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8-K - INVEST PRESENT 8-K COVER - Frontier Communications Parent, Inc.investpresent8-k.htm
Investor Presentation
November 2011
 
 

 
2
Safe Harbor Statement
Forward-Looking Language
This document contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in
the financial statements. Statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements
(including oral representations) are only predictions or statements of current plans, which we review continuously. Forward-looking statements may differ from actual future results
due to, but not limited to, and our future results may be materially affected by, potential risks or uncertainties. You should understand that it is not possible to predict or identify all
potential risks or uncertainties. We note the following as a partial list: our ability to successfully integrate the operations and systems of the acquired business into Frontier’s
existing operations and systems; the risk that the growth opportunities and cost synergies from the transaction may not be fully realized or may take longer to realize than
expected; our indemnity obligation to Verizon for taxes which may be imposed upon them as a result of changes in ownership of our stock may discourage, delay or prevent a third
party from acquiring control of us during the two-year period ending July 2012 in a transaction that stockholders might consider favorable; the effects of increased expenses
incurred due to activities related to the integration of the acquired business; following the latest systems conversions, the remaining nine states of the Acquired Business continue
to operate on systems acquired in the Transaction, which could experience unplanned interruptions that may impact our operations; our ability to maintain relationships with
customers, employees or suppliers; the effects of greater than anticipated competition requiring new pricing, marketing strategies or new product or service offerings and the risk
that we will not respond on a timely or profitable basis; reductions in the number of our access lines that cannot be offset by increases in High-Speed Internet (HSI) subscribers
and sales of other products and services; the effects of ongoing changes in the regulation of the communications industry as a result of federal and state legislation and regulation,
or changes in the enforcement or interpretation of such legislation and regulation; the effects of any unfavorable outcome with respect to any current or future legal, governmental
or regulatory proceedings, audits or disputes; the effects of changes in the availability of federal and state universal funding to us and our competitors; the effects of competition
from cable, wireless and other wireline carriers; our ability to adjust successfully to changes in the communications industry and to implement strategies for growth; continued
reductions in switched access revenues as a result of regulation, competition or technology substitutions; our ability to effectively manage service quality in our territories and meet
mandated service quality metrics; our ability to successfully introduce new product offerings, including our ability to offer bundled service packages on terms that are both profitable
to us and attractive to customers; changes in accounting policies or practices adopted voluntarily or as required by generally accepted accounting principles or regulations; our
ability to effectively manage our operations, operating expenses and capital expenditures, and to repay, reduce or refinance our debt; the effects of changes in both general and
local economic conditions on the markets that we serve, which can affect demand for our products and services, customer purchasing decisions, collectability of revenues and
required levels of capital expenditures related to new construction of residences and businesses; the effects of technological changes and competition on our capital expenditures
and product and service offerings, including the lack of assurance that our network improvements will be sufficient to meet or exceed the capabilities and quality of competing
networks; the effects of increased medical, retiree and pension expenses and related funding requirements; changes in income tax rates, tax laws, regulations or rulings, or federal
or state tax assessments; the effects of state regulatory cash management practices that could limit our ability to transfer cash among our subsidiaries or dividend funds up to the
parent company; our ability to successfully renegotiate union contracts expiring in 2011 and thereafter; changes in pension plan assumptions and/or the value of our pension plan
assets, which would require us to make increased contributions to the pension plan in 2012 and beyond; the effects of customer bankruptcies and home foreclosures, which could
result in difficulty in collection of revenues and loss of customers; adverse changes in the credit markets or in the ratings given to our debt securities by nationally accredited
ratings organizations, which could limit or restrict the availability, or increase the cost, of financing; limitations on the amount of capital stock that we can issue to make acquisitions
or to raise additional capital until July 2012; our ability to pay dividends on our common shares, which may be affected by our cash flow from operations, amount of capital
expenditures, debt service requirements, cash paid for income taxes and liquidity; and the effects of severe weather events such as hurricanes, tornados, ice storms or other
natural or man-made disasters. These and other uncertainties related to our business are described in greater detail in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including our reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q, and the foregoing information should be read in conjunction with these filings. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or
revise any forward-looking statements or to make any other forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise unless required to do so
by securities laws.
 
 

 
3
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
The Company uses certain non-GAAP financial measures in evaluating its performance. These include free cash flow, EBITDA or “operating cash flow”, which
we define as operating income plus depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”), and Adjusted EBITDA; a reconciliation of the differences between EBITDA and
free cash flow and the most comparable financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP is included in the appendix. The non-GAAP
financial measures are by definition not measures of financial performance under generally accepted accounting principles and are not alternatives to operating
income or net income reflected in the statement of operations or to cash flow as reflected in the statement of cash flows and are not necessarily indicative of
cash available to fund all cash flow needs. The non-GAAP financial measures used by the Company may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of
other companies.
The Company believes that the presentation of non-GAAP financial measures provides useful information to investors regarding the Company’s financial
condition and results of operations because these measures, when used in conjunction with related GAAP financial measures, (i) together provide a more
comprehensive view of the Company’s core operations and ability to generate cash flow, (ii) provide investors with the financial analytical framework upon
which management bases financial, operational, compensation and planning decisions and (iii) presents measurements that investors and rating agencies
have indicated to management are useful to them in assessing the Company and its results of operations. In addition, the Company believes that free cash
flow and EBITDA, as the Company defines them, can assist in comparing performance from period to period, without taking into account factors affecting cash
flow reflected in the statement of cash flows, including changes in working capital and the timing of purchases and payments.
The Company has shown adjustments to its financial presentations to exclude certain costs because investors have indicated to management that such
adjustments are useful to them in assessing the Company and its results of operations. These adjustments are detailed in the Appendix for the reconciliation
of free cash flow and operating cash flow.
Management uses these non-GAAP financial measures to (i) assist in analyzing the Company’s underlying financial performance from period to period, (ii)
evaluate the financial performance of its business units, (iii) analyze and evaluate strategic and operational decisions, (iv) establish criteria for compensation
decisions, and (v) assist management in understanding the Company’s ability to generate cash flow and, as a result, to plan for future capital and operational
decisions. Management uses these non-GAAP financial measures in conjunction with related GAAP financial measures. These non-GAAP financial measures
have certain shortcomings. In particular, free cash flow does not represent the residual cash flow available for discretionary expenditures, since items such as
debt repayments and dividends are not deducted in determining such measure. EBITDA has similar shortcomings as interest, income taxes, capital
expenditures, debt repayments and dividends are not deducted in determining this measure. Management compensates for the shortcomings of these
measures by utilizing them in conjunction with their comparable GAAP financial measures. The information in this document should be read in conjunction with
the financial statements and footnotes contained in our documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
 
 

 
4
Frontier Introduction
 Frontier Communications (NYSE: FTR) was
 founded in 1935 as Citizens Utilities and
 became a pure-play telecom network
 operator in 2004
 Frontier is the largest communications
 company focused on rural America
 A transformational acquisition of properties
 from Verizon tripled Frontier’s business
 size on July 1, 2010
Notes: Numbers may not sum due to rounding
 
 

 
5
Investment Summary
 Opportunity
 
 Manage the acquired properties with Frontier’s proven Local
 Engagement Model and innovative marketing
 Bring margins up towards Legacy levels
 Harness economics of scale from business that is 3x its
 former size
 
 
 
 Markets
 
 Expand broadband availability in new markets towards
 Legacy Frontier’s 91%
 Rural profile, less competition, less regulatory reform
 exposure
 Business & Broadband are 64% of customer revenues
 
 
 
 Returns
 
 Revenue upside from increased product penetration
 $600 million operating expense synergy target by 2012
 Consistent execution, solid free cash flow, stable dividend
 
 
 
 Credit
 Quality
 
 Significantly deleveraged on July 1, 2010
 Target leverage of 2.5x or below
 Attractive maturity schedule
 
 

 
6
Frontier Local Engagement
Local Area Manager
Residential
 High Speed Internet (DSL
 & FTTP)
 Voice
 Video (Satellite & FiOS)
 Wireless Data (WiFi mesh)
 Online backup
 24/7 U.S. Tech Support
 
Business
 Managed IP VPN
 VoIP systems
 High-Capacity fiber data
 Metro Ethernet
 Wireless backhaul
 Managed router
 
 Over 120 Local Area Managers at the community level respond to unique
 customer needs in each market across Frontier’s 27 states
 Employees live in the markets they serve, and put the customer first
 Innovative marketing, 2-hour appointment windows, exceptional service
 levels
 
 

 
7
Robust Local Network
Notes: (1) Total company downlink product availability as of 9/30/11; loop length availability is higher in each tier.
 
 

 
8
Attractive Revenue Base
 Frontier generates 64% of
 its customer revenue from
 Business and Broadband
 sources
 Frontier generates 64% of
 its customer revenue from
 Business and Broadband
 sources
 Our business capabilities
 are very broad and include:
 Our business capabilities
 are very broad and include:
  - Advanced IP switching
  - Advanced IP switching
  - VoIP systems
  - VoIP systems
  - High-capacity fiber data systems
  - High-capacity fiber data systems
  - Wireless cell site backhaul
  - Wireless cell site backhaul
  - Ethernet
  - Ethernet
For the quarter ended 9/30/11
 
 

 
9
Minimizing Regulatory Risk
 The acquired
 properties reduced
 Frontier’s
 Regulatory
 Revenue exposure
 from 15.6% at 2Q10
 to 11.5% at 3Q11, or
 9.6% excluding
 surcharges
 The acquired
 properties reduced
 Frontier’s
 Regulatory
 Revenue exposure
 from 15.6% at 2Q10
 to 11.5% at 3Q11, or
 9.6% excluding
 surcharges
For the quarter ended 9/30/11
Notes: Numbers may not sum due to rounding
 
 

 
10
Consistent Execution
 ü Driving recurring customer revenues
 ü Delivering reliable, quality products
 and services at a good price
 ü Reducing churn with bundles
 ü Maintaining strong
 Business/Enterprise presence
Notes: Pro forma for all periods prior to 3Q10. Customer revenue is defined as total revenue less access services revenue. Access
services include switched network access and subsidies. Please see Appendix for Non-GAAP Reconciliations.
 ü Focus on expense reduction;
 competitively fit and flexible
 ü Capital expenditures expected to
 decline in 2013 as network build out is
 completed
 ü Margin benefit from synergy targets
 ü High conversion rate of EBITDA into
 free cash flow (FCF)
 
 

 
11
Revenue Opportunity
Satellite TV Penetration
Access Line Decline
HSI Penetration
Note: As of the quarter ended 9/30/11; percentage changes are year-over-year. HSI Penetration excludes WiFi and is
calculated as a percentage of total access lines. Satellite TV Penetration is percentage of Residential access lines.
Note: As of the quarter ended 9/30/11; percentage changes are year-over-year. HSI Penetration excludes WiFi and is
calculated as a percentage of total access lines. Satellite TV Penetration is percentage of Residential access lines.
Broadband Availability
 Our goal is to
 migrate the
 acquired properties
 to Frontier’s
 performance
 metrics
 Our goal is to
 migrate the
 acquired properties
 to Frontier’s
 performance
 metrics
 Key drivers:
 Key drivers:
  
  
 25% expansion of
 broadband homes
- 25% expansion of
 broadband homes
 Local Engagement
- Local Engagement
 
 

 
12
Cost Synergy Overview
 Significant savings
 from reducing cash
 operating expenses
 Significant savings
 from reducing cash
 operating expenses
 Numerous projects
 underway; synergy
 estimates include:
 Numerous projects
 underway; synergy
 estimates include:
 
 
Network savings
- Network savings
 Outside
 contractors
- Outside
 contractors
 IT savings from
 conversion
- IT savings from
 conversion
 Real estate
 savings
- Real estate
 savings
 Operations
- Operations
 
 

 
13
Quarterly Update: 3Q11
 Building traction
 on strong HSI and
 video bundles
 Building traction
 on strong HSI and
 video bundles
 Metric and
 revenue trend
 improving
 Metric and
 revenue trend
 improving
 Total cash opex
 down $7 million
 sequentially
 Total cash opex
 down $7 million
 sequentially
 FCF reflecting
 network
 expansion capex
 FCF reflecting
 network
 expansion capex
Notes: $ Millions; Units 000s. Numbers may not sum due to rounding. Comparisons to amounts prior to 7/1/10 are pro forma for the
Acquired Properties. (1) Trailing last 12-month Dividends paid into Free Cash Flow.
 
 

 
14
Systems Integration Plan
West Virginia
 
Frontier 13
 Successful conversion despite a
 firm July 1 deadline
 Billing cycles kept within days of
 prior scheduled dates, and all
 systems functional out of the
 gate
 Backlog managed downward
 with
bubble workforce and
 current levels within normal
 range
 
 System mapping and analysis in
 process
 Systems are identical across all
 13 states; processes on the first
 conversions will be replicated
 First 4 states (MI, IN, NC, SC)
 converted October 2011;
 operating systems of remaining
 9 states in the first half of 2012
Frontier converted West Virginia, which utilized BellAtlantic
systems, on July 1, 2010
Frontier converted West Virginia, which utilized BellAtlantic
systems, on July 1, 2010
The first four states (detailed in the appendix) were converted off
Verizon (GTE) operating systems onto existing Frontier systems in
October 2011 along with the financial systems in all 13 states
The first four states (detailed in the appendix) were converted off
Verizon (GTE) operating systems onto existing Frontier systems in
October 2011 along with the financial systems in all 13 states
 
 

 
15
Financing Overview
 Deleveraged from 4.04x (6/30/10) to 3.17x (9/30/11)
 Strong $1.0 billion liquidity objective, including an undrawn
 $750M R/C
 Maturity schedule is well balanced
 
 

 
16
Industry Comparisons
Line Loss Yr/Yr
EBITDA Margin (2)
Change in Lines + HSI (1)
Notes: Data for the 3-months ended 9/30/11. CTL and WIN pro forma for acquisitions. (1) Represents the yr/yr change in the combined ending
base of access lines and HSI subscribers (2) Adjusted EBITDA; excludes wireless; Cable is network operations only.
Source: SEC filings; Wall Street research; Frontier.
 Improvement in the Acquired
 Properties
 Improvement in the Acquired
 Properties
 Margins remains strong and are
 improving
 Margins remains strong and are
 improving
 Focusing on: i) implementing
 local engagement; ii) selling &
 retaining customers; iii) getting
 the expenses out; and iv)
 building and improving the
 network
 Focusing on: i) implementing
 local engagement; ii) selling &
 retaining customers; iii) getting
 the expenses out; and iv)
 building and improving the
 network
FTR
 
 

 
17
Doing What We Say…
Goal
Status
Regulatory approval with appropriate conditions
 
Completion of financing within expected cost
 
Distribution of shares with minimal market disruption
 
Completion of West Virginia systems conversion
 
Continued delivery of solid Legacy Frontier results
 
Customer metric improvement and synergy
realization of acquired properties
In Process
Conversion of Frontier 13 systems to Legacy
In Process
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
P
 
 

 
18
Appendix
 
 

 
19
Access Lines by State
Notes: Numbers may not sum due to rounding
 
 

 
20
Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Notes: Please refer to our Pro Forma Combined Historical and Operating data, filed as an 8-K, for explanatory notes which are an integral part of
the pro forma combined historical financial data. The unaudited pro forma financial information makes certain assumptions for illustrative
purposes and is subject to change
Notes: Please refer to our Pro Forma Combined Historical and Operating data, filed as an 8-K, for explanatory notes which are an integral part of
the pro forma combined historical financial data. The unaudited pro forma financial information makes certain assumptions for illustrative
purposes and is subject to change
 
 

 
21
Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Notes: Please refer to our Pro Forma Combined Historical and Operating data, filed as an 8-K, for explanatory notes which are an integral part of
the pro forma combined historical financial data. The unaudited pro forma financial information makes certain assumptions for illustrative
purposes and is subject to change
Notes: Please refer to our Pro Forma Combined Historical and Operating data, filed as an 8-K, for explanatory notes which are an integral part of
the pro forma combined historical financial data. The unaudited pro forma financial information makes certain assumptions for illustrative
purposes and is subject to change
 
 

 
22
Frontier Values
 Put the customer first
 Treat one another with respect
 Keep our commitments; be accountable
 Be ethical in all of our dealings
 Be innovative; Take the initiative
 Be team players
 Be active in our communities
 Do it right the first time
 Continuously improve
 Use resources wisely
 Use Frontier products and services
 Have a positive attitude
 
 

 
Frontier Communications Corp.
(NYSE: FTR)
Investor Relations
Investor Relations
Frontier Communications Corp.
Frontier Communications Corp.
3 High Ridge Park
3 High Ridge Park
Stamford, CT 06905
Stamford, CT 06905
203.614.4606
203.614.4606
IR@FTR.com
IR@FTR.com