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Company: GSE Systems, Inc.
Ticker: Nasdaq: GVP
Sector: Technology
Investor Contact: Adam Lowensteiner

GSE Systems Announces First Quarter 2019 Financial Results

COLUMBIA, Md. –
GSE Systems, Inc. (GSE or the Company) (Nasdaq: GVP), a leading
provider of engineering, expert staffing, and simulation software to
clients in the power and process industries, today announced financial
results for the first quarter (Q1) ended March 31, 2019.

Q1 2019 OVERVIEW

  • Revenue totaled $22.2 million, compared to $22.9 million in Q1 2018.
  • Gross profit equaled $4.7 million, compared to $4.9 million in Q1 2018.
  • Net loss totaled $(4.2) million, or $(0.21) per diluted share,
    compared to $(1.5) million, or $(0.08) per diluted share, in Q1 2018.
  • Net loss in Q1 2019 included a non-cash impairment charge of $5.4
    million, of which $2.1 million related to goodwill and $3.4 million
    related to intangible assets, initially recognized through the
    acquisition of DP Engineering in February 2019.
  • Adjusted net income1 equaled $1.7 million, or $0.08 per
    diluted share, compared to adjusted net income of $0.4 million, or
    $0.02 per diluted share, in Q1 2018.
  • Adjusted EBITDA1 totaled $0.2 million, compared to $0.8
    million in Q1 2018.
  • New orders equaled $14.4 million, compared to $24.7 million in Q1 2018.

At March 31, 2019

  • Cash and equivalents of $11.3 million, compared to $12.1 million, at
    December 31, 2018.
  • Total debt of $22.1 million, compared to $8.5 million, at December 31,
    2018.
  • Working capital of $10.2 million and current ratio of 1.5x.
  • Backlog of $68.9 million, compared to $69.0 million at December 31,
    2018.

Kyle J. Loudermilk, GSE’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said,
“We were disappointed in our first quarter 2019 financial results. While
Q1 is traditionally a weaker quarter for our business, we were
especially impacted by the conclusion of two significant projects in our
NITC segment, the temporary work suspension at DP Engineering, a slower
start to the year for True North, higher operating expenses in the
quarter related to higher accounting and consultant costs offset by some
savings from our international restructuring. Moreover, the acquisition
of DP Engineering in February 2019 resulted in lower than expected
contribution to revenue. We continue to work through a prior design
modification issue that, under GAAP accounting rules, required us to
recognize a material, non-cash impairment.”

Mr. Loudermilk concluded, “We expect DP Engineering to contribute
positively to GSE’s overall EBITDA once it returns to historic levels of
work and we remain confident in the long-term value of this unique
asset. Although quarter to quarter variability can be expected given the
project nature of our business, the fundamentals of our end markets
remain solid and we have taken decisive actions to increase new order
flow and backlog in the coming quarters. This quarter’s results are not
indicative of the earnings capacity of GSE. We are committed and well
positioned to drive improved performance through our strategic set of
assets, talented employees and specialized technologies that deliver
value-added solutions to the nuclear power industry, which is
increasingly recognized throughout the world as a critical source of
carbon-free baseload energy.”

1 Refer to the non-GAAP reconciliation tables at the end
of this press release for a definition of “adjusted EBITDA” and
“adjusted net income”.

Q1 2019 RESULTS

Q1 2019 revenue decreased 3.1% to $22.2 million, from $22.9 million in
Q1 2018, due to lower revenue in Nuclear Industry Training and
Consulting segment.

(in thousands) Three months ended
March 31,
Revenue:

2019

2018
(unaudited) (unaudited)
Performance $ 12,190 $ 9,901
NITC 10,004 12,994
Total Contract Revenue $ 22,194 $ 22,895

Performance Improvement Solutions (“Performance”) revenue increased
23.1% to $12.2 million in Q1 2019, from $9.9 million in Q1 2018. The
increase was mainly driven by an increase of $3.7 million due to the
acquisitions of True North and DP Engineering in May 2018 and February
2019, respectively. It was partially offset by a decrease of $0.2
million from international subsidiaries as a result of the Company’s
restructuring plan and a decrease of $1.2 million in Performance due to
major project completion in first quarter of 2019. The Company recorded
total Performance orders of $4.6 million and $5.9 million in Q1 2019 and
Q1 2018, respectively.

Nuclear Industry Training and Consulting (“NITC”) revenue decreased
23.0% to $10.0 million in Q1 2019, from $13.0 million in Q1 2018. The
decrease was primarily due to lower staff augmentation needs from two
major customers. NITC orders totaled $9.8 million and $18.8 million in
Q1 2019 and Q1 2018, respectively.

Q1 2019 gross profit equaled $4.7 million, or 21.3% of revenue, compared
to $4.9 million, or 21.4% of revenue, in Q1 2018.

(in thousands) Three months ended
March 31,
Gross profit

2019

2018
(unaudited) (unaudited)
Performance $ 3,699 30.3% $ 3,251 32.8%
NITC 1,037 10.4% 1,647 12.7%
Consolidated Gross Profit $ 4,736 21.3% $ 4,898 21.4%

Performance gross profit for Q1 2019 was $3.7 million, or 30.3% gross
margin, compared to $3.3 million, or 32.8% gross margin, in Q1 2018. The
year over year increase in gross profit for Performance for Q1 2019 was
primarily driven by the acquisitions of True North and DP Engineering as
well as cost savings realized on certain large projects through
percentage of completion contracts, which were not expected to recur in
the foreseeable future.

NITC gross profit in Q1 2019 was $1.0 million, or 10.4% gross margin,
compared to approximately $1.6 million, or 12.7% gross margin, in Q1
2018. The decrease in NITC gross profit margin in Q1 2019 was primarily
driven by lower margin from Hyperspring and Absolute projects.

Selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”) expenses in Q1 2019 totaled
$4.4 million, or 19.9% of revenue, compared to $4.5 million, or 19.8% of
revenue, in Q1 2018. The slight decrease in SG&A expenses primarily was
due to $1.0 million of additional G&A expenses related to our
acquisitions of True North and DP Engineering, $0.6 million of
acquisition deal cost, offset by $1.2 million of non-cash change on fair
value of contingent consideration and $0.5 million of savings as a
result of our international restructuring plan along with other
corporate cost saving initiatives.

In Q1 2019, following an event at a DP Engineering customer location and
subsequent notice from the customer that the Company would be suspended
from receiving new orders for an indeterminate period, the Company
recorded a total non-cash impairment charge of approximately $4.3
million to lower the carrying amount of goodwill and intangible assets
related to the acquisition of DP Engineering in accordance with U.S.
GAAP accounting rules. The Company has re-started most of its existing
work with the client and is cautiously optimistic that new work orders
will resume as soon as Q4 2019.

Operating loss was approximately $(6.0) million and $(1.1) million in Q1
2019 and Q1 2018, respectively.

Net loss for Q1 2019 totaled approximately $(4.2) million, or $(0.21)
per basic and diluted share, compared to $(1.5) million, or $(0.08) per
basic and diluted share, in Q1 2018.

Adjusted net income1, excluding non-cash charges on
impairment, impact of the change in fair value of contingent
consideration, restructuring charges, stock-based compensation expense,
impact of the change in fair value on derivative instruments,
acquisition related expenses, and amortization of intangible assets
related to acquisition, was approximately $1.7 million, or $0.08 per
diluted share, compared to approximately $0.4 million, or $0.02 per
diluted share, in Q1 2018.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization
(“EBITDA”) in Q1 2019 was negative $(5.1) million compared to negative
$(0.9) million in Q1 2018.

Adjusted EBITDA1, which excludes non-cash charges on
impairment, impact of the change in fair value of contingent
consideration, stock-based compensation expense, impact of the change in
fair value on derivative instruments, and acquisition related expenses,
totaled approximately $0.2 million and $0.8 million in Q1 2019 and Q1
2018, respectively.

BACKLOG AND CASH POSITION

Backlog at March 31, 2019, totaled $68.9 million, compared to $69.0
million at December 31, 2018. Backlog at March 31, 2019, included $47.9
million of Performance backlog and $21.0 million of NITC backlog. True
North and DP Engineering had approximately $5.7 million and $6.7
million, respectively, of backlog as of March 31, 2019, which was not
included in the Company’s backlog at March 31, 2018.

GSE’s cash position at March 31, 2019, was $11.3 million, as compared to
$12.1 million at December 31, 2018. The change in cash position was
primarily driven by the timing difference of cash collection and
payments in different periods.

CONFERENCE CALL

Management will host a conference call today at 4:30 pm Eastern Time to
discuss Q1 2019 results as well as other matters.

Interested parties may participate in the call by dialing:

  • (877) 407-9753 (Domestic)
  • (201) 493-6739 (International)

The conference call will also be accessible via the following link: https://78449.themediaframe.com/dataconf/productusers/gvp/mediaframe/29839/indexl.html

For those who cannot listen to the live broadcast, an online webcast
replay will be available at www.gses.com
or through August 15, 2019 at the following link: https://78449.themediaframe.com/dataconf/productusers/gvp/mediaframe/29839/indexl.html

ABOUT GSE SYSTEMS, INC.

GSE Systems, Inc. is a leading provider of engineering, expert staffing,
and simulation software to clients in the power and process industries.
GSE’s products and services are tailored to help customers achieve
performance excellence in design, training, compliance, and operations.
The Company has over four decades of experience, more than 1,100
installations, and hundreds of customers in over 50 countries spanning
the globe. GSE Systems is headquartered in Maryland, with offices in
Alabama, Florida, Colorado, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Beijing,
China. Information about GSE Systems is available at www.gses.com.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

We make statements in this press release that are considered
forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934. These statements reflect our current expectations
concerning future events and results. We use words such as “expect,”
“intend,” “believe,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “anticipates,”
and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements, but
their absence does not mean a statement is not forward-looking. These
statements are not guarantees of our future performance and are subject
to risks, uncertainties, and other important factors that could cause
our actual performance or achievements to be materially different from
those we project. For a full discussion of these risks, uncertainties,
and factors, we encourage you to read our documents on file with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, including those set forth in our
periodic reports under the forward-looking statements and risk factors
sections. We do not intend to update or revise any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or
otherwise.

GSE SYSTEMS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations

(in thousands, except share and per share data)

Three months ended
March 31,

2019

2018
(unaudited) (unaudited)
Revenue $ 22,194 $ 22,895
Cost of revenue 17,458 17,997
Gross profit 4,736 4,898
Operating expenses:
Selling, general and administrative 4,423 4,527
Research and development 240 329
Restructuring charges 917
Loss on impairment 5,464
Depreciation 91 103
Amortization of definite-lived intangible assets 509 150
Total operating expenses 10,727 6,026
Operating loss (5,991) (1,128)
Interest (expense) income, net (208) 22
Gain (loss) on derivative instruments, net 93 (156)
Other income, net 22 25
Loss before income taxes (6,084) (1,237)
(Benefits) provision for income taxes (1,848) 259
Net loss $ (4,236) $ (1,496)
Basic loss per common share $ (0.21) $ (0.08)
Diluted loss per common share $ (0.21) $ (0.08)
Weighted average shares outstanding – Basic 19,950,746 19,514,385
Weighted average shares outstanding – Diluted 19,950,746 19,514,385

GSE SYSTEMS, INC AND SUBSIDIARIES

Selected Balance Sheet Data (in thousands)

March 31, 2019

December 31, 2018
(unaudited) (audited)
Cash and cash equivalents $ 11,346 $ 12,123
Current assets 31,935 35,000
Total assets 71,424 61,440
Current liabilities $ 21,779 $ 22,330
Long-term liabilities 22,377 7,981
Stockholders’ equity 27,268 31,129

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation (in thousands)

References to “EBITDA” mean net (loss) income, before taking into
account interest expense (income), provision for income taxes,
depreciation and amortization. References to Adjusted EBITDA
exclude non-cash loss on impairment, impact of the change in fair value
of contingent consideration, restructuring charges, stock-based
compensation expense, impact of the change in fair value of derivative
instruments, and acquisition-related expense. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA
are not measures of financial performance under generally accepted
accounting principles (GAAP). Management believes EBITDA and Adjusted
EBITDA, in addition to operating profit, net income and other GAAP
measures, are useful to investors to evaluate the Company’s results
because it excludes certain items that are not directly related to the
Company’s core operating performance that may, or could, have a
disproportionate positive or negative impact on our results for any
particular period. Investors should recognize that EBITDA and Adjusted
EBITDA might not be comparable to similarly-titled measures of other
companies. These measures should be considered in addition to, and not
as a substitute for or superior to, any measure of performance prepared
in accordance with GAAP. A reconciliation of non-GAAP EBITDA and
Adjusted EBITDA to the most directly comparable GAAP measure in
accordance with SEC Regulation G follows:

Three months ended
March 31,

2019

2018
Net loss $ (4,236) $ (1,496)
Interest expense (income), net 208 (22)
(Benefit) Provision for income taxes (1,848) 259
Depreciation and amortization 729 371
EBITDA (5,147) (888)
Loss on impairment 5,464
Impact of the change in fair value of contingent consideration (1,200)
Restructuring charges 917
Stock-based compensation expense 597 627
Impact of the change in fair value of derivative instruments (93) 156
Acquisition-related expense 628
Adjusted EBITDA $ 249 $ 812

Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted EPS Reconciliation (in
thousands, except per share amounts)

References to Adjusted net income exclude non-cash loss on impairment,
impact of the change in fair value of contingent consideration,
restructuring charges, stock-based compensation expense, impact of the
change in fair value of derivative instruments, acquisition-related
expense, and amortization of intangible assets related to acquisitions.
Adjusted Net Income and adjusted earnings per share (adjusted EPS) are
not measures of financial performance under generally accepted
accounting principles (GAAP). Management believes adjusted net income
and adjusted EPS, in addition to other GAAP measures, are useful to
investors to evaluate the Company’s results because they exclude certain
items that are not directly related to the Company’s core operating
performance that may, or could, have a disproportionate positive or
negative impact on our results for any particular period. These measures
should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for or
superior to, any measure of performance prepared in accordance with
GAAP. A reconciliation of non-GAAP adjusted net income and adjusted EPS
to GAAP net income, the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure,
is as follows:

Three months ended
March 31,

2019

2018
Net loss $ (4,236) $ (1,496)
Loss on impairment 5,464
Impact of the change in fair value of contingent consideration (1,200)
Restructuring charges 917
Stock-based compensation expense 597 627
Impact of the change in fair value of derivative instruments (93) 156
Acquisition-related expense 628
Amortization of intangible assets related to acquisitions 509 150
Adjusted net income $ 1,669 $ 354
Diluted loss per common share $ (0.21) $ (0.08)
Adjusted earnings per common share – Diluted $ 0.08 $ 0.02
Weighted average shares outstanding – Diluted (a) 20,188,580 19,902,752

(a) During the three months ended March 31, 2019 and
2018, the Company reported both a GAAP net loss and positive adjusted
net income. Accordingly, there were 237,834 and 388,367 dilutive shares
from options and RSUs included in the adjusted earnings per common share
calculation, respectively, that were considered anti-dilutive in
determining the GAAP diluted loss per common share.

Company Contact
Chris Sorrells
Chief Operating Officer
GSE
Systems, Inc.
(410) 970-7802

The Equity Group Inc.
Kalle Ahl, CFA
(212) 836-9614
kahl@equityny.com

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