Vonage: The Ultimate Fixer-Upper

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With Internet telephony company Vonage (NYSE: VG) having previewed its fourth-quarter results at an analyst conference last month, no major surprises emerged from its earnings announcement today. But there were some details on the company's turnaround efforts.

Fourth-quarter revenue was $216 million, up 19% from the same quarter last year, as Vonage added 56,000 net new customers. Customer churn remained at a punishing 3%, however, which whittled down the nearly 284,000 gross additions substantially. Obviously, customer satisfaction and competition from other Web communications platforms offered by the likes of AT&T (NYSE: T) and Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) continue to take their toll. The bottom line, though, is that Vonage still has nothing to show for the bottom line -- the firm reported a GAAP net loss of $11 million, or $0.07 per share, for the quarter.

Like many companies today, Vonage believes that overlooking GAAP losses and focusing on adjusted operating milestones helps investors see that the turnaround is working. But growth in the customer base has slowed dramatically, regardless of Vonage having a presence with prominent retailers like Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT). And churn has yet to respond to new customer service initiatives.

So it looks like investors will have to wait a little longer to see if the turnaround plan engineered by founder Jeffrey Citron takes hold. In the meantime, however, there's the pressing matter of Vonage's $253 million in convertible debt, which investors could force the company to pay at the end of 2008. With credit markets tightening and Vonage's fundamentals still less than palatable, new money at a reasonable price will be tough to acquire through any means.

With the debt crunch facing Vonage, 2008 may be a good time for Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) or even spendthrift Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) to come calling and acquire the company. But I think the price would have to drop significantly from where Vonage is valued today. Smart players won't pay much for a fixer-upper that is still on a shaky foundation.

For more Foolishness:

• Foolish Forecast: Vonage's New Look
• Vonage Settles AT&T Score
• Nortel Picking Vonage's Open Pocket