ACME Communications Announces Fourth Quarter and Year End 2000 Results.Business Editors SANTA ANA Santa Ana, city, El Salvador Santa Ana (sän'tä ä`nä), city (1993 pop. 129,873), W El Salvador. It is the second largest city in the country and the commercial and processing center for a sugarcane, coffee, and cattle region. , Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 14, 2001 Fourth Quarter Revenue Increases 14% Broadcast Cash Flow Increases 9% Strong Ratings Growth Across Station Group ACME Communications ACME Communications (NASDAQ: ACME) is a television broadcasting company that owns seven television stations. Six stations are CW Television Network affiliates. The seventh, part of a duopoly in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is a MyNetworkTV affiliate. , Inc. (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :ACME), the nation's third largest affiliate group of the WB Television Network, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December December: see month. 31, 2000. ACME's net revenues for the fourth quarter of 2000 increased 14% over the fourth quarter of 1999 to $20.0 million. Broadcast cash flow increased 9% to $5.4 million and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) is a non-GAAP metric that can be used to evaluate a company's profitability.
For the twelve months ended December 31, 2000, ACME's net revenues increased 22% to $73.4 million compared to 1999 and broadcast cash flow increased 39% to $20.1 million. Adjusted EBITDA for the twelve months ended December 31, 2000, after excluding a $3.0 million third quarter 1999 non-recurring charge related to the Company's 1999 initial public offering, increased 50% over 1999 EBITDA to $16.5 million. Same station revenue and broadcast cash flow growth for the 2000 fourth quarter over the prior year period, which exclude the results of KASY-Albuquerque/Santa Fe (acquired during the fourth quarter of 1999) were 13% and 7%, respectively. For the full year, same station revenues increased 20% and broadcast cash flow increased 29% for the five stations owned or operated by ACME for the full years 2000 and 1999. The same station revenue gain for the full year has been calculated excluding the impact of KPLR's St. Louis Louis, titular duke of Burgundy Louis, 1682–1712, titular duke of Burgundy; grandson of King Louis XIV of France. He became heir to the throne on the death (1711) of his father, Louis the Great Dauphin. Cardinal baseball contract conversion from a rights deal in 1999, where the station sold and retained revenues from advertising time, to a time-buy in 2000, where the station received a payment from the Cardinals to carry the games, but the Cardinals sold and retained the revenues from advertising time. The improved broadcast cash flow results for both the fourth quarter and full year periods reflect continued growth in most of ACME's stations' ratings and revenue market shares. Broadcast cash flow margins for the fourth quarter declined slightly from 28% in the prior year fourth quarter to 27%, reflecting primarily a softening softening /sof·ten·ing/ (sof´en-ing) malacia. softening a change of consistency, with loss of firmness or hardness. advertising marketplace and the Company's increased fourth quarter programming costs. For the full year, the Company improved its broadcast cash flow margins to 27% from 24% on the strength of ratings growth and reduced losses at the three stations acquired from Paxson Paxson may refer to:
Commenting on the results, Jamie Kellner Jamie Kellner is an American television executive. He was chairman and chief executive officer of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a division of Time Warner which includes TBS, TNT, and Cartoon Network. , ACME's Chairman and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. , said, "Aside from political revenue, fourth quarter advertising demand was weak across our markets. Politicians traditionally target older viewers -- something we expect will change in future election periods -- so our younger skewing stations did not participate in any significant way in the fourth quarter political season. Even without the political opportunity, we were able to deliver a 13% increase in same station revenues. "Since our inception in 1997, we have been almost exclusively focused on developing WB affiliated stations in the nation's middle markets. Aside from our flagship station In broadcasting, a flagship station is the station which originates a broadcast network, or a particular radio show or TV show, primarily in the United States and Canada. This includes both direct network feeds and syndication, but generally not backhauls. , KPLR in St. Louis, all of our remaining nine stations are in developing phases. In the November November: see month. 2000 ratings period, the majority of these stations produced outstanding ratings growth. KWBP in Portland generated the largest growth in prime time ratings among all WB affiliates This is a list of stations which were affiliated with The WB Television Network in the United States at the time of the network's closure. Note that all WB O&O's were through Tribune's stake in the network. The WB shut down September 17, 2006. . During the same period, WBXX in Knoxville became the number one ranked WB affiliate in the non-metered markets. Our duopoly Duopoly A situation in which two companies own all or nearly all of the market for a given type of product or service. Notes: This is very similar to a monopoly, where only one company dominates the market. in the Albuquerque-Santa Fe marketplace increased its combined sign-on to sign-off ratings from 67-100%, depending on the demographic. In addition, KPLR remains the top ranked WB affiliate in the country for viewers aged 18-49 years old -- a feat they've accomplished in five of the last six ratings books. "Concurrent with the positive ratings momentum across our group, seven of our nine developing stations posted double-digit revenue gains averaging 38% during the fourth quarter. These increases were largely offset by slower revenue growth at KPLR, due primarily to a decline in non-political revenues in the St. Louis marketplace. Another indication of our developing stations' growth is the fact that for the first time ever, KPLR's revenue accounted for less than half that of the group's revenue during the fourth quarter of 2000. As our developing stations continue to take advantage of the industry-leading ratings momentum of the WB Network in reaching the coveted cov·et v. cov·et·ed, cov·et·ing, cov·ets v.tr. 1. To feel blameworthy desire for (that which is another's). See Synonyms at envy. 2. To wish for longingly. See Synonyms at desire. 18-34 year-old audience, our revenues will become more balanced across our asset base. "In 2001, we will remain focused on investing in our developing stations through new syndicated programming, promotion and sales initiatives. As these investments are occurring during a weak advertising market, our broadcast cash flow might be negatively impacted. However, we believe our ratings demonstrate that we are taking the necessary steps to position our company for long-term Long-term Three or more years. In the context of accounting, more than 1 year. long-term 1. Of or relating to a gain or loss in the value of a security that has been held over a specific length of time. Compare short-term. growth and we believe our investments will ultimately result in increased shareholder value." 2001 Outlook ACME believes that the adverse economic conditions that began affecting the advertising marketplace in the fall of 2000 will continue well into the first half of 2001. The Company currently expects its 2001 first quarter revenue to finish within a range of flat to a low single digit A single character in a numbering system. In decimal, digits are 0 through 9. In binary, digits are 0 and 1. digit - An employee of Digital Equipment Corporation. See also VAX, VMS, PDP-10, TOPS-10, DEChead, double DECkers, field circus. increase over the first quarter of 2000 which would result in a decrease in broadcast cash flow of 10-20%. In addition to the weak advertising environment, the expected broadcast cash flow decline reflects the impact of continued investments in programming, promotion and sales efforts at the Company's developing stations. For the first quarter and the full year, the Company expects operating expenses Operating expenses The amount paid for asset maintenance or the cost of doing business, excluding depreciation. Earnings are distributed after operating expenses are deducted. to grow 8-9% over 2000 levels. For the full year, ACME expects to benefit from increasing ratings and improved year-over-year financial comparisons, as the Company did not receive meaningful political, Olympic or dot-com (1) Refers to the period (dot) followed by the abbreviation of the commercial domain (.com) at the end of an Internet address. Since the .com domain is so widely used, the Internet became known as the "dot-com" world, and dot-com companies are those formed to offer services or revenue in 2000. However, given the general current softness in both the economy and the advertising marketplace and the inability to predict when advertising demand will rebound rebound (rē´bownd), n/v 1. a recovery from illness. n 2. an outbreak of fresh reflex activity after withdrawal of a stimulus rebound adjective , visibility for 2001 remains very low and management is not providing annual revenue guidance at this point. The Company will continue to monitor advertising trends across its station group and anticipates providing full year guidance concurrent with the release of 2001 first quarter results. Fourth Quarter Conference Call Senior management of ACME will hold a conference call to discuss its fourth quarter results on Wednesday, February 14, 2001, at 2:00 PM EST EST electroshock therapy. EST abbr. electroshock therapy . The telephone number for the conference call is (212) 231-6045. A replay will be available through February 19th by dialing 800-633-8284 (U.S.), 858-812-6440 (International), passcode 17913022. In addition, a replay will be available on the Company's web site at www.acmecommunications.com About ACME Communications ACME Communications, Inc. owns and operates ten television stations serving markets covering 5.4% of the nation's television households, making the Company the third largest affiliate group of The WB Television Network. The Company's stations are KPLR-TV, St. Louis, MO; KWBP-TV, Portland, OR; KUWB-TV, Salt Lake City, UT; KWBQ-TV and KASY-TV, Albuquerque-Santa Fe, NM; WBDT-TV, Dayton, OH; WBXX-TV, Knoxville, TN; WIWB-TV, Green Bay-Appleton, WI; WBUI-TV, Champaign-Springfield-Decatur, IL; WTVK-TV, Ft. Myers-Naples, FL. All of the Company's stations, except KASY-TV, a UPN UPN User Principal Name (Microsoft Windows 2000) UPN United Paramount Network UPN Unión del Pueblo Navarro (Navarrese People Union) UPN Umgekehrte Polnische Notation affiliate, are WB Network affiliates. In addition to the ten stations currently owned and operated, the Company has entered into agreements with third parties to acquire construction permits to build new stations in Portland, Oregon Oregon, city, United States Oregon, city (1990 pop. 18,334), Lucas co., NW Ohio, a suburb adjacent to Toledo, on Lake Erie; inc. 1958. It is a port with railroad-owned and -operated docks. The city has industries producing oil, chemicals, and metal products. (a second station in that market for ACME), Richmond, VA, Flint flint, mineral flint, variety of quartz that commonly occurs in rounded nodules and whose crystal structure is not visible to the naked eye. Flint is dark gray, smoky brown, or black in color; pale gray flint is called chert. , MI and Lexington, KY when and if granted by the Federal Communications Commission Federal Communications Commission (FCC), independent executive agency of the U.S. government established in 1934 to regulate interstate and foreign communications in the public interest. . ACME's shares are traded on the NASDAQ Stock Market Nasdaq stock market The first electronic stock market listing over 5000 companies. The Nasdaq stock market comprises two separate markets, namely the Nasdaq National Market, which trades large, active securities and the Nasdaq Smallcap Market that trades emerging growth companies. under the symbol: ACME. Forward-Looking Statements forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. : The matters discussed in this press release include forward-looking statements. In addition, when used in this press release, the words "will," "believe," "should," "expects" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results in the future could differ materially and adversely from those described in the forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including (but not limited to) the impact of changes in national and regional economies ,including advertising demand, the successful integration of acquired entities (including achievement of synergies and cost reductions), pricing fluctuations in local and national advertising, volatility in programming costs, the inability to secure Federal Communications Commission approval for construction permits, termination of agreements to acquire construction permits, the cost to acquire construction permits and the costs of construction and operation of the stations and the other risk factors set forth in the Company's Form S-1 Registration Statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on September 29, 1999, pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933and in the Company's 1999 Form 10-K Form 10-K A report required by the SEC from exchange-listed companies that provides for annual disclosure of certain financial information. Form 10-K See 10-K. filed with the SEC on March 15, 2000. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect any future events or circumstances CIRCUMSTANCES, evidence. The particulars which accompany a fact. 2. The facts proved are either possible or impossible, ordinary and probable, or extraordinary and improbable, recent or ancient; they may have happened near us, or afar off; they are public or .
ACME Communications, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Statements of Operations
(In thousands, except per share data)
For the Three For the Twelve
Months Ended Months Ended
December 31, December 31,
2000 1999 2000 1999
---- ---- ---- ----
(unaudited)
Net revenues $ 20,011 $ 17,570 $ 73,443 $ 60,008
Operating expenses:
Station operating expenses 14,760 12,856 54,141 45,675
Depreciation and
amortization 5,235 4,319 20,885 17,325
Corporate 845 1,018 3,522 6,398
Equity-based compensation 132 132 529 39,688
Operating loss (961) (755) (5,634) (49,078)
Other income (expenses):
Interest income 467 423 1,497 499
Interest expense (7,479) (6,332) (27,275) (28,694)
Gain (loss) on sale of
assets, net (7) (11) 1,504 (11)
Other (250) --- (255) ---
Loss before income taxes
and minority interest (8,230) (6,675) (30,163) (77,284)
Income tax benefit 2,862 3,063 8,125 4,420
Loss before minority
interest (5,368) (3,612) (22,038) (72,864)
Minority interest --- --- --- 2,085
Net loss $ (5,368) $ (3,612) $ (22,038) $ (70,779)
Pro forma net loss per share:
Loss before income
taxes and minority
interest, as reported $ (8,230) $ (6,675) $ (30,163) $ (77,284)
Pro forma tax benefit 2,862 1,926 8,125 12,259
Loss before minority
interest (5,368) (4,749) (22,038) (65,025)
Pro forma minority interest
allocation --- --- --- 1,629
Pro forma net loss $ (5,368) $ (4,749) $ (22,038) $ (63,396)
Pro forma net loss
per share, basic and
diluted $ (0.32) $ (0.29) $ (1.32) $ (7.96)
Basic weighted average
common shares
outstanding 16,750,000 16,214,667 16,750,000 7,961,379
ACME Communications, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Selected Financial Data
For the Three For the Twelve
Months Ended Months Ended
December 31, December 31,
2000 1999 2000 1999
---- ---- ---- ----
(unaudited)
Amortization of program
rights $ 3,772 $ 2,915 $ 13,662 $ 8,475
Adjusted program payments $ (3,584) $ (2,652) $(12,912) $ (8,441)
LMA fees $ - $ 28 $ - $ 28
Broadcast cash flow (a) $ 5,439 $ 5,005 $ 20,052 $ 14,395
Adjusted EBITDA (b) $ 4,594 $ 3,987 $ 16,530 $ 7,997
Adjusted EBITDA -- excluding
IPO related charge (b) $ 4,594 $ 3,987 $ 16,530 $ 10,997
Balance Sheet Data at December 31, 2000:
Cash $ 31,037
Total debt (c) $ 239,251
Total debt, net of cash $ 208,214
(a) Broadcast cash flow is defined as operating income, plus
depreciation and amortization, program amortization, non-cash
equity based compensation, LMA fees and corporate expenses, less
program payments -- the latter as adjusted to reflect reductions
for impaired or expired rights in connection with acquisitions.
(b) Adjusted EBITDA is defined as broadcast cash flow less corporate
expenses. The 1999 figure includes a $3.0 million non-recurring
charge related to the September 1999 IPO completion bonuses paid
primarily to certain senior executives of the Company.
(c) Total debt includes the Company's 10 7/8% Senior Discount Notes,
12% Senior Secured Notes and its capital lease obligations.
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