Midmarket, Sales and marketing

Avaya Revenue Update Amid Bankruptcy, Engage Conference

Kevin Kennedy
Kevin Kennedy

Avaya's latest quarterly revenue results, unveiled February 8, reveal important financial metrics amid the company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing and the fast-approaching Avaya Engage 2017 customer/partner conference.

While some rivals spread FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt) about Avaya's business, the actual quarterly financial results were at the high-end of Avaya's preliminary results guidance. For instance,

  • Total revenue for the first quarter was $875 million, down $83 million year-over-year, due to lower demand for unified communications hardware and associated maintenance and professional services and extended procurement cycles, the company said.
  • Adjusted EBITDA was $238 million or 27.2% of revenue, up from adjusted EBITDA of $228 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2016.
  • The company had a net loss of $102 million, larger than the $27 million net loss for the corresponding quarter a year ago.

Avaya has been working overtime to assure customers and partners that the company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing will allow the company to renegotiate debt and emerge stronger than before. Avaya Corporate Treasurer John Sullivan explained the overall strategy here.

Avaya Engage Conference, Rival Moves

Next up, Avaya is set to host a major customer and partner conference -- Avaya Engage 2017 -- starting February 12 in Las Vegas. CEO Kevin Kennedy and other company leaders are set to address the crowd. It will be a timely opportunity for Avaya to further describe its current business condition and long-term business strategy.

Rivals like Mitel and ShoreTel have attempted to capitalize on Avaya's bankruptcy, though there's no direct evidence of mass customer defections. Also, ScanSource CEO Mike Baur offered Avaya and its mutual partners a vote of confidence earlier this week.

Joe Panettieri

Joe Panettieri is co-founder & editorial director of MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E, the two leading news & analysis sites for managed service providers in the cybersecurity market.