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Strategies & Market Trends : BFT: Will the tulip craze ever break down? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Pancho Villa who wrote (601)	11/3/1998 12:22:00 PM
From: Pancho Villa	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 650

These guys are definitely the kings of spin! biz.yahoo.com (Stupid and foolish re-definition of cash flows is in bold. Increase in receivables by definition is not a cash flow! I reiterate my $5/share price target. The reduction in interest income raises a red flag as their receivables are higher under their new strategy.) Bally says cash flow ahead of plan CHICAGO, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Bally Total Fitness Holding Corp., the largest operator of fitness centers in the U.S., said Thursday that its cash flow position was ahead of plan through the first nine months of the year, which should result in positive cash flow from operations in early 1999. ''Collections of installment contract payments and dues continued to grow as planned during the third quarter,'' president and chief executive officer Lee Hillman said in a statement accompanying Bally's third quarter earnings. He said incremental cash flows from those sources now nearly equal cash flows lost from selling lower margin paid-in-full memberships and dues increases in past years. ''This improvement is well-ahead of plan, indicating our strategy is working and should result in positive cash from operations early next year,'' Hillman said. Cash used in operating activities for the first nine months of 1998 was $26.2 million compared to $25 million in the 1997 period, the company said. It said net installment contracts receivables grew $72 million during the 1998 period compared to $26.6 million in the 1997 period. Interest paid during the 1998 period fell $13.7 million due to a combination of lower average rates and the timing of semi-annual payments. Excluding the growth in receivables and changes in interest payments, operating activities generated cash of $32.1 million in the first nine months of 1998, compared with $1.6 million in the same period a year ago. Bally said the year-over-year improvement of $30.5 million was mainly the result of a $31.6 million increase in profitability for the first nine months of 1998 compared to the 1997 period. Third quarter revenues overall rose 15 percent to $189.6 million from $165.1 million in the 1997 third quarter. Net income in the quarter was $4.3 million, or $0.16 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $10.3 million or $0.60 per diluted share a year ago. Bally shares were up 11/16 at 20-11/16 Thursday morning on the New York Stock Exchange.