Release Details

Announces Quarterly Cash Dividend of $0.17 per Share

Provides Full Year 2019 Outlook

CENTENNIAL, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 21, 2019-- National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: NCMI) (the Company), the managing member and owner of 48.8% of National CineMedia, LLC (NCM LLC), the operator of the largest cinema advertising network reaching movie audiences in North America, announced today consolidated results for the fiscal fourth quarter and year ended December 27, 2018.

Total revenue for the fourth quarter ended December 27, 2018 decreased 2.3% to $137.4 million from $140.7 million for the comparable quarter last year. Operating income decreased 13.4% to $60.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2018 from $70.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2017. Adjusted OIBDA decreased 7.7% to $76.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2018 from $82.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2017. Net income for the fourth quarter of 2018 was $16.3 million, or net income of $0.21 per diluted share, compared to net income of $40.7 million, or net income of $0.30 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2017. As adjusted to exclude CEO transition-related costs and the impact of tax reform, net income per share for the fourth quarter of 2018 would have increased to $0.23 and net income per share for the fourth quarter of 2017 would have decreased to $0.13. See the tables at the end of this release for the reconciliations to the closest GAAP basis measurement. Additionally, during the fourth quarter of 2018, the Company re-purchased an additional $7.3 million of our senior unsecured notes due in 2026. The re-purchase is expected to result in interest savings to maturity of approximately $3.3 million.

Total revenue for the year ended December 27, 2018 increased 3.6% to $441.4 million from $426.1 million for the comparable period last year. Operating income increased 0.3% to $154.3 million for the year ended 2018 from $153.9 million for the year ended 2017. Adjusted OIBDA increased 0.1% to $205.4 million for the year ended 2018 from $205.1 million for the year ended 2017. Included in Adjusted OIBDA and operating income were $0.4 million and $3.1 million of non-cash impairment charges during the years ended 2018 and 2017, respectively, on investments obtained in prior years in exchange for advertising services. Net income for the year ended 2018 was $29.8 million, or net income of $0.37 per diluted share, compared to net income of $58.3 million, or net income of $0.48 per diluted share, for the year ended 2017. As adjusted to exclude CEO transition-related costs, the reversal of a reserve for uncertain tax positions, early lease termination expense, and the impact of tax reform net income per share for the year ended 2018 would have remained the same and net income per share for the year ended 2017 would have decreased to $0.29 per diluted share. See the tables at the end of this release for the reconciliations to the closest GAAP basis measurement. During the year ended 2018, the Company re-purchased a total of $15.0 million of our senior unsecured notes due in 2026. The re-purchase is expected to result in interest savings to maturity of approximately $6.8 million.

The Company announced today that its Board of Directors has authorized the Company’s regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.17 per share of common stock. The dividend will be paid on March 19, 2019 to stockholders of record on March 5, 2019. The Company intends to pay a regular quarterly dividend for the foreseeable future at the discretion of the Board of Directors consistent with the Company’s intention to distribute over time a substantial portion of its free cash flow. The declaration, payment, timing and amount of any future dividends payable will be at the sole discretion of the Board of Directors who will take into account general economic and advertising market business conditions, the Company’s financial condition, available cash, current and anticipated cash needs, and any other factors that the Board of Directors considers relevant.

Commenting on the Company’s 2018 operating results and 2019 positioning, NCM President and Interim CEO Cliff Marks said, “Overall, it has been a good year for NCM. I’m pleased that we were able to grow our revenue for the year and finish out 2018 within our guidance estimates. We have made great progress on our strategy as we continued to introduce new Noovie Digital products to enhance our core business, paid down debt, strengthened our relationship with our exhibitor partners, and continued to pave the way for growth long into the future. With the first quarter already looking strong and an exceptional film slate coming up for the rest of the year, we continue to feel optimistic about 2019.”

2019 Outlook

For the full year 2019, the Company expects total revenue to be up 1.9% to 5.3% and Adjusted OIBDA to be up 0.8% to 5.6% from the full year 2018. The Company expects total revenue in the range of $450.0 million to $465.0 million for the full year 2019, compared to total revenue for the full year 2018 of $441.4 million and Adjusted OIBDA in the range of $207.0 million to $217.0 million for the full year 2019 compared to Adjusted OIBDA for the full year 2018 of $205.4 million. During 2019, the Company expects to record approximately $21.0 million to $23.0 million in integration and other encumbered theater payments from Cinemark and AMC associated with the Rave Theatres and Carmike Theatres acquisitions, which are recorded as a reduction of an intangible asset.

Supplemental Information

Integration and other encumbered theater payments due from Cinemark and AMC associated primarily with Rave Theaters and Carmike Theaters for the quarters ended December 27, 2018 and December 28, 2017 and years ended December 27, 2018 and December 28, 2017 were $8.1 million, $9.3 million, $21.4 million, and $20.9 million respectively. These payments were recorded as a reduction of an intangible asset.

Conference Call

The Company will host a conference call and audio webcast with investors, analysts and other interested parties February 21, 2019 at 5:00 P.M. Eastern Time. The live call can be accessed by dialing 1-877-407-9716 or for international participants 1-201-493-6779. Participants should register at least 15 minutes prior to the commencement of the call. Additionally, a live audio webcast will be available to interested parties at www.ncm.com under the Investor Relations section. Participants should allow at least 15 minutes prior to the commencement of the call to register, download and install necessary audio software.

The replay of the conference call will be available until midnight Eastern Time, March 7, 2019, by dialing 1-844-512-2921 or for international participants 1-412-317-6671, and entering conference ID 13687547.

About National CineMedia, Inc.

National CineMedia (NCM) is America’s Movie Network. As the #1 Millennial weekend network in the U.S., NCM is the connector between brands and movie audiences. According to Nielsen, more than 750 million moviegoers annually attend theaters that are currently under contract to present NCM’s Noovie pre-show in 57 leading national and regional theater circuits including AMC Entertainment Inc. (NYSE:AMC), Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CNK) and Regal Entertainment Group (a subsidiary of Cineworld Group PLC, LON: CINE). NCM’s cinema advertising network offers broad reach and unparalleled audience engagement with over 21,100 screens in over 1,700 theaters in 187 Designated Market Areas® (all of the top 50). NCM Digital goes beyond the big screen, extending in-theater campaigns into online and mobile marketing programs to reach entertainment audiences. National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI) owns a 48.8% interest in, and is the managing member of, National CineMedia, LLC. For more information, visit www.ncm.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains various forward-looking statements that reflect management’s current expectations or beliefs regarding future events, including statements providing guidance and projections for the full year 2019. Investors are cautioned that reliance on these forward-looking statements involves risks and uncertainties. Although the Company believes that the assumptions used in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, any of these assumptions could prove to be inaccurate and, as a result, actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. The factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements are, among others, 1) level of theater attendance or viewership of the Noovie pre-show; 2) increased competition for advertising expenditures; 3) changes to relationships with NCM LLC’s founding members; 4) inability to implement or achieve new revenue opportunities; 5) technological changes and innovations; 6) economic conditions, including the level of expenditures on cinema advertising; 7) our ability to renew or replace expiring advertising and content contracts; 8) our need for additional funding, risks and uncertainties relating to our significant indebtedness; 9) reinvestment in our network and product offerings may require significant funding and resulting reallocation of resources; 10) fluctuations in operating costs; and 11) changes in interest rates. In addition, the outlook provided does not include the impact of any future unusual or infrequent transactions; sales and acquisitions of operating assets and investments; any future non-cash impairments of intangible and fixed assets; amounts related to litigation or the related impact of taxes that may occur from time to time due to management decisions and changing business circumstances. The Company is currently unable to forecast precisely the timing and/or magnitude of any such amounts or events. Please refer to the Company’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including the “Risk Factor” section of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 28, 2017, for further information about these and other risks. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

NATIONAL CINEMEDIA, INC.
Non-GAAP Reconciliations
Unaudited

OIBDA, Adjusted OIBDA and Adjusted OIBDA Margin

Operating Income Before Depreciation and Amortization (“OIBDA”), Adjusted OIBDA and Adjusted OIBDA margin are not financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP in the United States. OIBDA represents operating income before depreciation and amortization expense. Adjusted OIBDA excludes from OIBDA non-cash share based compensation cost, Chief Executive Officer transition costs, and early lease termination expense. Adjusted OIBDA margin is calculated by dividing Adjusted OIBDA by total revenue. Our management uses these non-GAAP financial measures to evaluate operating performance, to forecast future results and as a basis for compensation. The Company believes these are important supplemental measures of operating performance because they eliminate items that have less bearing on its operating performance and so highlight trends in its core business that may not otherwise be apparent when relying solely on GAAP financial measures. The Company believes the presentation of these measures is relevant and useful for investors because it enables them to view performance in a manner similar to the method used by the Company’s management, helps improve their ability to understand the Company’s operating performance and makes it easier to compare the Company’s results with other companies that may have different depreciation and amortization policies, non-cash share based compensation programs, CEO turnover, early lease termination expense, interest rates, debt levels or income tax rates. A limitation of these measures, however, is that they exclude depreciation and amortization, which represent a proxy for the periodic costs of certain capitalized tangible and intangible assets used in generating revenues in the Company’s business. In addition, Adjusted OIBDA has the limitation of not reflecting the effect of the Company’s share based payment costs, costs associated with the resignation of the Company’s former Chief Executive Officer, or early lease termination expense. OIBDA or Adjusted OIBDA should not be regarded as an alternative to operating income, net income or as indicators of operating performance, nor should they be considered in isolation of, or as substitutes for financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. The Company believes that operating income is the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure to OIBDA. Because not all companies use identical calculations, these non-GAAP presentations may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies, or calculations in the Company’s debt agreement.

The following tables reconcile operating income to OIBDA and Adjusted OIBDA for the periods presented (dollars in millions):

Outlook (in millions)

Adjusted Net Income and Income per Share

Adjusted net income and income per share are not financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP in the United States. Adjusted net income and income per share are calculated using reported net income and income per share and exclude CEO transition-related costs, early lease termination expense, and reversal of reserve for uncertain tax positions. Our management uses these non-GAAP financial measures as an additional tool to evaluate operating performance. The Company believes these are important supplemental measures of operating performance because they eliminate items that have less bearing on its operating performance and so highlight trends in its core business that may not otherwise be apparent when relying solely on GAAP financial measures. The Company believes the presentation of these measures is relevant and useful for investors because it enables them to view performance in a manner similar to a method used by the Company’s management and helps improve their ability to understand the Company’s operating performance. Adjusted net income should not be regarded as an alternative to net income and should not be regarded as an alternative to income per share or as indicators of operating performance, nor should they be considered in isolation of, or as substitutes for financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. The Company believes that net income and income per share are the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures. Because not all companies use identical calculations, these presentations may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies.

The following table reconciles net income as previously reported to net income as reported reflecting the impact of the change in accounting principle. In addition, as reported net income and income per share are reconciled to adjusted net income and income per share excluding the CEO transition-related costs, early lease termination expense, and reversal of reserve for uncertain tax positions for the periods presented (dollars in millions):

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Source: National CineMedia, Inc.

INVESTOR CONTACT:
Ted Watson
800-844-0935
investors@ncm.com

MEDIA CONTACT:
Amy Jane Finnerty
212-931-8117
amy.finnerty@ncm.com