
Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. Reports Results for the First Quarter Ended March 31, 2018
April 26, 2018
Download this Press Release ()
- Net revenues increased 25% at actual rates and 7% at constant rates to US$ 139.2 million -
- Operating income increased 61% at actual rates and 43% at constant rates to US$ 20.9 million -
- OIBDA increased 45% at actual rates and 26% at constant rates to US$ 30.7 million -
ANNOUNCES DEBT REPRICING, REDUCED BORROWING COST AND IMPROVED MATURITY PROFILE
WILL REPAY EUR 110.0 MILLION OF DEBT WITH PROCEEDS FROM NEWLY EXERCISED WARRANTS
HAMILTON, Bermuda--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. ( CME or the Company ) (NASDAQ/Prague Stock Exchange - CETV) today announced financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2018.
Following the previously announced agreement to sell our Croatia and Slovenia operations, these businesses are classified as held for sale and presented as discontinued operations for all periods. The discussion in this release relates to our continuing operations in the four remaining operating segments.
Operational and financial highlights:
TV advertising revenues increased 26% at actual rates and 7% at constant rates.
Carriage fees and subscription revenues increased 23% at actual rates and 8% at constant rates.
OIBDA increased 45% at actual rates and 26% at constant rates, resulting in OIBDA margin expansion to 22% from 19%.
The increase in OIBDA improved operating income 61% at actual rates and 43% at constant rates.
Unlevered free cash flow for the three months ended March 31, 2018 increased 37%.
The improvement in our operations reduced our net leverage ratio to 4.8x at the end of the quarter. Following the agreed debt repricing, our cost of borrowing will decrease by nearly 200 basis points to about 4.0% beginning in May 2018.
On April 25, 2018, Time Warner exercised 100,926,996 warrants and we will apply the proceeds of US$ 100.9 million, along with excess cash on hand, to repay EUR 110.0 million of the outstanding principal balance of the 2018 Euro Term Loan.
Proceeds from the sale of our operations in Croatia and Slovenia, which we expect to close in the second quarter subject to remaining regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, will be used to repay debt, and together with the agreed repricing would decrease our cost of borrowing by an additional 80 basis points to approximately 3.2%.
Michael Del Nin, Co-Chief Executive Officer, commented: Today's series of announcements bode very well for the future of CME. Firstly, the financial results for Q1 represent our strongest start to any year in a decade. The increase in profitability and cash flow generation in the quarter have helped drive down our leverage ratio and, when paired with the proceeds from warrants that have now been exercised, allow us to complete another key step in our ongoing deleveraging plan. But just as importantly, the new refinancing transactions, which address the maturity profile of our debt and significantly cut our borrowing costs to record lows, put in place the capital structure that we need for the exciting next phase of the company's future.
Christoph Mainusch, Co-Chief Executive Officer, added: We won the prime time grid in each country nearly every night during the quarter, which contributed to significant revenue growth. Our channels provide extensive reach for advertisers because they continue to be the most popular source of news and entertainment in our countries. We will invest in local content, while focusing on controlling costs overall, and remain market leaders in our territories.
In this release we refer to several non-GAAP financial measures, including OIBDA, OIBDA margin, free cash flow, unlevered free cash flow and constant currency percentage movements. Please see Non-GAAP Financial Measures below for additional information, including definitions and reconciliations to US GAAP financial measures.
Consolidated results for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 were:
(US$ 000s, except per share data) For the Three Months Ended March 31,
(unaudited) 2018 2017 % Actual % Lfl (1)
Net revenues $ 139,182 $ 111,732 24.6% 6.8%
Operating income 20,945 13,024 60.8% 43.3%
Operating margin 15.0% 11.7% 3.3 p.p. 3.8 p.p.
OIBDA 30,667 21,092 45.4% 26.4%
OIBDA margin 22.0% 18.9% 3.1 p.p. 3.4 p.p.
Income / (loss) from continuing operations 6,084 (5,982) NM (2) NM (2)
Income / (loss) from continuing operations per share - basic 0.01 (0.05) NM (2) NM (2)
Income / (loss) from continuing operations per share - diluted $ 0.01 $ (0.05) NM (2) NM (2)
(1) % Lfl (like-for-like) variance reflects the impact of applying the current period average exchange rates to the prior period revenues and costs.
(2) Number is not meaningful.
Teleconference and Audio Webcast Details
CME will host a teleconference and audio webcast to discuss its first quarter results on Thursday, April 26, 2018 at 9 a.m. New York time (2 p.m. London and 3 p.m. Prague time). The audio webcast and teleconference will refer to presentation slides which will be available on CMEs website at www.cme.net prior to the call.
To access the teleconference, U.S. and international callers may dial +1-323-701-0225 ten minutes prior to the start time and reference passcode 7296178. The conference call will also be audio webcasted via www.cme.net. It can be heard on iPads, iPhones and a range of devices supporting Android and Windows operating systems.
A digital audio replay of the webcast will be available for two weeks following the call at www.cme.net.
Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements
This press release contains f
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
15/06/2025
July 2025 in Dublin, Berlin, Amsterdam & London
Photo: Thea Martre
Music Production for Women (MPW) have announced that they will be running a series of fo...
15/06/2025
Composer/producer launches free virtual instruments
Sulcata Sound is the latest venture of Jason Graves, a two-time British Academy Award-winnning composer,...
14/06/2025
NEW YORK Pluto TV and the All Womens Sports Network have launched a free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) AWSN channel in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and the Nor...
14/06/2025
NEW YORK and CINCINNATI E.W. Scripps has announced a new, multiyear agreement with the WNBA that will continue Ions regular-season coverage of the league on Fri...
14/06/2025
WASHINGTON The National Association of Broadcasters highlighted the hidden importance of spectrum in the production of major sporting events and described wha...
14/06/2025
WASHINGTON Sunsetting ATSC 1.0, expanding business opportunities for NextGen Broadcast and increasing international adoption of the ATSC 3.0 standard were top o...
14/06/2025
SAN FRANCISCO Samba TV and Acxiom have announced that they will dramatically expand their longstanding relationship....
14/06/2025
July 2025 in Dublin, Berlin, Amsterdam & London
Photo: Thea Martre
Music Production for Women (MPW) have announced that they will be running a series of fo...
14/06/2025
San Francisco State University's School of Cinema Uses Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton June 13, 2025
0 Comments
More than 40 Blackmagic Design came...
14/06/2025
Boris FX Mocha Pro Adds New AI Tools To Tackle VFX Tasks Fast
Jessie Electa Petrov June 13, 2025
0 Comments
The 2025.5 release helps artists work more...
14/06/2025
AJA Debuts DRM2-Plus Mini-Converter Frame at InfoComm 2025
Brie Clayton June 13, 2025
0 Comments
Next-gen frame addresses diverse rackmount needs wit...
13/06/2025
(L-R) Lindsay Utz, Michelle Walshe, and The Right Honourable Dame Jacinda Ardern attend the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Prime Minister at Eccles T...
13/06/2025
Photo credit: Atsushi Nishijima
If you're a true lover of rom-coms, chances...
13/06/2025
Pure Drama and Fierce Rivalries set to dominate the world's most iconic spor...
13/06/2025
Johannesburg, 12 June 2025 - The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an a...
13/06/2025
ABILENE. Texas A severe storm knocked down the tower and severely damaged the news studio and main facility of Sinclair-owned KTXS here on Sunday, June 8....
13/06/2025
Berklee's Music Business/Management Department Recognized by the Music Biz A...
13/06/2025
WASHINGTON The ATSC, the Broadcast Standards Association, honored veteran technologist Aldo Cugnini and Clarence Hau, Senior Vice President of Standards, Policy...
13/06/2025
(Editor's note: The 2025 UFL Championship Game between the D.C. Defenders and Michigan Panthers kicks off Saturday, June 14, at 8 p.m. Eastern. The game wil...
13/06/2025
New iPad/iPhone synth App announced
Following on from last year's release of Gradient Synth - which reached #6 on the App Store's Paid Music charts ...
13/06/2025
LONDON Warner Bros. Discovery has announced that HBO Max will launch direct-to-consumer in multiple new countries this July as the streamer becomes available in...
13/06/2025
AI voice transcription and captioning platform Verbit has added a new feature to its Captivate ASR solution the ability to identify specific features in automat...
13/06/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission member Anna Gomez has wrapped up two weeks in California visiting broadcasters, television studio executives, enter...
13/06/2025
WASHINGTON The U.S. House of Representatives voted mostly along party lines to approve a rescission package that would cancel $9.4 billion in previously approve...
13/06/2025
At InfoComm 2025, AJA Video Systems announced DRM2-Plus, an intuitive, high-capacity 3RU frame that can neatly house up to 24 AJA Mini-Converters. Tailored to s...
13/06/2025
Cinema advertising leader to leverage AOS and suite of AI-enabled solutions to optimize forecasting, yield management, and streamlined ad sales and operations a...
13/06/2025
Manfrotto has launched the ONE Hybrid Tripod, a new support system designed specifically for professional content creators working with mirrorless cameras acros...
13/06/2025
Leading video software provider, Synamedia, today announced that its Media Edge Gateway (MEG), an ATSC 3.0 software-based IRD, now supports Device Security requ...
13/06/2025
LiveU, the global leader in live IP-video contribution, production and distribution solutions, is deepening its commitment to the German-speaking market with th...
13/06/2025
Chaos, the leader in architectural visualisation software, today announces Chaos Corona 13, giving archviz designers new ways to add eye-catching style and flai...
13/06/2025
PALI's Nena Music Video Shot with Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton June 12, 2025
0 Comments
Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K and DaVinci Resolve Studio b...
13/06/2025
OddBeast Powers Up iRobot's Newest Roombas with Suite of CGI Launch Assets
Brie Clayton June 12, 2025
0 Comments
The motion design and production ...
13/06/2025
On Chick Coreas Birthday, a Newly Uncovered Archival Release The Visitors, composed by Corea and performed by vibraphonist Gary Burton and pianist Kirill Gers...
13/06/2025
In fulfilment of a recommendation by the Government's Expert Advisory Commit...
13/06/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Backblaze's Gleb Budman Talks Products, Partnerships, and the ...
13/06/2025
SVG Sit-Down: DAZN's Walker Jacobs Calls Streaming the FIFA Club World Cup ...
13/06/2025
New Sponsor Spotlight: Vecima Networks' Paul Strickland on How Improving QoE...
13/06/2025
Pitch Perspective: Where's Next for Specialty Cameras in Soccer? Leaders from Sky Austria and ACS discuss the possibilities of camera placement pitchside B...
13/06/2025
Premiership Rugby Final 2025: Vintage clash between Bath and Leicester gets full...
13/06/2025
Premiership Rugby Final 2025: TNT Sports gears up for Bath vs Leicester battle w...
13/06/2025
NCAA Men's College World Series: ESPN Adds Two-Point SupraCam, Invests in Ne...
13/06/2025
New FSWX signal and spectrum analyzer with novel architecture overcomes limits o...
13/06/2025
Apple today announced the addition of iPad to Self Service Repair, providing iPad owners with access to repair manuals, genuine Apple parts, Apple Diagnostics t...
13/06/2025
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today previewed iOS 26, a major update that brings a beautiful new design, intelligent experiences, and improvements to the apps use...
13/06/2025
At Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple unveiled Apple Games, an all-new destination designed to help players jump back into the games they...
13/06/2025
Industrial AI isn't slowing down. Germany is ready.
Following London Tech Week and GTC Paris at VivaTech, NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang's Europea...
12/06/2025
In 2018, Spotify launched Heart & Soul, a mental health initiative developed to ...
12/06/2025
50 Years Strong: SBS and NITV Supercharge NAIDOC Week 2025 in a joint 50th celeb...