VoIP pioneer Vonage is still alive and kicking. In fact, they made a profit in 4Q09, their first profitable quarter for the year. Considering Vonage has been labeled “dead man walking” on more than one occasion, it’s noteworthy to see them march on.
Challenges still remain though. They ended 2009 with 2.4 million subscribers, down from 2.6 million at the end of 2008. Looks like they’re heading in the wrong direction, in terms of subscriber growth. They have a ridiculously high churn rate of 2.8%, but that’s down from 3.4% at the end of 3Q09. ARPU is rising, currently at $30.54, up from $28.33 at the end of 2008. They reported net income of $3 million (excluding GAAP adjustments) for all of 2009, and $4 million for 4Q09. Total 2009 revenue was $223 million.
“2009 marks the first year generating net income excluding adjustments. Adjusted EBITDA more than doubled. And, revenues per subscriber have increased while we reduced selling, general and administrative expenses by double-digit percentages,” said Marc Lefar, Vonage Chief Executive Officer.
Vonage sees future growth coming from the wireless sector with their Vonage World Mobile product. “We launched Vonage World for Mobile during the fourth quarter, enabling customers to make unlimited international calls on cellular and wi-fi for a low flat monthly rate. And, we now have a rich product pipeline to drive growth and value creation in 2010 and beyond,” said Lefar.
Can they stand up against Skype and Google, who also have their eyes on mobile VoIP? We’ll keep our eyes on them – they’ve proven a lot of people wrong so far.
