Questions? +1 (202) 335-3939 Login
Trusted News Since 1995
A service for global professionals · Friday, March 29, 2024 · 699,605,749 Articles · 3+ Million Readers

Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. Reports Results for the Second Quarter and Six Months Ended June 30, 2017

 SECOND QUARTER
- Net revenues increased 4% at actual rates and 6% at constant rates to US$ 181.9 million -
- Operating income increased 16% at actual rates and 17% at constant rates to US$ 50.8 million -
- OIBDA increased 14% at actual rates and 15% at constant rates to US$ 61.2 million -

SIX MONTHS
- Net revenues increased 4% at actual rates and 7% at constant rates to US$ 316.9 million -
- Operating income increased 22% at actual rates and 25% at constant rates to US$ 63.1 million -
- OIBDA increased 18% at actual rates and 20% at constant rates to US$ 83.3 million -

HAMILTON, Bermuda, July 25, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. (“CME” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ:CETV) (Prague Stock Exchange:CETV) today announced financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017.

Operational and financial highlights:

  • TV advertising markets across our six countries increased an estimated 6% overall at constant rates in the first six months of 2017.
  • Our TV advertising revenues increased 2% at actual rates and 4% at constant rates in the first half of 2017, which reflected significant growth of demand in Romania, as well as higher levels of spending in the Czech Republic and Slovenia.
  • Carriage fees and subscription revenues increased 20% at actual rates and 23% at constant rates in the first half of 2017 due to additional carriage fees generated in Slovakia and Slovenia following our exit from DTT, as well as growth in subscribers in other markets.
  • Costs charged in arriving at OIBDA were broadly flat at actual rates and increased 1% and 3% at constant rates in the three and six months ended June 30, 2017 as targeted investments in our programming line-up and higher bad debt charges were mostly offset by savings from transmission costs.
  • OIBDA increased 18% at actual rates and 20% at constant rates in the first half of 2017, resulting in OIBDA margin expansion of 300 basis points to 26% from 23% in the same period in 2016.
  • The increase in OIBDA improved operating income 22% at actual rates and 25% at constant rates in the first half of 2017.
  • Unlevered free cash flow for the six months ended June 30, 2017 increased 14%, reflecting higher cash collections, and net cash generated by continuing operating activities also included lower cash payments for interest and guarantee fees.
  • On July 9, 2017, we agreed to sell our operations in Croatia and Slovenia and plan to use proceeds of the sale, which is expected to close by year-end, to repay our 2018 term loan. This will significantly accelerate our plans to deleverage and reduce our current borrowing cost by 275 basis points to 4.5%, resulting in savings of more than US$ 30.0 million in annual interest costs in addition to US$ 30.0 million of savings from the March repricing transaction.

Michael Del Nin, Co-Chief Executive Officer, commented: "The first half of the year has been marked by important transactions and impressive financial performance, the combination of which positions us for a significant reduction in our leverage over the next 18 months. Following a successful sale of our operations in Croatia and Slovenia, we will have brought forward our deleveraging plans by a year and will be in a position to take full advantage of the automatic reductions in our borrowing costs. As a result, once we have achieved this, we should be able to pivot from our intense focus on debt reduction by 2019.  While this will increase the options we have for capital allocation, our decisions will, as always, be driven by our determination to create shareholder value."

Christoph Mainusch, Co-Chief Executive Officer, added: "The successful spring season contributed to prime time audience share increasing in five countries in the first half of 2017, while operating margins improved, as additional investments in content were mostly offset by other savings. These investments in programming in highly competitive markets also support our initiatives to diversify revenues, and carriage fees and subscription revenue grew significantly in the first half of the year.  We still expect carriage fees and subscription revenue from our four remaining operations going forward to increase double digits this year."

In this release we refer to several non-GAAP financial measures, including OIBDA, OIBDA margin, free cash flow, unlevered free cash flow and constant currency percentage movements. Please see “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below for additional information, including definitions and reconciliations to US GAAP financial measures.

Consolidated results for the three months ended June 30, 2017 and June 30, 2016 were:

   
(US$ 000's, except per share data) For the Three Months
Ended June 30,
(unaudited)   2017       2016     % Actual   % Lfl (1)
Net revenues $ 181,856     $ 175,206     3.8%   5.5%
Operating income 50,823     43,891     15.8%   17.2%
Operating margin 27.9%     25.1%     2.8p.p.   2.7p.p.
OIBDA 61,169     53,632     14.1%   15.4%
OIBDA margin 33.6%     30.6%     3.0p.p.   2.8 p.p.
Net income / (loss) attributable to CME Ltd. 27,935     (141,317)     NM(2)   NM(2)
Net income / (loss) attributable to CME Ltd. per share - basic $ 0.10     $ (0.98)     NM(2)   NM(2)
Net income / (loss) attributable to CME Ltd. per share - diluted   $ 0.07     $ (0.98)     NM(2)   NM(2)
                       

Consolidated results for the six months ended June 30, 2017 and June 30, 2016 were:

   
(US$ 000's, except per share data) For the Six Months
Ended June 30,
(unaudited)   2017       2016     % Actual   % Lfl (1)
Net revenues $ 316,858     $ 304,206     4.2%   6.6%
Operating income 63,091     51,654     22.1%   24.5%
Operating margin 19.9%     17.0%     2.9p.p.   2.9p.p.
OIBDA 83,305     70,740     17.8%   20.1%
OIBDA margin 26.3%     23.3%     3.0p.p.   3.0 p.p.
Net income / (loss) attributable to CME Ltd. 16,870     (181,752)     NM(2)   NM(2)
Net income / (loss) attributable to CME Ltd. per share - basic $ 0.05     $ (1.29)     NM(2)   NM(2)
Net income / (loss) attributable to CME Ltd. per share - diluted     $ 0.04     $ (1.29)     NM(2)   NM(2)
                       

(1) % Lfl (like-for-like) variance reflects the impact of applying the current period average exchange rates to the prior period revenues and costs.
(2) Number is not meaningful.

Teleconference and Audio Webcast Details

CME will host a teleconference and audio webcast to discuss its second quarter results on Tuesday, July 25, 2017 at 9 a.m. New York time (2 p.m. London and 3 p.m. Prague time). The audio webcast and teleconference will refer to presentation slides which will be available on CME's website at www.cme.net prior to the call.

To access the teleconference, U.S. and international callers may dial +1-646-254-3370 ten minutes prior to the start time and reference passcode 8513742. The conference call will also be audio webcasted via www.cme.net. It can be heard on iPads, iPhones and a range of devices supporting Android and Windows operating systems.

A digital audio replay of the webcast will be available for two weeks following the call at www.cme.net

Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements. For all forward-looking statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which cannot be predicted with accuracy or are otherwise beyond our control and some of which might not even be anticipated.  Forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and because our business is subject to such risks and uncertainties, actual results, our strategic plan, our financial position, results of operations and cash flows could differ materially from those described in or contemplated by the forward-looking statements.

Important factors that contribute to such risks include, but are not limited to, those factors set forth under "Risk Factors” in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2017 as well as the following: the expected timing of the closing of the sale of our operations in Croatia and Slovenia and the application of proceeds from it; the effect of global economic uncertainty and Eurozone instability in our markets and the extent, timing and duration of any recovery; levels of television advertising spending and the rate of development of the advertising markets in the countries in which we operate; the extent to which our liquidity constraints and debt service obligations restrict our business; our exposure to additional tax liabilities as well as liabilities resulting from regulatory or legal proceedings initiated against us; our ability to refinance our existing indebtedness; our success in continuing our initiatives to diversify and enhance our revenue streams; our ability to make cost-effective investments in our television businesses, including investments in programming; our ability to develop and acquire necessary programming and attract audiences; and changes in the political and regulatory environments where we operate and in the application of relevant laws and regulations.

The foregoing review of important factors should not be construed as exhaustive. For a more detailed description of these uncertainties and other factors, please see the "Risk Factors" and “Forward-looking Statements” sections in CME's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2017. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

This press release should be read in conjunction with our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2017, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 25, 2017.

We make available free of charge on our website at www.cme.net our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the Securities and Exchange Commission. Please note that we may announce material information using SEC filings, press releases, public conference calls, webcasts and posts to the Investors section of our website, www.cme.net. In the future, we will continue to use these channels to communicate important information about CME and our operations. Information that we post on our website could be deemed material. Therefore, we encourage investors, the media, our customers and others interested in CME to review the information we post at www.cme.net

CME is a media and entertainment company operating leading businesses in six Central and Eastern European markets with an aggregate population of approximately 50 million people. CME currently broadcasts 36 television channels in Bulgaria (bTV, bTV Cinema, bTV Comedy, bTV Action, bTV Lady and Ring.bg), Croatia (Nova TV, Doma, Nova World and MiniTV), the Czech Republic (Nova, Nova 2, Nova Cinema, Nova Sport 1, Nova Sport 2, Nova International, Nova Action and Nova Gold), Romania (PRO TV, PRO TV International, Acasa, Acasa Gold, PRO Cinema, Sport.ro, MTV Romania, PRO TV Chisinau and Acasa in Moldova), the Slovak Republic (TV Markíza, Markíza International, Doma and Dajto), and Slovenia (POP TV, Kanal A, Brio, Oto and Kino). CME is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market and the Prague Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “CETV”.

 
 
CENTRAL EUROPEAN MEDIA ENTERPRISES LTD.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(US$ 000's, except per share data)
(unaudited)
 
  For the Three Months Ended
June 30,
  2017   2016
Net revenues $ 181,856   $ 175,206
Operating expenses:      
Content costs 76,709   77,282
Other operating costs 15,395   17,939
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment 8,293   7,627
Amortization of broadcast licenses and other intangibles 2,053   2,114
Cost of revenues 102,450   104,962
Selling, general and administrative expenses 28,583   26,353
Operating income 50,823   43,891
Interest expense (21,973)   (29,545)
Loss on extinguishment of debt   (150,158)
Non-operating income / (expense), net 7,141   (167)
Income / (loss) before tax 35,991   (135,979)
Provision for income taxes (8,193)   (5,270)
Net income / (loss) 27,798   (141,249)
Net loss / (income) attributable to noncontrolling interests 137   (68)
Net income / (loss) attributable to CME Ltd. $ 27,935   $ (141,317)
       
PER SHARE DATA:      
Net loss per share:      
Net income / (loss) attributable to CME Ltd. - basic $ 0.10   $ (0.98)
Net income / (loss) attributable to CME Ltd. - diluted 0.07   (0.98)
       
Weighted average common shares used in computing per share amounts (000's):        
Basic 155,738   149,083
Diluted 235,952   149,083
       


 
CENTRAL EUROPEAN MEDIA ENTERPRISES LTD.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(US$ 000's, except per share data)
(unaudited)
 
  For the Six Months Ended
June 30,
  2017   2016
Net revenues $ 316,858   $ 304,206
Operating expenses:      
Content costs 150,111   149,260
Other operating costs 29,951   34,393
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment 16,052   14,912
Amortization of broadcast licenses and other intangibles 4,162   4,174
Cost of revenues 200,276   202,739
Selling, general and administrative expenses 53,491   49,813
Operating income 63,091   51,654
Interest expense (45,728)   (78,699)
Loss on extinguishment of debt   (150,158)
Non-operating income, net 9,466   1,249
Income / (loss) before tax 26,829   (175,954)
Provision for income taxes (10,305)   (5,989)
Net income / (loss) 16,524   (181,943)
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests 346   191
Net income / (loss) attributable to CME Ltd. $ 16,870   $ (181,752)
       
PER SHARE DATA:      
Net loss per share:      
Net income / (loss) attributable to CME Ltd. - basic $ 0.05   $ (1.29)
Net income / (loss) attributable to CME Ltd. - diluted $ 0.04   $ (1.29)
       
Weighted average common shares used in computing per share amounts (000's):        
Basic 155,269   148,080
Diluted 230,872   148,080
       


 
CENTRAL EUROPEAN MEDIA ENTERPRISES LTD.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(US$ 000's)
(unaudited)
 
  June 30, 2017   December 31, 2016
ASSETS      
Cash and cash equivalents $ 95,359   $ 43,459
Other current assets 307,651   296,961
Total current assets 403,010   340,420
Property, plant and equipment, net 115,982   109,089
Goodwill and other intangible assets, net 1,017,878   919,765
Other non-current assets 21,516   21,443
Total assets $ 1,558,386   $ 1,390,717
       
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY      
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities $ 150,669   $ 160,981
Current portion of long-term debt and other financing arrangements     2,386   1,494
Other current liabilities 29,117   9,089
Total current liabilities 182,172   171,564
Long-term debt and other financing arrangements 1,087,992   1,002,028
Other non-current liabilities 87,103   68,758
Total liabilities $ 1,357,267   $ 1,242,350
       
Series B Convertible Redeemable Preferred Stock $ 259,661   $ 254,899
       
EQUITY      
Common Stock $ 11,583   $ 11,476
Additional paid-in capital 1,907,409   1,910,244
Accumulated deficit (1,768,666)   (1,785,536)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss (209,249)   (243,988)
Total CME Ltd. shareholders' deficit (58,923)   (107,804)
Noncontrolling interests 381   1,272
Total deficit (58,542)   (106,532)
Total liabilities and equity $ 1,558,386   $ 1,390,717


 
 
CENTRAL EUROPEAN MEDIA ENTERPRISES LTD.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(US$ 000's)
(unaudited)
 
  For the Six Months
Ended June 30,
  2017   2016
Net cash generated from continuing operating activities $ 56,770   $ 17,549
Net cash used in continuing investing activities (14,581)   (11,255)
Net cash provided by / (used in) continuing financing activities 1,897   (23,970)
Net cash provided by discontinued operations 1,045   705
Impact of exchange rate fluctuations on cash and cash equivalents 6,769   1,734
Net increase / (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents $ 51,900   $ (15,237)
       
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:      
Cash paid for interest (including mandatory cash-pay guarantee fees)     $ 21,173   $ 35,712
Cash paid for guarantee fees that may be paid in kind 7,078   20,000
Cash paid for income taxes, net of refunds $ 7,512   $ 172
       
Supplemental disclosure of non-cash financing activities:      
Interest and related guarantee fees paid in kind $ 15,606   $ 22,257
Accretion on Series B Convertible Redeemable Preferred Stock $ 4,762   $ 8,950
           

Segment Data

We manage our business on a geographical basis, with six reporting segments: Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Romania, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia. These segments reflect how CME Ltd.’s operating performance is evaluated by our chief operating decision makers, who we have identified as our co-Chief Executive Officers, how operations are managed by segment managers, and the structure of our internal financial reporting.

We evaluate our consolidated results and the performance of our segments based on net revenues and OIBDA. Stock-based compensation and certain other items are not allocated to our segments for purposes of evaluating their performance and therefore are not included in their respective OIBDA. Intersegment revenues and profits have been eliminated in consolidation.

Below are tables showing our net revenues and OIBDA by segment for the three and six months ended June 30, 2017 and June 30, 2016:

   
(US$ 000's) For the Three Months
Ended June 30,
(unaudited) 2017   2016   % Actual   % Lfl (1)
Net revenues              
Bulgaria $ 20,774   $ 20,455   1.6%   3.5%
Croatia 16,521   16,559   (0.2)%   0.7%
Czech Republic 53,371   50,919   4.8%   5.0%
Romania 48,570   48,929   (0.7)%   2.3%
Slovak Republic 24,624   22,540   9.2%   11.3%
Slovenia 18,453   16,116   14.5%   16.7%
Intersegment revenues                     (457)   (312)   NM (2)   NM (2)
Total net revenues $ 181,856   $ 175,206   3.8%   5.5%


   
(US$ 000's) For the Six Months
Ended June 30,
(unaudited) 2017   2016   % Actual   % Lfl (1)
Net revenues              
Bulgaria $ 36,079   $ 36,314   (0.6)%   1.8%
Croatia 27,589   28,204   (2.2)%   (1.0)%
Czech Republic 92,845   89,527   3.7%   5.2%
Romania 87,514   81,299   7.6%   11.3%
Slovak Republic 42,964   41,602   3.3%   5.9%
Slovenia 30,670   27,769   10.4%   13.2%
Intersegment revenues                     (803)   (509)   NM (2)   NM (2)
Total net revenues $ 316,858   $ 304,206   4.2%   6.6%
 

(1) % Lfl (like-for-like) variance reflects the impact of applying the current period average exchange rates to the prior period revenues and costs.
(2) Number is not meaningful.

   
(US$ 000's) For the Three Months
Ended June 30,
(unaudited) 2017   2016   % Act   % Lfl (1)
OIBDA              
Bulgaria $ 3,079   $ 5,954   (48.3)%   (47.5)%
Croatia 5,171   4,501   14.9%   15.5%
Czech Republic 25,553   23,099   10.6%   10.1%
Romania 22,268   22,962   (3.0)%   (0.3)%
Slovak Republic 7,522   3,158   138.2%   140.9%
Slovenia 4,386   1,624   170.1%   164.2%
Elimination 39   (62)   NM (2)   NM (2)
Total Operating Segments                     68,018   61,236   11.1%   12.3%
Central (6,849)   (7,604)   9.9%   9.0%
Total OIBDA $ 61,169   $ 53,632   14.1%   15.4%


   
   
(US$ 000's) For the Six Months
Ended June 30,
(unaudited) 2017   2016   % Act   % Lfl (1)
OIBDA              
Bulgaria $ 4,436   $ 7,023   (36.8)%   (35.7)%
Croatia 6,257   5,902   6.0%   6.9%
Czech Republic 36,512   33,173   10.1%   10.9%
Romania 36,954   32,424   14.0%   17.7%
Slovak Republic 8,395   5,551   51.2%   54.7%
Slovenia 4,389   916   NM (2)   NM (2)
Elimination 41   (68)   NM (2)   NM (2)
Total Operating Segments                     96,984   84,921   14.2%   16.4%
Central (13,679)   (14,181)   3.5%   2.0%
Total OIBDA $ 83,305   $ 70,740   17.8%   20.1%
                   

(1) % Lfl (like-for-like) variance reflects the impact of applying the current period average exchange rates to the prior period revenues and costs.
(2) Number is not meaningful.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In this release we refer to several non-GAAP financial measures, including OIBDA, OIBDA margin, free cash flow and unlevered free cash flow. We believe that each of these metrics is useful to investors for the reasons outlined below. Non-GAAP financial measures may not be comparable to similar measures reported by other companies. Non-GAAP financial measures should be evaluated in conjunction with, and are not a substitute for, US GAAP financial measures.

We evaluate our consolidated results and the performance of our segments based on net revenues and OIBDA. We believe OIBDA is useful to investors because it provides a meaningful representation of our performance, as it excludes certain items that do not impact either our cash flows or the operating results of our operations. OIBDA and unlevered free cash flow are also used as components in determining management bonuses.

OIBDA includes amortization and impairment of program rights and is calculated as operating income / loss before depreciation, amortization of intangible assets and impairments of assets and certain unusual or infrequent items that are not considered by our co-Chief Executive Officers when evaluating our performance. Stock-based compensation and certain other items are not allocated to our segments for purposes of evaluating their performance and therefore are not included in their respective OIBDA. Our key performance measure of the efficiency of our consolidated operations and our segments is OIBDA margin. We define OIBDA margin as the ratio of OIBDA to net revenues.

Following a refinancing transaction in March 2017, the amount of interest and related Guarantee Fees on our outstanding indebtedness that must be paid in cash has increased. In addition to this obligation to pay more interest and related Guarantee Fees in cash, we expect to use cash generated by the business to pay certain Guarantee Fees that are payable in kind. These cash payments are all reflected in free cash flow; accordingly we believe unlevered free cash flow, defined as free cash flow before cash payments for interest and Guarantee Fees, best illustrates the cash generated by our operations when comparing periods. We define free cash flow as net cash generated from continuing operating activities less purchases of property, plant and equipment, net of disposals of property, plant and equipment and excluding the cash impact of certain unusual or infrequent items that are not included in costs charged in arriving at OIBDA because they are not considered by our co-Chief Executive Officers when evaluating performance.

For additional information regarding our business segments, see Item 1, Note 18, "Segment Data" in our Form 10-Q.

While our reporting currency is the dollar, our consolidated revenues and costs are divided across a range of European currencies and CME Ltd.’s function currency is the Euro. Given the significant movement of the currencies in the markets in which we operate against the dollar, we believe that it is useful to provide percentage movements based on actual percentage movements (“% Act”), which includes the effect of foreign exchange, as well as like-for-like percentage movements (“% Lfl”). The like-for-like percentage movement references reflect the impact of applying the current period average exchange rates to the prior period revenues and costs. Since the difference between like-for-like and actual percentage movements is solely the impact of movements in foreign exchange rates, our discussion in this release includes constant currency percentage movements in order to highlight those factors influencing operational performance. The incremental impact of foreign exchange rates is presented in the tables accompanying such analysis.

 
(US$ 000's) For the Three Months
Ended June 30,
  For the Six Months
Ended June 30,
(unaudited) 2017   2016   2017   2016
Operating income $ 50,823   $ 43,891   63,091   51,654
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment                                 8,293   7,627   16,052   14,912
Amortization of intangible assets 2,053   2,114   4,162   4,174
Total OIBDA $ 61,169   $ 53,632   $ 83,305   $ 70,740


 
(US$ 000's) For the Six Months Ended June 30,
(unaudited) 2017   2016
Net cash generated from continuing operating activities $ 56,770   $ 17,549
Capital expenditures, net of proceeds from disposals (14,581)   (11,255)
Free cash flow 42,189   6,294
Cash paid for interest (including mandatory cash-pay guarantee fees)             21,173   35,712
Cash paid for guarantee fees that may be paid in kind 7,078   20,000
Unlevered free cash flow $ 70,440   $ 62,006
           
For additional information, please visit www.cme.net or contact:
                    
                    Mark Kobal
                    Head of Investor Relations
                    Central European Media Enterprises
                    +420 242 465 576
                    mark.kobal@cme.net

Primary Logo

Powered by EIN News


EIN Presswire does not exercise editorial control over third-party content provided, uploaded, published, or distributed by users of EIN Presswire. We are a distributor, not a publisher, of 3rd party content. Such content may contain the views, opinions, statements, offers, and other material of the respective users, suppliers, participants, or authors.

Submit your press release