CETV Central European Media Enterprises Ltd

THIRD QUARTER- Net revenues increased 11% at actual rates and 5% at constant rates to US$ 119.4 million -- Operating income increased 40% at actual rates and 35% at constant rates to US$ 16.0 million -- OIBDA increased 30% at actual rates and 24% at constant rates to US$ 25.1 million -

NINE MONTHS- Net revenues increased 6% at actual and constant rates to US$ 378.1 million -- Operating income increased 20% at actual rates and 21% at constant rates to US$ 72.2 million -- OIBDA increased 17% at actual rates and 18% at constant rates to US$ 97.9 million -

Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. (“CME” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ/Prague Stock Exchange - CETV) today announced financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017.

Following the previously announced sale of 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.

Third quarter operational and financial highlights:

• TV advertising revenues increased 10% at actual rates and 4% at constant rates.
• Carriage fees and subscription revenues increased 20% at actual rates and 15% at constant rates.
• OIBDA increased 30% at actual rates and 24% at constant rates, resulting in OIBDA margin expansion to 21% from 18%.
• The increase in OIBDA improved operating income 40% at actual rates and 35% at constant rates.
• Unlevered free cash flow for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 increased 14%.
• Proceeds from the sale of our operations in Croatia and Slovenia, which is expected to close by the end of 2017 or early 2018, will be used to repay debt and this is expected to decrease our current cost of borrowing by an additional 150 basis points to 4.5%.

Michael Del Nin, Co-Chief Executive Officer, commented: "Our strong momentum from the first half of 2017 continued through the third quarter, positioning us very well as we head into the final months of the year, and providing a very solid base as we look to grow further in 2018. As a result of strong gains in OIBDA and unlevered free cash flow, we are able to raise our guidance for the full year, and with our net leverage ratio now below 6x, we will see our average borrowing cost decline by 125 basis points to 6.0%, its lowest level in eight years."

Christoph Mainusch, Co-Chief Executive Officer, added: "Our operations posted very strong results through the summer, culminating in one of the most successful launches to our fall season and contributing to higher audience shares so far this year in three out of four territories. We are investing in content because audiences continue to demand high quality local productions, but have mostly offset that with other savings to improve profitability."

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 September 30, 2017 and September 30, 2016 were:

(US$ 000's, except per share data)                       For the Three MonthsEnded September 30, (unaudited) 2017     2016     % Actual     % Lfl (1) Net revenues $ 119,431 $ 107,527 11.1% 4.8% Operating income 16,022 11,450 39.9% 34.8% Operating margin 13.4% 10.6% 2.8 p.p. 3.0 p.p. OIBDA 25,145 19,324 30.1% 23.6% OIBDA margin 21.1% 18.0% 3.1 p.p. 3.2 p.p. Loss from continuing operations (1,945) (11,769) 83.5% 84.5% Loss from continuing operations per share - basic (0.03) (0.09) 66.7% 66.7% Loss from continuing operations per share - diluted $ (0.03) $ (0.09) 66.7% 66.7%    

Consolidated results for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and September 30, 2016 were:

(US$ 000's, except per share data)     For the Nine MonthsEnded September 30, (unaudited) 2017     2016     % Actual     % Lfl (1) Net revenues $ 378,058 $ 356,147 6.2% 6.0% Operating income 72,199 60,071 20.2% 21.4% Operating margin 19.1% 16.9% 2.2 p.p. 2.4 p.p. OIBDA 97,893 83,452 17.3% 17.8% OIBDA margin 25.9% 23.4% 2.5 p.p. 2.6 p.p. Income / (loss) from continuing operations 17,338 (185,795) NM2 NM2 Income / (loss) from continuing operations per share - basic 0.04 (1.31) NM2 NM2 Income / (loss) from continuing operations per share - diluted $ 0.03 $ (1.31) NM2 NM2    

(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 third quarter results on Tuesday, October 24, 2017 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 CME's website at www.cme.net prior to the call.

To access the teleconference, U.S. and international callers may dial +1-212-444-0412 ten minutes prior to the start time and reference passcode 1335376. 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 forward-looking statements. For all forward-looking statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which cannot be predicted with accuracy or are otherwise beyond our control and some of which might not even be anticipated. Forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and because our business is subject to such risks and uncertainties, actual results, our strategic plan, our financial position, results of operations and cash flows could differ materially from those described in or contemplated by the forward-looking statements.

Important factors that contribute to such risks include, but are not limited to, those factors set forth under "Risk Factors” in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2017 as well as the following: the expected timing of the closing of the sale of our operations in Croatia and Slovenia and the application of proceeds from it; changes in global or regional economic conditions and Eurozone instability in our markets; levels of television advertising spending and the rate of development of the advertising markets in the countries in which we operate; the extent to which our liquidity constraints and debt service obligations restrict our business; our exposure to additional tax liabilities as well as liabilities resulting from regulatory or legal proceedings initiated against us; our ability to refinance our existing indebtedness; our success in continuing our initiatives to diversify and enhance our revenue streams; our ability to make cost-effective investments in our television businesses, including investments in programming; our ability to develop and acquire necessary programming and attract audiences; and changes in the political and regulatory environments where we operate and in the application of relevant laws and regulations.

The foregoing review of important factors should not be construed as exhaustive. For a more detailed description of these uncertainties and other factors, please see the "Risk Factors" and “Forward-looking Statements” sections in CME's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2017. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

This press release should be read in conjunction with our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2017, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 24, 2017.

We make available free of charge on our website at www.cme.net our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the Securities and Exchange Commission. Please note that we may announce material information using SEC filings, press releases, public conference calls, webcasts and posts to the Investors section of our website, www.cme.net. In the future, we will continue to use these channels to communicate important information about CME and our operations. Information that we post on our website could be deemed material. Therefore, we encourage investors, the media, our customers and others interested in CME to review the information we post at www.cme.net.

CME is a media and entertainment company continuing to operate leading businesses in four Central and Eastern European markets with an aggregate population of more than 40 million people. CME's continuing operations broadcast 27 television channels in Bulgaria (bTV, bTV Cinema, bTV Comedy, bTV Action, bTV Lady and Ring), the Czech Republic (Nova, Nova 2, Nova Cinema, Nova Sport 1, Nova Sport 2, Nova International, Nova Action and Nova Gold), Romania (PRO TV, PRO 2, PRO X, PRO GOLD, PRO CINEMA, PRO TV International, MTV Romania, PRO TV Chisinau and PRO 2 MOLDOVA) and the Slovak Republic (TV Markíza, Markíza International, Doma and Dajto). CME is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market and the Prague Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “CETV”.

    CENTRAL EUROPEAN MEDIA ENTERPRISES LTD. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (US$ 000's, except per share data) (unaudited)  

For the Three Months Ended September 30,

2017       2016   Net revenues $ 119,431 $ 107,527 Operating expenses: Content costs 55,871 51,920 Other operating costs 12,612 13,482 Depreciation of property, plant and equipment 6,936 5,801 Amortization of broadcast licenses and other intangibles 2,187   2,073   Cost of revenues 77,606 73,276 Selling, general and administrative expenses 25,803   22,801   Operating income 16,022 11,450 Interest expense (18,352 ) (22,424 ) Loss on extinguishment of debt (101 ) — Non-operating income, net 3,643   350   Income / (loss) before tax 1,212 (10,624 ) Provision for income taxes (3,157 ) (1,145 ) Loss from continuing operations (1,945 ) (11,769 ) Loss from discontinued operations, net of tax (5,988 ) (8,054 ) Net loss (7,933 ) (19,823 ) Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests 188   196   Net loss attributable to CME Ltd. $ (7,745 ) $ (19,627 )   PER SHARE DATA: Net loss per share: Continuing operations — basic $ (0.03 ) $ (0.09 ) Continuing operations — diluted (0.03 ) (0.09 ) Discontinued operations — basic (0.04 ) (0.05 ) Discontinued operations — diluted (0.04 ) (0.05 ) Net loss attributable to CME Ltd. - basic (0.07 ) (0.14 ) Net loss attributable to CME Ltd. - diluted $ (0.07 ) $ (0.14 )   Weighted average common shares used in computing per share amounts (000's): Basic 156,189 153,494 Diluted 156,189 153,494       CENTRAL EUROPEAN MEDIA ENTERPRISES LTD. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (US$ 000's, except per share data) (unaudited)  

For the Nine Months Ended September 30,

2017       2016   Net revenues $ 378,058 $ 356,147 Operating expenses: Content costs 174,214 166,938 Other operating costs 35,747 40,773 Depreciation of property, plant and equipment 19,345 17,134 Amortization of broadcast licenses and other intangibles 6,349   6,247   Cost of revenues 235,655 231,092 Selling, general and administrative expenses 70,204   64,984   Operating income 72,199 60,071 Interest expense (54,773 ) (90,640 ) Loss on extinguishment of debt (101 ) (150,158 ) Non-operating income, net 12,783   1,638   Income / (loss) before tax 30,108 (179,089 ) Provision for income taxes (12,770 ) (6,706 ) Income / (loss) from continuing operations 17,338 (185,795 ) Loss from discontinued operations, net of tax (8,747 ) (15,971 ) Net income / (loss) 8,591 (201,766 ) Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests 534   387   Net income / (loss) attributable to CME Ltd. $ 9,125   $ (201,379 )   PER SHARE DATA: Net income / (loss) per share: Continuing operations — basic $ 0.04 $ (1.31 ) Continuing operations — diluted 0.03 (1.31 ) Discontinued operations — basic (0.06 ) (0.11 ) Discontinued operations — diluted (0.06 ) (0.11 ) Net income / (loss) attributable to CME Ltd. - basic (0.02 ) (1.42 ) Net income / (loss) attributable to CME Ltd. - diluted $ (0.02 ) $ (1.42 )   Weighted average common shares used in computing per share amounts (000's): Basic 155,579 149,898 Diluted 233,761 149,898         CENTRAL EUROPEAN MEDIA ENTERPRISES LTD. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (US$ 000's) (unaudited)   September 30, 2017   December 31, 2016   ASSETS Cash and cash equivalents $ 67,034 $ 40,606 Other current assets 221,113 238,574 Current assets held for sale 135,171   61,242   Total current assets 423,318 340,422 Property, plant and equipment, net 100,308 89,080 Goodwill and other intangible assets, net 1,028,699 879,668 Other non-current assets 20,365 21,273 Non-current assets held for sale —   60,274   Total assets $ 1,572,690   $ 1,390,717     LIABILITIES AND EQUITY Accounts payable and accrued liabilities $ 157,322 $ 134,378 Current portion of long-term debt and other financing arrangements 2,425 1,228 Other current liabilities 23,535 8,467 Current liabilities held for sale 32,246   27,492   Total current liabilities 215,528 171,565 Long-term debt and other financing arrangements 1,067,153 1,001,408 Other non-current liabilities 87,230 67,963 Non-current liabilities held for sale —   1,414   Total liabilities $ 1,369,911   $ 1,242,350     Series B Convertible Redeemable Preferred Stock $ 262,115 $ 254,899   EQUITY Common Stock $ 11,590 $ 11,476 Additional paid-in capital 1,905,449 1,910,244 Accumulated deficit (1,776,411 ) (1,785,536 ) Accumulated other comprehensive loss (199,906 ) (243,988 ) Total CME Ltd. shareholders' deficit (59,278 ) (107,804 ) Noncontrolling interests (58 ) 1,272   Total deficit (59,336 ) (106,532 ) Total liabilities and equity $ 1,572,690   $ 1,390,717                   CENTRAL EUROPEAN MEDIA ENTERPRISES LTD. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (US$ 000's) (unaudited)   For the Nine MonthsEnded September 30, 2017       2016   Net cash generated from continuing operating activities $               90,638 $               56,972 Net cash used in continuing investing activities (16,250 ) (14,762 ) Net cash used in continuing financing activities (57,782 ) (23,191 ) Net cash used in discontinued operations (62 ) (22,278 ) Impact of exchange rate fluctuations on cash and cash equivalents 9,884   2,005   Net increase / (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents $               26,428   $               (1,254 )   Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information: Cash paid for interest (including mandatory cash-pay guarantee fees) $ 22,206 $ 38,317 Cash paid for guarantee fees that may be paid in kind 1,411 5,483 Cash paid for income taxes, net of refunds $ 12,380 $ 234   Supplemental disclosure of non-cash financing activities: Interest and related guarantee fees paid in kind $ 14,733 $ 14,300 Accretion on Series B Convertible Redeemable Preferred Stock $ 7,216 $ 11,314  

Segment Data

We manage our business on a geographical basis, with four reporting segments: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Romania and the Slovak Republic. These segments reflect how CME Ltd.’s operating performance is evaluated by our chief operating decision makers, who we have identified as our co-Chief Executive Officers, how operations are managed by segment managers, and the structure of our internal financial reporting.

We evaluate our consolidated results and the performance of our segments based on net revenues and OIBDA. Stock-based compensation and certain other items are not allocated to our segments for purposes of evaluating their performance and therefore are not included in their respective OIBDA. Intersegment revenues and profits have been eliminated in consolidation.

Below are tables showing our net revenues and OIBDA by segment for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017 and September 30, 2016:

(US$ 000's)               For the Three MonthsEnded September 30, (unaudited) 2017     2016     % Actual     % Lfl (1) Net revenues Bulgaria $ 16,039 $ 13,789 16.3% 10.4% Czech Republic 42,681 39,031 9.4% (0.1)% Romania 40,469 36,970 9.5% 6.4% Slovak Republic 20,384 17,864 14.1% 8.1% Intersegment revenues (142) (127) NM (2) NM (2) Total net revenues $ 119,431 $ 107,527 11.1% 4.8%               (US$ 000's) For the Nine MonthsEnded September 30, (unaudited) 2017     2016     % Actual     % Lfl (1) Net revenues Bulgaria $ 52,118 $ 50,103 4.0% 4.3% Czech Republic 135,526 128,558 5.4% 3.5% Romania 127,983 118,269 8.2% 9.7% Slovak Republic 63,348 59,466 6.5% 6.6% Intersegment revenues (917) (249) NM (2) NM (2) Total net revenues $ 378,058 $ 356,147 6.2% 6.0%         (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.                 (US$ 000's) For the Three MonthsEnded September 30, (unaudited) 2017     2016     % Act     % Lfl (1) OIBDA Bulgaria $ 2,537 $ 1,943 30.6% 24.6% Czech Republic 12,618 13,180 (4.3)% (12.8)% Romania 15,496 12,606 22.9% 19.6% Slovak Republic 2,944 (383) NM (2) NM (2) Elimination 10 6 NM (2) NM (2) Total Operating Segments 33,605 27,352 22.9% 15.9% Central (8,460) (8,028) (5.4)% 2.2% Total OIBDA $ 25,145 $ 19,324 30.1% 23.6%                       (US$ 000's) For the Nine MonthsEnded September 30, (unaudited) 2017     2016     % Act     % Lfl (1) OIBDA Bulgaria $ 6,973 $ 8,966 (22.2)% (22.0)% Czech Republic 49,130 46,353 6.0% 3.7% Romania 52,450 45,030 16.5% 18.3% Slovak Republic 11,339 5,168 119.4% 125.7% Elimination 27 9 NM (2) NM (2) Total Operating Segments 119,919 105,526 13.6% 13.6% Central (22,026) (22,074) 0.2% 2.0% Total OIBDA $ 97,893 $ 83,452 17.3% 17.8%           (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.  

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In this release we refer to several non-GAAP financial measures, including OIBDA, OIBDA margin, free cash flow and unlevered free cash flow. We believe that each of these metrics is useful to investors for the reasons outlined below. Non-GAAP financial measures may not be comparable to similar measures reported by other companies. Non-GAAP financial measures should be evaluated in conjunction with, and are not a substitute for, US GAAP financial measures.

We evaluate our consolidated results and the performance of our segments based on net revenues and OIBDA. We believe OIBDA is useful to investors because it provides a meaningful representation of our performance, as it excludes certain items that do not impact either our cash flows or the operating results of our operations. OIBDA and unlevered free cash flow are also used as components in determining management bonuses.

OIBDA includes amortization and impairment of program rights and is calculated as operating income / loss before depreciation, amortization of intangible assets and impairments of assets and certain unusual or infrequent items that are not considered by our co-Chief Executive Officers when evaluating our performance. Stock-based compensation and certain other items are not allocated to our segments for purposes of evaluating their performance and therefore are not included in their respective OIBDA. Our key performance measure of the efficiency of our consolidated operations and our segments is OIBDA margin. We define OIBDA margin as the ratio of OIBDA to net revenues.

Following a repricing of our Guarantee Fees completed in March 2017, the proportion of interest and related Guarantee Fees on our outstanding indebtedness that must be paid in cash has increased. In addition to this obligation to pay more interest and related Guarantee Fees in cash, we expect to use cash generated by the business to pay certain Guarantee Fees that are payable in kind. These cash payments are all reflected in free cash flow; accordingly we believe unlevered free cash flow, defined as free cash flow before cash payments for interest and Guarantee Fees, best illustrates the cash generated by our operations when comparing periods. We define free cash flow as net cash generated from continuing operating activities less purchases of property, plant and equipment, net of disposals of property, plant and equipment and excluding the cash impact of certain unusual or infrequent items that are not included in costs charged in arriving at OIBDA because they are not considered by our co-Chief Executive Officers when evaluating performance.

For additional information regarding our business segments, see Item 1, Note 19, "Segment Data" in our Form 10-Q.

While our reporting currency is the dollar, our consolidated revenues and costs are divided across a range of European currencies and CME Ltd.’s function currency is the Euro. Given the significant movement of the currencies in the markets in which we operate against the dollar, we believe that it is useful to provide percentage movements based on actual percentage movements (“% Act”), which includes the effect of foreign exchange, as well as like-for-like percentage movements (“% Lfl”). The like-for-like percentage movement references reflect the impact of applying the current period average exchange rates to the prior period revenues and costs. Since the difference between like-for-like and actual percentage movements is solely the impact of movements in foreign exchange rates, our discussion in this release includes constant currency percentage movements in order to highlight those factors influencing operational performance. The incremental impact of foreign exchange rates is presented in the tables accompanying such analysis.

              (US$ 000's) For the Three MonthsEnded September 30,   For the Nine MonthsEnded September 30, (unaudited) 2017     2016 2017     2016 Operating income $ 16,022 $ 11,450 $ 72,199 $ 60,071 Depreciation of property, plant and equipment 6,936 5,801 19,345 17,134 Amortization of intangible assets 2,187 2,073 6,349     6,247 Total OIBDA $ 25,145 $ 19,324 $ 97,893     $ 83,452                                   (US$ 000's) For the Nine Months Ended September 30, (unaudited) 2017   2016 Net cash generated from continuing operating activities $ 90,638 $ 56,972 Capital expenditures, net of proceeds from disposals (16,250) (14,762) Free cash flow 74,388 42,210 Cash paid for interest (including mandatory cash-pay guarantee fees) 22,206 38,317 Cash paid for guarantee fees that may be paid in kind 1,411 5,483 Unlevered free cash flow $ 98,005 $ 86,010  

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Central European Media EnterprisesMark Kobal, +420 242 465 576Head of Investor Relationsmark.kobal@cme.netwww.cme.net