2023 represents a decrease from 47% in Q3 2022, again due to the high fixed costs in the Company's Clinical Research business. Gross margin was 50% in the nine month period of 2023, an increase from 48% in the same period in 2022 due to stronger performance in the first six months of the year. Operating expenses declined to $13.9 million in Q3 and $42.1 million in the year-to-date 2023 representing a decrease of 1% and 5% over the prior year periods. As a percentage of revenue, operating expenses declined to 73% and 66% in the three and nine months ended September 30, 2023 compared to 77% and 78% in the prior year periods, due primarily to the cost optimization program executed by the Company, partially offset by additional investments in the development and marketing of Think's flagship DFD and LMS products.

Adjusted EBITDA declined to a loss of $1.5 million for Q3 2023 compared to an Adjusted EBITDA loss of $0.7 million for Q3 in the previous year. Adjusted EBITDA for the current year-to-date was $0.9 million an improvement of $3.5 million over the Adjusted EBITDA loss of $2.6 million in the comparative year-to-date period in 2022. The quarterly decline compared to 2022 was primarily due to the increased costs incurred to service new Software and Data Services engagements, while costs associated with Clinical Research remained relatively stable despite lower revenue. The improvements compared to the prior year to date period were primarily attributable to improvements in revenue combined with operating cost reductions. The resulting Adjusted EBITDA Margin was a loss of 8% in Q3 and a profit of 1% in the year-to-date 2023 compared to losses of 4% in Q3 2022 and 4% in the first nine months of the prior year.

Net loss was $3.8 million for Q3 and $9.7 million for year-to-date 2023 compared to $6.5 million and $20.1 million for the comparable periods in the prior year. The decrease in net loss when compared to 2022 is primarily due to a combination of higher revenue, lower operating costs and lower acquisition and restructuring costs, partially offset by higher financing costs.

Q3 2023 Revenue Performance Highlights by Line of Business:

The Company has three primary streams of revenue that include: (1) Software and Data solutions, (2) Clinical Research, and (3) Clinical Services.

Notes:

¹ "Software and Data Solutions" revenue consists of SaaS and professional services revenue.

² "Clinical research" revenue consists of revenue from BioPharma.

³ "Clinical services" revenue consists of revenue from the clinics owned by TRC.

Revenue from Think's Software and Data Solutions business grew by $4.5 million or 72% to $10.8 million from $6.3 million in Q3 2022. At 56%, revenue from Software & Data solutions now represents a majority of Think's revenue stream, compared to 34% in Q3 2022, which is largely attributable to the organic growth realized from Think's SaaS solutions.

Clinical Research revenue decreased by $2.9 million, or 32% in Q3 2023 to $6.0 million compared to $8.9 million in Q2 2022. As previously outlined, this revenue declined in the quarter due to study delays and cancellations that were unrelated to Think or its performance.

Clinical Services revenue declined by $0.8 million or 25% in Q3 2023 compared to the comparable period in 2022 due to operational challenges in sales and marketing. Sequentially, revenue declined by 17% compared to Q2 2023.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

On September 30, 2023, the Company had a working capital deficiency of $40.4 million compared to a working capital deficiency of $39.3 million on December 31, 2022. Of this deficiency on September 30 2023, $27.8 million relates to current long-term debt owed to the Bank of Nova Scotia and Beedie Capital that has a term ending in September 2024.

The Company is required to remain in compliance with certain monthly covenants under its Credit Facilities. The Company received a waiver from its lenders for certain of these covenants related to the period up to September 30, 2023 with which it would otherwise have not complied. During the period from January 1, 2023 until January 1, 2024, the covenants related to minimum EBITDA and maximum Secured Debt become more restrictive. On October 31, 2023, the Company determined that it was not in compliance with the Minimum Liquidity, Minimum EBITDA and the Secured Debt to Gross Profit covenants as set out in its Credit Facilities and could potentially be in non-compliance with certain of those covenants set out in the Bank of Nova Scotia Credit Facility and the Beedie Credit Facility in certain future months. As a result of these covenant concerns (the "Covenant Concerns"), the Company's lenders have the option to demand repayment of their debt. Although Management does not expect the Company's lenders to take this action, this possibility raises significant doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern. To address the Covenant Concerns, o November 10, 2023 Think entered into an agreement with Beedie Capital to provide up to an additional $5M of convertible debt under its $25M facility. Think is also actively i) engaging in discussions with its lenders regarding waivers for Covenant Concerns as well as amendments to future covenants and ii) maintaining focus on Think's previously announced cost optimization program. Although a positive outcome cannot be assured, based on preliminary conversations with Think's lenders and past experience, Management is optimistic for a successful resolution to the Covenant Concerns.

Selected Financial Information

Notes:

¹ "EBITDA" and "Adjusted EBITDA" are non-GAAP financial measures, are not standardized measures under IFRS and may not be comparable to similar financial measures disclosed by other issuers. See "Non-IFRS Financial Measures".

² "Adjusted EBITDA Margin" is a non-GAAP ratio, is not a standardized measure under IFRS and may not be comparable to similar financial measures disclosed by other issuers. See "Non-IFRS Financial Measures".

The tables above and below include non-IFRS financial measures and non-IFRS ratios. See the "Non-IFRS Financial Measures" section of this press release for the relevant definition of each non-IFRS financial measure and non-IFRS ratio.

Notes:

¹ "EBITDA" and "Adjusted EBITDA" are non-GAAP financial measures, are not standardized measures under IFRS and may not be comparable to similar financial measures disclosed by other issuers. See "Non-IFRS Financial Measures".

² "Acquisition, restructuring and other" expenses relate to costs incurred in connection with business combinations, reorganization of the Company's capital structure and workforce, and legal, advisory and banking expenses.

³ "Stock-based compensation" relates to expenses recognized for equity awards issued under the Company's Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan.

Conference Call Details:

CEO Sachin Aggarwal and CFO John Hayes will host a conference call to discuss the results, with a Q&A session to follow.

TIME: 8:30AM EST, November 27, 2023

Conference Call Participant Details:

Canada/USA TF: 1-800-319-4610

International Toll: +1-604-638-5340

About Think Research Corporation

Think Research Corporation is an industry leader in delivering knowledge-based digital health software and data solutions. The Company's evidence-based healthcare solutions support clinical decision-making, improve access to services, enable practitioners to gain better capabilities and knowledge, and help to standardize care to facilitate better healthcare outcomes. Think Research has gathered a significant amount of data by building its repository of knowledge through its digital solutions platform and group of companies. The Company's focused mission is to become an essential platform that helps healthcare clinicians, institutions and networks to provide the best care and information.

Think licenses its solutions to over 16,000 facilities for over 331,000 primary care, acute care, and long-term care doctors, nurses and pharmacists that rely on the content and data provided by Think to support their practices. Over 3 million patients and residents annually receive better care due to the essential data that Think produces, manages and delivers.

In addition, the Company collects and manages pharmaceutical and clinical trial data via BioPharma Services, a leading provider of bioequivalence and Phase 1 clinical research services to pharmaceutical companies globally. Think's other services include a network of digital-first primary care clinics and medical clinics that provide elective surgery. Visit: www.thinkresearch.com.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Non-IFRS Financial Measures

This MD&A makes reference to certain non-GAAP financial measures and non-GAAP ratios. These measures and ratios 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 measures and ratios are provided as additional information to complement those IFRS measures by providing further understanding of the Company's results of operations from Management's perspective. Non-IFRS measures and ratios 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 and should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements for the periods indicated. The Company uses non-IFRS financial measures and ratios, including "ARR", "Net Retention Rate", "EBITDA", "Adjusted EBITDA" and "Adjusted EBITDA Margin" to provide investors with supplemental measures of its operating performance and to eliminate items that have less bearing on operating performance or operating conditions and thus highlight trends in its core business that may not otherwise be apparent when relying solely on IFRS financial measures. Specifically, the Company believes that Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin, when viewed with the Company's results under IFRS and the accompanying reconciliations, provides useful information about the Company's business by removing potential distortions that may arise from transactions that are not operational in nature. By eliminating potential differences in results of operations between periods caused by factors such as restructuring, transaction, impairment and other charges, the Company believes that Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin can provide a useful additional basis for comparing the current performance of the underlying operations being evaluated. The Company's agreements with lenders include certain financial performance covenants which include EBITDA (as defined in the Company's credit agreement with its lenders) as a component of the covenant calculations and require the Company to maintain certain levels of EBITDA on a consolidated basis. ARR and Net Retention Rate are used by some investors and analysts as a predictor of future revenues. ARR reflects new sales, renewals and lost customers while Net Retention Rate reflects the growth or decline in ARR from existing customers. The Company believes that securities analysts, investors and other interested parties frequently use non-IFRS financial measures and ratios in the evaluation of issuers. The Company's management also uses non-IFRS financial measures and ratios in order to facilitate operating performance comparisons from period to period.

Non-GAAP financial measures and non-GAAP ratios used by the Company include:

Annual Recurring Revenue ("ARR"), means revenue associated with software and services contracts that are expected to have a duration of more than one year, normalized to a one-year period.

"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, impairment charges on property and equipment, business acquisition costs, and restructuring charges.

"Adjusted EBITDA Margin" means Adjusted EBITDA divided by revenue of the Company for the applicable period.

"Net Retention Rate" means the total of retained revenue from existing customers over a one-year period, expressed as a percentage.

A reconciliation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to IFRS net income (loss) is presented under "Select Information and Reconciliation of Non-IFRS Measures" in the Company's MD&A filed on SEDAR.

For more information: https://www.thinkresearch.com/ca/investors/

For further information: Mark Sakamoto, Executive Vice President, Think Research, 416.388.7119, mark.sakamoto@thinkresearch.com

SOURCE: Think Research