CEC Entertainment, Inc. Reports Financial Results for the 2017 Fourth Quarter

IRVING, Texas, March 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- CEC Entertainment, Inc. (the "Company") today announced financial results for its fourth quarter ended December 31, 2017.

Fourth Quarter Results ⁽¹⁾

Company venue sales for the fourth quarter of 2017 decreased $7.2 million from the fourth quarter of 2016, primarily driven by a 6.0% decline in comparable venue sales.  Deferred amusement revenue was $3.4 million less than the fourth quarter of 2016, resulting in cash revenue from our Company-operated venues decreasing $10.6 million from the 2016 fourth quarter. Total revenues were $196.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2017 compared to $204.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2016.

The Company reported net income of $52.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2017, compared to a net loss of $10.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2016.  Fourth quarter net income was positively impacted by a $66.6 million adjustment to our deferred income tax liability related to the recently enacted tax law changes. Before the impact of this adjustment, our fourth quarter net loss was $13.7 million, compared to a net loss of $10.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2016, driven by the decline in revenue and an increase in marketing costs, partially offset by lower general and administrative expenses and lower depreciation.

"There were several factors which impacted our business in 2017, which our team is addressing diligently," said Tom Leverton, Chief Executive Officer. "We have put several measures in place to address these challenges, including launching new advertising campaigns addressing moms and kids, as well as a revitalized approach to birthdays. Additionally, we have identified several improvements to our website and digital marketing platform. While our primary focus has been on revenue, we recently implemented several changes in our corporate support structure to better align with our recent performance. We are optimistic that these combined revenue and cost initiatives should have a positive impact on our revenues and operating results in future periods."

During the fourth quarter of 2017, Adjusted EBITDA decreased $11.4 million to $25.5 million compared to the fourth quarter of 2016.

Balance Sheet and Liquidity

As of December 31, 2017, cash and cash equivalents were $67.2 million, and the principal outstanding on our debt was $986.5 million, with net availability of $140.1 million on our undrawn revolving credit facility. During the fourth quarter of 2017, we had capital expenditures of $19.6 million, of which $8.1 million related to growth initiatives, $1.9 million related to IT initiatives, and $9.6 million related to maintenance capital expenditures, primarily consisting of game enhancements and general venue capital expenditures.

As of December 31, 2017, the Company's system-wide portfolio consisted of:

Conference Call Information:

The Company will host a conference call beginning at 9:00 a.m. Central Time on Wednesday, March 28, 2018. The call can be accessed by dialing (855) 743-8451 or (330) 968-0151 for international participants and conference code 6394589.

A replay of the call will be available from 12:00 p.m. Central Time on March 28, 2018 through 10:30 p.m. Central Time on April 13, 2018. The replay of the call can be accessed by dialing (800) 585-8367 or (404) 537-3406 for international participants and conference code 6394589.

About CEC Entertainment, Inc.

For 40 years, CEC Entertainment has served as the nationally recognized leader in family dining and entertainment with both its Chuck E. Cheese's and Peter Piper Pizza venues. As America's #1 place for birthdays, Chuck E. Cheese's goal is to create positive, lifelong memories for families through fun, food, and play and is the place Where A Kid Can Be A Kid ^®. Committed to providing a fun, safe environment, Chuck E. Cheese's helps protect families through industry-leading programs such as Kid Check^®. As a strong advocate for its local communities, Chuck E. Cheese's has donated more than $14 million to schools through its fundraising programs and supports its new national charity partner, Boys and Girls Clubs of America. Peter Piper Pizza, with its neighborhood pizzeria feel, features dining, entertainment and carryout. The solution to 'the family night out', Peter Piper Pizza takes pride in delivering a food first, parent friendly experience that reconnects family and friends. Expanding nationally, Peter Piper Pizza recently opened locations in Oklahoma, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona and Texas featuring an all new prototype design. As of December 31, 2017, the Company and its franchisees operated a system of 605 Chuck E. Cheese's and 149 Peter Piper Pizza venues, with locations in 47 states and 13 foreign countries and territories. For more information, visit chuckecheese.com and peterpiperpizza.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, which involve risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are generally identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "target," "will," "would" and, in each case, their negative or other various or comparable terminology. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release, including statements regarding our strategy, future operations, objectives of management and expected market growth, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are made based on management's current expectations and beliefs concerning future events and, therefore, involve a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, including the risk factors described in Part I, Item 1A. "Risk Factors" of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 1, 2017, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 16, 2017. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may differ from those anticipated, estimated or expected. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to:

• our strategy, outlook and growth prospects;
• our operational and financial targets and dividend policy;
• our planned expansion of the venue base and the implementation of the new design in our existing venues;
• general economic trends and trends in the industry and markets; and
• the competitive environment in which we operate.

These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause our results to vary from expectations include, but are not limited to:

• negative publicity concerning food quality, health, general safety and other issues, and changes in consumer preferences;
• our ability to successfully expand and update our current venue base;
• our ability to successfully implement our marketing strategy;
• our ability to compete effectively in an environment of intense competition in both the restaurant and entertainment industries;
• our ability to weather economic uncertainty and changes in consumer discretionary spending;
• increases in food, labor and other operating costs;
• our ability to successfully open international franchises and to operate under the U.S. and foreign anti-corruption laws that govern those international ventures;
• risks related to our substantial indebtedness;
• failure of our information technology systems to support our current and growing businesses;
• disruptions to our commodity distribution system;
• our dependence on third-party vendors to provide us with sufficient quantities of new entertainment-related equipment, prizes and merchandise at acceptable prices;
• risks from product liability claims and product recalls;
• the impact of governmental laws and regulations and the outcomes of legal proceedings;
• potential liability under certain state property laws;
• fluctuations in our financials due to new venue openings;
• local conditions, natural disasters, terrorist attacks and other events and public health issues;
• the seasonality of our business;
• inadequate insurance coverage;
• labor shortages and immigration reform;
• loss of certain personnel;
• our ability to protect our trademarks or other proprietary rights;
• risks associated with owning and leasing real estate, as well as the risks from any forced venue relocation or closure;
• our ability to successfully integrate the operations of companies we acquire;
• impairment charges for goodwill, indefinite-lived intangible assets or other long-lived assets;
• our failure to maintain adequate internal controls over our financial and management systems; and
• other risks, uncertainties and factors set forth in Part I, Item 1A. "Risk Factors" of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 1, 2017, filed with the SEC on March 16, 2017.

The forward-looking statements made in this press release reflect our views with respect to future events as of the date of this press release and are based on assumptions and subject to risks and uncertainties. Given these uncertainties, undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements represent our estimates and assumptions only as of the date of this press release and, except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or review publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise after the date of this report. We anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause our views to change. Our forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any future acquisitions, merger, dispositions, joint ventures or investments we may undertake. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.

- financial tables follow -

CEC ENTERTAINMENT, INC.
RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
(Unaudited)
(in thousands, except percentages)

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Certain financial measures presented in this press release, such as Adjusted Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization ("Adjusted EBITDA") and Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of revenues ("Adjusted EBITDA Margin") are not recognized terms under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States ("GAAP"). The Company's management believes that the presentation of these measures is appropriate to provide useful information to investors regarding its operating performance and its capacity to incur and service debt and fund capital expenditures. Further, the Company believes that Adjusted EBITDA is used by many investors, analysts and rating agencies as a measure of performance. The Company also presents Adjusted EBITDA because it is substantially similar to Credit Agreement EBITDA, a measure used in calculating financial ratios and other calculations under our debt agreements, except for (i) adding back the change in deferred amusement revenue, and (ii) excluding the annualized full year effect of Company-operated and franchised venues that were opened and closed during the year. By reporting Adjusted EBITDA, the Company provides a basis for comparison of its business operations between current, past and future periods by excluding items that we do not believe are indicative of our core operating performance.

The Company's definition of Adjusted EBITDA allows for the exclusion of certain non-cash and other income and expense items that are used in calculating net income from continuing operations. However, these are items that may recur, vary greatly and can be difficult to predict. They can represent the effect of long-term strategies as opposed to short-term results. In addition, certain of these items can represent the reduction of cash that could be used for other corporate purposes. These measures should not be considered as alternatives to operating income, cash flows from operating activities or any other performance measures derived in accordance with GAAP as measures of operating performance, or cash flows as measures of liquidity. These measures have important limitations as analytical tools, and users should not consider them in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. Because of these limitations, the Company relies primarily on its GAAP results and uses Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin only supplementally.

The following table sets forth a reconciliation of net income (loss) to Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin for the periods shown:

SOURCE CEC Entertainment, Inc.