Reports 18.3% Revenue Increase and ARR of $15.6 Million

HENDERSON, Nev., Feb. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Research Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: RSSS), a trusted partner providing cloud-based workflow solutions to accelerate research for R&D-driven organizations, reported financial results for its fiscal second quarter ended December 31, 2023.

Fiscal Second Quarter 2024 Summary

• Total revenue of $10.3 million, an 18.3% increase from the prior-year quarter
• Platform revenue up 48% to $3.1 million. Annual Recurring Revenue (“ARR”) up 77% to $15.6 million, which includes approximately $4.0 million of B2C recurring revenue and $0.4M of B2B recurring revenue from the Scite, Inc. (“Scite”) acquisition.  B2C ARR is broken out on a separate line in the Company’s Financial and Operational Summary Tables and for the purposes of calculating B2C ARR, the value of any monthly recurring subscriptions has been multiplied by twelve (see the Financial and Operational Summary Tables and associated notes below).
• Gross profit up 31.7% from the prior-year quarter. Total gross margin improved 450 basis points to 43.5%.
• Net loss of $54,000 or ($0.00) on a per share basis, compared to a net loss of ($256,000) or ($0.01) per share in the prior-year quarter. The quarter’s loss includes $307,000 in expenses related to M&A activities, most of which were legal expenses.
• Adjusted EBITDA of $318,000 compared to $201,000 in the prior-year quarter.  The Adjusted EBITDA result is inclusive of the expenses related to M&A activities noted above.  Without these costs, Adjusted EBITDA would have been approximately $625,000.
• The company closed its acquisition of Scite on December 1, 2023. The quarter’s numbers include approximately one month of activity from Scite.

“Our second quarter results reflect the continued execution of our plan and with the acquisition of Scite our ARR is now approximately $15.6 million.  We also experienced continued organic growth across our platform and transaction offerings, with net incremental ARR on the Article Galaxy platform being our best result in the last four quarters,” said Roy W. Olivier, President and CEO of Research Solutions. “In addition, we have greatly enhanced the offerings available within our Article Galaxy platform over the past six months with the addition of ResoluteAI and Scite. When combined with our existing products, these acquisitions add multiple new workflow and advanced search and discovery solutions that can be sold to new or existing customers.  These new solutions materially increase our Total Addressable Market (“TAM”) and as we further integrate the products together, we will be able to deliver unique value to our customers. Overall, we remain a critical piece of the research process and believe we are well-positioned to expand our user base as macroeconomic conditions improve.” 

Fiscal Second Quarter 2024 Results

Total revenue was $10.3 million, an 18% increase from $8.7 million in the year-ago quarter as both platform and transaction revenue increased from the prior-year period.

Platform subscription revenue increased 48% to $3.1 million compared to $2.1 million in the year-ago quarter. The increase was primarily due to the acquisitions of ResoluteAI and Scite, as well as organic growth in the core Article Galaxy platform. The quarter ended with annual recurring revenue of $15.569 million, up 77% year-over-year, including approximately $4.355 million of ARR from Scite (see the company’s definition of annual recurring revenue below).

Transaction revenue was $7.2 million, compared to $6.6 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2023. The increase was primarily due to organic growth, which was also enhanced by higher transaction volumes related to contracts transferred from FIZ Karlsruhe effective on January 1, 2023. The transaction customer count for the quarter was 1,398, compared to 1,223 customers in the prior-year quarter (see the company’s definition of active customer accounts and transactions below).

Total gross margin improved 450 basis points from the prior-year quarter to 43.5%. The increase was primarily driven by the continued revenue mix shift to the higher-margin Platforms business, as well as increased margins in the transactions business.

Total operating expenses were $4.9 million, compared to $3.7 million in the second quarter of 2023. The increase was primarily related to the additional expense base associated with the acquisitions of ResoluteAI and Scite.  Additionally, this quarter’s results include $307,000 in expenses related to M&A activities, the vast majority of which were legal expenses.

Net loss in the second quarter was $54,000, or roughly breakeven on a per share basis, compared to a net loss of ($256,000), or ($0.01) per share, in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted EBITDA was $318,000, compared to $201,000 in the year-ago quarter.  The Adjusted EBITDA result is inclusive of the $307,000 in M&A activity related costs noted above (see definition and further discussion about the presentation of Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP term, below).

Conference Call

Research Solutions President and CEO Roy W. Olivier and CFO Bill Nurthen will host the conference call, followed by a question and answer period.

Date: Thursday, February 8, 2024
Time: 5:00 p.m. ET (2:00 p.m. PT)
Dial-in number: 1-412-317-5180
Conference ID: 10185927

The conference call will be broadcast live and available for replay until March 8, 2024 by dialing  1-412-317-6671 and using the replay ID 10185927, and via the investor relations section of the company’s website at http://researchsolutions.investorroom.com/.

Fiscal Second Quarter Financial and Operational Summary Tables vs. Prior-Year Quarter

Active Customer Accounts, Transactions and Annual Recurring Revenue

The company defines active customer accounts as the sum of the total quantity of customers per month for each month in the period divided by the respective number of months in the period. The quantity of customers per month is defined as customers with at least one transaction during the month.

A transaction is an order for a unit of copyrighted content fulfilled or managed in the Platform.

The company defines annual recurring revenue (“ARR”) as the value of contracted Platform subscription recurring revenue normalized to a one-year period.  For B2C ARR, this includes the annualized value of monthly subscriptions, meaning their monthly value multiplied by twelve.

Use of Non-GAAP Measure – Adjusted EBITDA

Research Solutions’ management evaluates and makes operating decisions using various financial metrics. In addition to the company’s GAAP results, management also considers the non-GAAP measure of Adjusted EBITDA. Management believes that this non-GAAP measure provides useful information about the company’s operating results.

The tables below provide a reconciliation of this non-GAAP financial measure with the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income (loss), plus interest expense, other income (expense), foreign currency transaction loss, provision for income taxes, depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation, gain on sale of discontinued operations, and other potential adjustments that may arise. Set forth below is a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income (loss):

About Research Solutions 

Research Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: RSSS) provides cloud-based technologies to streamline the process of obtaining, managing, and creating intellectual property. Founded in 2006 as Reprints Desk, the company was a pioneer in developing solutions to serve researchers. Today, more than 70 percent of the top pharmaceutical companies, prestigious universities, and emerging businesses rely on Article Galaxy, the company’s SaaS research platform, to streamline access to the latest scientific research and data with 24/7 customer support. For more information and details, please visit www.researchsolutions.com 

Important Cautions Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release may contain “forward-looking statements” regarding future events and our future results. All statements other than statements of historical facts are statements that could be deemed to be forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts, and projections about the markets in which we operate and the beliefs and assumptions of our management. Words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “targets,” “goals,” “projects”, “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “endeavors,” “strives,” “may,” or variations of such words, and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict, estimate or verify. Therefore, actual results may differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include those factors described in the Company’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K, as such may be amended or supplemented by subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, or other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Examples of forward-looking statements in this release include statements regarding enhanced product offerings, additional customers, and the Company’s prospects for growth. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are made only as of the date hereof, and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements. For more information, please refer to the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

SOURCE Research Solutions, Inc.