– Achieves Adjusted EBITDA Positive for Fourth Quarter 2015
CARLSBAD, Calif., March 11, 2016 — NTN Buzztime, Inc. (NYSE MKT: NTN), reported financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2015.
“2015 was a pivotal year for Buzztime with many achievements that culminated in an Adjusted EBITDA positive fourth quarter,” said Ram Krishnan, NTN Buzztime CEO. “We have been expanding our reach with chains and independent venues focused on the brand experience. As a result, we offset churn with our Classic playmakers and increased site count for the third quarter in a row. We saw increased adoption of our BEOND tablet platform, closing the year with 61% of our sites on the BEOND platform and several sites testing our self-serve dining options. Our new games gained traction, posting record game-play metrics and expanding registered players to 9 million. Combined with our cost management efforts, we entered 2016 better positioned to drive long-term, sustained profitable growth.”
Financial Results for the Fourth-Quarter Ended December 31, 2015
Total revenues were $6.5 million, compared to $6.1 million for third quarter 2015 and $6.8 million for the fourth quarter 2014. As expected, sequentially, revenue grew reflecting increases in subscriptions, sales-type lease arrangements and other revenue; however, the year-over-year revenue was primarily impacted by decreases in sales-type lease arrangements, offset by increases in other revenue. Direct costs were $3.3 million, compared to $3.6 million for the same period in 2014, reflecting lower volume in installations under sales-type lease arrangements and the lower cost of deployment for the third generation platform, offset by increases in depreciation and amortization expense, scrap, and repair expense. Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased to $4.0 million from $4.6 million for the same period in 2014 reflecting a leaner company structure. Net loss was $1.0 million, or $0.01 per share, which improved from $1.3 million for the third quarter of 2015 and $1.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2014. Adjusted EBITDA was a positive $318,000 compared to an Adjusted EBITDA loss of $657,000 in the same period last year. Although Adjusted EBITDA is positive for the fourth quarter of 2015, Adjusted EBITDA may not be positive for the first quarter of 2016 or future quarters. Historically, first quarter results have reflected lower Adjusted EBITDA when compared to the other quarters due to the fixed nature of many of the company’s operating expenses. A detailed description and reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA and management’s reasons for using this measure is set forth at the end of this press release.
Metric Review for Quarter Ended December 31, 2015
The company grew its site count for the third quarter in a row, ending 2015 with 2,960 subscribing venues, compared to 2,952 as of September 30, 2015. However, management anticipates the net count will continue to fluctuate. As of December 31, 2015, BEOND installations increased to 1,806 locations, or 61% of the installed base, compared to 56% as of September 30, 2015.
Financial Results for the Year Ended December 31, 2015
Total revenues were $24.5 million, compared to $26.0 million for 2014. The decrease was attributable to lower subscription revenue due to a lower average site count and lower average revenue per site as well as a decrease in equipment sales-type revenue that were partially offset by an increase in other revenues. For the full year, net loss was $7.2 million, or $0.08 cents per share, and included $1.8 million of write-offs of obsolete tablet equipment, scrap, and Generation II BEOND tablet equipment repair expenses. The 2014 net loss was $5.0 million, or $0.06 cent per share. Adjusted EBITDA loss was $1.7 million compared to an Adjusted EBITDA loss of $729,000 last year.
Liquidity at December 31, 2015
As of December 31, 2015, cash and cash equivalents were $3.2 million, compared to $7.2 million as of December 31, 2014. Working capital was $4.0 million at December 31, 2015 and September 30, 2015.
Outlook
“In 2016, we expect momentum to continue. We are dedicated to expanding menu and payment nationwide with a focus on BWW. We believe this will be crucial to our success in winning additional chains. We are focused on increasing the value of our product offering by improving tablet content and reducing the BEOND tablet platform cost to secure additional independent customers. Our growing network is attracting national brands with which we are entering sponsorships and running promotions. Overall, we are excited about our opportunities to drive revenue growth and greater financial improvements in 2016 and beyond,” concluded Krishnan.
Conference Call
Management will review the results on a conference call with a live question and answer session today, March 11, 2016, at 12:00 p.m. ET. To access the call, please use passcode 61278824 and dial:
- (877) 307-1373 for the live call and (855) 859-2056 for the replay, if calling from the United States or Canada; or
- (678) 224-7873 for the live call and (404) 537-3406 for the replay, if calling internationally.
The call will also be accompanied live by webcast over the Internet and accessible at the company’s website at https://www.buzztime.com/investors/webcasts-presentations/. The replay of the call will be available until March 17, 2016.
Forward-looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements which reflect management’s current views of future events and operations, including but not limited to statements about our growth plans, adoption of our product in the marketplace, delivery of menu and payment technology, chain and independent customer acquisitions, and value of our product to our customers. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. These risks and uncertainties include the risks of unsuccessful execution or launch of products, platforms or brands, risks associated with customer retention and growth plans, the impact of alternative entertainment options and technologies and competitive products, brands, technologies and pricing, adverse economic conditions, the regulatory environment and changes in the law, failure of customer and/or player acceptance or demand for new or existing products, lower market acceptance or appeal of both existing and new products and services by particular demographic groups or audiences as a whole, termination of partnership and contractual relationships and technical problems or outages. Please see NTN Buzztime, Inc.’s recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for information about these and other risks that may affect the Company. All forward-looking statements included in this release are based on information available to us on the date hereof. These statements speak only as of the date hereof and NTN Buzztime, Inc. does not undertake to publicly update or revise any of its forward-looking statements, even if experience or future changes show that the indicated results or events will not be realized.
About Buzztime:
Buzztime (NYSE MKT: NTN) delivers interactive entertainment and innovative dining technology to bars and restaurants in North America. Venues license Buzztime’s customizable solution to differentiate themselves via competitive fun by offering guests trivia, card, sports and arcade games, nationwide competitions, personalized menus and self-service dining features. Buzztime’s platform improves operating efficiencies, creates connections among the players and venues, and amplifies guests’ positive experiences. Founded in 1984, Buzztime has accumulated over 9 million player registrations and over 115 million games were played in 2015 alone. For more information, please visit https://www.buzztime.com or follow us on Facebook or Twitter @buzztime.
IR AGENCY CONTACT:
Kirsten Chapman/Becky Herrick, LHA
buzztime@lhai.com
415-433-3777
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