American Bingo & Gaming Reports Record Quarterly Revenues of $3.7 Million and Return to Profitability With EPS of $0.05 for First Quarter of 1998
AUSTIN, Texas, May 15 /PRNewswire/ -- American Bingo & Gaming Corp. (Nasdaq: BNGO - news) today reported that quarterly revenues reached record levels in the first quarter of 1998 and profits improved dramatically from the fourth quarter of 1997. Revenues totaled $3.7 million for the first quarter of 1998, up over $609,000 or 20% from the first quarter of 1997. Revenues were up over $1.4 million or 60% from the fourth quarter of 1997 when the Company suffered a temporary decline due to regulatory and legislative issues. Revenue results for the first quarter of 1998 were led by the Company's video gaming operations which generated $2.6 million or 70% of total revenues. Bingo and other revenues totaled $1.1 million or 30% of total revenues for the first quarter.
Net income for the first quarter of 1998 totaled $454,000. Net income was down $163,000 versus the first quarter of 1997 primarily due to $390,000 of additional depreciation and amortization compared to the prior year. First quarter 1998 net income was also negatively affected by $160,000 of payroll costs for personnel no longer with the Company. However, net income improved dramatically from the fourth quarter of 1997 when the Company reported a quarterly loss of $550,000, which represents a one-quarter turnaround in earnings of over $1.0 million. Earnings per share were $0.05 in the first quarter of 1998, versus $0.09 in the first quarter of 1997. Earnings per share were up $0.13 from the fourth quarter of 1998. EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) in the first quarter of 1998 was up nearly $100,000 compared to the first quarter of 1997, despite the lower net income. EBITDA was over $1.15 million for the first quarter of 1998 or 31% of sales, as compared to $1.05 million or 34% of sales in the first quarter of 1997. Cash balances at the end of the first quarter of 1998 were $11.2 million.
John Orton, Chief Financial Officer, noted, ''We are pleased with our strong revenue performance, which confirms that the fourth quarter of 1997 was an anomaly. The top line health of our business is good. However, we have substantial work to do to improve profitability. We have already taken actions to improve annual earnings by over $800,000 since the beginning of the year through payroll reductions and sub-letting of idle properties. We are very aggressively focused on growing our business and committed to reducing costs further to improve future earnings.''
The Company has scheduled an investor conference call for May 19 at 4:00 EST. Investors are encouraged to call 1-800-404-2809 to listen to the call, or may call this same number to listen to a recording of the call through May 22.
Consolidated Statements of Operations - First Quarter -
March 31,(Unaudited) 1998 1997
Total Revenues $ 3,717,000 $ 3,108,000
Costs and Expenses, Net 3,263,000 2,491,000
Net Income $ 454,000 $ 617,000
EBITDA $ 1,147,000 $ 1,054,000
Basic Earnings Per Share $ 0.05 $ 0.09
Diluted Earnings Per Share $ 0.04 $ 0.09
Basic Shares Outstanding 9,354,000 6,793,000
Diluted Shares Outstanding 10,578,000 7,078,000
Note: Financial results for 1997 have been restated to incorporate 1997
pooled acquisitions.
SOURCE: American Bingo & Gaming Corp |
