Poydras Gaming Finance Corp. Announces 2017 Third Quarter Results

—Revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 up 12.1% year over year—
—LTM Adjusted EBITDA now $9.5 million—

VANCOUVER, Nov. 20, 2017 /CNW/ - POYDRAS GAMING FINANCE CORP. (TSX‐V: PYD; OTCQX: PYDGF) ("Poydras" or the "Company") today announced its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2017 (all amounts stated in U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated).

Third Quarter 2017 Highlights and Financial Results

• 0.1% increase in revenue to $3,898,110 compared to $3,893,546 in Q3 2016.
• 2.2% increase in leasing revenue to $3,294,897, compared to $3,225,680 in Q3 2016.
• 1% increase in Adjusted EBITDA to $2,385,936, compared to $2,363,549 in Q3 2016.
• Financing costs down 46.4% compared to Q3 2016.
• Net loss of $2,022,129 compared with a net loss of $2,918,891 in Q3 2016.
• An average of 2,529 gaming machines in operation in Q3 2017, compared to an average of 2,521 in Q3 2016.
• Revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 up 12.1% compared to 2016.
• Signed three new customers, bringing total number of casinos to 30.

"Despite the seasonal downturn that we typically see in the third fiscal quarter, we continue to execute on our core strategy of expanding our customer base, increasing the number of placed machines and optimizing those placements," said Peter Macy, CEO of Poydras.  Our leading market presence in the Oklahoma and Texas markets and our offering of innovative gaming machines will continue to drive installations.  We continue to see strong interest in the new products we are bringing to our core markets and we have several additional contracts currently in various stages of negotiation."

Quarterly Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA and reconciliation to net income (loss) is as follows:

			Q3 2017	Q2 2017	Q1 2017	Q4 2016	Q3 2016	Q2 2016
			($)	($)	($)	($)	($)	($)
Net Income (loss)			(2,022,129)	(1,382,586)	(1,167,084)	(2,935,028)	(2,918,891)	(946,103)
Adjustments:
	Depreciation of equipment		1,599,168	1,525,644	1,390,548	1,074,475	1,024,513	954,638
	Amortization of placement fees		424,863	449,658	449,658	533,904	524,449	443,148
	Amortization of intangible assets		200,642	199,576	198,775	218,337	223,772	217,395
	Income tax expense (recovery)		98,199	-	-	(119,904)	(357,883)	(498,427)
	Finance lease receivable reduction		538,231	308,392	467,486	513,064	664,490	501,599
	Financing costs		1,163,893	1,145,358	1,140,346	1,153,146	2,170,864	898,576
	Foreign exchange (gain) loss		1,948	(196)	8,466	745	(97,863)	(47,175)
	Impairment of placement fees		-	-	-	1,732,152	-	-
	Impairment of loan receivable		-	-	-	-	(85,000)	28,505
	Gain on settlement of debt		(580)	224	(28,380)	-	(110,487)	-
	Loss (gain) on disposal of assets		(990)	(23,200)	(64,500)	12,750	-	65,858
	Loss (gain) on disposal of BitBoss		-	-	(43,712)	-	-	-
	Revaluation of earn-out liability		-	-	-	30,000	450,000	-
	Revaluation loss on investment in A&W JV		-	-	-	-	588,317	-
	Stock based compensation		92,691	116,416	92,919	102,272	207,210	206,177
	Employee separation fees		290,000	-	-	-	-	-
	A&W JV EBITDA adjustments at 50% interest:
		Depreciation of equipment	-	-	-	-	69,254	172,113
		Amortization of placement fees	-	-	-	-	4,728	10,416
		Interest expense	-	-	-	-	6,076	18,178
		Loss (gain) on disposal of assets	-	-	-	-	-	(36,741)
Adjusted EBITDA			2,385,936	2,339,286	2,444,522	2,315,913	2,363,549	1,988,157

Conference Call

The Company will hold a conference call to discuss the results for its third quarter ended September 30, 2017. The call will be hosted by Peter Macy, CEO, and Adam Kniec, CFO on Monday, November 20, 2017 at 2:00 p.m. PST (5:00 p.m. EST), and followed by a question and answer period.  All interested parties are invited to participate. 

Conference Call Details:
Date:	Monday, November 20, 2017
Time:	2:00 p.m. Pacific Time / 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Dial-In Numbers:	North America Toll-Free Dial-In Number:	1 [phone]
	For Toronto:	[phone]
	For Vancouver:	[phone]
Conference ID:	9955139
Taped Replay:	1 [phone]
	Available until 12:00 midnight (EST) Monday, November 27, 2017
	Reference number: 9955139

About Poydras Gaming Finance Corp.:
Poydras Gaming is a regional slot route operator with approximately 2,600 gaming machines in operation across 30 casinos in Oklahoma and Texas.  The Company primarily derives its revenue from short- and long-term revenue share contracts with Native American casinos.  It provides gaming equipment such as slot machines and electronic table games, and project financing to owners, operators, and managers of casinos and other regulated gaming venues.  The company works with casinos, new casino developments, and gaming machine suppliers.  In addition, it distributes casino and bingo equipment, and offers direct and online sales of gaming supplies for poker and bingo. Additional information about the Company can be found on the Company's website at www.poydrasgaming.com and on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain information in this news release is considered forward-looking within the meaning of certain securities laws and is subject to important risks, uncertainties and assumptions. This forward-looking information includes, among other things, information with respect to the Company's beliefs, plans, expectations, anticipations, estimates and intentions. The words "may", "could", "should", "would", "suspect", "outlook", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "plan", "target" and similar words and expressions are used to identify forward-looking information. The forward-looking information in this news release, including those statements relating to expected EBITDA, and the placement of additional machines by the Company, describes the Company's expectations as of the date of this news release.

The results or events anticipated or predicted in such forward-looking information may differ materially from actual results or events. Material factors which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, among others, risks arising from general economic conditions and adverse industry events.

The Company cautions that the foregoing list of material factors is not exhaustive. When relying on the Company's forward-looking information to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. The Company has assumed a certain progression, which may not be realized. It has also assumed that the material factors referred to in the previous paragraph will not cause such forward-looking information to differ materially from actual results or events. However, the list of these factors is not exhaustive and is subject to change and there can be no assurance that such assumptions will reflect the actual outcome of such items or factors.

THE FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS NEWS RELEASE REPRESENTS THE EXPECTATIONS OF THE COMPANY AS OF THE DATE OF THIS NEWS RELEASE AND, ACCORDINGLY, IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AFTER SUCH DATE. READERS SHOULD NOT PLACE UNDUE IMPORTANCE ON FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION AND SHOULD NOT RELY UPON THIS INFORMATION AS OF ANY OTHER DATE. WHILE THE COMPANY MAY ELECT TO, IT DOES NOT UNDERTAKE TO UPDATE THIS INFORMATION AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME.

Non-IFRS Measures
Adjusted EBITDA is a financial measure that does not have a standardized meaning under IFRS. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as earnings before financing costs, income taxes, depreciation, amortization, stock based compensation, unrealized foreign exchange, impairment of loans receivable, impairment of placement fees, gain/loss on settlement of debt, gain/loss on disposal of assets, gain/loss on disposal of BitBoss, finance lease receivable reduction, revaluation adjustment of earn-out liability, revaluation loss on investment in A&W JV, employee separation fees and non-recurring costs.  In addition, to arrive at the Adjusted EBITDA, the Company was adjusting its earnings for its 50% share of the above mentioned income/expense and gain/loss categories that are included in the Company's income from equity accounted investees up to the date of the acquisition of the A&W JV.

During the current quarter, the Company modified its definition of Adjusted EBITDA by adjusting its earnings by employee separation fees.  The Company believes that to measure the Company's core business performance and liquidity, and to measure its ability to purchase additional machines, it is important to include this adjustment in determination of Adjusted EBITDA.

As there is no standardized method of calculating Adjusted EBITDA, it may not be directly comparable with similarly titled measures used by other companies.  The Company considers Adjusted EBITDA to be a relevant indicator for measuring trends in performance and its ability to generate funds to service its debt and to meet its future working capital and capital expenditure requirements. Adjusted EBITDA is not a generally accepted earnings measure and should not be considered in isolation or as an alternative to net income (loss), cash flows or other measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS.

SOURCE Poydras Gaming Finance Corp.

Justin Canivet, Investor Relations | NATIONAL Equicom, T: [phone], E: [email protected]; James Kim, VP of Corporate Development, Poydras Gaming Finance Corp., T: [phone], E: [email protected]